Attorneys for Adam Joseph Longoria have requested a new preliminary hearing if the state amends charges in his capital murder case.

A number of pre-trial issues will be resolved Thursday during a hearing set for 9 a.m. at the Barton County Courthouse.

Longoria was charged last year with capital murder and criminal sodomy in connection with the death of 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt on or about Aug. 21, 2010. He was also charged with vehicle burglary and theft. On June 30, Kansas Deputy Attorney General Victor Braden filed a motion to amend information, dropping the charge of criminal sodomy and adding a charge of indecent solicitation of a child. The reason for seeking a capital murder charge was changed from criminal sodomy to attempted rape.

Defense attorneys have replied with motions stating Longoria is entitled to a preliminary hearing on the new charge and amended information. Jeffrey Wicks from the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit wrote that the standards that might allow the charges to be amended in a non-capital case are higher in cases such as this. "The death penalty is profoundly different from all other penalties. ... Once the penalty is inflicted, it is irreversible."

The defense argues that allowing the prosecution to amend the information will impair Longoria’s constitutional rights. "Mr. Longoria, through his attorneys, conducted the preliminary hearing in a strategic manner based upon the then available information and the charges that were pending. The defense has conducted their investigation and filed motions based upon the pending charges and the defense strategy that has been developed for those charges."

Attorneys have already asked for another pre-trial hearing in October or November as well, as motions continue to be filed. The prosecution has given notice that after Thursday’s hearing it intends to file motions for a pre-trial ruling on the admissibility of Longoria’s statements to the media, his statements to a "civilian witness," and statements in a letter he wrote from jail.