She faces 44 counts of second-degree assault, which resulted in dozens of injuries and some deaths, authorities allege; next court date set for August; district attorney and judge both expect a future trial to run six to eight weeks

Former Asante nurse Dani Marie Schofield, accused of diverting high-powered drugs from patients for non-sterile tapwater resulting in dozens of injuries and some deaths at Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, appeared Wednesday for a pretrial conference before Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jeremy Markiewicz.

In her first court appearance since her arrest and subsequent arraignment in June 2024, Schofield, 37, appeared with four members of her legal counsel to discuss a timeline for what all parties involved anticipate will be a six- to eight-week criminal trial likely occurring by mid-2026.

Schofield’s pretrial hearing on Wednesday was held in a smaller courtroom with no other cases taking place at the same time. The courtroom was filled with two dozen audience members comprising media, some attorneys representing alleged victims pursuing civil cases against Schofield and four individuals who escorted Schofield in.

Schofield, who appeared in a light blue pullover shirt and slacks and looking stoic, entered the courtroom promptly at 11 a.m. and immediately took a seat alongside the members of her legal team. Proceedings took less than 10 minutes, during which Schofield did not speak or look around.

Schofield left her job at the Medford hospital in July 2023, six months before Medford police confirmed an investigation Dec. 31, 2023, into alleged theft of controlled substances.

Following a more than seven-month investigation, which Jackson County District Attorney Patrick Green noted in a previous interview with the Rogue Valley Times was the “biggest case” ever handled by his office, Schofield was arrested last June and indicted by the Jackson County Grand Jury on 44 second-degree assault charges under Measure 11.

During her June 2024 arraignment, an emotional Schofield expressed frustration to Circuit Court Judge Laura Cromwell that she had not been given important medication or her contact lenses.

Schofield, who pleaded not guilty to the 44 criminal counts, has been free — with pretrial monitoring in place — since posting $400,000 toward a $4 million bail set following her arrest.

Green and attorneys for Schofield told Markiewicz Wednesday that they had been negotiating a timeline for the high-profile case.

Schofield’s attorneys sought a longer continuance, until late August or early September, while Green pressed for a shorter timeline — by July — and said more frequent check-ins on the case status were warranted.

Green said he anticipated the trial, which Markiewicz said could start by late spring or early summer 2026, could take up to eight weeks. Markiewicz agreed.

If Schofield’s criminal trial begins by mid-2026, proceedings will begin a full three years after she left her job at the hospital, which at the time was grappling with a spike in infections in the ICU.

Wednesday’s pretrial hearing — a follow-up pretrial hearing was set for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 25 — had been delayed five times.

Green told Markiewicz he did not think the number of continuances “have been unreasonable” but that he did “believe that frequent in-court check ins, going forward,” would be important “to make sure the case continues to track in a timely manner.”

Green said definitive movement in the case would also “provide a little bit more transparency to the victims and victims’ families that are eagerly waiting for this case to be concluded.”

As to the timeline, Schofield’s attorney Kristen L. Winemiller told the court that the defense would not have “a significant progress report to make in July” due to a focus on another high-profile case, she said, involving a former Portland Trail Blazer.

Winemiller and Lisa Maxfield, another member of Schofield’s defense, are representing former NBA player Ben McLemore, who is set for trial in mid-June on charges of first-degree rape and other sex crimes that allegedly occurred in 2021.

Winemiller said a two-week trial for that case, set for Clackamas County Circuit Court, would be “a pretty intensive undertaking,” preventing “time to touch base with experts” in Schofield’s case.

Following Wednesday’s pretrial hearing, Green acknowledged that the community at large had “been impacted by the case” and sympathized with victims’ frustration over delays. 

“We do want to see things move forward as quickly as possible, just as the victims want, but we also have to make sure we do it right so that we only have to do it once,” he told the Times in an interview.

“Unfortunately it’s not like the TV shows where, like on SVU, where they make the arrest and then, the next week, they’re in trial.”

Schofield, who lives on Rogue River Drive in Eagle Point, faces 11 civil lawsuits representing dozens of former patients at the Asante-run hospital and, in other cases, family members of patients who are no longer alive.

In total, the civil cases add up to more than $500 million, all naming Schofield as a defendant along with Asante except for two cases.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Bloom issued a stay on evidence gathering for civil cases pending resolution of the criminal trial.

“I understand the frustration for the victims. … and I know that it can feel like justice is being delayed, or the can is being kicked down the road, but I do promise that we are working towards getting justice in this case,” Green added in the interview Wednesday.

“It’s just a process that has to play out and we’ve got to do it right.”

Hospital officials have repeatedly declined to comment to local media. Schofield did not offer a comment following Wednesday’s court appearance. When court was recessed, Schofield was escorted down a stairwell and exited a back entrance of the courthouse to avoid media gathering on the courthouse lawn along Oakdale Avenue.