judge removes – A Spokane County Superior Court judge removed two public defenders from Cynthia L. Khaleel’s first-degree aggravated murder case after written criticism tied to repeated continuance requests, last-minute motions to withdraw, and defense attorneys going on leav
The courtroom had been preparing for the first-degree murder trial of Cynthia L. Khaleel, 39. Then, at the last minute, the defense team fractured.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn High-Edward removed two public defenders—Stephanie Cady and Lindsey Wheat—from Khaleel’s case. calling their conduct “evasive. obstructionist. litigious. and contemptuous” and saying their removal “ends one of the most shocking campaigns to frustrate the justice system seen by this Court.” High-Edward acknowledged the decision would “significantly delay” Khaleel’s trial. but said the court had “no option” after Khaleel asked for new counsel.
Khaleel is accused of killing Justin Daniel, 40, after he called police on April 13, 2024. Investigators say Daniel reported that Khaleel had come to his home in violation of a no-contact order. At the time. the former couple was in a legal dispute over their 3-year-old daughter. and a month earlier Daniel had been granted full custody.
When deputies arrived at Daniel’s home in April 2024, they found him dead. Prosecutors said he suffered 48 stabbing wounds and three gunshot wounds.
High-Edward’s written order pinned the latest disruption on the defense’s handling of the case as it approached trial dates. The judge criticized Cady and Wheat—both working for Spokane County’s Counsel for Defense—for choosing to take time off through the Family and Medical Leave Act days before the start of the first-degree murder trial.
According to the order, Cady and Wheat took leave around the time the trial was set to begin. High-Edward wrote that Cady went on leave on March 29 when the trial had been set to start on May 4. Wheat later went on paid leave “with no notice to Ms. Khaleel. ” the judge wrote. and sought more time before going on leave herself before May 18. which was the latest date the trial had been set to begin.
The judge said Khaleel appeared “stunned, confused, and terrified” when the situation unfolded. High-Edward wrote that Khaleel felt she “had no choice but to request new counsel because she had no idea what was happening.”
The order also described what the court viewed as a pattern of delay moves during a case that has been delayed more than 10 times. High-Edward wrote that, over the past four weeks, defense counsel filed four motions to continue and two motions to withdraw. She added that “both motions were filed on the morning trial was set to start.”.
When the judge denied those motions, Wheat then left on paid leave “with no notice to Ms. Khaleel,” High-Edward continued.
High-Edward’s language went further than procedural frustration. She wrote that the court now explicitly finds Cady’s and Wheat’s behavior had been “evasive. obstructionist. litigious. and contemptuous since March 27. 2026.” The judge also found that the attorneys had “purposefully made delay requests that had no basis in fact or law.”.
For Khaleel, the criminal exposure is severe. She was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated murder, a charge that means she faces the potential of life in prison without possibility of parole.
The defense dispute described in the order sits against a previous case involving Khaleel’s past violence allegations. In 2018, Khaleel was exonerated by a jury for a different killing. Prosecutors at that time claimed Khaleel fractured the skull of her 5-year-old adoptive nephew, Gary Blanton III, in 2015. The jury found her not guilty.
In the current case, the judge’s written order said removing Cady and Wheat will further delay resolution, but that the court was required to grant Khaleel’s request for new counsel because of the attorneys’ conduct.
Not everyone agreed on what caused the case to reach this point.
Victoria Blumhorst. who directs Spokane County’s Counsel for Defense. said the situation was unfortunate and criticized the court’s approach. “It is disheartening when prosecutors and judges with no criminal defense experience believe they can dictate when a defense attorney is or should be ready to proceed to trial especially in cases which with such high stakes as this. ” she said.
Julie Humphreys, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, said prosecutors rarely discuss pending cases. She added that the judge’s ruling changes what comes next. “The judge’s ruling ‘means we can now set a realistic trial date and move forward,’” Humphreys said.
High-Edward’s order makes clear that the next steps for the court will hinge on replacing the removed attorneys, even as the delay stretches further—at a time when Khaleel’s trial has already been postponed more than 10 times.
Spokane County Khaleel Cynthia L. Khaleel Justin Daniel first-degree aggravated murder Jacquelyn High-Edward Stephanie Cady Lindsey Wheat Counsel for Defense Family and Medical Leave Act trial delayed