What would you rebut? Discuss rebuttal here

[basilcat]

I am pretty sure that Juan opened his cross the way he did for a certain purpose...which will be made clear in his rebuttal- IMO he has definite, concrete evidence that she had changed her hair colour......leading to premeditation all the way!

 

[sleuth21]

There is one more thing I would like to see in rebuttal:

I would like for JM's expert wits on DV to be able to show how Travis was actually the VICTIM of domestic violence due to her stalking and intrusive behavior. I would like for an expert to explain how he could, on one hand, revile and fear her and , on the other hand, forgive her behavior and continue allowing her back into his life. He was the one caught in the cycle of violence via her intrusive behavior and crazy making gaslighting.

 

[Lea227]

Some of these may have been listed already but I would call back the ME. I have reviewed his testimony at least 4 times and he was adamant that the gun shot would have incapacitated Travis, that he would not have been able to perform any purposeful action and would not have had defensive wounds as he would have been unable to raise his arms. He definitely stated that the bullet went through the right frontal lobe of his brain based on the entry and exit points of the skull cavity. The only thing the defense could get him to concede was that he couldn't trace the path of the bullet due to decomposition, but he still stated that it COULD NOT have missed the brain. Thus proving that Jodi's version is a lie as we all know it is.

Another point that I would have liked to have seen brought out during cross but may be able to be worked in during rebuttal is that why, if Jodi didn't understand the law of chastity, why then did she tell Mr. Brewer that they could no longer engage in sexual relations when she converted to Mormonism? It appears she understood it THEN, before she engaged in relations with Travis. Perhaps he can call Mr. Brewer back to reiterate that point.

 

[Midnight Meddler]

hopefully Juan could come up with some sort of rebuttal for the fibers. Arias claims it is rope and she took it with her. Hopefully they can rebut that rope carp and tie the fiber to one of the bedding items, etc.


(fwiw I have never seen rope have fibers that are one inch long <belch>)


the rope story is just another example of her trying to make the forensics fit her story vs the truth of the matter

YES! I hope so too! Those curly, inch long fibers will match the fringe from a decorative pillow he had on his lounge chair next to the bed. Remember Dr. Horn stated no stippling could be due to distance from, OR an object between the gun and the victim... Curly fibers found on bathroom floor and on stair tread. She used the pillow and took that with her too...

 

[Donnareit]

Yesterday Jodi explained why she didn't wait to buy cheaper gas in Nevada or Utah by saying:

Yes, that's why I initially got the gas cans from Daryl, so I could save money, that kind of thing. I'm a coupon clipper, that kind of person, but when I got to southern California and realized I'm taking I-I15 across two and a half states, um I've never driving this before, it's the middle of the night, I'm by myself and I'm in a car that I'm not familiar with, I didn't want to be stuck in the dark somewhere in the desert, I've heard lots of horror stories and I wanted to make sure I wasn't stranded.

HOWEVER her cell phone records show a call to Travis at 8:16 pm. She testified she told him she was coming and he said, "Really?" and that he would wait up for her.

She buys the gas at 8:46 pm ALREADY KNOWING that she will be going to Mesa on a road she is very familiar with and where the gas stations are.

There is a call to Ryan at 9 something saying she is on her way to Utah, but that would be simply another lie as she has already told Travis to expect her by morning.

Probably not a rebuttal question here, but might be worth bringing up on final.

 

[Donnareit]

She said she didn't touch any shelves. :floorlaugh:
Just her foot on one shelf.
I don't think she went in them closet for the gun. She brought it from Yreka and had it in her sweatpants.

And now we can add the time it takes to remove the gun from a holster.

 

[Applejack]

I also think JM should ask the jury to ask themselves what a reasonable person would do in the scenario JA fabricated.
She's a women with a history of battery from her ex. She fears for her life and knows the house well. Does a reasonable person run into an enclosed space and search for a weapon or does she run for her life?

That was one of the more interesting q/a's to me yesterday. She said "well I ran into the closet in part because i knew it wasnt a dead end" (or to that effect.) my problem with that is 1. If she was thinking about not being trapped or cornered then why is it that when she got back into the bathroom, she ran back into the middle of it instead of towards the other exit and down the hall again and 2. If she knew there was a gun in there and wasn't sure where travis was, and believed he truly intended to kill her, why wasn't she concerned that he was waiting in the closet for her with the gun, since he would have had quicker access directly from the bathroom?

 

[Applejack]

She said she didn't touch any shelves. :floorlaugh:
Just her foot on one shelf.
I don't think she went in them closet for the gun. She brought it from Yreka and had it in her sweatpants.

In her latest version from yesterday, she just barely put the fingertips of one hand on the top shelf. ;D

 

[MandyLeigh]

I definitely think the trajectory of the bullet will come into play in rebuttal. No way does her story line up with the evidence. It was more of an execution style.

Nurse, maybe you can tell us: if someone were to receive a bullet wound the way Travis did, would they be able to utter complete sentences? I figured he'd have blood gushing out of his mouth.

This.

Even with the crazy way she is claiming he was positioned when she pulled the trigger the bullet would not have gone in the trajectory it went.

 

[Gummishoe]

And now we can add the time it takes to remove the gun from a holster.

