Abby & Libby - The Delphi Murders - Richard Allen Arrested - #183

[WildHuncher]

JG looks good to me here. By the book.

 

[kae27]

JG looks good to me here. By the book.

Agreed. IMO contempt was never the right argument here. Referring them to the state disciplinary commission for possible sanctions under the rules of professional responsibility was the correct move.

 

[zh0r4]

Court finds the D sloppy and incompetent with their handlings of discovery materials, but NOT in contempt.

05/01/2024

Order Issued The Court, having had this matter under advisement following a hearing conducted on March 18, 2024, and having reviewed the evidence admitted at the hearing (the Court did not review any evidence that was offered but not admitted), the arguments of counsel and the briefs and memorandums submitted by Counsel now finds that the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence that defense counsel was sloppy, negligent, and incompetent in their handling of discovery materials. Counsel failed to properly secure evidence and discovery material in this matter. Counsel negligently allowed their discovery outline to be sent to an individual unrelated to this matter (Brandon Woodhouse) who then disseminated that information to the public. Counsel further allowed their discovery materials to be compromised by Westerman (who, in turn, provided the information to Fortson and Cohen). Counsel has described Westerman both as a criminal and a valued consultant and confidante. Despite this Court's findings of sloppiness, negligence, and incompetence, the State is required to prove that Counsels' conduct was willful and intentional beyond a reasonable doubt for the Court to find Counsel in contempt. As the State has not met that burden, the Court declines to find them in contempt of Court for violating the Protective Order issued February 17, 2023, regarding discovery. The State has also alleged that defense counsel violated the "gag order" issued by the Court on December 2, 2022. Defense counsel issued a Press Release on December 1, 2022. The release contained statements that are potentially violative of the Rules of Professional Conduct. As Defense Counsels' Counsel correctly argues in his post-hearing brief, the gag order was not yet issued. As such, the Court declines to find Counsel in contempt of Court as no Order was in place. To the extent that the Press Release violated the Rules of Professional Responsibility, the Trial Court has no jurisdiction to enforce those Rules. As required by the Rules of Professional Responsibility, the Trial Court will, therefore, send a copy of this Order and the Press Release to the Office of Judicial and Attorney Regulation, Executive Director Adrienne Meiring for that Office to enforce the Rules or determine Counsels' ethical misconduct. Judicial Officer: Gull, Frances -SJ Noticed: McLeland, Nicholas Charles Noticed: Baldwin, Andrew Joseph Noticed: Rozzi, Bradley Anthony Noticed: Luttrull, James David JR Noticed: Diener, Stacey Lynn Noticed: Auger, Jennifer Jones Order Signed: 0

Wait, I thought MW was who allegedly stole the discovery from Baldwin’s office and disseminated it? I never thought the accidental email to Woodhouse was tied to the leak? Now this says Woodhouse disseminated the discovery/photos? Then why is MW going to trial for his part in the leak?

 

[layer]

Also, it was said that family called and the calls went to voice mail for a period of time, then went dead (IIRC). I'm confused about pings. If the call went to vm, would that be considered a successful ping?

First, let's define ping:
A ping is a small signal that sends a specific number of packets from one device to another. Those packets are then returned, and each device can look for signs of data loss. Pings take a fraction of a second when they are initiated, and they’re basically just a connectivity health check.

Second, when and how often do cell phones ping towers:
The number of pings primarily depends on phone usage. A phone will ping when it gets close to a new tower, when you change the connection status and when it needs to establish a connection (such as for a phone call). If left completely passive and stationary, most phones send a handful of pings each day.
Source
And as I understand it, pings are not the only valuable data retrieved in a tower dump.

 

[TL4S]

Wait, I thought MW was who allegedly stole the discovery from Baldwin’s office and disseminated it? I never thought the accidental email to Woodhouse was tied to the leak? Now this says Woodhouse disseminated the discovery/photos? Then why is MW going to trial for his part in the leak?

AB accidentally emailed a defense work product list to BW, who then disseminated it out. It was an earlier "leak" of sorts, because some information was in that list, but it was not actual discovery evidence. JMO

 

[TL4S]

Agreed. IMO contempt was never the right argument here. Referring them to the state disciplinary committee for possible sanctions under the rules of professional responsibility was the correct move.

Question for you as an attorney. Doesn't JG have to deal with NMcL reading and quoting the ex parte motions (and maybe the clerk for making them accessible) since by her own earlier motion she defined such conduct as being in contempt? If she does, does she do this outright as the Court (vs the D doing it), and would it happen after trial?

 

[zh0r4]

AB accidentally emailed a defense work product list to BW, who then disseminated it out. It was an earlier "leak" of sorts, because some information was in that list, but it was not actual discovery evidence. JMO

Thank you for clarifying. Do we know who Woodhouse allegedly leaked something to? I was under the impression MW leaked the CS photos to Cohen/YouTubers. What/to whom did Woodhouse disseminate?

