#Jury Tampering

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mary L. Trump at The Good in Us Substack:

Normally, my issue with the corporate media is their failure to shine a light on stories that matter. But in this case, it seems some segments of the corporate media, primarily Fox, is hellbent on helping Donald interfere with his trial through jury intimidation. It’s a disturbing reality that we must confront. Last night, Donald Trump posted the following on social media: “They are catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge,” Jesse Watters.

Lawyers and legal analysts like Ryan Goodman and Andrew Weissman made it clear that this was a serious breach, the most serious to date, of Judge Merchan’s gag order – one that should be dressed immediately.  The fact that Donald was quoting somebody else is irrelevant. This seemed to be a blatant case of jury tampering, especially since, at the time of this was posted, five jurors and all six alternates remained to be chosen. I fully expected today’s proceedings to begin with the judge announcing that the so-called Sandoval hearing, which he originally scheduled, would be held today before any other court business. This seemed to be a reasonable assumption considering the purpose of that hearing was so the judge can rule on the prosecution’s contention that Donald should be held in contempt and sanctioned accordingly.

Juror Number 2 dismissed

It’s not uncommon for a juror to be chosen and subsequently let go during the selection process. That was the case with Juror Four after the prosecution discovered the man may have been untruthful in some of his answers. Juror Two’s circumstances were different. She was excused after telling the court that she’d become concerned that her identity might be discovered after her family and  friends questioned her about her possible involvement in the trial following media coverage. The fact that the judge felt the need to keep the identities of jurors anonymous is a damning indictment of the criminal defendant. And clearly the jurors understand the inherent danger of being seated on this jury. 

To put this in perspective, my friend and former U.S. Attorney, Joyce White Vance explained, “Typically, you would only see that happen in a case involving violent organized crime.” Following the juror’s feedback, Judge Merchan reprimanded the press for reporting far too much information about the jurors. [Out of an abundance of caution, I deleted the section about the jurors from last night’s post.]

[...] In a disturbing display of media influence, Fox host Jesse Watters went through the list of jurors, with identifying characteristics like employment, gender, place of residence, and commented on each one. 

Watters then singled out any jurors who didn’t align with his idea of what a juror should be (pro-Donald) and cast doubt on their ability to be fair and impartial. This is not just unethical, it’s dangerous. Fox, on Donald’s behalf, is actively helping Donald create an atmosphere of fear among the jurors. In a just world, Watters would be fired for his irresponsible behavior, but Fox has no interest in justice. Consider what Josh Kovensky of Talking Points Memo, pointed out: “Instead of operating within the process of jury selection, which assumes that people are capable of setting aside whatever political beliefs or biases they may have in order to render a good faith judgment on the evidence, it casts the assumptions underlying that process as Trump’s enemy to be defeated, implying that the jurors themselves are incapable of both being impartial in their judgment of him and participating in a political system in which he is a main actor.”

[...]

Donald amplifies Fox, scares a juror, and breaks his gag order

So far, here’s the pattern: A Fox personality attacks the judge or jury, and then Donald shares it on Truth Social as a way to give himself plausible deniability: He can distance himself from the quote by saying it doesn’t represent what he actually believes. This is exactly what he did last night when he quoted Jesse Watters. Regardless of Donald’s attempts to pretend otherwise, this is a clear violation of his gag order and shows a blatant disregard for the legal process. He needs to be punished or this will spiral out of control quickly. We’re already seeing that his disrespectful behavior in the courtroom and flouting of norms — like refusing to stand when the prospective jurors enter the room or using his phone when nobody else is —has already gone too far. The gag order was imposed to prevent Donald from publicly speaking about witnesses, jurors, court staff and their families outside of the courtroom. Donald has run out of chances and his downfall will be of his own making.

[...]

Judge Merchan must lay the smackdown on Donald

Prosecutors have accused Donald of violating the court-imposed gag order SEVEN times since the commencement of the trial. And they will have a chance to make the case for Donald to be held accountable during a hearing next week. They have pointed to public statements and social media posts made by Donald over the past few days as evidence of these violations. They have described the situation as “ridiculous” and have called for it to stop, expressing frustration over Donald’s repeated breaches of the order. Former federal prosecutor Shannon Wu has now called on Merchan to strengthen the gag order to any communication about the trial beyond Donald saying he’s innocent and plans to defend himself. At the very least, Judge Merchan needs to be unequivocal in telling Donald and defense counsel that enough is enough. The repeated violations of the gag order and Donald’s attempts to interfere with the trial warrant serious repercussions. He cannot keep getting away with it.

