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Fultz attorney says he likely will seek to move retrial to Anchorage
- Mark Sabbatini
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
Extensive local public attention on sexual assault charges against former Juneau chiropractor means venue ‘is a massive issue,’ attorney says at court hearing Wednesday
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
The attorney for a former Juneau chiropractor accused of sexually assaulting about a dozen patients said Wednesday he likely will seek to have a retrial moved to Anchorage due to extensive public exposure of the case.
"This is a case that is very well discussed in the Juneau community," said Nicholas Ambrose, a state public defender representing former Juneau chiropractor Jeffrey Fultz, during a readiness hearing Wednesday at the Dimond Courthouse. "As the court knows it required an extra-long jury selection process the first time. There are all kinds of things going on right now that I think would support a motion like that."
Fultz is being retried on 13 charges involving alleged actions at a clinic between 2014 and 2020, including "nonconsensual sexual contact" of patients, after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on most of the charges against him in a trial that ended last September. Three other charges have been dismissed, with the jury acquitting him on two and Judge Larry Woolford subsequently dismissing the other, stating the alleged victim’s testimony didn’t meet the legal definition of the sexual assault charge.
The case has received extensive media coverage and the outcome of last year’s trial resulted in a bill being introduced by Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, to close what she calls a "loophole" in state law about the definition of sexual assault. Televised committee hearings on the bill have included testimony by some of Fultz’s accusers.
"The venue issue is a massive issue," Ambrose said Wednesday.
One of Fultz’s accusers who testified at the Alaska State Capitol about the bill, S’eiltin Jamiann Hasselquist — associated with the charges that ended in acquittal — said in an interview Wednesday she believes relocating the trial is unfair to the victims and unnecessary for Fultz to get a fair retrial.
"I think that there's a lot of people — a majority of people — in Juneau who have no idea about this case," she said.
Krystyn Tendy, a prosecutor in the case, didn’t take a stance on moving the trial during Wednesday’s hearing, but asked Woolford to set a deadline of two weeks from now to file a change of venue motion.
"That is a huge dynamic change in terms of what we have to coordinate," she said. "It could make it easier. It could make it harder."
Ambrose requested the next readiness hearing in the case occur three months from now, stating he is continuing to collect information after replacing Fultz’s previous attorneys six months ago. Ambrose said he believes some relevant information was presented at the first trial, time is needed to secure expert testimony and "the second trial will likely be longer" due to more extensive scrutiny of evidence.
Opposition to the three-month postponement was expressed by Tendy as well as Michael Schaffer, an attorney for the Alaska Office of Victims Rights. Both noted the legal proceedings in the case have dragged on for more than five years and said the ongoing delays are causing hardships for the alleged victims.
"This case should stay on a much tigher leash than the defense is asking for here," Schaffer said.
Prosecutors have stated they are seeking a near-term trial during the coming months. Ambrose has previously stated it might take until next year before he is ready for a retrial, but said during Wednesday’s hearing it’s possible three months from now he’ll be ready to go to trial.
Woolford said he doesn’t believe the retrial process is being dragged out to an unreasonable length so far, but set the next readiness hearing for May 13, stating he believes regular updates are warranted and a deadline may be set at that point for a change-of-venue motion.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
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