DANBURY - A hearing on a former Newtown Middle School teacher's request for special probation in his felony court case stemming from his illegal possession of a loaded handgun at the school on April 6 has been delayed in Danbury Superior Court.

In court on Tuesday, August 16, Judge Dan Shaban continued the case of Jason M. Adams, 46, of Newtown, to September 15. Mr Adams, who resigned his position as an eighth-grade science teacher at the middle school on June 30, is seeking "accelerated rehabilitation."

Accelerated rehabilitation is a special form of pretrial probation. In that diversionary program, the defendant does not enter a plea to the charge. If the defendant stays out of trouble with the law for a period of up to two years, as specified by a judge, and other specific conditions are met, the criminal charge is then dismissed.

Attorney John Maxwell, representing Mr Adams, told Judge Shaban that, as required, he had informed Newtown School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, of the August 16 court hearing, in asking whether the public school system, which is the "victim" in the court case, has any comments on the requested probation. Mr Maxwell said he did not receive a reply from the superintendent.

Judge Shaban then formally asked if there was any representative of the school system present in Courtroom 2. No one responded, and the judge then noted that there was no response.

In reviewing the case file, which is sealed from public view, court officials realized that no criminal background check had been performed on Mr Adams by state police. Such a background check is a required component of a request for accelerated rehabilitation. Consequently, that criminal background check on Mr Adams is now being sought by Mr Maxwell, resulting in the case's continuance.

After the court proceeding, Mr Maxwell declined to comment on the specifics of Mr Adams' request for the probationary program.

Mr Adams is charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, a Class D felony. On April 22, a pro forma plea of not guilty had been entered in court on behalf of Mr Adams.

After his arrest, Mr Adams was placed on paid administrative leave by school officials. He had been facing an administrative investigation by the school system. Mr Adams had worked for the school system for about a decade and reportedly was a popular teacher. In his letter of resignation from the school system, Mr Adams did not provide a reason for leaving his job.

The December 14, 2012, shooting incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which 20 first-graders and six educators were killed by a rampaging gunman, has heightened local sensitivity about the issue of guns in schools.

Mr Adams had a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol loaded with eight rounds of ammunition while inside the school on April 6, according to police. At the time of the incident, Mr Adams held a valid state pistol permit, according to police. Mr Adams' possession of a gun was discovered when he happened to bend over and his blazer rose, revealing to two school employees that he had a gun holster attached to the back of his belt. Those employees then notified school security staff of the matter, according to police.

School policy forbids the possession of a firearm on school property.

Following the incident, the school system issued a statement. It read, "This matter is very serious and troubling. Both the Newtown public school system and the Newtown Police Department took immediate steps to address the matter." Besides school policy, the gun possession violated state law.

The school has armed personnel authorized to possess firearms in the course of their work, such as the police school resource officer and school security officers, but Mr Adams was not authorized to have a firearm while in the school, resulting in the criminal charge.