All charges dropped in Scott case Apr 19, 2008
"In light of the likely admission of evidence we believe is irrelevant, as officers of the court, it is our position that there is no reasonable likelihood the commonwealth can meet its burden of proof," the press release read. Scott, 22, of Allentown, had been charged with rape, sexual assault, simple assault and two counts of indecent assault stemming from an alleged encounter at his on-campus residence with a female student in October. (Daily Collegian, PA)
Austin Scott Cleared of Charge Apr 19, 2008
"The facts of the case have not changed from the time he was arrested. However, the trial judge has ruled evidence of the victim's past is relevant to this case though it has always been our position that the evidence of the victim's past is irrelevant. While we disagree with the trial judge's decision, we appreciate that he made the decision quickly. We attempted to have the trial judge's ruling reviewed by the Superior Court but the Superior Court decided that they will not review this matter.... (LionNews.com)
Defense wants jurors to be told of victims tattoo Feb 23, 2008
Mitchell adds the jury is already likely to infer negative biases against the victim on account of his immigration status, and as a result the admission of evidence that he could be a gang member would ensure a judgment based upon passion. Some other documents regarding the Corbett case were recently filed in court. (Sierra Vista Herald, AZ)
Letters to the Editor - 2/21/2008 Feb 22, 2008
That Act forbids the admission of evidence extracted by torture, although it permits evidence obtained by cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if it was secured before December 30, 2005. Thus, the administration would be forbidden from relying on evidence obtained by waterboarding, if waterboarding constitutes torture. (North County Times)
Agents defense wants jurors to be told of victims tattoo Feb 22, 2008
Mitchell adds the jury is already likely to infer negative biases against the victim on account of his immigration status, and as a result the admission of evidence that he could be a gang member would ensure a judgment based upon passion. Earlier this month, Mitchell filed a motion that asked the court to prohibit Border Patrol agent witnesses from testifying regarding use of force issues. (Douglas Daily Dispatch, AZ)
Judge reverses $171M Wolfswinkel judgment Feb 12, 2008
The judge also allowed the admission of evidence about Wolfswinkel's past, which Burke concluded was "unduly prejudicial" to Wolfswinkel. In the 1990s Wolfswinkel was hit with $2 billion in judgments related to the collapse of several savings and loans where he was a borrower. (AZCentral -- Business)
Hartford Elks lodge seeks new trial in case of rejected women Nov 29, 2007
In an appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court, the lodge contends that the 2005 jury trial that awarded $5,000 apiece to four women denied membership was unfair, in part because Judge Christina Reiss barred the admission of evidence showing that the lodge had accepted other women who applied after the four. The court heard arguments but didn't rule Wednesday. (WCAX.com, VT)
Miller defense wants year delay ... Early voting starts Saturday for Nov. 17 runoffs ... Community leaders read to students as part of DEAR program ... ';var marqueewidth="350px";var marqueeheight="25px";var marqueebgcolor="#FFFFFF";////NO NEED TO EDIT BELOW THIS LINE////////////var pauseit=1;var marqueespeed=1 //slow speed down by 1 for NSvar copyspeed=marqueespeedvar pausespeed=(pauseit==0)? copyspeed: 0var iedom=document.all||document.getElementByIdif (iedom)document.write(''+marqueecontent+'')var actualwidth=''var cross_marquee, ns_marqueefunction populate(){if (iedom){cross_marquee=document.getElementById? document.getElementById("iemarquee") : document.all.iemarqueecross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8+"px"cross_marquee.innerHTML=marqueecontentactualwidth=document.all? temp.offsetWidth : document.getElementById("temp").offsetWidth}else if (document.layers){ns_marquee=document.ns_marquee.document.ns_marquee2ns_marquee.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8ns_marquee.document.write(marqueecontent)ns_marquee.document.close()actualwidth=ns_marquee.document.width}lefttime=setInterval("scrollmarquee()",20)}window.onload=populate;function scrollmarquee(){if (iedom){if (parseInt(cross_marquee.style.left)>(actualwidth*(-1)+8))cross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(cross_marquee.style.left)-copyspeed+"px"elsecross_marquee.style.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8+"px"}else if (document.layers){if (ns_marquee.left>(actualwidth*(-1)+8))ns_marquee.left-=copyspeedelsens_marquee.left=parseInt(marqueewidth)+8}}if (iedom||document.layers){with (document){document.write('')if (iedom){write('')write('')write('')write('')}else if (document.layers){write('')write('')write('')}document.write('')}}Saturday, November 03, 2007 STRIKE UP THE BANDS: St. Amant High School's Golden Gator Band performs during the Fourth Annual Ascension Parish Band Night, held Tuesday at Spartan Stadium in Gonzales. All four parish public high school bands and numerous parish middle school bands took part in the showcase. For more photos from the event, see Page 7A of the Weekend Edition of The Gonzales Weekly Citizen. Miller defense wants year delay Nov 3, 2007
