The prosecution and defense in the trial of a Marion County man charged with his mother’s murder have each offered their take on how to present key evidence to a jury, in advance of the trial next month.

The court on Thursday heard arguments on elements of the case involving Jason Carter; he’s charged with the June 2015 shooting death of his mother Shirley, and decisions on how to put a variety of evidence and testimony before a jury are being made before the case moves to a different venue, in Council Bluffs.

One matter involves the introduction of a text conversation between Carter and a woman he was in a relationship with; the defense led by attorney Christine Branstad says bringing up an extramarital affair is prejudicial, but Marion County Attorney Ed Bull says it’s meant to establish the timeline of events that day…because the conversation was interrupted around the time the shooting of Shirley Carter took place.

Another involves the state of Carter’s finances; he had purchased farming equipment as well as personal vehicles and a trip to New Zealand, while facing a heavy debt load on his farm.

The defense plans to make clear farmers routinely go into debt in anticipation of selling their crops at harvest; the state concedes this, and means to introduce the notion Carter may have been under financial pressure, eliminating his mother so he could work with his father’s farming operation.

The defense has subpoenaed nearly 100 witnesses, and depositions are continuing in advance of the trial; some may have to be done while the trial is in progress. Branstad wants the jury to know there were other leads and suspects which investigators did not follow up on.

Bull wants to ensure all of these witnesses are essential to the defense case, and argues the defense is essentially trying to offer a plethora of other possible suspects. Both sides have had trouble locating the persons being subpoenaed.

The court has given both sides time to file additional motions; the defense has until Monday morning, while the state has until next Wednesday morning.

The defense also filed a motion to dismiss on Thursday morning, which will be addressed at a pre-trial conference next Friday.