Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Jerome Nadler on Monday
denied a request that Maurice Nasmeh be allowed to appear at a
preliminary hearing in regular street clothing.
A prominent local architect, Nasmeh, 41, is accused of killing
Jeanine Harms, a 42-year-old Los Gatos woman who disappeared July 27
2001, after a late-night date with Nasmeh.
The preliminary hearing was scheduled to begin on Monday but was
delayed until 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning due to problems lining up
witnesses. The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether or not
there is enough evidence to send Nasmeh to trial.
Harms' body has not been recovered. However, authorities
allegedly connected Nasmeh to her disappearance through yarn fibers
from a craft project that were found in the cargo area of his sport
utility vehicle.
Nasmeh was arrested on Dec. 16 and has been held without
bail.
William Welch, an attorney for Nasmeh argued that
court-proceedings in the case -- one of the most high-profile
missing persons cases in the South Bay in years -- would be sure to
generate extensive media coverage and that Nasmeh's appearance in
jail garb could taint the jury pool.
Nadler said he had never granted such a request in four years on
the bench and ordered Nasmeh to appear in regular prison garb.
INTERACTIVE
