The defense attorney for a former Juneau chiropractor accused of assaulting more than a dozen women said he wants a retrial to take place in Anchorage instead of Juneau. At least one the defendant’s accusers doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
It’s been nearly five years since Juneau chiropractor Jeffrey Fultz was arrested. Fourteen former patients accused him of sexual assault under the guise of medical care. They say the incidents took place during medical appointments between 2014 and 2020 while he was employed by Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Juneau.
The case went to trial last August and ended with two acquittals and 14 charges declared mistrials. The judge dismissed another charge after the trial ended. Although Fultz wasn’t found guilty, the remaining 13 charges are still active.
The court assigned Fultz a public defender in October, Juneau’s Nico Ambrose. Private attorney James Christie represented Fultz for the last two years, and through the trial this summer. Ambrose is Fultz’s third defense attorney since his 2021 arrest.
During a hearing on April 15, Ambrose said he would file a motion to have the retrial in Anchorage instead of Juneau.
“I know for a fact that this is a case that is very well discussed in the Juneau community,” he said. “As the court recalls, it required an extraordinarily long jury selection the first time.”
Ambrose acknowledged that normally, a motion like this would not be granted until jury selection starts. But he pointed out that this case is unusual since it has already gone through jury selection and trial once before.
State Prosecutor Krystyn Tendy said during the hearing she would like Ambrose to file that motion sooner, rather than later, so her team can prepare.
“If he believes there’s enough based on what he has right now, and the court agrees with that, that is a huge dynamic change,” she said during the hearing.
Tendy later told KTOO she would respond to Ambrose’s motion once it has been filed.
As of Thursday afternoon, Ambrose had not filed a change of venue motion. In response to KTOO’s request for an interview, he said he had no comment at this time.
During the hearing, Ambrose said he expected he would still need more time to prepare this case to go to trial. He was assigned the case six months ago.
“This isn’t a situation where I’m coming in four years into the case that I’ve had for four years and saying, ‘we kind of indefinitely want to put this off,’” Ambrose said. “This is a situation where I’m saying, ‘realistically, I am not ready for trial right now.’”
Christina Love is one of the women accusing Fultz of sexual assault under the guise of medical care. She told KTOO that moving the case to Anchorage would negatively impact her and other women involved in the trial.
“We’d be asked to carry an even bigger burden than we’ve already carried for far too long,” she said. “The change of venue would additionally cause harm to the people who’ve already endured more than enough.”
Love said that a change of venue would also limit testifiers’ ability to access their support networks during a trial.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Juneau’s Dimond Court House.
