Archive for the 'jury' Tag
November 20th, 2008, 1:31 pm by Nick R. Martin
Even the most-scripted trials run into a wall sometimes. Judge Roland Steinle announced before the lunch break that one of the jurors has come down sick. That means the testimony about Robin Blasnek’s murder, as well as the end of the first segment of the prosecution’s case, will be delayed until after Thanksgiving.
The trial is off all next week for the holiday, but check back here tomorrow for a small story wrapping up this week’s developments. Then, live blogging from the trial will begin again on Dec. 1.
Posted in: Dale Hausner • Judge Steinle • Jurors • Life in trial • Prosecution • health care • Judge Steinle • jury • Serial Shooter | Post a Comment »
October 29th, 2008, 10:47 am by Nick R. Martin
A juror just told Judge Roland Steinle that her boss has threatened to cut off her health insurance if she remains on the trial past the end of the month. A blond woman in the back row, Juror No. 5 said that her employer, Lehigh Hanson Aggregates, wants the court to pay for her health care if she is to stay.
The problem, Steinle said, is that the court doesn’t have the cash to pay for anyone’s health care. He also said he consulted with attorneys and believes the company’s move is illegal. “Under the statute, you can’t be penalized for being on the jury,” Steinle said. He plans to send a letter to the company, then refer the woman to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
However, Steinle said, if the company plays hardball, the woman may have to be excused from the jury. “Particularly in these economic times,” Steinle said, he doesn’t want someone to go without health insurance.
Posted in: Judge Steinle • Jurors • aggregates • attorney • Dale Hausner • health care • jury • Serial Shooter | Post a Comment »
October 23rd, 2008, 10:41 am by Nick R. Martin
Judge Roland Steinle dealt with more juror trouble this morning when he told juror No. 18 to stop talking to himself during testimony. “It’s distracting to the other jurors and it’s distracting to the lawyers,” Steinle told the middle-aged man in the front row. “It’s pretty hard to keep a poker face all the time,” Steinle said. But he asked the juror to still try.
The juror told Steinle he was having trouble hearing the testimony. “The reason that I make comments to myself all the time is because I can’t hear,” the man said.
Steinle asked him to sit in a seat closer to the witness stand, and said he hoped the little talk resolved the problem. “We’ll monitor the situation,” Steinle said.
Posted in: Judge Steinle • Jurors • Dale Hausner • Judge Steinle • Jurors • jury • Serial Shooter | Post a Comment »
October 22nd, 2008, 1:04 pm by Nick R. Martin
The Napping Juror in the front row tells Judge Roland Steinle that he, in fact, is not napping when he closes his eyes. He says it’s a technique that he uses all the time at work while on conference calls. He drops his eyes, but still listens to what’s happening. “My body may look like I’m falling asleep, but I’m retaining all the information,” the unnamed juror told Judge Roland Steinle.
Still, the judge asked the young man to keep his eyes open during the trial and told him to sit where Steinle can see him.
“I’ll add a couple Red Bulls to my system now,” the juror said.
Steinle again denied the defense team’s request to kick the juror off the trial, but he said after the man left the room that the juror was now “in the hot seat.”
As for the Loose-Lipped Juror, he apparently took off before the judge could call him back into the room. Steinle’s assistant said she asked him to stick around, but he slipped out of the courthouse before he was called back in. Attorneys and other jurors have complained that the man is making offhanded comments during testimony. At best, it’s distracting. At worst, it is possibly skewing the opinions of other jurors.
At this point, the middle-aged man seems like the more-likely candidate to get canned as the trial goes on. “I’ll deal with him tomorrow morning,” Steinle said.
Programming note: Wednesday was a short day. The trial is on break until Thursday morning. Join us here again at that time for more live updates.
Posted in: Judge Steinle • Jurors • judge • Judge Steinle • Jurors • jury • Serial Shooter | 1 Comment »
October 22nd, 2008, 11:46 am by Nick R. Martin
After testimony wrapped for the day yesterday, Judge Roland Steinle said he planned to pull aside two jurors and give them a talkin’ to, one for napping and the other for adding whispered commentary during the trial. Both jurors are men sitting in the front row. The first is in his 20s and was caught sleeping at least twice already. The other is middle-aged and was heard whispering things to other jurors, such as whether or not he believes a witness.
Steinle said this morning he plans to talk to the two jurors at about 1 p.m. when testimony ends for the day. He said in open court, he wants to keep things on the down low with other jurors. “We will have to deal with the gentleman at the end of today’s proceedings, but I want it to be very subtle,” Steinle said.
Photo by pool photographer. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Roland Steinle talks to attorneys during the trial of Serial Shooter suspect Dale Hausner.
Posted in: Judge Steinle • Jurors • Judge Steinle • Jurors • jury • Serial Shooter | 1 Comment »
October 20th, 2008, 2:55 pm by Nick R. Martin
During a break this afternoon, attorney Ken Everett complained to Judge Roland Steinle that today was at least the second time a young juror has been seen sleeping on the job. Everett said he even wanted to “ask that he be excluded right now” — lawyer speak for kicking him off the trial.
The 20-something man in the front row might be forgiven for having heavy eyelids, though, especially today. The room is a little warm and the air is stale. The testimony this afternoon is entirely from Maricopa County medical examiner Robert Lyon, who is going over detailed autopsies in which the most interesting info is a brief but intricate discussion on how lividity helps determine time of death. It’s dry stuff.
Steinle told Everett he wasn’t ready to yank the juror just yet. But, the judge said, if the man continues to nap, the court may revisit this issue sooner than later.
Posted in: Dale Hausner • Defense • Jurors • Life in trial • attorneys • jury • Serial Shooter | Post a Comment »
October 15th, 2008, 2:04 pm by Nick R. Martin
In criminal trials in Maricopa County, jurors get to ask questions of witnesses. After the prosecutors and defense attorneys finish running the witness through the ringer a time or two, the judge asks if the jurors have any questions of their own. If so, they scribble them down on a piece of paper and hand them to the judge. Often the questions are things the attorneys forgot to ask or needed clarifying. Even as a journalist in the courtroom, I’m grateful for some the questions asked.
Here’s a sample of some of the questions Tolleson detective Ronald Rock was asked by the jury at the end of his testimony. Most were about the death of 20-year-old David Estrada.
Q: You do not have a background in ballistics, do you?
A: No, I do not.
Q: From your investigation of the scene, was there any evidence that a struggle took place before Mr. Estrada fell to the ground?
A: No, there was not.
Q: What was the approx distance between the body and his belongings and the body and the freeway?
A: About 30 to 40 yards to the belongings and about 20 feet to the entrance of the freeway.
Q: Is it common to have panhandlers and hitch hikers near this exit?
A: Absolutely and there’s probably one there right now.
Q: Were there any blood stains from his belongings to where his body was found?
A: No, there were not.
Q: Did you investigate the murder as a random event or targeted killing? When your investigation was wrapping up, did you believe it was a random shooting?
A: Yes, it did. It did seem to be a random shooting. It did not look like anything else.
Posted in: Dale Hausner • Jurors • Life in trial • judge • jury • Serial Shooter | Post a Comment »
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