All righty, then. I am not a lawyer. I consider myself reasonably educated, and a decent reader. Let's see if I can break down MM objections. He lists 6, but there are really only 4.
1) Having a hearing is barred by a previous court order. I don't know anything about this, but it sounds like a good point if it is true. Potentially his best argument.
2) Bringing in this resource is irrelevant to the current charges. This is also a reasonable point, although it might buy him no more than a delay of the hearing.
3) Bringing in this resource is a wasteful use of public money in MM's opinion. I have no argument. He is entitled to his opinion. But...shouldn't his opinion be expressed in a letter to the editor of the local paper, rather than in this motion? If he wrote this to the local paper it wouldn't be as transparently an appeal to stop spending public money on things that could help convict my client. This is unrelated to the proposed hearing.
4) Bringing in this resource is irrelevant to the current charges. This point's reasonableness does not double because it was repeated.
5) Bringing in this resource is a wasteful use of public money in MM's opinion. This point's absurdity is not diminished because it is repeated. I wonder if there is a motion filed for one of Lori's jail-mates along the lines of, "I don't think public money should be spent on an expert to attempt to extract data from a damaged hard drive with bank's surveillance video from the date my client is accused of robbing said bank."
6) Bringing in this resource will force me to draw attention to my belief that the prosecutor will be forced to provide evidence helpful to my client, the defendant. Bringing in this resource will cause the prosecution to be forced to share with the defense information to which the defense would not otherwise be able to obtain. This is...confusing. Which side was he on again?
I am not a lawyer and don't speak legalese.
However, from a cursory reading of that, my basic understanding and interpretation of Mark Means' words is that he's terrified and/or feels intimidated by Rob Wood bringing on Rachel Smith as part of his team and what that implies for his client.
1. I can't make heads or tails of this. It seems like Scott Reisch was also confused by this point. You know there's a problem when another attorney can't even make out what MM is trying to say. My best guess is MM is trying to say that the Pro Hac Vice motion should be denied because of a previous court order? I'm left scratching my head on this one as I've never heard anything about a previous court order that would affect a Pro Hac Vice motion in this case.
2. This Court lacks jurisdiction? What's he going on about? As for the rest of his text in this point, it sounds like he feels threatened because it was publicized that Rachel Smith is an experienced criminal prosecutor that has dealt with numerous death penalty cases, and he therefore wants her removed from the case because the current charges against his client don't warrant the death penalty. Excuse me? Just because she's 'overqualified' doesn't mean she should be removed from the case. Nor should she be removed from the case because she scares you and you feel intimidated. Furthermore, just because she practices law in a certain specialized field, shouldn't preclude her from practicing law in a seemingly unrelated field - or have you Mr. Means forgotten yourself that you are primarily a practitioner of "Family Law, Personal Injury/Worker's Compensation, Mediation, Bankruptcy, and Business Litigation?" And yet here you are practicing criminal law where "the current charges are not presented as [the] expertise" of even yourself. Cart before the horse indeed!
3. Mr. Wood hasn't waived any rights. As the special prosecutor on this case he retains the right to prosecute this case however he sees fit. That includes hiring or retaining the help of whoever he wants so long as it is done so legally and according to the laws of the State and County. Furthermore, he can finance the case however he sees fit. I don't see him going around telling you how much you can or can't spend, and in what ways, in the defense of your client. How preposterous!
4. See #2.
5. Sounds like Mr. Means is upset that the State has deeper pockets to prosecute this case than his client has to pay him to defend it. Guess what Mr. Means, if your client becomes indigent to the point she can't pay you anymore guess who can and will take over the costs of paying for her attorney fees? The State.
6. What in the world is he going on about? I'm as bewildered as you on this one.