nursebeeme
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Do you have a legal question for our verified attorneys? Post them here for an answer. This is a *no discussion/ question and answer thread*
I will go first:
What to make of the testimony of Gus? What is going on with this?
Do you think the PA will move to impeach his entire testimony?
so these forged letters (thrown out pre trial) are now coming up with CH.. can they be re introduced????
what is the foundation that they can even be discussed in an evidentiary hearing if they were thrown out? Can they somehow be brought in a back door to open testimony from a defense expert?
How is the DA going to get in this phone call from Travis without putting Jodi on the stand ?
DT claims there is a phone sex call recorded by Jodi of Travis and her having phone sex where he says she climaxies like a 12 year old girl.They can be brought up in a hearing that is separate form the trial and they can be brought up for impeachment purposes, rather than as evidence of something Travis wrote. Some people feel it was backdoor attempt to get the letters discussed publicly so that a juror may get wind of them.
But, the ruling stands and they will not be introduced at trial unless the prosecution does something during the actual trial that allows for their introduction, like questions that open the door. I do not believe Martinez will make such a mistake.
What phone call?
I will go first:
What to make of the testimony of Gus? What is going on with this?
Do you think the PA will move to impeach his entire testimony?
Jodi s mother tried to take these letters to the national enquirer. What do you make of this in terms of a non sequestered jury.
Also will Abes self proclaimed interviews and watching coverage be a detriment?
What are are you're thoughts on the trial so far?
Sorry for auto correct
so these forged letters (thrown out pre trial) are now coming up with CH.. can they be re introduced????
what is the foundation that they can even be discussed in an evidentiary hearing if they were thrown out? Can they somehow be brought in a back door to open testimony from a defense expert?
This thread is a great idea. I posted a similar question in the regular trial thread yesterday, but I guess it got lost in the masses of posts. So here goes, I hope the questions don't sound stupid, but I'm German and still struggling to familiarize myself with the American court system. So here goes a bit of a more general inquiry:
First of all, to clarify something I'm not 100% clear on: The defence does not have to prove their claim of self-defense, right?
The way I understand it, the prosecution has to prove their claim that it was a premeditated murder beyond reasonable doubt, but that's not the same for the defense. Of course they have to present a somewhat credible case of self-defence that the jury could believe, but they don't have to prove it the same way the prosecution has to prove their claim of premeditation. Am I getting this right?
The second question is really about the possible outcomes of this trial. I'm actually a little confused by the distinctions between 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, and felony murder, all of which I've heard mentioned in these threads before. We don't really have that distinction here, I think, so I'm not exactly sure how that would affect the outcome of this trial.
Is JA accused of 1st degree murder (that would simply be my assumption since this is a death penalty trial)? If so, what would happen if the jury decides on not guilty on that charge? Could she in that case be convicted of a lesser charge? Would she walk free automatically with a 'not guilty' verdict?
If someone could outline the distinctions between these murder charges and the possible outcomes for me (in relation to this trial, not in great theoretical detail, I could not ask that of anyone ), that would be extremely helpful for me. Thanks in advance.
I wanted to ask about juror's questions.
1) Is it the norm for the judge to discuss these questions with the trial attorneys before asking them?
2) Legally can a judge not share these questions with the attorneys and proceed with process using their power of judgement alone?