Rebecca Zahau Wrongful Death/ADAM SHACKNAI FOUND RESPONSIBLE #5

[Imp]

Agree with this, Lilibet. During the Hot Car Death of Cooper Harris in ATL, the Prosecution Team used a toddler size mannequin that was constructed close to Cooper's height and weight. Then, they strapped the mannequin into the original car seat which was strapped into his father's vehicle that held Cooper on the day of his death.

It was a highly effective, and convincing, tool in demonstrating how very close Cooper was to his father, the driver. Cooper had outgrown his car seat so much that the top of his precious head was higher than the top of the car seat. Using the mannequin clearly demonstrated these facts.

It may have made a difference in the amount of shock and awe, during the closing of this civil trial, if the mannequin had been dressed. But, why dress the doll when Rebecca was bound nude? That point is relative and not subjective.

O/T, but that case (which I didn't follow closely because I just couldn't) ripped my heart out. That precious little boy.

 

[Imp]

I notice the author repeats the unproven point that Rebecca was found hanging. And the "sex doll" wording.

Bias much?

JMO.

I've not been impressed with the media coverage of this case. Reporters/journalists these days are an incurious bunch.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I've not been impressed with the media coverage of this case. Reporters/journalists these days are an incurious bunch.

I'm so old that I can remember when journalists were viewed as some of the most honorable and trustworthy professionals.

Now they are about on par with used-car sellers.

I don't have a link to back up these these statements, just what I remember and what I remember reading.

 

[Verboten]

I've not been impressed with the media coverage of this case. Reporters/journalists these days are an incurious bunch.

Agree 100%, Imp--an incurious bunch, indeed. I'm not at all impressed. Most particularly galling is from this same article:

“The verdict shocked me,” Jan Ronis, a longtime San Diego criminal defense lawyer, said in an interview. From testimony reported in news accounts, he thought the Zahau family’s case seemed weak and a defense suicide expert convincing.

We get biased or incomplete reporting and then report on experts' opinions that were arrived at strictly based on that biased reporting. Irks me to no end.

 

[Lezah]

Lezah :wave:

Verified attorney Gitana1 in response to JS asking to reopen the investigation??? Hope this helps!

BBM:


BBM:

You. Are. BRILLIANT.❤️❤️❤️
Yes it does, Thankyou very, very much!

 

[Lezah]

The focus has been so much on Dan Webb and that his legal expertise has not been on Wrongful Death cases. Thought I would look at the other 8 lawyers. My source is the State Bar of California as to their present status of employment:

David Elsberg, Selendy & Gay, Complex Commercial Litigation (he is the dark-haired gentleman that sat at defendant’s table) https://selendygay.com/people/david-elsberg/

Robb C. Adkins, Winston & Strawn, former federal prosecutor, white collar, regulatory defense, head of litigation for the firm. https://www.winston.com/en/who-we-are/attorneys/adkins-robb-c.html

H. Allen Black, Winston & Strawn, DC Office. Cannot find him in the CA State Bar as licensed there. Practices Maritime Law (interesting). https://www.winston.com/en/who-we-are/attorneys/black-h-allen.html

Krista M. Enns, Winston & Strawn, Anti-Trust, UCL, Privacy. She also sat at the defense table most of the time. https://www.winston.com/en/who-we-are/attorneys/enns-krista-m.html

Ryan R. Fick, Shows as “inactive” with CA State Bar. Formerly with Grimm, Vranjes, McCormick & Graham?

Drew Robertson, now L.A. County Attorney, Litigation. Formerly with Winston & Strawn.

Mark Vranjes, Grimm, Vranjes, McCormick & Graham, Wrongful Death. This is the only Wrongful Death specialty of the 8! https://www.gvgllp.com/mark-vranjes/

Seth Weisburst, Winston & Strawn, Complex Commercial Litigation. https://www.winston.com/en/who-we-are/attorneys/weisburst-seth.html

My Recap (IMO): So, of this likely multi-million dollar defense team, only one of the 8 has wrongful death experience? I guess Adam could claim that his defense team was not qualified? Just kidding.

Wow... just goes to show... its evidence you need to win a case after all...( and a blooming great attorney like Greer)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[justice be served]

IMO this is where we are presently with Zahau v. Shacknai and the beat goes on as we speak.

https://www.sitrick.com/practice-areas/crisis-management/

'More importantly, the results Sitrick achieves for its clients is the reason advisors and clients with whom the firm has previously worked refer us to new clients and why Sitrick has historically been the first choice for companies and individuals facing reputational damage or in some cases freedom-threatening or life or death situations. Our practice is literally worldwide, in the United States, throughout Europe, Russia, Asia and the Middle East.

