TX - Moriah Wilson, 25, Cyclist Fatally Shot Before Race, Austin, 2022 *arrest* #5

[Sundog]

RSBBM
Unless I have missed something, we don't really know at this point.

Earlier in the thread it was posted that KA submitted an indigency application, indicating she would likely be assigned a public defender. However, her counsel (RC's firm) hasn't changed so the assumption is that he is being paid as her public defender.

In our earlier discussions, we concluded that RC is probably her public defender, assigned by the Austin courts. Although this hasn't been confirmed in MSM, it is probably the case.

 

[Mangosweet]

RSBBM
Unless I have missed something, we don't really know at this point.

Earlier in the thread it was posted that KA submitted an indigency application, indicating she would likely be assigned a public defender. However, her counsel (RC's firm) hasn't changed so the assumption is that he is being paid as her public defender.

I wonder if all defendants are afforded the choice of a top flight legal team as "public defender" or is that reserved for only certain defendants? I know there are rules to follow when being assigned a public defender yet in KA case it doesn't appear those rules have been followed unless it's a matter of pro bono. So my curiosity is peaked.

 

[WingsOverTX]

I wonder if all defendants are afforded the choice of a top flight legal team as "public defender" or is that reserved for only certain defendants? I know there are rules to follow when being assigned a public defender yet in KA case it doesn't appear those rules have been followed unless it's a matter of pro bono. So my curiosity is peaked.

From 2018:

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

When Travis County overhauled its system of providing legal representation for the poor back in 2015, criminal justice advocates, judges, attorneys and prosecutors had high hopes.

An independent agency would oversee most indigent defense in the Austin area, with a staff of nearly a dozen and an annual budget of more than $1 million. With the help of nearly $2 million in state funding over the last three years, the agency would make sure private lawyers who agreed to represent low-income people were doing a good job for their clients and weren’t juggling too many cases at once.

If it worked, they thought, Travis County’s solution could become a model for the whole state.
....
Most lawyers get a flat $600 for a typical felony case and $125 to get someone out of jail on a felony, regardless of the hours they work on a particular case. The rates were even lower before the CAPDS program, but most agree they’re still not high enough.

BBM

 

[jash]

I don't think this article has been posted yet. It provides a good overview.

Kaitlin Armstrong Defense Team: Police "Concocted a Misogynistic and Fictitious Story"

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

 

[Mangosweet]

I don't think this article has been posted yet. It provides a good overview.

Kaitlin Armstrong Defense Team: Police "Concocted a Misogynistic and Fictitious Story"

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

That's certainly a good defence team and the overview in this article is strictly from the defence. This must be hell for the victim Moriah Wilson's family.

 

[WingsOverTX]

That's certainly a good defence team and the overview in this article is strictly from the defence. This must be hell for the victim Moriah Wilson's family.

OTOH I'm sure as painful as it is to endure this examination of the AA & evidence/interviews, MW's family would want the right person brought to justice. And in the right way.

The prosecution set a narrative that is just now undergoing critical examination, which is the right of every defendant. I don't see it as mud-slinging YET.

Let's hope it clears up questions about this terrible crime and leads to justice sooner, rather than later.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I don't think this article has been posted yet. It provides a good overview.

Kaitlin Armstrong Defense Team: Police "Concocted a Misogynistic and Fictitious Story"

Attorneys seek prompt hearing on motions to quash evidence

www.austinchronicle.com

Wow. Is that legal for (1) LE to record and, (2) KA's attorneys to share, discussions between CS and his attorney? That seems like privileged information.

 

[WingsOverTX]

Wow. Is that legal for (1) LE to record and, (2) KA's attorneys to share, discussions between CS and his attorney? That seems like privileged information.

The attorney warned CS they were being recorded. They didn't have to continue their conversation knowing that. Still, it will be interesting if the prosecution's gag order request that has not been ruled on yet heats up because of this particular release.
MOO

 

[RickshawFan]

Handcuffed = custodial interrogation. If you have a custodial interrogation, you need to be Mirandized.

True, but she wasn't handcuffed for the murder case. She was arrested for a whole different matter.

 

[jash]

True, but she wasn't handcuffed for the murder case. She was arrested for a whole different matter.

And what's interesting is from the photo released by her defense team, she was no longer handcuffed while in with the detective. Perhaps their legal filings deliberately omitted when the cuffs were removed?

www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2022/08/18/kaitlin-armstrong-lawyer-seeks-to-toss-evidence-in-murder-case/65409020007/

 

[RickshawFan]

There's all sorts of issues brought up, like apparently 2 months later LE found out the timestamps were wrong, like in the affidavit it says the Jeep arrived 1 minute after MW opened the door but in reality that vehicle pulled up 7 minutes later, which to me is significant as KA couldn't have just immediately followed MW inside.

Snipped for focus

Incorrect time stamps on video door bells are easy to explain. They are set by owners and manufacturers. There's no law that says owners have to be accurate. Times and relative times can be re-constructed and accurately matched to vehicle movements around the neighborhood. We just went through this in the Brophy case, and it's easy to explain in court.

 

[RickshawFan]

CS does not think KA could kill or even hit someone.

Snipped for focus...

