Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt
The trial for the man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie at Chautauqua Institution has been postponed.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said County Court Judge Dave Foley made the decision to postpone the trial for 26-year old Hadi Matar so that manuscripts related to a memoir about the August 2022 assault can be subpoenaed.
He said any written or recorded statements about the attack, made by any witness, is discoverable material under the statutes of New York State, “The defense has indicated a desire to get access to those records. We attempted to get access to them and we were denied access to the materials. So, the judge is giving the defense the opportunity to explore that option.”
Chautauqua County Public Defender Ned Barone, Matar’s attorney, first sought the delay during a pre-trial court appearance on Tuesday.
Schmidt expressed frustration about the delay, saying jury selection had been scheduled to begin Monday, January 8, “To have to restart that engine several months down the road is a waste of resources for the county. We’re a small office. We have a number of other homicides to deal with. Not that this is a homicide, but, nevertheless, it’s a very important case. It’s a serious violent felony.”
Hadi Matar
Matar remains in custody at the Chautauqua County Jail. He is charged with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault.
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