GUILTY UT - Brian Mitchell & Wanda Barzee for kidnapping, Salt Lake City, 5 June 2002

[kbl8201]

i seriously cant believe what im reading in the back pages here.

ed smart had to convince the police that his daughter was even still alive cause they gave her up for dead and laid the guilt at the door of a dead guy who had nothing to do with this. his younger daughter witnessed the kidnapping......i guess she's part of the scam too? and elizabeth as an accessory? she was kidnapped out of her house at knife point, threatned, raped, terrorized, most likely had her families lives threatned if she talked or escaped.

seriously is this cause there mormons?

 

[Texas Mist]

Yeah - we wanna know those answers, too!

By JENNIFER DOBNER
Associated Press Writer

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Federal prosecutors want a judge to decide whether defense attorneys for the man charged in the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart have sufficient evidence to seek an insanity defense.

more here

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/to...-insanity-defense/SBWJDz2KqUm9fPiOdHE6ew.cspx

 

[Texas Mist]

Elizabeth Smart Judge: Brian David Mitchell Can Get Fair Trial in Utah Kidnap Case

SALT LAKE CITY (CBS/AP) Brian David Mitchell, the man who allegedly kidnapped 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002 and held her until she was found alive roughly nine months later, can get a fair trial in Utah despite the news coverage of the case, a federal judge ruled Friday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20020639-504083.html

and FWIW, I just got a tweet that said that Brian David Mitchell attorneys are asking for his trial to be halted, pending appeal to 10th US Circuit court...guess we'll here more about this later today

 

[Texas Mist]

BREAKING NEWS: Appeals court won't stop Brian David Mitchell's trial

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court has denied a request by lawyers for Elizabeth Smart's accused kidnapper to halt his trial and possibly move it outside of Utah.

In a ruling handed down Thursday afternoon and obtained by Fox 13, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver denied the motion to stay the trial and transfer it to another venue. Brian David Mitchell's attorneys contend that he cannot get a fair trial in Utah because of the massive publicity surrounding the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Samrt.

"Without expressing any opinion on the merits of Mr. Mitchell's argument, we not that it is possible that a jury could be seated where all of the jurors would satisfy Mr. Mitchell's view of impartiality," the judges wrote in their decision. "Accordingly, the petition is denied. The motion for stay is denied as moot."

more here

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-brian-mitchell-trial-ruling,0,1437693.story

 

[watcher9]

I just saw this. Finally! (maybe)

Trial Begins 8 Years After Smart Kidnapping
JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press

Posted: 12:30 pm EDT October 31, 2010Updated: 12:31 pm EDT October 31, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY -- Eight years after he's accused of slicing through a kitchen window screen with a knife and whisking away a young girl in the middle of the night, the man charged in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart is headed to trial in federal court.

Jury selection in the trial of Brian David Mitchell is scheduled to begin Monday in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court.

More at site -

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25583974/detail.html

 

[Jacaranda]

Finally!

Elizabeth Smart and the 'prophet': kidnap case that gripped a nation goes to trial:

Eight years after he was accused of slicing through a kitchen window screen with a knife and whisking away a young girl in the middle of the night, the man charged in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart is headed to trial in a US federal court.


Mitchell's federal public defenders maintain that he is ill and unable to participate in his own defence. In court papers, lawyers have said they will mount an insanity defence, claiming Mitchell was so impaired at the time of the alleged crime that he can't be held legally responsible.

As evidence, the defence is expected to rely on testimony from mental health experts who have evaluated Mitchell and will most likely point to a 27-page manifesto drafted by Mitchell - "The Book of Immanuel David Isaiah" - as evidence of his delusions.

State authorities dropped Barzee's pending case related to Ms Smart's kidnapping in favour of her guilty plea in a companion case involving the attempted abduction of one of Smart's cousins.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Barzee agreed to co-operate with prosecutors. She is listed among the 24 people lawyers plan to call to testify on Mitchell's behalf.

AP

http://www.smh.com.au/world/elizabe...ed-a-nation-goes-to-trial-20101101-179sz.html

 

[strawberry]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/31/utah.elizabeth.smart.trial/index.html?hpt=T2

CNN) -- More than eight years after a Utah teenager disappeared from her bedroom on a summer night, the man authorities believe masterminded her kidnapping is set to stand trial in federal court.

Brian David Mitchell, 57, is accused of snatching then-14-year-old Elizabeth Smart at knifepoint from her family's Salt Lake City home on June 5, 2002 -- a crime that shocked the nation and the city, which was then basking in the glow of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games a few months earlier.

 

[Texas Mist]

Defense seeks delay of Smart kidnapping trial


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request for a delay of the trial for the man charged in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart.

Defense attorneys for Brian David Mitchell on Wednesday asked U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball to stop the trial.

.................

Defense attorneys say the jury selection process proves that Mitchell can't get a fair trial. Nearly everyone questioned could detail facts about the case -- from Smart's abduction in 2002 to her discovery on a suburban Salt Lake City street with Mitchell in 2003.

Kimball denied the request, saying he's confident the a fair jury can be empaneled.

Defense attorneys say they'll now ask the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to delay the trial.

more here

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/...zabeth-smart-kidnapping-trial,0,6601010.story

 

[Texas Mist]

Jury pool filled in Elizabeth Smart kidnap case

Initial jury selection wrapped up Wednesday in Brian David Mitchell’s trial in the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, and soon after the defense restated its belief that an unbiased jury was not to be found in Utah.

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball again denied the defense motion to move the trial out of the state.

By noon, 10 more jurors had been retained, bringing the total to 32. The prosecution and defense will select 12 and two alternates to hear the case against Mitchell.