Mary L. Trump writes in her Substack on how right-wing media outlets (esp. Fox's Jesse Watters) and Donald Trump are conducting witness tampering on the jury for the Trump falsification of business records trial. Trump Trial

[justjanusthings]

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

Crime & Christie: George Remus's Ethical Elasticity

Okay, so here’s the thing, before I go into the last feature of interest of Louisa Lindloff’s murder trial, we need to take a closer look at her lawyer, George Remus.  About seven after Louisa Lindloff’s trial: George relocated to Ohio and remade himself into a Prohibition-era rum-runner — after realizing how much more money he could make being a bootlegger versus defending them in court. Using…

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Barry Blitt

* * * *

Legal developments in Trump's criminal and civil cases

The Manhattan election interference case—a jury is selected

The prosecutors in Trump's election interference trial in Manhattan expanded their pending motion to hold Trump in contempt to include his reposting of a Fox News attack on jurors who were selected on Tuesday. A hearing on the contempt motion will take place next Tuesday.

The attacks by Fox News—and the re-posting by Donald Trump—appeared to do what Trump's lawyer could not lawfully achieve in the courtroom—remove a juror to whom they objected. By amplifying news media attacks on the juror, Trump caused the juror to rethink her ability to serve on the jury. She was dismissed on Thursday, less than forty-eight hours after she was seated on the jury.

Yesterday, I wrote that Judge Merchan should declare a mistrial each time Trump engages in conduct that intimidates the jury. One reader—Professor Laurence Tribe—was aghast at my suggestion and asked me to rethink my position. Professor Tribe wrote the following (used with his permission):

No! You’re proposing that Judge Merchan give him what he has repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to get: delay and more delay of a trial that only the misinformed regard as small potatoes. The testimony of the head of the National Enquirer alone will be devastating to the myth that Trump won the 2016 election fair and square.

Professor Tribe is right—as proven by Judge Merchan’s ability to continue jury selection at a brisk pace while setting a hearing on the contempt motion for next Tuesday. If Judge Merchan can protect jurors from irremediable harm while ensuring an impartial jury, he should push ahead to the merits. As Professor Tribe notes, the facts are damning and deserve to be heard by the public at the first opportunity. Delays are Trump's objective and should be avoided whenever possible.

But we are left with the conundrum of what to do with a defendant who intentionally disregards a gag order to intimidate jurors. A remedy must exist—otherwise we are faced with an outcome where Trump is above the law. Judge Merchan has been up to the task of controlling Trump. Let’s hope he will continue to do so.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[gage0mate]

Trump orders ‘30 milkshakes’ for customers at Atlanta Chick-fil-A: 'And also some chicken'

Dine and Dash Donny Softening up the jury pool with Milkshakes?...

Do all the boys come to your yard for milkshakes Donny?

[thevitalportal]

Jury tampering. Who suggested he attend the funeral. We all know he invited himself.

[originalleftist]

Note to anyone posting advice on how to conceal bias so you can get on a jury for the purposes of practicing jury nullification:

This is (attempted) jury tampering, and it's a form of criminal obstruction of justice.

[imkeepinit]

Trump is found guilty on 34 felony counts. Read the counts here

After Trump’s guilty verdict, threats and attempts to dox Trump jurors proliferate online

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"WOMAN FILES JURY-TAMPERING CHARGE," Wichita Beacon. December 17, 1931. Page 1. --- MRS. R. J. KING, 731 South Grove second from left, is shown above swearing to a state warrant charging Charles Elie, defendant in a damage action in district court, with attempting to influence her opinion as a member of the jury which heard the suit. Her husband is shown at left. At right is Eva Watt, deputy of City Court Clerk B. L. Bayman. Center is R. R. Lee, 336 North Minnesota, another member of the jury who urged the woman to take the action. (Staff Photo).