When her lawyer was trying to clean up her mess she mentioned removing the gun from a holster, the holster never was mentioned before. Now today while answering the questions from the jury she never saw a holster? Omg I cannot stand to watch her...:furious:

 

[Kacey4]

just since trial began today I have a few questions I hope Martinez will ask or bring up :

1. Since when was it ever said that the third gas can was hypothitical?
2. Could Travis have threateningly yell and threaten her after he received a bullet wound thru the brain.
3. On 48 hrs she says she wanted to portray a good image of him, but she brought out whatever negative things they learned.
4. If Travis bodyslammed her when he stepped out of the shower, her head would be facing north, not south.

 

[katiewonders]

OMG! When she described how she gingerly stepped on the closet shelves and just picked herself up by her wee finger-tips so nothing was messed up on the shelves - I lost it and yelled at my TV screen, which immediately became all scrambled and foggy.

Yeah, maybe if she wasn't 'feeling' like he was coming after her to kill her, but, man if she were going for that gun thinking it was going to be him or her, those shelves would have been more thanl messed up.

I know I would have gone in like a bull in a china shop to get that gun before he got to me.

This never happened, I am so sick of her lies, and dragging this innocent guy through the mud. Hope she gets murder in the 1st degree and death, and, boys, don't put your d#4! in crazy.

 

[Cate49]

I was hoping the state would have someone the size and weight of JA attempt to do exactly what she states she did in that closet and videotape it. Those shelves were designed for holding shoes or books, not an~ 120lb person on one front corner / edge. The little pins keeping it in place wouldn't have held up and the shoes would have gone flying.

I also think JM should ask the jury to ask themselves what a reasonable person would do in the scenario JA fabricated.
She's a women with a history of battery from her ex. She fears for her life and knows the house well. Does a reasonable person run into an enclosed space and search for a weapon or does she run for her life?

Also he should point out and stress that even if everything happened the way she said it did- the moment she chose to defend herself by getting the deadly weapon rather than running to safety was all that's legally required to fit the definition of premeditation. ( at least where I live)

The crime scene photo's of the shelves in closet clearly show how neat the piles of clothes were not one out of space

 

[Teresa]

My husband, me too now =-), would like a demo of some sort to show that there was NO time for her story. Show how FAST things occured that day. Things happened very fast and Jodi needed to have her weapons handy to make it work. My husband said that the short time span and logic is what made him sure of what and how it happened. There are a ton of men on this jury and I'm guessing logic is the key. This was the ticket to make my husband agree it was planned.

 

[SwampMama]

I'd like to know how she was able to attach the license plate back on the car after she miraculously found it? Were the screw just magically there with it in a neat lil pile?

 

[SevenSeas]

The crime scene photo's of the shelves in closet clearly show how neat the piles of clothes were not one out of space

Not only that, but there wasn't ONE drop of blood in that closet! If Travis had run through that closet, chasing her with a gunshot wound to the head, there would have been at the very least a couple of blood drops somewhere in the closet.


Eewww... hated to even type that.

 

[Sustained]

Not only that, but there wasn't ONE drop of blood in that closet! If Travis had run through that closet, chasing her with a gunshot wound to the head, there would have been at the very least a couple of blood drops somewhere in the closet.


Eewww... hated to even type that.

THe gunshot wound supposedly came after the chase through the closet.

 

[raisincharlie]

On the rebuttal by the prosecution -

1. Proof from Walmart that the gas can was never returned.

2. Information from Tesoro in Salt Lake City as to whether the store portion of the facility was open or only the gas pumps.

3. One animated video of the prosecution's theory of how Travis was murdered to highlight the stabs in the back, the slit throat, the camera location for various photos, and how it would not be possible (impossible) for a clean spent bullet casing to fall on top of blood if the shot came first.

4. One DV expert who can explain how their conclusions as to whether or not a person has been abused are reached. (i.e. how much reliance on a person's claims and how much dependency on collaborating evidence enter into the conclusions)

 

[DebinGA]

JM's already rebutting the DV expert who'll claim Travis "controlled" Jodi. JM asked JA questions about her breakup w/Bobby way back in high school and how they got back together again, which showed she initiated contact, was ignored and intiated contact again, and kept on until he finally called her back. JM will be able to use the phone/text records to prove she did the same with Travis, basically hounding him until he responded. Ditto her move to Mesa a month after their initial breakup. She was Javert, and he was Valjean.

 

[gcharlie]

Rebuttal

At the conclusion of the defendant's case, the plaintiff or government can present rebuttal witnesses or evidence to refute evidence presented by the defendant. This may include only evidence not presented in the case initially, or a new witness who contradicts the defendant's witnesses.

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/p...ucation_network/how_courts_work/rebuttal.html

JM is expected to call Dr. Janeen Demarte to counter an expert testimony on the DV claim.

Dave Hall, a friend of TA, is also expected to be called to testify that TA did not own a gun.

IMO, JM should focus his rebuttal on premeditation and her versions of the killing. With this in mind:

- A different forensic pathologist/medical specialist to testify as to the bullet's trajectory and effect on TA, given JA's version of events. It should not be the ME; the jury has already heard from him, so JM needs another voice to give the same basic information in a different form to refute JA's testimony. Might also ask about body slam and having the 'wind knocked out".

- Testimony regarding the closet shelves; on cross, JA said she only used one hand to grab the gun, but did not touch any shelf. If possible, would want to hear testimony that the crime scene showed no prints or smears from her on the shelves. Also, testimony that it would not be possible to step on the lip of one of these shelves without damaging it or disturbing its contents; most closet shelving systems today will not.

Some things will be best left to closing arguments, especially in the absence of compelling testimony.