O'Bannon argued that the defense did not have the right to go back to square one regarding admission of evidence in the trial, while Stubbs countered that prior evidence should be suppressed due to the prejudicial nature of prior bad acts. At one point, a visibly annoyed Turner called a recess and met privately with attorneys in another courtroom, saying he was giving both teams a chance to cool down, and if they did not he might have to hold somebody in contempt of court. (Gonzales Ascension Citizen, LA)
Supreme Court tosses ex-priest sex conviction case Nov 2, 2007
The court overturned the conviction because of the admission of evidence regarding religious doctrine caused the entanglement of religion with the verdict. The judges split evenly with one justice abstaining on the question of whether the law against clergy having sex with people who come to them for counseling or spiritual guidance, meaning the law will stand. (Winona Daily News, MN)
Spector lawyers in plea to judge Aug 30, 2007
On Tuesday, Mr Spector's lawyers failed in their bid to have an autobiography written by Ms Clarkson shown to jurors in hearings over admission of evidence. "There's all sorts of problems with this. It's different from the e-mails. The court is finding that it is inadmissible," said the judge. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Spector rejects lesser charges Aug 29, 2007
During hearings Tuesday on admission of evidence, the defense launched a last-ditch effort to show jurors an autobiography written by Lana Clarkson on her computer decades before she was shot to death at Spector's mansion, but the move failed. Defense attorney Christopher Plourd asked Fidler to reconsider an earlier decision to exclude a composition titled The Story of My Life, which was discovered in Clarkson's computer after her death. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Spector defense doesn't want jury to consider lesser charges Aug 29, 2007
It said that the judge must decide "whether there is substantial evidence in this record which could persuade a reasonable jury that even if Mr. Spector fired the shot that killed Ms. Clarkson, that conduct did not rise to the level of malice murder and instead constituted either voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. It said that the standards for the two "lesser included offenses" are not applicable to the case. Prosecutors said they would file their response to the motion Wednesday. The... (International Herald Tribune)
Archbishop writes to PM about Hicks Mar 24, 2007
Dr Freier says the admission of evidence through coercion also has him worried. "Coercion, as I understand it, is defined as up to and including the point of organ failure," he said. (ABC News Online, Australia -- Top Stories)
Pickton trial under media glare Jan 22, 2007
" Kristina Bateman, the daughter of Ms. Papin who lives in Las Vegas, had thought about attending the opening of the trial. But she said she's nervous about confronting scores of television cameras and microphones, although she thinks it's a good thing that there is widespread interest in the case. "I'm glad there is media attention, so that people will know everything," Ms. Bateman said in a telephone interview. In the end, Ms. Bateman decided not to attend the opening. She said she will wait... (Globe and Mail)
Lawyers support Heiser’s claims Nov 18, 2006
Wynhausen said he asked for an opportunity to argue for the admission of evidence of the defendant s prior criminal activities. Usually such evidence is not admissible except under specific conditions. (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
Ark. Supreme Court upholds death sentence Nov 3, 2006
In a dissent, Associated Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber wrote that the majority "conflates the admission of evidence with the representation of evidence," which requires the presence of a defendant. "The representation of evidence violated Anderson's constitutional right to be present during a substantial step in his case," Imber wrote. (Pine Bluff Commercial, AR)
Hillary Clinton Wakes Up Oct 27, 2006
