Mohamed Noor, a police officer fired from Minneapolis, is expected to be tried in April for murder and manslaughter for shooting Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

In a brief court appearance – the second since he was charged – Hennepin District Judge Kathryn Quaintance has set April 1, 2019 as the date of the trial, while denying some of the defense's motions. She said there was enough evidence to bring Noor to justice for the death of the 40-year-old Australian woman in July 2017.

"What was in the defendant's mind at the time of the incident can only be inferred at this stage," Quaintance told the court as he read his order. "There is, however, sufficient evidence from which the state could claim that Mr. Noor fired without knowing what or who was out of the police vehicle."

Defense lawyer Thomas Plunkett declined to comment Thursday's hearing, and a spokesman for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a message.

Noor, who was fired from the ministry in March, did not plead guilty to third degree murder and manslaughter, but his lawyers said he would plead not guilty by self-defense. He remains free on bail.

The police union has appealed his dismissal, but his grievance is pending pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

The defense argued in favor of his dismissal on the grounds that the media interest in the case could undermine Noor's right to a fair trial. The defense also argued that Mike Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, said last winter had reached the level of malpractice and could harm potential jurors.

But while Quaintance described Freeman's statement that there was no evidence in the "misguided" case, she wrote in a separate order "that there is no indication that it may adversely affect the defendant's right". to a fair trial ".

Prosecutors argued that the shooting was the product of a "depraved mind, regardless of human life," publishing excerpts from Noor's training and psychological records, which they said demonstrated his inability to be an officer.

The defense stated that the results of the psychological tests alone gave an incomplete picture of Noor, describing the disclosure of these records as intentionally "misleading". Noor's lawyers argued that the ex-officer had fired in response to a perceived threat, after Damond had knocked on the back of his police vehicle, surprising him and his partner, Matthew Harrity.

In denying their request for the annulment of psychological records, Quaintance argued that, even if the psychiatrist who interviewed Noor had a medical history, no doctor-patient privilege precludes their release, since the records were obtained during the pre-trial screening. employment. It further considered that there was no legal precedent for sealing the cases, as requested by the defense.

Noor is the first police officer to have been accused in the past of murder for a service murder.

Damond, whose last name was Ruszczyk, but who had gone to Justine Damond's house professionally, had called 911 to report a possible rape in the alley behind her home south of Minneapolis in July 2017., with Noor over her partner, who was driving.

Noor arrived at court Thursday with a dark-colored suit, crossing a fray of photographers and journalists who followed him until he passed the security. He did not say anything during the 10-minute hearing. Afterwards, he shook hands with several supporters who sat behind him in court.

Last week, Quaintance rejected a request from an Australian broadcaster to allow the cameras to broadcast the hearing, after lawyers from both sides objected.

Prosecutors argued that Noor's actions that night reflected a behavior that dated back to his hiring in early 2015, when a psychological examination revealed "a level of disaffiliation that may be inconsistent with public safety requirements." ". They said that red flags had also been raised during Noor's training.

Prosecutors sought to seal the records, arguing that, since they were collected during an investigation conducted by the state's Office of Criminal Apprehension, they should be considered "data." of investigation "closed. Quaintance agreed, but did not rule on a follow-up filing by Noor's lawyers asking that if the judge allowed those recordings, she would make them available to the public.

Noor is also the subject of two ongoing lawsuits in federal court. Damond's father started a $ 50 million trial last month accusing Noor and Harrity of plotting to cover up the evidence of the shooting by not turning on their cameras and then hiding behind a blue wall.

A status conference is scheduled for Oct. 17 in another lawsuit, filed a few weeks before Damond's murder by a south Minneapolis woman who accused Noor and two other police officers of illegally abducting her from her home. .

The Damond trial lawyers have filed motions to delay the proceedings until the end of the criminal trial, but the judge in this case has yet to rule.

A spokesman for the police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.