April to be set as Matthew Durham trial date

The pending criminal charges against a suspended Oconee County Councilman appear headed for a jury in the spring of next year.  Judge McIntosh told the attorney for Matthew Durham that he will direct that a week in April will be designated as trial week for Durham—who faces domestic violence and neglect of child offenses.  And that’s despite Durham attorney Keith Denny telling the judge today that his client and his wife have reconciled, and she will not testify against her husband. The defense had pushed for a speedy trial; however, the judge complied with the wishes of Heather Savitz Weiss, prosecutor representing the Attorney’s General Office.  Weiss says she needs time in the next set of months to prepare for a death penalty case, to which she has been assigned.  That case is likely to start during January-February, and McIntosh said that timeline makes impossible for the Durham case to proceed prior. Defense lawyer Denny also announced that the charge of neglect is especially concerning to the defense side because as long as it remains pending, Durham may not return to his job as a nuclear plant control operator and that he is sole breadwinner for his family.