Slight delay in Morning Star Boy’s Ranch trial

The first of numerous lawsuits alleging abuse of a former resident of Morning Star Boys Ranch was delayed today while the Spokane County Superior Court judge assigned to hear it reviews pretrial motions in the case, Kevin Graman reports.

Trial of the civil case, brought by Kenneth Putnam, will begin Tuesday in Judge Kathleen O’Connor’s courtroom.

Putnam (pictured above in 2005) is one of 19 former residents accusing the ranch of allowing physical and sexual abuse by ranch employees. It is expected that O’Connor will rule on several motions this week, as well as begin to seat a jury in the case.

“The history of Morning Star is going to be presented in this trial,” as generations of abuse victims “finally get their day in court,” Timothy Kosnoff, the attorney whose Seattle firm is representing Putnam and 14 other plaintiffs, said in an article you can read here.