Michael A. Hormell

A jury trial for a Lawrence man accused in a shooting case has been continued again, and what comes next is at the discretion of the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Michael A. Hormell, 20, is charged in connection with a Jan. 26, 2018, shooting that injured a teen at Lawrence’s Parnell Park, 901 E. 15th St.

Shaye Downing, Hormell’s appointed defense attorney, has filed a writ of habeas corpus with the Kansas Court of Appeals, according to Dorothy Kliem, trial assistant for the Douglas County district attorney’s office.

The next step in the case will be determined by the directive from that court, Kliem said via email.

A writ of habeas corpus, in general, asks that a person be brought before the court and that the state justify the person’s detention. Documentation in this case was not immediately available to the Journal-World Monday.

Hormell has been in the custody of the Douglas County Jail for about 22 months with multiple legal matters pending.

A judge declared a mistrial in the case in October after the jury panel was sworn before objections could be raised, the Journal-World reported.

On Nov. 22, Judge Amy Hanley denied a motion that Downing had filed to dismiss the case for speedy trial violations and other reasons, Cheryl Wright Kunard, assistant to the DA, said via email that day. Potential jurors were summoned Monday morning, but they were dismissed within the hour.

Police allege that Hormell and a co-defendant set up a drug buy with the teen victim with the intent to rob him. When the teen fought back, he was shot. The teen was flown to an area hospital in critical condition and later stabilized, the Journal-World has reported.

In motions she has filed in the case, however, Downing has referred to the incident as an “accident.”

Hormell’s next hearing is currently set for March 11, court records show, with a jury trial to follow March 23.