 

[TL4S]

Thank you for clarifying. Do we know who Woodhouse allegedly leaked something to? I was under the impression MW leaked the CS photos to Cohen/YouTubers. What/to whom did Woodhouse disseminate?

That I'm not sure of because I never looked into any BW stuff much. IIRC, I think maybe he had a YouTube channel, too? I could be wrong.

 

[kae27]

Question for you as an attorney. Doesn't JG have to deal with NMcL reading and quoting the ex parte motions (and maybe the clerk for making them accessible) since by her own earlier motion she defined such conduct as being in contempt? If she does, does she do this outright as the Court, and will it happen after trial?

Yes, if I'm remembering correctly that is part of an allegation of contempt by him, correct? And also the D has alleged contempt in not turning over discovery timely, lying in a filing, etc. That will be an interesting ruling. Although I think it would be an easier argument to make that those were deliberate violations of a court ruling, I can't see that she will find against the P on that. She could (and IMO should) report that to the disciplinary commission as well, though I'm approximately a billion percent sure that the D already would have done this (and vice versa).

 

[photographer4]

Wait, I thought MW was who allegedly stole the discovery from Baldwin’s office and disseminated it? I never thought the accidental email to Woodhouse was tied to the leak? Now this says Woodhouse disseminated the discovery/photos? Then why is MW going to trial for his part in the leak?

It says counsel further allowed MW.... and thus these are two separate issues. They sent an email with discovery to BW, and then let MW into the war room and he also spread the info he found within that room to the public...

 

[layer]

She could (and IMO should) report that to the disciplinary commission as well, though I'm approximately a billion percent sure that the D already would have done this (and vice versa).

approximately... So you're saying there's a chance!

 

[Ravenmoon]

Wait, I thought MW was who allegedly stole the discovery from Baldwin’s office and disseminated it? I never thought the accidental email to Woodhouse was tied to the leak? Now this says Woodhouse disseminated the discovery/photos? Then why is MW going to trial for his part in the leak?

I am not sure that this says exactly what information was disseminated.
The first leak was AB emailing case information to Brandon Wood House.

 

[Emma Peel]

05/01/2024

Order Issued Defendant's Motion for Pre-Trial Hearing and State's Motion in Limine set for hearing in the Allen Superior Court May 7, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. without objection by the defense, who consents to the venue. Judicial Officer: Gull, Frances -SJ Noticed: McLeland, Nicholas Charles Noticed: Baldwin, Andrew Joseph Noticed: Rozzi, Bradley Anthony Noticed: Luttrull, James David JR Noticed: Diener, Stacey Lynn Noticed: Auger, Jennifer Jones Order Signed: 04/30/2024

Good to see a hearing is set re: evidence and pre-trial scheduling, in spite of the P's request for decision on it's motion in limine without a hearing. Also noting the number of other previous motions outstanding and yet to be addressed by this Court. JMHO

 

[TTF14]

Is it wise for a judge to call counsel incompetent in an official court doc before the trial starts? Wouldn't it support an appeal ("the judge even said they were incompetent but still let them stay on the case!")?

MOO IMO

 

[layer]

A pedometer counts steps. But the accelerometer is more like the compass. What does the iPhone accelerometer do?

It would basically have a record of the phone's motions, and at some point, lack thereof.

 

[Ravenmoon]

Just my thoughts and speculation:

Did RA attempt a factory reset on LG'S phone and possibly proceed to smash the phone?

If it's possible that he did, would that have caused the phone to do weird pings?

 

[Emma Peel]

Is it wise for a judge to call counsel incompetent in an official court doc before the trial starts? Wouldn't it support an appeal ("the judge even said they were incompetent but still let them stay on the case!")?

MOO IMO

Court's opinion is written such that "incompetent" finding is limited to the D's handling of discovery in two specific instances: BW and MW:

"the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence that defense counsel was sloppy, negligent, and incompetent in their handling of discovery materials"

Court is not finding RA's attorneys to be incompetent, in fact, the SCOIN has already weighed in as to the very high competence of this specific Defense team. JMHO

 

[Ravenmoon]

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

A factory restore erases the information and settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod and installs the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, or iPod software.

Maybe he thought any potential evidence would be removed?

 

[photographer4]

Is it wise for a judge to call counsel incompetent in an official court doc before the trial starts? Wouldn't it support an appeal ("the judge even said they were incompetent but still let them stay on the case!")?

MOO IMO

Well, she didn't let them remain on the case. She fired them summarily without benefit of a hearing. They then took it to the Supreme Court and got reinstated. She can't really fire them at this point given the SCION didn't support her original firing, can she?

 

[photographer4]

Just my thoughts and speculation:

Did RA attempt a factory reset on LG'S phone and possibly proceed to smash the phone?

If it's possible that he did, would that have caused the phone to do weird pings?

We haven't heard anything to suggest that the phone was smashed from either side or that it was intentionally damaged. We know that LG's family factory reset it relatively close in time to the murders though because it was glitchy... IN - Abigail Williams & Liberty German, Delphi, Media, Maps, Timelines NO DISCUSSION (post #887).