Overview
- A Montgomery County judge postponed a Thursday ruling and set a new hearing for Aug. 20 to decide whether Catherine Hoggle can use Maryland’s Not Criminally Responsible defense.
- Prosecutors said Hoggle’s defense filed dozens of documents hours before the scheduled hearing and asked for time to review the late filings, prompting the two-week delay.
- Hoggle was found incompetent to stand trial for years but was ruled competent in 2025 and was re‑indicted that year; a jury trial remains set to begin Oct. 19.
- Her public defenders say psychiatric records from the county Public Health Department are central to the insanity claim and that gathering those long‑running records has taken time.
- The children’s father voiced deep frustration with repeated postponements, and the judge warned that staffing and resource gaps in the State’s Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, and Public Health Department could create constitutional timing problems for the prosecution.