otg
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On the issue of Hunter’s affidavit being written originally by Wood, this is not that unusual in cases where a judgment has been issued in a civil case, and the judge in the case doesn’t want to have to sit down and write out the order, so one of the attorneys (usually the one who has won the case) writes it for the parties involved. After writing, it is submitted to the opposing counsel who either agrees to it as written, or suggests changes to reflect the judge’s opinion as they each understand it. If they can’t agree on certain points, they each submit an order to be read and decided on by the judge. The judge can then agree on either one of them as being what his judgment was, or he can even edit one of them before he signs it.
This is what I know about from my own experience. But I am not an attorney, and I claim no special knowledge. Ginja is a poster at FFJ who is a lawyer, and she explains this same thing from her legal training and experience. Her post on the subject can be read [ame="http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showpost.php?p=55630&postcount=16"]here[/ame] (http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showpost.php?p=55630&postcount=16). (Also on a side note, if you read some of the other posts at FFJ and didn’t know, EasyWriter is Delmar England who died May 29, 2010.)
But the above is in a civil case judgment, which this was not, and Hunter was not part of any the civil suits brought by Wood on behalf of Burke. My opinion about the circumstances, knowing what was going on at the time (and with the added knowledge of what happened afterwards), is this:
Wood wanted to sue the media sources who reported that Burke was being looked at by investigators as being involved in JonBenet’s death. But he had no case to pursue if it was true (and there should be no doubt, it was). So he did a little sleight of hand by getting Hunter (who by this time had had enough and was ready to retire -- he was also having family problems himself) to agree to confirm certain “facts” about the investigation. One fact that has to be considered is that, because of his age, Burke could not be considered responsible for any criminal act because of the way Colorado law is written. According to their statutes, a child under the age of 10 does not have the ability to form “criminal intent”. And without “criminal intent”, there is no “crime” -- simply something that happened. So while investigators could look at whether or not he might have caused the result (a death), he could never be considered a “suspect” of having committed “murder”, or any other “criminal act” (manslaughter, negligent homicide, wrongful death, etc.).
Wood knew this, and that’s the reason for his asking Hunter to sign an affidavit to that effect. Hunter was under no obligation to do so since he was not involved in any civil litigation. Maybe he told Wood he didn’t have the time to do something like that, and Wood said, “No problem -- I’ll write it out for you and all you have to do is sign it.” Again, Hunter was under no obligation to do it, but for some reason (???) he agreed -- probably with the understanding that he would edit the statement so it only conceded what he was able to state. Consider that his doing this was just a “favor” for another lawyer who had a great deal to gain by suing for compensation. Did Hunter get anything in return for this “favor”? Were any of his subsequent trips to Hawaii paid for or furnished by someone else? Was his early retirement nest egg “enhanced” in some way at just the opportune moment? I wouldn’t think to suggest such a thing. Not me (but some might). Is Hunter’s doing it questionable? Absolutely. Is it legal malfeasance? Only if it had been challenged -- and it wasn’t, except by some in forum chatter.
BTW, Hunter signed the affidavit in October, 2000. He had already announced in March of the same year that he would not be seeking reelection, and would retire at the end of his current term. Lacy was elected November, 2000, and began “serving” on January 9, 2001. The lawsuits against different media outlets began getting “settled” in the first part of 2001. I’m certain Hunter’s affidavit contributed to making some of them fold.
Now with all this background in perspective, go back and read the “marked up” version of what Hunter signed (I’ll post links at the bottom for reference here on WS). Pay attention to what is said, what is crossed out, and what was crossed out and then okayed. When you do this, pay particular attention to the use of the words murder(ed), homicide, involvement, suspect/witness, and plea bargain negotiations, and remember that according to Colorado statutes as a child under the age of 10, he could never be considered capable of a criminal act even if he caused the result.
Oh, and just one more comment: I'm not trying to say that this in itself lends credence to the BDI theory. I'm simply passing on actual real information to show why it is incorrect to say that his "involvement" was never even considered by investigators because of Hunter's affidavit.
This is what I know about from my own experience. But I am not an attorney, and I claim no special knowledge. Ginja is a poster at FFJ who is a lawyer, and she explains this same thing from her legal training and experience. Her post on the subject can be read [ame="http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showpost.php?p=55630&postcount=16"]here[/ame] (http://www.forumsforjustice.org/forums/showpost.php?p=55630&postcount=16). (Also on a side note, if you read some of the other posts at FFJ and didn’t know, EasyWriter is Delmar England who died May 29, 2010.)
But the above is in a civil case judgment, which this was not, and Hunter was not part of any the civil suits brought by Wood on behalf of Burke. My opinion about the circumstances, knowing what was going on at the time (and with the added knowledge of what happened afterwards), is this:
Wood wanted to sue the media sources who reported that Burke was being looked at by investigators as being involved in JonBenet’s death. But he had no case to pursue if it was true (and there should be no doubt, it was). So he did a little sleight of hand by getting Hunter (who by this time had had enough and was ready to retire -- he was also having family problems himself) to agree to confirm certain “facts” about the investigation. One fact that has to be considered is that, because of his age, Burke could not be considered responsible for any criminal act because of the way Colorado law is written. According to their statutes, a child under the age of 10 does not have the ability to form “criminal intent”. And without “criminal intent”, there is no “crime” -- simply something that happened. So while investigators could look at whether or not he might have caused the result (a death), he could never be considered a “suspect” of having committed “murder”, or any other “criminal act” (manslaughter, negligent homicide, wrongful death, etc.).
Wood knew this, and that’s the reason for his asking Hunter to sign an affidavit to that effect. Hunter was under no obligation to do so since he was not involved in any civil litigation. Maybe he told Wood he didn’t have the time to do something like that, and Wood said, “No problem -- I’ll write it out for you and all you have to do is sign it.” Again, Hunter was under no obligation to do it, but for some reason (???) he agreed -- probably with the understanding that he would edit the statement so it only conceded what he was able to state. Consider that his doing this was just a “favor” for another lawyer who had a great deal to gain by suing for compensation. Did Hunter get anything in return for this “favor”? Were any of his subsequent trips to Hawaii paid for or furnished by someone else? Was his early retirement nest egg “enhanced” in some way at just the opportune moment? I wouldn’t think to suggest such a thing. Not me (but some might). Is Hunter’s doing it questionable? Absolutely. Is it legal malfeasance? Only if it had been challenged -- and it wasn’t, except by some in forum chatter.
BTW, Hunter signed the affidavit in October, 2000. He had already announced in March of the same year that he would not be seeking reelection, and would retire at the end of his current term. Lacy was elected November, 2000, and began “serving” on January 9, 2001. The lawsuits against different media outlets began getting “settled” in the first part of 2001. I’m certain Hunter’s affidavit contributed to making some of them fold.
Now with all this background in perspective, go back and read the “marked up” version of what Hunter signed (I’ll post links at the bottom for reference here on WS). Pay attention to what is said, what is crossed out, and what was crossed out and then okayed. When you do this, pay particular attention to the use of the words murder(ed), homicide, involvement, suspect/witness, and plea bargain negotiations, and remember that according to Colorado statutes as a child under the age of 10, he could never be considered capable of a criminal act even if he caused the result.
Oh, and just one more comment: I'm not trying to say that this in itself lends credence to the BDI theory. I'm simply passing on actual real information to show why it is incorrect to say that his "involvement" was never even considered by investigators because of Hunter's affidavit.