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This situation raises issues of "juror unanimity" and "verdict specificity" i.e. whether jurors can issue guilty verdicts without having to agree on the same acts by the defendant. In Shad v. Arizona, a plurality of the United States Supreme court examined a case where the defendant had been...

I respectfully disagree, in part because the SHAPE of the stain has probative value - not just what it was made of. Kind of like the shadows of the vaporized Hiroshima victims. Plus, I recall one of the talking head experts explaining how the most likely source of the stain was micro-organisms...

Way back when I was doing OJ Simpson murder trial legal analysis/commentary for a radio station, I read F. Lee Bailey's books for background context. He described using a variety of distractions when critical witnesses for the opposing party were testifying. For example, he would stick a...

I would let in the bare results of the generally accepted gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry i.e. the presence/absence of chloroform and other substances. I would not let in the decomp database match analysis. I realize that wikipedia is not a controlling authority but I note that...

I expect the Warden may receive letters from concerned citizens asking why the prison isn't doing a better job of keeping its inmates in line, and is letting them file frivolous pleadings, commit abuse of process, attempt to interfere with the orderly operations of the courts, obstruct justice...

<respectfully snipped> That is my recollection, too. To the extent hairs were found in Casey's car that did NOT show any signs of decomp banding, those hairs prove nothing. As I have previously posted, I frequently used the soft, carpeted surface of my car trunk as a convenient place to...

Maybe. I'm thinking the judge might question the jurors concerning any prejudicial effect on them and might go with strong jury admonitions to disregard the outburst. Also, I don't really see how Casey would benefit from George or Cindy causing a mistrial. Casey would remain in jail...

<respectfully snipped> George has a history of mental instability and (possible) attempted suicide. Cindy has claimed that she too considered suicide. It is conceivable albeit unlikely that these two drama queens might kill themselves - or maybe a murder/suicide - to defy the subpoenas in a...

I personally cannot understand why Baez does many of the things he does. I daresay most attorneys cannot. As far as this specific question to GA, IMO it belongs in the same "really bad question" category as Baez' question to the other (temporary) defense lawyer which could have waived...

I cannot think of anything George or Cindy could scream out that would cause a mistrial. Anything they did - short of attacking and critically wounding one of the prosecutors or defense attorneys or the Judge or Casey - could probably be cured by an admonition to the jury. If they do...

I suppose a motion for reconsideration could be based on a judge's misunderstanding of an important material fact - for example, whether someone was an adult or a minor when the incident occurred as opposed to their current age - and thus it would be proper to point out the correct fact which...

<respectfully snipped> A motion for reconsideration is not supposed to be merely a request for the judge to "reconsider" his prior decision and decide in favor of the previously-losing side. It is supposed to present something new which should be taken into consideration but which was not...

I have previously shared my personal view that some clients seem to select attorneys who share personality characteristics, kind of like some dog owners physically resemble their dogs. I think Casey LOVES seeing/hearing about her attorneys behaving rudely and belligerently, trying to manipulate...

<respectfully snipped> It may be fair to say there is no MEDICAL evidence proving the manner of Caylee's death due to the advanced decomposition/skeletonization of Caylee's remains by the time they were finally located. However, there is plentiful CIRCUMSTANTIAL evidence proving that...

That is a mystery to me although I freely admit that many of the defense team's strategic decisions have been a mystery to me. I would have thought that if a strange female's DNA were found on Caylee then Casey could claim that THAT STRANGE FEMALE WAS ZANNY THE NANNY!!! Katprint Always only...

Finding Casey's DNA on Caylee's clothing or remains would not prove anything. Most parents hug, kiss, bathe, dress, carry and otherwise touch their child during the normal activities of caring for their child thus the child and their clothing could have their parents' DNA on them. Similarly...

I don't really know what HHJP was getting at. Perhaps he was referring to the portion of the opinion referring to the "harmlessness" of an improper statement being admitted which was merely duplicative of what the jury already knew from other proper statements/evidence. In other words, if...

After seeing my boss having trouble with an expert witness who chose to take a 3-week European vacation instead of making himself available for trial (kind of like Dr. Lee's trip to China during the Spector trial), I have always made sure that I subpoena my own expert witnesses. I do it in a...

I presume you also meant to say "and when the father is unknown / does not know he is the father / is otherwise missing from the picture." Because of course Caylee's father would be her heir, before Caylee's grandparents. I'm kind of hoping that Caylee's father does step up at some point, and...

IMO the "public safety" exception applies more in situations where there is a danger to the public at large rather than where there is merely a danger to a particular member of the public. The classic "loaded gun tossed over a fence" scenario, for example, vs. "my abusive exhusband has a gun."...