Hillary, speaking of the June Supreme Court decision (Hamdan v. Rumsfeld)which forced Congress to pretend to correct Bush's unconstitutional military commissions at Guantnamo, and his five-year violations of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of our prisoners anywhere in the worldsaid of the new military commissions bill, since passed by House and Senate, that "it allows a discredited policy . . . to be largely continued and to be made worse." For example, Clinton continued, "the bill... (Ocnus.net)
World Briefings: Red Cross chief questions U.S. anti-terror law Oct 23, 2006
Mr. Kellenberger raised concerns about the "very broad definition" of "an unlawful enemy combatant" and the lack of explicit prohibition of the admission of evidence obtained by coercion. The new U.S. law also omitted segments of a key section common to all parts of the Geneva Conventions, Article 3, prohibiting humiliating and degrading treatment and denying the right to fair trial, while retaining others, Mr. Kellenberger said. (Washington Times, DC)
Red Cross says concerned at US interrogation law Oct 20, 2006
"The very broad definition of who is an 'unlawful enemy combatant' and the fact that there is not an explicit prohibition on the admission of evidence attained by coercion are examples.". Bush says the law will enable the United States to bring to trial some of those believed to be behind the September 11 attacks. (Reuters)
Red Cross concerned with interrogation law Oct 20, 2006
The very broad definition of who is an unlawful enemy combatant and the fact that there is not an explicit prohibition on the admission of evidence attained by coercion are examples, he said. Related story. (MSNBC -- International)
ICRC concerned over new US terror law Oct 20, 2006
Among other controversial provisions it permits the admission of evidence gained through coercion, and prevents detainees at Guantnamo from challenging their detention in US courts ... "The very broad definition of who is an 'unlawful enemy combatant' and the fact that there is not an explicit prohibition of the admission of evidence attained by coercion are examples," he said, in comments posted on the ICRC website following a speech at Georgetown University. (MSNBC -- Business)
Red Cross lambasts US terror law Oct 20, 2006
"The very broad definition of who is an 'unlawful enemy combatant' and the fact that there is not an explicit prohibition on the admission of evidence attained by coercion are examples.". Mr Kellenberger said the ICRC would discuss its concern with the White House, such as how the law "omits certain violations from the list of acts that are war crimes under US domestic law". (Yahoo News -- Terrorism & 9/11)
ICRC says concerned over new U.S. anti-terror law Oct 20, 2006
"The very broad definition of who is an "unlawful enemy combatant" and the fact that there is not an explicit prohibition on the admission of evidence attained by coercion are examples," he added. The ICRC, guardian of the Geneva Conventions which are accepted by 194 nations, said it was studying the new U.S. law, which it said was very complex and had both positive and negative elements. (Xinhuanet, China)
U.S. Senate passes new detainee rules Sep 29, 2006
The bill would also bar the admission of evidence obtained by cruel and inhuman treatment, except any obtained before Dec. 30, 2005, when Congress enacted the Detainee Treatment Act, that a judge declares reliable and probative. Democrats said the date was conveniently set after the worst abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantnamo. (International Herald Tribune)
Man loses child porn offences appeal Jul 20, 2006
The appeal court agreed and quashed the conviction on the second count, but also ruled that the admission of evidence on that charge had caused no substantial miscarriage of justice. Bounds then appealed to the High Court, but in a 4-1 majority ruling the judges found he had not been disadvantaged. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Man convicted on meth charge wins appeal, granted new trial May 24, 2006
In an order filed in the office of Fayette County Circuit Clerk Marsha Wodtka on Monday, the appellate judges ruled that Maness was "deprived of a fair trial by prosecutorial misconduct and the improper admission of evidence.". However, the judges ruled, "the properly admitted evidence was sufficient to sustain his conviction," thus the reason for a new trial. (Vandalia Leader Union, IL)
How judges favor the prosecution Jan 26, 2006
While disputes over access to evidence recur, a far more common issue involves the admission of evidence: what should be included at trial, what should be excluded -- and why. Of the more than 200 instances of questionable judicial acts tallied by the Mercury News, nearly half involved decisions on the admission of evidence. (San Jose Mercury News)