Another 13 prospective jurors were sworn in Tuesday morning and saw Mitchell again removed after he continued singing in the courtroom.

At the end of Tuesday’s selections, Kimball pressed the lawyers to question potential jurors faster, saying it should take no more than five minutes on average instead of the 18 minutes it had been averaging.

The opening statements and first witnesses are expected to be heard Thursday.

much more here

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50598000-76/juror-steele-mitchell-think.html.csp

 

[Brassband]

"A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the trial interrupted in response to federal defense attorneys representing Brian David Mitchell, the itinerant street preacher accused of abducting Smart from her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002 and holding her captive for nine months."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...uction-case-is-delayed-by-concerns-about-jury

 

[Texas Mist]

Prosecutors respond to Mitchell's latest appeal

SALT LAKE CITY — Federal prosecutors filed a response to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals late Thursday saying that Brian David Mitchell's last-minute appeal to have his kidnapping trial stayed is "moot," as a jury has already been empaneled. However, defense attorneys, who filed even later, say the appeal is still valid.

According to court documents filed by prosecutors, the jury that was seated Thursday morning does not include any of the jurors who Mitchell alleged in a previous petition showed actual bias. Apparently, the defense had singled out six of the original 32 potential jurors who had made it through questioning earlier this week.
.......................
Those six jurors were never seated, so prosecutors believe there is no reason to not continue the trial, which began after the jury was empaneled Thursday morning.

Citing similar precedent, found in a 1982 case, the prosecution's response stated that, "In general a case becomes moot when the issues presented are no longer live or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome."

more here

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700078889/Prosecutors-respond-to-Mitchells-latest-appeal.html

 

[MCDRAW]

Does anyone know if you can follow this case on twitter?

 

[Texas Mist]

Change of trial venue denied for Brian David Mitchell, accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart

SALT LAKE CITY — The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has denied a petition by attorneys for Brian David Mitchell, accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, to move the trial out of Utah and lifted the stay on his trial.

Mitchell's trial will resume in federal court in Salt Lake City on Monday at 8:30 a.m. with the defense giving their opening arguments.

In their ruling handed down late Friday morning, the 10th Circuit reminded attorneys, as they did with the defense team's first petition for a change of venue filed last week, that a writ of mandamus is a "drastic remedy and is to be invoked only in extraordinary circumstances."

"We conclude Mr. Mitchell has failed to establish his entitlement to the extraordinary remedy of a writ of mandamus," the court wrote in its decision.

more here

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...ll-accused-of-kidnapping-Elizabeth-Smart.html

@McDraw - I can't find where anyone is tweeting the trial w/ live updates...I would think if it was allowed that a SLC reporter would be there.

I'll post if I find it.

 

[Cher352]

Change of trial venue denied....good, now get on with it!

 

[Texas Mist]

Elizabeth Smart kidnapping trial resumes

SALT LAKE CITY — UPDATE at 10:13 a.m.: The screen had been cut in a U shape, Smart testified.

"My heart sank and I yelled out to Ed, 'Call 911, she's gone!'" Smart said.

more of trial blog here

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-elizabeth-smart-trial-resumes-utah,0,5267562.story


and Ben Winslow of Fox13 is tweeting updates, but it's just been a summary - not like minute-by-minute 'live'...and twitter is reeeeally wonky today (technical issues) so it's hit or miss on a lotta tweets

you can follow him - @BenWinslow

 

[Texas Mist]

follow @DNewsCrimeTeam (Deseret News)- they seem to be tweeting live

here's an updated 3-pg story from Deseret News on trial this a.m.

Defense paints 'disturbing' picture of dysfunctional Mitchell family as trial resumes

SALT LAKE CITY — An attorney for Brian David Mitchell said the defense has "virtually no disagreement as to what happened" with Elizabeth Smart, but said the defense has a "general disagreement about why it happened."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...ell-family-as-trial-resumes.html?s_cid=rss-32

 

[Texas Mist]

Just wanted to add that when reading from the link above, it's less confusing if you start from the last page...that was the beginning.

IOW, the newest updates seems to be on page one, so it gets confusing to read the trial testimony backwards.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[Texas Mist]

fox13now has trial info too -- and it's updated the same way -most recent on top -so it reads better if ya start from the end...reading Elizabeth's testimony in chronological order is chilling....what a brave little girl she was!

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/...resumes-utah,0,5267562.story?page=4&track=rss

 

[Betty P]

I read the trial transcript last night, its so difficult to get through. I felt badly for her and her parents, having to listen to the details of her torture and abuse. What a nightmare! This guy ruined ES, ruined her life. He should be locked up forever. It was also sad to read her sister's testimony about sleeping on her parent's bedroom floor with a nighlight for months afterward, begging her father to get up during the night to check on her to make sure she was still there.

ES is an amazing young woman to have survived this ordeal and moved on with her life. Her parents have done a wonderful job raising her and helping her recover. They've done a fantastic job of taking care of their children with love, security and unconditional support while trying to help others. They're incredibly strong and good people. I can't say enough good things about ES and her family.

 

[Desertwind]

Elizabeth's testimony ordeal is finally over; what a brave young woman! It is so obvious that this man is playing a game of insanity. I hope that his estranged wife is as brave as Elizabeth and tells the world about what a con man and manipulator he is.
This case is what originally brought me to this board, looking for updates. I had moved from SLC, and was supposed to send my two girls back to visit. One of my daughters is the same age as Elizabeth. I refused to let them go, due to the kidnapping. There is NO WAY this girl went of her own free will, or was anything other than a helpless child victim.