It's the second time the trial of Denni R. Starr has been delayed at the request of the state Office of Public Advocacy.

"This is unacceptable," Juneau Superior Court Judge Larry Weeks said Monday, in moving the April trial to Sept. 20 because of a change in attorneys appointed to the case.

Starr, 22, is accused of fatally stabbing George on July 26 at the home they shared.

She was scheduled to stand trial on a second-degree murder charge April 5 in Angoon, a community of about 500 on the southwest coast of Admiralty Island.

Starr was released from the Lemon Creek Correctional Center last fall on $10,000 bond. Her conditions of release require supervision by a cousin and grandmother living in the Mendenhall Valley, according to court records.

Attorney Steven Wells appeared on Starr's behalf Monday for the first time, via telephone from his Palmer office.

He said he was appointed late Wednesday by the state Office of Public Advocacy and had not yet seen his client's file.

The OPA handles defendants in criminal cases who need court-appointed counsel but have conflicts with the Public Defender's Office.

Weeks said he wouldn't tolerate another delay, even if it means appointing a private attorney and billing OPA.

No motions had been filed in the case since November, when Weeks rescheduled the trial from Dec. 1 at the request of Starr's previous OPA attorney, Darrel Gardner.

The Juneau Empire