As mentioned on the “About” page of our website, matters with which we have been involved span the spectrum. They include reputation management, mergers and acquisitions, data breaches, financial restatements and litigation support of all kinds: intellectual property matters, allegations of stock manipulation, wrongful termination, claims involving contract disputes, allegations of fraud and fraudulent inducement, wrongful death claims, allegations of illegal drug use and a variety of other white-collar crimes, criminal and civil cases against companies and their executives for such things as price fixing, insurance fraud, options backdating and antitrust violations, race and gender discrimination, sexual harassment, racism and even rape. We have done extensive work combatting short sellers, handling product recalls, extremely sensitive environmental matters, racketeering cases, executive departures either through termination or otherwise, professional, college and high school sports issues, family disputes, and high-profile divorces.'

While it is a reality that firms like this exist (and this is a top-tier firm), I can't help but thinking that these are the lowest of the low IMO of course. Lovely people, huh? Gross, frankly again, IMO. I cannot imagine doing this for a living - but they do. Just keep it in perspective as you read the platitudes on Adam in the slanted publicity that
Sitrick has its fingers on IMO.

 

[1&2&3]

As justicebeserved ^^^^^^ post on the Strick group of lawyers, my first thought is “less is more”.

It appears to me they have identified their firm as able to handle every type of suit known to mankind while using as many descriptive words as possible! It is nauseating to read them advertising their firm as such a superior, know it all company.

IMO, the grandiose bragging of what they are able to do, is a turn-off. If they are so superb, they would not need to advertise in the manner they have chosen. Their reputation and names would precede them.

More than likely the average citizen can not afford this firm. Another reason, IMO, that the description of what all they can do is tacky.

My opinions only.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Agree 100%, Imp--an incurious bunch, indeed. I'm not at all impressed. Most particularly galling is from this same article:

“The verdict shocked me,” Jan Ronis, a longtime San Diego criminal defense lawyer, said in an interview. From testimony reported in news accounts, he thought the Zahau family’s case seemed weak and a defense suicide expert convincing.

We get biased or incomplete reporting and then report on experts' opinions that were arrived at strictly based on that biased reporting. Irks me to no end.

Oh, Jan Ronis. IIRC he was a fixture on local news during the David Westerfield trial, cheerleading for the great job the defense was doing. Sixteen years later, I haven't seen any successful appeals in Westerfield's case.

Trying to refresh my memory about this, I came across this:

Government lawyers, in essence, argued that Ronis was known as an attorney for the Tijuana cartel and had provided counsel for witnesses that would testify against Arellano Felix in the current case. As they put it, Ronis had "involvement in factual events that may become issues at trial."

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/24/california.drug.case.lawyer/index.html?iref=24hours

ETA: I know defense attorneys are an integral part of our justice system, but darned if I know how most of them can sleep at night.

An attorney for the Tijuana cartel? Ick.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

As justicebeserved ^^^^^^ post on the Strick group of lawyers, my first thought is “less is more”.

It appears to me they have identified their firm as able to handle every type of suit known to mankind while using as many descriptive words as possible! It is nauseating to read them advertising their firm as such a superior, know it all company.

IMO, the grandiose bragging of what they are able to do, is a turn-off. If they are so superb, they would not need to advertise in the manner they have chosen. Their reputation and names would precede them.

More than likely the average citizen can not afford this firm. Another reason, IMO, that the description of what all they can do is tacky.

My opinions only.

NM. I had a confuse.

 

[justice be served]

As justicebeserved ^^^^^^ post on the Strick group of lawyers, my first thought is “less is more”.

It appears to me they have identified their firm as able to handle every type of suit known to mankind while using as many descriptive words as possible! It i
s nauseating to read them advertising their firm as such a superior, know it all company.

IMO, the grandiose bragging of what they are able to do, is a turn-off. If they are so superb, they would not need to advertise in the manner they have chosen. Their reputation and names would precede them.

More than likely the average citizen can not afford this firm. Another reason, IMO, that the description of what all they can do is tacky.

My opinions only.

Actually, even though I posted the lawyers specialty upthread, my post on Sitrick is based on the reputation mgmt company that recently released Webb’s statement on the case. Sorry if this has confused anyone.