But wait...How would it look if CS said the opposite, as in: "I think she could hit someone or maybe kill them."? He would look SUPER stupid for being with KA. And he just spent the night with her? He'd be thoroughly aware that he'd look SUPER DUPER stupid. Who wants that?
Human psychology...
I'm not sure half the universe wouldn't say the same thing, given a long term relationship that might not be going anywhere, but wasn't violent, and you might want to be very defensive about your girlfriend choices. You might even have sensed something off, but not put your finger on it. But how would you wrap your head around the fact that your 3-year girlfriend seems to have killed someone, and you never had a clue, really, she could do such a thing? You missed a purple elephant in the room?
So, yeah, self protection would be likely for anyone. I think we should cut CS some slack, not for everything he says, but for many things. I think few of us would have any idea what it would be like to wake up in the morning and find you've been sleeping with a killer for 3 years. I know it would make me feel VERY VERY stupid. I'd be in a big hurry to cover my backside with the notion that she wouldn't hurt a fly. Just like CS.

 

[Mrspratcher]

And what's interesting is from the photo released by her defense team, she was no longer handcuffed while in with the detective. Perhaps their legal filings deliberately omitted when the cuffs were removed?

www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2022/08/18/kaitlin-armstrong-lawyer-seeks-to-toss-evidence-in-murder-case/65409020007/

Yes, and if she wasn’t handcuffed and free to leave then there’s no need to Mirandize, as she wasn’t in a custodial interrogation setting. There are many factors the Court will look to determine whether she should have been Mirandized.

 

[Sundog]

Wow. Is that legal for (1) LE to record and, (2) KA's attorneys to share, discussions between CS and his attorney? That seems like privileged information.

I'm sure it will be played at the trial, so I don't think it is information that is privileged in any way. The prosecution is obligated to share its discovery with the defense during the entire process, and definitely well before the trial.

In terms of sharing the information, the prosecution shared information and quotes from the interview with CS long before KA was ever arrested, so it is not surprising that the defense is doing the same thing.

 

[jash]

I'm sure it will be played at the trial, so I don't think it is information that is privileged in any way. The prosecution is obligated to share its discovery with the defense during the entire process, and definitely well before the trial.

In terms of sharing the information, the prosecution shared information and quotes from the interview with CS long before KA was ever arrested, so it is not surprising that the defense is doing the same thing.

I think the OP was referring to the fact that CS and his attorney were having a "private" conversation while the detective was out of the room. But as someone else pointed out, they were aware that they were being recorded.

 

[Sundog]

Yes, and if she wasn’t handcuffed and free to leave then there’s no need to Mirandize, as she wasn’t in a custodial interrogation setting. There are many factors the Court will look to determine whether she should have been Mirandized.

If there was no need to Mirandize, then I wonder why the LE who was interrogating KA started to Mirandize her before the knock on the door and she was interrupted. The transcript of the recording sure sounds confusing, especially to the defendant who was asking if she needed an attorney, several times.

 

[Charlot123]

Snipped for focus...

But wait...How would it look if CS said the opposite, as in: "I think she could hit someone or maybe kill them."? He would look SUPER stupid for being with KA. And he just spent the night with her? He'd be thoroughly aware that he'd look SUPER DUPER stupid. Who wants that?
Human psychology...
I'm not sure half the universe wouldn't say the same thing, given a long term relationship that might not be going anywhere, but wasn't violent, and you might want to be very defensive about your girlfriend choices. You might even have sensed something off, but not put your finger on it. But how would you wrap your head around the fact that your 3-year girlfriend seems to have killed someone, and you never had a clue, really, she could do such a thing? You missed a purple elephant in the room?
So, yeah, self protection would be likely for anyone. I think we should cut CS some slack, not for everything he says, but for many things. I think few of us would have any idea what it would be like to wake up in the morning and find you've been sleeping with a killer for 3 years. I know it would make me feel VERY VERY stupid. I'd be in a big hurry to cover my backside with the notion that she wouldn't hurt a fly. Just like CS.

I want to cut him a lot of slack. The conversation between CS and his lawyer is interesting. On paper, it sounds midway between cajoling a cranky six-year old and a psychotherapy session. I believe CS when he says he doesn’t understand women. He is practical, and logical, and mechanically inclined, but emotions are seemingly not his forte. His situation is difficult - after all, he initiated relationship with MW, and he bought KA the gun. However, I feel sorry for CS because he was manipulated by an exceptionally complex woman, KA, and did not understand it.

 

[Sundog]

<snipped for focus> However, I feel sorry for CS because he was manipulated by an exceptionally complex woman, KA, and did not understand it.

Or he manipulated two women and they did not understand it. JMO.

 

[Marysmith]

Or he manipulated two women and they did not understand it. JMO.

I agree with this… obviously he is not responsible for the murder but he did not act well to either of the two women.

 

[Charlot123]

I agree with this… obviously he is not responsible for the murder but he did not act well to either of the two women.

That, sadly, he can not change. Currently, of importance is CS’s stand during the trial. MOO - CS views the situation from the standpoint of “Someone's grieving but that's not relevant” (words that he said to Claire Carter). Indeed, he has many things to grieve for. But if CS can look at the story from a different angle, not counting own losses, but realizing what MW has lost, he can pull through this process, and decently. (We read that CS was in therapy. It is an immense tool, and hopefully, can help CS gain certain fairness. JMO. Keeping fingers crossed for the fair outcome of the trial).