Sidney Moorer pretrial hearing - 13 June 2016

[Madeleine74]

Yes, I know full well what motions are and what the meaning of 'quash' is and I also know what motions were introduced in this case. I've attended motion hearings in my state before (murder trial). And as I've seen happen before, this hearing didn't last very long, and as I've also seen happen before, the judge did not make an immediate decision.

 

[TTF14]

No, we were supposed to hear pre-trial issues on the following motions we only heard on the "quash" and that won't get a ruling for another day or two. Trial starts Monday, June 20th:

Motion: SM prohibit “the introduction of certain evidence,” including staged photographs of the Ms posing with a firearm while on vacation; statements made by TM, in any form, to or about Heather Elvis or the Elvis family; all communication between SM and TM; all photographs explicit in nature obtained from the Ms; and other prejudicial and non-probative evidence.

Motion: attempting to “quash,” which means to annul or void, the obstruction of justice charge, and an additional motion was submitted seeking to prohibit the charges of kidnapping and obstruction of justice from being tried together.

Motion: SM wants to throw out “any evidence of hearsay statements purported to have been made by Heather Elvis,” including the testimony of Elvis’ former roommate, BW. On Dec. 18, 2013, the day Elvis was last heard from, SM spoke to Elvis from a payphone at Mr. Joe White Avenue in Myrtle Beach for more than four minutes.

Motion: The defense also goes after the Horry County police and former Elvis case prosecutor Donna Elder in a court document that is labeled as a response to state plea negotiations. The document states an offer made to Sidney Moorer should be admissible, and goes on to state: “In particular, it would be admissible to show a true picture of the conduct, bias, and immensely inadequate investigation and handling of this case by law enforcement and prosecutor at the time, Donna Elder.”

So why weren't these heard?

 

[yupikgirl]

This is all I could find:


All other pre-trial motions that were filed in April were not discussed, because they will be brought up in trial, Moorer’s attorney said.

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/32207...-separately-at-pre-trial-hearing?sf28573823=1


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[lstiff]

WTH!!! Come on already!! Let's get this ball rolling.
I am so glad there is no "gag order" once this trial starts. *eye roll, sigh, feet stomp* If we are feeling this way, I can't imagine how the Elvis family is feeling.

Where is Heather?

 

[magnolia]

JMO, but with the gag order in place, and now the judge reviewing the case behind closed doors - he will be able to render his decision without revealing anything about the case. Total lack of transparency here :gaah:

They are going to do everything within their power to keep as much from the public as possible. Yes, it sucks !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Surfside]

Thanks for all of the updates, everybody. My stupid life keeps getting in the way. Don't know what I would do without y'all, so I just wanted to say :tyou:

 

[JerseyGirl]

"It’s just two separate charges with two separate fact patterns, two separate lists to do each one of them," Truslow told the judge. "We don’t want to be in the position where we try to charges in the same case."

Martin Spratlin, assistant solicitor, said the charges should be tried together because they are both related to the disappearance of Elvis on Dec. 18, 2013. Detectives interviewed Moorer the night Elvis went missing, therefore it’s all connected, Spratlin said. "The kidnapping and the obstruction of justice charge are interconnected," he said.

__

Truslow filed documents in April to prohibit certain evidence, hold separate trials on Moorer’s remaining charges and suppress testimony by Elvis’ former roommate during the trial scheduled to start June 20. Only two motions were argued in the courtroom Monday morning, but the prosecution and defense met in the judge’s chambers for about 40 minutes before the pretrial.

___

Both the prosecution and defense agreed to allow two statements Moorer made to detectives during the investigation at the trial. Moorer’s obstruction of justice charge stems from those statements, which allege that Moorer initially told detectives that he did not use a pay phone after Elvis’ disappearance. He then changed his statements and told police he did use the pay phone, Spratlin said.

Truslow agreed to allow the statements, but said Moorer almost immediately "corrected" himself to the detectives.

"If he corrected himself within a minute, how far it goes to obstruct justice I don’t know," Truslow said.


Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/crime/article83466557.html#storylink=cpy

 

[ZooSleuth]

Thanks for the updates guys!

Just a thought about the judge going behind closed doors for part of the hearing. Might this have been because they were discussing evidence that included things like the nude photos? The nude photos sent to Heather from TM have only been rumor to this point AFAIK. So maybe discussions regarding unleaked evidence were done in private because if the judge were to to discuss them in public it would potentially taint the jury pool by leaking evidence that may be excluded in trial? Makes sense in my head at least lol

 

[JerseyGirl]

Moorer’s attorney, Kirk Truslow, asked Dennis to sever those two charges because the cases (kidnapping and obstruction of justice) were two separate events. At issue in the case are statements made by Moorer in initial interviews with Detective Kenneth Canterbury. According to Truslow, Moorer replied to investigators that he had not made a pay phone call after Heather Elvis’ disappearance, but within a few minutes changed his answer and said he did make a call.

But according to Martin Spratlin of the Horry County Solicitor’s Office, Moorer changed his statement much later.

Furthermore, Spratlin said, the false statement given by Moorer was on December 20, 2013, which was only two days after Elvis’ disappearance, meaning that in his opinion the obstruction of justice charges are part of the same “chain of circumstances” as the kidnapping charges.

“The kidnapping and obstruction of justice charges are connected,” Spratlin told the court.

__

Truslow also withdrew numerous motions that he had considered making. “A lot of the motions we filed will probably be better argued as they come up during the trial,” Truslow said. “There’s so much stuff in this case, from phones and everything else, it’s hard to determine what we’re talking about. “I can’t object to 80,000 things, so I need to see what is going to be used and then take them as they come rather than try to predict,” he concluded.

http://www.myhorrynews.com/news/crime/article_19263e62-3189-11e6-824f-3be86c3f6071.html

 

[Wagara]

Here's Video.. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1194453200599596&id=724058540972400

 

[TTF14]

Truslow also withdrew numerous motions that he had considered making. “A lot of the motions we filed will probably be better argued as they come up during the trial,” Truslow said. “There’s so much stuff in this case, from phones and everything else, it’s hard to determine what we’re talking about. “I can’t object to 80,000 things, so I need to see what is going to be used and then take them as they come rather than try to predict,” he concluded.



http://www.myhorrynews.com/news/crime/article_19263e62-3189-11e6-824f-3be86c3f6071.html

Bolded and snipped by me.

If I was on trial for kidnapping, I'm not sure I'd be encouraged that my defense attorney basically just acknowledged the mounds of evidence.

I predict the objections in this trial are going to be out of control

 

[ZooSleuth]

Bolded and snipped by me.

If I was on trial for kidnapping, I'm not sure I'd be encouraged that my defense attorney basically just acknowledged the mounds of evidence.

I predict the objections in this trial are going to be out of control

No kidding! Also wouldn't be encouraged that he didn't try to get everything thrown out before the trial. All the objections will likely annoy the jury and make them think they're trying to hide all this stuff because it makes the defendant look bad/guilty.

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