Sitrick and Co has worked for SDSO and JS and obviously now for Webb and his firm. They are not lawyers.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

Talk about connections! On the defense side, that is. :winkaway:

 

[Seattle1]

You make a good point.

The best restaurants don't advertise because they don't need to.

One would think the best law firms wouldn't have to advertise for the same reason.

CLARIFICATION: Sitrick an Company is a PR/Crisis Management firm (and not to be confused with AS defense lawyers Winston & Strawn).

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Kind of replying to myself about Jan Ronis and the David Westerfield trial, which just reminded me of AS's defense's claims that the mannequin was prejudicial evidence.

IIRC, in the Westerfield trial, the defense claimed that linking the charges pertaining to Danielle's death with the child *advertiser censored* charges was prejudicial.

I repeat, sixteen years later, I am not aware of any successful appeals by DW regarding this issue.

IANAL and I realize these cases are vastly different in many ways, but I am thinking that any claims that the mannequin was prejudicial in AS's trial will be equally unsuccessful.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

CLARIFICATION: Sitrick an Company is a PR/Crisis Management firm (and not to be confused with AS defense lawyers Winston & Strawn).

I took back my comment that you quoted.
Would you please be so good as to delete it from your post as well?
I made a mistake and please feel free to replace what I said with "Izzy acknowledges she made a mistake."
But I don't want my misconception put out there as fact, which so often happens.

Thank you.

 

[Lilibet]

IMO this is where we are presently with Zahau v. Shacknai and the beat goes on as we speak.

https://www.sitrick.com/practice-areas/crisis-management/

'More importantly, the results Sitrick achieves for its clients is the reason advisors and clients with whom the firm has previously worked refer us to new clients and why Sitrick has historically been the first choice for companies and individuals facing reputational damage or in some cases freedom-threatening or life or death situations. Our practice is literally worldwide, in the United States, throughout Europe, Russia, Asia and the Middle East.

As mentioned on the “About” page of our website, matters with which we have been involved span the spectrum. They include reputation management, mergers and acquisitions, data breaches, financial restatements and litigation support of all kinds: intellectual property matters, allegations of stock manipulation, wrongful termination, claims involving contract disputes, allegations of fraud and fraudulent inducement, wrongful death claims, allegations of illegal drug use and a variety of other white-collar crimes, criminal and civil cases against companies and their executives for such things as price fixing, insurance fraud, options backdating and antitrust violations, race and gender discrimination, sexual harassment, racism and even rape. We have done extensive work combatting short sellers, handling product recalls, extremely sensitive environmental matters, racketeering cases, executive departures either through termination or otherwise, professional, college and high school sports issues, family disputes, and high-profile divorces.'

While it is a reality that firms like this exist (and this is a top-tier firm), I can't help but thinking that these are the lowest of the low IMO of course. Lovely people, huh? Gross, frankly again, IMO. I cannot imagine doing this for a living - but they do. Just keep it in perspective as you read the platitudes on Adam in the slanted publicity that
Sitrick has its fingers on IMO.

I don’t know how they sleep at night. Public opinion manipulation is the name of the game, so you are quite right that we will read favorably slanted publicity on Adam. They’re probably working on a “People” magazine article about his “normal” life with Mary. Based on Webb’s press release from Sitrick, we’ve seen the “sex doll” term used more and more.

Sitrick has a very interesting website.

Scan the “who’s who” of clients (including Harvey Weinstein ):

https://www.sitrick.com/clients/

Under “Reputation Management” I found this gem regarding media access:

[FONT=&amp]Clients benefit from our other high-profile work. Because we are gatekeepers to some of the biggest news stories in the country, we enjoy critical access to the media — a vital component in the success of any reputation management or crisis communications program.
[/FONT]https://www.sitrick.com/practice-areas/reputation-management/

And quoting Mr Sitrick himself about “spin”:

[FONT=&amp]Michael Sitrick is OK with the title of spinmeister. That is what he does, after all — though he sees it a bit differently than most people.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]“You can give me a set of facts and I can write you four stories from the most negative to the most positive without changing a single fact,” says Mr. Sitrick, whose gravelly voice and jocular manner belie a reputation for bulldog tenacity.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]“What I do is I use the facts to portray my client in a way that accurately reflects the situation but of course is the most favourable to my clients.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Spin, he says, is just interpreting the facts in a certain way.
http://sitrick.com.previewdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TheFixer.pdf




[/FONT]

 

[*Lash*]

Another gem, :tyou: found with help from another poster.