[headlinehorizon]

Jury Tampering Allegations Shake Up Alex Murdaugh Trial

Renowned constitutional law attorney Jonathan Turley reacts strongly to the motion for retrial filed by the lawyers representing Alex Murdaugh, expressing concern over allegations of jury tampering. Get the latest news on this gripping case that has sent shockwaves through the legal community.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

ALICIA SADOWSKI, ISABELLA CORRAO & HARRISON RAY at MMFA:

Donald Trump is in the midst of his Manhattan criminal trial over accusations that he covered up a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in a plot to buy her silence ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Fox News personalities have responded by launching a campaign against the jurors who hold the former president’s fate, claiming people are trying to “rig” the jury and that “stealth” potential jurors are hiding their backgrounds to get seated. They’ve also scrutinized individual jurors over their jobs and interests. Meanwhile, one juror stepped down in part over concern about people discovering who she was. In the first week after jury selection started, Fox News guests and personalities made at least 89 such claims.

GOP propaganda organ Fox "News" is leading a campaign to discredit the People of New York v. Trump grand jury in Donald Trump's business records falsification trial.

[ausetkmt]

[vicshush]

[Video description: Video of Karen Friedman Agnifilo, one of Mangione's attorneys, making a statement to the court, the text of which is transcribed below the video. The video is stamped in the top corner "News18.com". /end ID]

"I’m very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial in this case.  He’s being prejudiced by some statements that are being made by government officials. Like every other defendant, he’s entitled to a presumption of innocence. But unfortunately the way this has been handled so far his rights are being violated. And as you know, Your Honor, there’s a wealth of case law guaranteeing his rights to a fair trial, but none of the safeguards have been put in place yet here — in fact it’s just the opposite of what’s been happening. 

He’s a young man, and he is being treated like a human pingpong ball between two warring jurisdictions here.

These federal and state prosecutors are coordinating with one another at the expense of him. They have conflicting theories in their indictment, and they are literally treating him like he is some sort of political fodder, like some sort of spectacle. 

He was on display for everyone to see in the biggest staged perp walk I’ve ever seen in my career. It was absolutely unnecessary. He’s been cooperative with law enforcement. He’d been in custody for over a week. He waived extradition. He was cooperative at all accounts. There was no reason for the NYPD and everybody to have these big assault rifles — that frankly I had no idea it was in their arsenal — and to have all the press there the media there. It was perfectly choreographed. 

And what was the New York City Mayor doing at this press conference, Your Honor? That just made it utterly political. And as your honor knows under Loro v. Charles, the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has held it to be clearly established that these staged perp walks to the media unrelated to a legitimate law enforcement objective is unconstitutional. And I submit that there was zero law enforcement objective to do that sort of perp walk. There’s absolutely no need for that whatsoever. 

And frankly, Your Honor, the mayor should know more than anyone about the presumption of innocence that he, too, is afforded dealing with his own issues. And, frankly, I submit that he was just trying to detract from those issues by making a spectacle of Mr. Mangione. 

And there are consequences to this. 

He has a right to a fair trial. And I just want to put on the record statements that the mayor made publicly about my client. Nothing saying “alleged” for example. And he said “I wanted to send a strong message with the police commissioner that we’re leading from the front. I’m not just going to allow him to come into our city. I wanted to look him in the eye and state ‘You carried out this terrorist act in my city, the city of New York that I love.’” And he wanted to show symbolism. 

Your Honor, he’s not a symbol. He’s somebody who is afforded the right to a fair trial. He’s innocent until proven guilty. And the mayor was talking to jurors — future potential jurors that elected him. Those are the people that elected him that he is talking to and calling this man a terrorist.

So, Your Honor, I just want to make a record of this and put everyone on notice that this has to stop, and my client is entitled to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence."

[gothamphantomgoat]

[originalleftist]

Report Trump asked one of his lawyers if there was a way he could offer to make one of the jurors rich in exchange for giving him a mistrial.

[ur-mag]

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh says ‘court clerk tampered with his jury to win book deal’ in explosive bid for new trial | In Trend Today

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh says ‘court clerk tampered with his jury to win book deal’ in explosive bid for new trial Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS