2010.03.08 Motion to Exclude Hearsay, Gossip, Innuendo - Legal insight requested

[Phumi]

During that interview at Universal they told her she was free to leave at any time and they only shut the door for privacy--will that be helpful?

 

[RainyGirl]

In light of the recent motions.....I'd like to list a few notable quotes from AL. The sources of these quotes can be found in the AL Lecture thread.

Developing case theory, organize trial file. In private practice and you hang a jury it is in closing…you have to have enough money to trial again. If you are a public defender you get same money so you can do it over and over.

Motions index…most of time state doesn’t answer most of time I have to ask judge to order the state answer it. I keep comments. Nice to hand judge index too. It is intimidating at 3 pages long. Maybe you will get that deal in order to avoid litigating motion.

One motion matters out of 2000. Narrow focus of case, convince client you are a real lawyer. Motions manuals out there. I have some on my site You can download and steal anything you like.

What do I wish wasn’t there..is there a confession lets write a motion

Ladies and gentlemen...I've made my point.

I just wanted to bump this excellent post by SOTS.......

Remember AL's AGENDA!

Her "M.O." trails after her like toilet paper trapped in her drawers........

(Of course, MOO!)

 

[JWG]

During that interview at Universal they told her she was free to leave at any time and they ony shut the door for privacy--will that be helpful?

I think the problem may be that they did not really intend to, though.

 

[AZlawyer]

During that interview at Universal they told her she was free to leave at any time and they only shut the door for privacy--will that be helpful?

I think the problem may be that they did not really intend to, though.

It will be helpful but is not the end of the analysis. Suppose midway through Casey's Universal interview, she stood up and said, "You know what? I'm done talking to you guys. I have places to be." Would they have let her leave? They'd already told George she might not be coming back, suggesting an intent to arrest her as soon as they thought they had obtained all the information they could out of her. They already knew she was lying and suspected her of some involvement in Caylee's disappearance. Also, didn't she get there in a squad car? So she had no transportation. And I think they'd already taken her cell phone, so she had no easy means of communication. In that situation, would you feel free to leave?

 

[JWG]

It will be helpful but is not the end of the analysis. Suppose midway through Casey's Universal interview, she stood up and said, "You know what? I'm done talking to you guys. I have places to be." Would they have let her leave? They'd already told George she might not be coming back, suggesting an intent to arrest her as soon as they thought they had obtained all the information they could out of her. They already knew she was lying and suspected her of some involvement in Caylee's disappearance. Also, didn't she get there in a squad car? So she had no transportation. And I think they'd already taken her cell phone, so she had no easy means of communication. In that situation, would you feel free to leave?

But at the end of the day, even if they cannot admit what Casey said, Yuri and John Allen can still testify as to what transpired, correct?

 

[logicalgirl]

It will be helpful but is not the end of the analysis. Suppose midway through Casey's Universal interview, she stood up and said, "You know what? I'm done talking to you guys. I have places to be." Would they have let her leave? They'd already told George she might not be coming back, suggesting an intent to arrest her as soon as they thought they had obtained all the information they could out of her. They already knew she was lying and suspected her of some involvement in Caylee's disappearance. Also, didn't she get there in a squad car? So she had no transportation. And I think they'd already taken her cell phone, so she had no easy means of communication. In that situation, would you feel free to leave?

Yes, I would. And I don't think Yuri and Melich's suspicions that she may not be coming home could be viewed as intent (to arrest). They may have felt she was going to confess.

I didn't see any indication ever that Casey was intimidated by the detectives. and still don't for that matter.

 

[TallyHo]

It will be helpful but is not the end of the analysis. Suppose midway through Casey's Universal interview, she stood up and said, "You know what? I'm done talking to you guys. I have places to be." Would they have let her leave? They'd already told George she might not be coming back, suggesting an intent to arrest her as soon as they thought they had obtained all the information they could out of her. They already knew she was lying and suspected her of some involvement in Caylee's disappearance. Also, didn't she get there in a squad car? So she had no transportation. And I think they'd already taken her cell phone, so she had no easy means of communication. In that situation, would you feel free to leave?

BBM But as they were going to her office she would have coworkers there who could have taken her wherever she wanted to go at that point. It's nobody's fault but her own that they ended up taking her somewhere where she didn't know a soul. LE might have had a hunch, but they did not know for sure. Does that count for anything?? Grasping at straws here, because it seems outrageous to me as a layperson that this incident could be excluded from the courtroom at trial.

 

[AZlawyer]

But at the end of the day, even if they cannot admit what Casey said, Yuri and John Allen can still testify as to what transpired, correct?

You mean just that they took her to Universal and she admitted she didn't work there? Probably yes.

Yes, I would. And I don't think Yuri and Melich's suspicions that she may not be coming home could be viewed as intent (to arrest). They may have felt she was going to confess.

I didn't see any indication ever that Casey was intimidated by the detectives. and still don't for that matter.

Intimidation isn't the issue. I don't think she was intimidated either. The question is whether she reasonably felt like she could actually get up and leave.

[/B]

BBM But as they were going to her office she would have coworkers there who could have taken her wherever she wanted to go at that point. It's nobody's fault but her own that they ended up taking her somewhere where she didn't know a soul. LE might have had a hunch, but they did not know for sure. Does that count for anything?? Grasping at straws here, because it seems outrageous to me as a layperson that this incident could be excluded from the courtroom at trial.

They actually did know for sure that she didn't work there before they made the drive. They had already checked it out. Still, as I said, it's a question of fact. All these facts will be considered and balanced to determine whether she was truly "in custody" or not at the time. I'm just saying that the state does not by any means have a slam dunk win on this one.

 

[LC446]

Yes, I would. And I don't think Yuri and Melich's suspicions that she may not be coming home could be viewed as intent (to arrest). They may have felt she was going to confess.

I didn't see any indication ever that Casey was intimidated by the detectives. and still don't for that matter.

I agree with you, but I definitely understand where AZLawyer is coming from. I think she (I'm assuming from the pic, lol) is coming at it from a legal standpoint and unfortunately I have to agree. Police officers know the rules about custodial interrogations and I don't know the rules in Florida, but I can say that here in Texas, if a police officer is going to interview someone and they know that there is a good chance they are going to arrest them after this interview, they must give them Miranda. Otherwise they run the risk of having whatever is said, thrown out. Officers will argue that the person was free to leave and I know that they put that on the record by asking her if she was there freely and all that, but I doubt very seriously that if Casey said she was leaving that they would have freely let her go. In fact, they probably would have said she was under arrest.

As far as the officers being able to testify about what happened..IMO I believe they will be able to talk about the actions, i.e walking into Universal, to the office and her turning around and saying she doesn't work there. They might not be able to talk about the interview that happened after that.

 

[Gnatcatcher]

If she decided to get up and leave (as they said she was free to do so), and they wanted to arrest her, couldnt' they have let her walk ten feet away, or half a block or even let her get all the way home, and then gone back after her, read her Miranda rights, and arrested her then? And wouldn't that be enough to keep the prior interview in tact, because in essence she wouldn't have been arrested on the spot?

 

[LambChop]

Don't forget, too, KC requested they go there. In her statement LE said to her, "And how did it help bringing us up here today?"

 

[JWG]

You mean just that they took her to Universal and she admitted she didn't work there? Probably yes.

Thanks AZ, this is what I meant.

And in light of everything else, how much value is there really in what KC said at Universal? I think she pretty much covered most everything in her written statement.

 

[AZlawyer]

If she decided to get up and leave (as they said she was free to do so), and they wanted to arrest her, couldnt' they have let her walk ten feet away, or half a block or even let her get all the way home, and then gone back after her, read her Miranda rights, and arrested her then? And wouldn't that be enough to keep the prior interview in tact, because in essence she wouldn't have been arrested on the spot?

No, it would just be one of the facts to consider...was she really free to leave or was it just a sham?

Again, it's possible that this was a calculated risk by the officers. Option 1: give Casey her Miranda rights, after which (because she's a fairly smart girl) she will likely shut up and then we will have NO LEADS really to find this missing baby. Option 2: don't give Casey her Miranda rights, knowing that whatever she says might not make it into evidence, but possibly get her to "crack" and get information about where the baby is. If the baby's alive, great. If not, at least we will have a body, which will provide evidence, and maybe a confession, which will give us a roadmap of evidence to look for and a coherent theory for the SA to present at trial, even if the confession itself is tossed out. Conclusion: let's go with option 2, but hedge our bets as much as possible by telling her the door's unlocked and she's free to leave.

 

[kaRN]

But at the end of the day, even if they cannot admit what Casey said, Yuri and John Allen can still testify as to what transpired, correct?

Wouldn't the comment to GA be heresay?

 

[AZlawyer]

Wouldn't the comment to GA be heresay?

(1) Not if Yuri was the one testifying about it instead of GA. We have no reason to believe that Yuri will deny making that statement.

