trial day 52: REBUTTAL; #159

[Liebchenmutti]

The case is ruined. Letting the DT have the last word with a professor of psychology? This is NOT good.

Yeah--you're right. I mean, another paid expert who is a colleague of ALV is really going to cause the jury to totally vote for self defense! I know that they LOVED what ALV said on the stand--what with Dr. Samuels backing it all up with his scientific tests! Oh well. Juan tried, right?:floorlaugh:

The case is super lost if Nurmi gets to examine the new "expert." I know the jury must hand on every slow-motion question!:floorlaugh:

 

[kaydono]

I thought she was just trying to catch some of JW's lipstick to go along with her No 2 lead brow pencil. :floorlaugh:

:floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:

 

[Raejen]

I'm at the same point as well.

It's all been spread out for the jury, clearly and overwhelmingly. If they don't get it now they never will. What's the use of worrying or panicking? For me the defence's surrrebuttal will be just so much sound and fury. It is filler. If someone is swayed at this late date, then nothing reasonable would ever have swayed them. It shouldn't be a crap shoot but nowadays, that's a really possibility, I'm thinking. It's all a done deal, IMO.

Thankfully there's some confident people around here to keep me from rocking in a corner until the verdict. Because nothing is a sure thing...and that freaks me out with these cases.

 

[DeAnnaMisrahi]

Can someone please answer a question I've had swimming around in my head for weeks now. I thought when Deanna stated that Napoleon lives with her now, that may have prompted someone in the court, or on HLN, to address this question.

Who took care of Napoleon June 5 thru 9, 2008? Wouldn't Travis have left instructions or asked someone to do that especially if he left early to go to Cancun?

My husband just realized that Travis was laying dead for five days while other people where going in and out of the home. He's stunned and looked at me with disbelief. We discussed the fact that Napoleon lived in the house too and neither of us can understand why the dog would not have acted strangely and alerted people there was a problem upstairs and down the hall. Travis was Napoleon's master. Napoleon would have smelled a problem long before humans would.

What's LE's take on this and why haven't they addressed it in court? I've been waiting for an explanation because the situation seems so strange.

One of the roommates gf's fed the dog, I think I read. Jodi had the gate up so that the dog couldn't get up the stairs.

 

[Pink Panther]

Okay, this is probably something everybody else already 'gets', but I didn't really understand why the pictures with the phone really mattered. We already know Jodi showed up in Mesa with dark hair.
Aside from putting Jodi in Salinas (where she went to the salon) taking pictures of herself with what seems to be her freshly done hair at the same time - Jodi wrote in her own journal on May 22, 2008 that her phone with the 'scandalous calls" had been stolen (the Helio), and she did not have the same phone when she was arrested. My non-einsteinan IQ tells me that both cannot be true. Jodi lies.... a lot.

Maybe she wrote up at least some of the journal entries after the fact? They sure read that way - I had heard some of them on Nancy Grace (probably available on HLN site), but I found a transcription here, under 'before the killing':
http://kristinarandle.com/blog/jodi-arias-journal-entries-2/

Was her replacement phone, the new one she talks about in her journal, also a Helio? Was this "replacement" phone ever discussed in trial/in evidence?

 

[sammie]

Could someone give me some insight into the order in which things are going to transpire? If I understand correctly there will be trial tomorrow (expected to be short day) and it will resume again next Wednesday with the day to go until they are finished. After which the jury will be given their instructions followed by Closing Arguments. Is this correct, someone keeps posting that the last of the case to be heard by the jury will be DT? I guess I'm confused, so any clarification would be appreciated. TIA

That poster is simply referring to the surrebuttal witness. Closing arguments will be the last thing the jury hears the prosecution will go first the defense will follow in the prosecution gets the final word, since the burden of proof is on them.

 

[YESorNO]

Who is that jo-jo on HLN- the one in the middle, with the brown hair? She is getting on my last nerve. She sounds just like JA- maki8ng stories up.

And what's with Jean C. lately? She says she speaks to JA's family. I think she really believes JA's fairy tales. I'm beginning to not like her at all.

 

[Forensic fan]

That judge missed his calling.

He should have been a professional boxing promoter.

Isn't he Judge Judy's hubby?

 

[Niner]

BBM. :floorlaugh: :floorlaugh: :floorlaugh:

I know I'm infected! Give me a chocolate...Quick!

Here ya go marlap

 

[Mr.Midnight]

Still watching the testimony from today and LOVING the closet shelf testimony from Det. Flores.

And LOVED when Juan asked Det. Flores about the ridiculous crap Nurmi brought up yesterday about the "Harder, Faster, Stronger video....

Is THIS what made it OK for Arias to slaughter Travis?? Is THIS what NURMI thinks makes it OK that Arias murdered Travis? What an @ss Nurmi is to think no one can see exactly what this stupid video is:

Daft Bodies - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - YouTube


I cannot wait for this to be over. Justice better prevail.

