DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman emphasized, on June 5, the importance of self-representing defendant’s unrestricted access to necessary case documents.
Kyle Piunti, 31, is charged with second-degree murder and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon due to his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run that resulted in the death of 54-year-old Michael Hamlin. The crash occurred on Jan. 3, 2024, on Highway I-295 southbound near Mile Maker 1.
At the hearing, Piunti expressed concerns about submitting evidence and accessing password protected documents sent to him by the prosecution. The prosecution disagreed they withheld any evidence and said they plan to resubmit all relevant documents.
Judge Edelman contacted attorneys representing the DC Department of Corrections (DOC) after Piunti allegedly faced barriers accessing needed technology. The judge confirmed that Piunti will receive a computer from the DOC on June 8.
“I asked as a personal favor…they have their own rules, they don’t report to me,” emphasized Judge Edelman.
Judge Edelman explained that Piunti will be given to a computer with a “pretrial” hard drive, brought to him by his attorney advisor, David Akulian. The program will expire when the pretrial period ends and Piunti will be given a new hard drive for the trial. Judge Edelman also offered to print all evidentiary information for Piunti.
Piunti filed a motion to suppress evidence on Jan. 23, claiming the prosecution restricted his access to the material by providing password protected Apple documents.
Prosecutors explained that all the Apple documents held subscriber information, linking an account’s digital subscription to its owner, which they plan to reference during trial. The prosecution did not know the documents were password protected and emphasized that everything was disclosed in a comprehensive discovery list sent to Piunti.
This motion also included the suppression of brown slide-on shoes found at the crime scene because Piunti believes it had been disturbed.
Judge Edelman advised Piunti that the motion will be resolved when he receives the prosecution’s printed out discovery and exhibit lists.
In addition, Piunti motioned on April 7 to dismiss his indictment based on videos he was unable to submit as evidence. Piunti claims his videos contextualize the evidence presented to the grand jury. “The things they said go directly against the videos,” Piunti said.
Along with the motion to suppress evidence and dismiss his indictment, Piunti has filed multiple other motions and notices that Judge Edelman plans to review during the next hearing.
Parties are slated to reconvene on June 16.