(2) Not if GA was testifying about it in response to Yuri denying it, because that would fall within one of the hearsay exclusions.

(3) It would not be inadmissible hearsay in any event, because it was (at most) a statement regarding the intent of the person making the statement (Yuri), which is one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule.

 

[AZlawyer]

CFNews 13 put up this motion and exhibits - a grid sheet with who said it, etc.

Would really like some clarification on various parts of it from informed posters.

Motion to exclude Hearsay Evidence, Gossip & Innuendo (18 pages, with Memo of Law):
http://www.cfnews13.com/uploadedFil...ude Hearsay Evidence, Gossip and Innuendo.pdf


Exhibits - Compiled Hearsay Statements (24 page grid)
http://www.cfnews13.com/uploadedFiles/Stories/Local/0308 Casey Case Compiled Hearsay Statements.pdf

MM, were there more exhibits? The motion refers to "Exhibits A-C," and the 911 statements made by Cindy don't appear to be on the "Compiled Hearsay Statements" exhibit.

The only place I see the "dead body in the damn car" statement in that chart is as a statement made from Cindy to her COWORKER. I.e., coworker says, "Cindy said it smelled like a dead body in the car." Personally, I don't think even this third-hand testimony will be excluded, if Cindy sticks to her story that she made up the "smells like a dead body" thing on the spur of the moment to get the police to come--because a kidnapped child obviously wouldn't be serious enough to warrant police attention otherwise :waitasec: . The coworker's testimony shows that Cindy was saying that the car smelled like a dead body HOURS before she learned of Caylee's "kidnapping," and at a time when she was not even PLANNING to call police or even to return home before her shift ended. Thus, the coworker's testimony would qualify as "non-hearsay," because it would be offered not as "proof of the matter asserted"--i.e., proof that the car smelled like a dead body (which is part of the definition of hearsay) but as proof that Cindy's later statement to the 911 operator was not invented on the spot for the purpose of obtaining a quick police response, as she now claims.

 

[MissJames]

Yes, it is definitely possible to get a "voluntary" confession thrown out. The question will be whether she was "in custody" at that time--if so, they needed to give her the Miranda warning (and her statements will be no good without it) even if she really, truly, voluntarily wanted to talk to them. Whether she was "in custody" will depend on the facts, especially whether she would have reasonably felt free to leave. My gut feeling is that the questioning that took place at the home was probably OK, but the questioning that took place at Universal worries me a little.

It's possible that the officers considered the risk that anything Casey said would be thrown out as evidence if they did not give a Miranda warning, but decided the risk was worth it in order to try to get her to "crack" and tell where Caylee was (alive or dead). After all, if she had confessed and led them to the body at that time, they could have used the information from her confession to direct their investigation--e.g., to know what kind of forensic evidence to look for--even if they couldn't use the confession itself.

Does it make a difference that this was not a voluntary confession, but a bold faced lie?

 

[AZlawyer]

Does it make a difference that this was not a voluntary confession, but a bold faced lie?

Not really. But that's a good point--I shouldn't have called it a "confession" when the only things she confessed to were lying and being unhelpful.

 

[impatientredhead]

IIRC, Yuri called George and told him they would be coming to pick Casey up to take her to Universal, but not to tell Casey this. And I believe it may have been that same call in which Yuri told George that she may not be coming home. So it sounds like they were already planning to arrest her. Which makes me think the Universal interview may be at risk.

We have seen so many confessions thrown out for all sorts of reasons I have thought they had a good chance of blocking the statement made at Universal for some time.

I understand they were operating under the assumption that possibly they could get her to say what happened and if Caylee was alive be able to intervene, thus risking the content of the statements in a courtroom, but giving Caylee every opportunity they could.

In the big picture I am not sure it really matters that much as they can get to the lies she told through other venues.

 

[RR0004]

It will be helpful but is not the end of the analysis. Suppose midway through Casey's Universal interview, she stood up and said, "You know what? I'm done talking to you guys. I have places to be." Would they have let her leave? They'd already told George she might not be coming back, suggesting an intent to arrest her as soon as they thought they had obtained all the information they could out of her. They already knew she was lying and suspected her of some involvement in Caylee's disappearance. Also, didn't she get there in a squad car? So she had no transportation. And I think they'd already taken her cell phone, so she had no easy means of communication. In that situation, would you feel free to leave?

Knowing Casey, she probably expected a ride back....might even have asked for them to drop her off at AL's.