Abby & Libby - The Delphi Murders - Richard Allen Arrested - #198

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I agree with them here actually. The State can certainly ask the people what they directly heard RA say - no problem with that. But if they're asked to assess RA's mental health / thought process etc... I'd take issue with that. I'd agree that they're not really qualified to assess that formally, and I'd worry their uneducated opinions might affect the jury in a negative way. MOOOOO.
This is exactly why the defense is using a motion in limine on this issue, so this scenario doesn't happen.

Prosecution Q: What did you hear RA say?

Witness A: He said "X." I think he's mentally ill because "Y."

Defense: Objection, outside the scope of witness's expertise.
You can't get put the genie back in the bottle once the witness answers that way. The jury has already heard prejudicial testimony. Thus, motions in limine to determine what they may say and what topics they can/can't entertain.
 
Just because someone could do something, doesn't mean they should, IMO. Is there no such thing as frivolous motions due to repetition or lack of merit that might do nothing but frustrate the court? At this point I'm only curious.
I'm confused as to why a lawyer (on either side) should NOT file a motion as they head into trial? I haven't followed cases this closely before so this is all a bit new to me... Is this somehow not expected or?
 
You can't get put the genie back in the bottle once the witness answers that way. The jury has already heard prejudicial testimony. Thus, motions in limine to determine what they may say and what topics they can/can't entertain.
100% agreed!

See, I assumed (you know what they say about assumptions) that there were rules in place that prevented the state's witnesses from testifying on certain matters. But then again I suppose if everything was already decided by the State/country, you wouldn't have need for the objections and the sidebars, and the motions in limine. Just surprised that a person who is, lets say, a pilot, isn't by default forbidden to give their opinion on cellphone data analysis. Or in this case, a layperson isn't by default forbidden to testify on mental health etc. All my very uninformed opinions.

EDIT: Grammar
 
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I'm confused as to why a lawyer (on either side) should NOT file a motion as they head into trial? I haven't followed cases this closely before so this is all a bit new to me... Is this somehow not expected or?
Because it seemed to me that they were stating matters that were either already settled or matters that were already settled by existing law. I was obviously wrong on that.
 
I agree with them here actually. The State can certainly ask the people what they directly heard RA say - no problem with that. But if they're asked to assess RA's mental health / thought process etc... I'd take issue with that. I'd agree that they're not really qualified to assess that formally, and I'd worry their uneducated opinions might affect the jury in a negative way. MOOOOO.
Absolutely!
 
Could have been filed a lot earlier than 3 days before jury selection begins. MO

This is such an issue to me.

I wish (fruitlessly) that there were an amendment to the Constitution that ALSO gave surviving family of a victim the right to a “speedy trial.”

I have no argument with a defendant waiving his or her right to a speedy trial, but someone somewhere somehow needs to redress the agony and tumult to a family when a trial is endlessly stalled by crafty last-minute delay tactics.

I know there are multiple permutations that won’t allow this to happen, but mercy should count for a victim’s family.

Just my opinion as a layperson, yet still a human being.
 
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Um, not a lawyer, but the whole thing about 'substance' makes me think it's basically 'you said we didn't have any substance to our third party/conspiracy angle in the pretrial hearing but we think we did so that's enough for us to present it based on your wording about proof, and if you deny this we're going to drag things out and delay things throughout the trial'.

I don't think it's going to go down well.

I am not a lawyer, etc, and MOO.
I went back and looked, at the Aug 1st hearing there was Warden Galipeau, a prison investigator, ISP Harshman and Dr. Wala all testifying. So all about RA's confessions and his mental health at the prison.

 
Our Ron Wilkins, who has been covering this case from the beginning, will join forces with IndyStar reporters Jordan Smith and Sarah Nelson in the courtroom. Their reporting will be augmented by editing and photography in both newsrooms, including ours, contributing to other Indiana Gannett media and USA Today reports across the country.

 
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Is jury selection closed to the public?
According to this article, jury selection is closed to the public.

Pratt said family members and potential witnesses are not allowed in the courtroom during jury selection. Given the size of the jury pool, 600 questionnaires were sent out to Allen County residents, the judge could limit who could be in the courtroom, she said.

“All judges are different,” she said. “I do not believe televising jury selection is allowed, but I haven’t done a trial in front of the new rules about media in the courtroom, she said.

Typically, only attorneys, the defendant, and the media are allowed in the courtroom during Voir Dire, Pratt said.

 
DELPHI, Ind. (WLFI) — News 18's legal expert, Shay Hughes predicts there will be over 100 jurors in the jury pool come Monday's jury selection process in the Delphi double homicide case.
[…]

In his experience, he says the defense usually has a harder time finding ideal jurors.

Here's what he believes the defense will be looking for next week.

"Younger population. You know, people who don't have children because you worry if people will put themselves in that position of losing their children. People that won't be swayed by the wisdom of the crowd so to speak," Hughes said.

 
According to this article, jury selection is closed to the public.

Pratt said family members and potential witnesses are not allowed in the courtroom during jury selection. Given the size of the jury pool, 600 questionnaires were sent out to Allen County residents, the judge could limit who could be in the courtroom, she said.

“All judges are different,” she said. “I do not believe televising jury selection is allowed, but I haven’t done a trial in front of the new rules about media in the courtroom, she said.

Typically, only attorneys, the defendant, and the media are allowed in the courtroom during Voir Dire, Pratt said.

But the media are allowed, so that's not exactly "closed."

I honestly don't want to know about the jurors. I know people are interested and I don't fault them in the slightest, but I personally don't have an interest other than trusting the process.

jmo
 
DELPHI, Ind. (WLFI) — News 18's legal expert, Shay Hughes predicts there will be over 100 jurors in the jury pool come Monday's jury selection process in the Delphi double homicide case.
[…]

In his experience, he says the defense usually has a harder time finding ideal jurors.

Here's what he believes the defense will be looking for next week.

"Younger population. You know, people who don't have children because you worry if people will put themselves in that position of losing their children. People that won't be swayed by the wisdom of the crowd so to speak," Hughes said.

Not sure I agree with him. A very young jury might put themselves in the shoes of the victims, if they weren't teenagers that long before. It'd be way too easy for them to think about what might have happened to them on a school free day in the woods with a friend.

MOO
 
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