Michael Sitrick has his Wirtschafter moment - June 15, 2006

Snip-

In one of those classic bit of hubris that might result in Sitrick having to hire himself to help make right, Sitrick’s reveals some of his most diabolical tricks of the trade, and in the process points to the heads of the journalists he has mounted and hung in his den. Take for example ‘the flood’.

A standard Sitrick maneuver is to envelop writers in a fog of meaningless details. When journalist Mim Udovitch was assigned by Radar to investigate whether the Kabbalah Center was a cult organization, Sitrick and Company inundated her with material. Indeed, the publicist contends that his staff kept her occupied so long that the firm can take credit for the article’s appearance in the relative oblivion of the magazine’s online edition instead of in print as originally planned. “We just kept feeding her facts and facts and facts,” says Tammy Taylor, who handled the case for Sitrick, “until basically she had so much information she couldn’t get the piece done on time.” Udovitch denies Taylor’s claim.


​

Of course she does. She wanted on the website the whole time, for sure.

http://www.adweek.com/digital/michael-sitrick-has-his-wirtschafter-moment/

 

[*Lash*]

FWIW, I believe this interview was with the same "journalist" who referred to the mannequin as a "sex doll" in an earlier article.

You’re correct. The same outfit where San Diego Sheriff Gore was at an editorial board meeting? Does anyone know if Gore is on the board?

Sheriff Gore said he considered firing his rival for office, but thought it would look bad

April 5, 2018

Snip-

Tensions between San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore and the deputy trying to take over his job — Cmdr. Dave Myers — are heightening, with the incumbent saying he’d like his challenger gone.

“I wish Dave would take a leave of absence and go work somewhere else,” Gore told editors and reporters at an editorial board meeting of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-gore-firing-20180405-story.html

 

[Tortoise]

There is a positive from the defense having had the assistance of the spinmeister. They won't be able to claim that the jury decision was influenced by media reporting. I don't think they would be able to find one report that wasn't heavily biased in the defense's favor.

In an investigation that only lasted 7 weeks, lead detective Angela Tsuida could not offer any justification to the court for waiting 2 days past the 30 day deadline for an attempted retrieval of the deleted voicemail. That is sabotage IMO. Try finding one media report that mentions it. I couldn't find ONE. All I could find was reporting of the defense case.

We had to rely on our lovely Lezah being in court to very kindly report back. Lezah's post on Greer's questioning of Det Tsuida can be found here https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...rage-and-discussion-2&p=13998653#post13998653

The same team of detectives who immediately suspected homicide saw nothing wrong in taking the word of the brother of the prime suspect with the inconclusive polygraph, rather than fact checking the evidence at their disposal!

I know I didn't believe the detective, I wonder if the jury did.

Report from Sep 2011:

Officials said the voicemail was the trigger that led Zahau to hang herself

"We know from the investigation that (voicemail) message that was left on her phone was to inform Rebecca of Maxie's grave condition and imminent death," said San Diego County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Nemeth at a news conference earlier this month.

..Bremner said. "They're pinning this entire suicide conclusion on a phone message that no one has ever heard."

http://www.cbs8.com/story/15485069/records-reveal-final-cell-phone-calls-to-rebecca-zahau

So did SDSO make up the influential part that JS informed RZ of Max's imminent death?
Or did JS say that back in 2011 and change his story in 2018?
Why would JS make up a story like that to give SDSO if indeed he did?
Why didn't JS correct SDSO and the media after this erroneous statement was published, because it was surely pivotal to their conclusion of suicide.
Is it standard practice for SDSO to claim to know uncorroborated information given to them by the homicide suspect's brother as a fact, when there are conflicting accounts from the doctor and the mother?

Even now reporters cling to the narrative that Max's accident leading to Jonah's voicemail (stated as fact) endorses LE's conclusion of suicide.

Not one news outlet states the reality, what came out in the civil suit:

By deciding that AS was responsible for battering and killing Rebecca, the jury decided that Jonah's voicemail, if she ever even heard it, played NO part in her death. There is evidence of sexual battery, strangulation and thereafter a simulated hanging. While SDSO's findings remain in place for the time being, a jury was presented with evidence that shows their findings concerning the voicemail message were flawed, contradicted by Jonah himself and the doctor treating Max, and therefore baseless. The ME signed off his report based on the findings of the investigators. There is no connection with Max beyond his uncle being the person found responsible for assaulting and killing Rebecca.

 

[screecher]

Another excellent post Tortoise, thank you.

Does anyone on here know where I may search to learn of deadlines for 'appeals' in WDS s in SD County?