Capital‑murder defendant Lively Stratton Jr. gets counsel and case reset to December

The court confirmed that Attorney Radford has been appointed to represent Lively Stratton Jr. in cause number 1933601, a capital‑murder case, and scheduled a return appearance in December to assess progress on discovery and resolve whether a trial date is needed next year.

Why it matters: Capital‑murder cases require extended defense preparation and may involve substantial audio, video and trial evidence. The court’s reset gives newly appointed counsel time to reconstruct case materials and discuss potential resolution or plan for trial.

Attorney Radford told the court he had obtained a transcript and some paper discovery and had met with Stratton, but that a large trial docket and the need to reassemble evidence across several record sources would require time. Radford said he and the appointed team would "begin going through that and recreating the file." The judge granted a scheduling reset and asked parties to return in December to report whether the case will proceed to trial and to set a special trial date if necessary.

Court action: Appointment of counsel was confirmed and the court ordered a status reset to December (approximately 70–75 days) to allow defense counsel to get up to speed and to let the court set a special trial docket if the case proceeds to trial.

No trial schedule was set at this hearing; the court instructed counsel to notify the clerk once they had reviewed evidence and to be prepared to schedule a trial date if no resolution is forthcoming.