I said earlier in this thread Nurmi was making such a big deal about this video you'd thought it was "Two Girls One Cup"

 

[SyraKelly]

I have not heard the judge say she is allowing the defense a sur-rebuttal--Just their is a problem with a witness availablity

 

[Mellinyce]

Then you would have to drill a hole. No holes drilled in TA's shelves other than the ones that came from the factory.

Exactly!

 

[beeshie]

Was anything up there?
No

Did it look like things could have been stored up there?
I can't be sure. There were beams and some drywall. Smaller items could be stored there.

Nurmi tried to make a big deal about it because Flores said people searched it under his supervision. He did not search it himself.

I guess Nurmi feels others are not capable of using their eyes in an attic to see if anything was there.

Thank you! Ok so this contradicts what the current resident told KCL et al.

I'm not sure what to think about this.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

1. The dog ate your car keys. (If you're lacking a dog, the emu did it.)
2. You're scheduled to be abducted by Kimster.
3. You're virtually being held hostage.
4. Your house is being placed under quarantine by the CDC for a rare but extremely infectious disease known as trialaddictitus.
5. Mandatory leg kicking exercises on the books. (Not applicable unless you're a Juanette.)

That should give you something to work with.

And the only cure is a complete araisillectomy.

 

[nwmouse]

That hole reminds me of a snake's mouth. She licks her lips and poses her mouth. She must be proud of it or something. I guess where you are Jodi small things mean a lot.

EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING Jodi does is calculated, no matter how small. Every swish of her hair, every time she shifts her glasses, every time she bats her eyelashes and uses her little girl voice, every time she lifts the carafe for water. She is a big act from start to finish and she's loving every second of being on 'stage' so to speak. Her vanity is unreal. The ONLY thing she was concerned about when she was arrested was how her hair and makeup looked. EVIL.

 

[Liebchenmutti]

I still am left wondering why Jodi didn't pull the age old traperoo on Travis by getting pregnant. Maybe she tried but she's not all that fertile?

I honestly think she had a real personal preference for anal sex & that took care of any potential pregnancies.

 

[sammie]

The defense is having the last word (not counting closing arguments) with the surrebuttal witness. And I am not confident that Juan will be able to handle him, especially if SHERRY caves in again and keeps out his shady past.

Samuels' issues from his past were allowed in, there's no reason to think this guys won't be either.

 

[Dr. Nick]

I'm confused about the surrebuttal. I get why the JSS would allow it, appeals and all that. What I'm confused about is when this Dr. Dude did his evaluation. Was it now, during the trial? Where JA has heard testimony, and what Donavan has told her??? I'm just really confused? Is he using the info ALV and the good Dr. Sam gave him? Please someone explain this to me. I don't get how this Dr. Dude could possibly testify.

There was a lot that Dr. DeMarte testified to that could be analyzed by a third party without speaking with the defendant. The MMPI raw scores are objective, but the interpretation and diagnosis of BPD require professional judgment. One of the reasons that DSM-5 is moving to more of an a la carte approach rather than the specific categories that have been used in the past is that people suffering from "named" mental disorders still present a broad range of symptoms and behaviors. You can see that it makes more sense and might be more useful to employ descriptors rather than lump everyone into a big bucket.

I'd look for the new witness to hammer home the message that there is evidence of trauma and that Dr. DeMarte's bias prevented her from seeing it, deciding instead on a personality disorder. If he's good at what he does he'll probably make a decent argument, especially because there's a lot of overlap between PTSD and BPD, and there are a lot of moving parts to any diagnosis. Ultimately, I don't think it matters. Believe it or not, it was Dr. Samuels who explained it best. He said something to the effect of "This couldn't have been premeditated, and if it was then it's very unlikely that Jodi would suffer from dissociative amnesia".

All the psychologists in the world can't make a difference in this case if the jury understands what "reasonable doubt" means. You can dismiss the gun theft as a coincidence. You can even ignore the similarities between the gun that was stolen and the gun that was used in killing Travis. I suppose it's even possible that Travis would be silly enough to keep a gun and not have any ammunition. You start to falter when DB mentioned that her destination was Mesa and ALV mentioned the same thing (even though she claimed she misspoke). When you add in the gas cans and the lies that Jodi told, as well as the odd fact that her cell phone died and recovered in exactly the places it needed to so that her diversion to AZ was hidden, reasonable doubt about premeditation dissolves completely. The icing on the cake is Jodi's history of lying and the ridiculous story she concocted to explain TA's anger and how she managed to outrun him and still had time to retrieve, aim and fire a gun.

If JM is smart, and we know he is, he'll spend about 30 seconds on the psychological testimony in closing arguments, and his main point will be "who cares?".

 

[Mare10]

The screaming on HLN is is over, thank what ever higher being you believe in! No more screaming. Is JVM abusive, lol

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Another question. Why doesn't Deanna know when she gave Travis the laptop as a gift? She was asked that question while on the stand but said she doesn't remember. She said it was a Christmas gift but has no idea what year?
Seems sort of strange considering it was registered under her name.