#hung jury

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Trump has so many charges against him that he's almost certainly going to be convicted of something. Not everything, probably not even a majority, but something. He knows he won't get unanimous acquittals across the board, so his only hope will be to slip loyalists onto some of the juries to hang them. A mistrial means months or years of delays as prosecution works each case through the system all over again.

In New York, he'd be retried over and over until a unanimous verdict is reached, guilty or not guilty, however long that takes, and every state level Republican candidate from now on will campaign on promises to drop the charges or pardon him or help him in some way, shape, or form.

In Georgia (he hasn't been indicted yet, but it's coming), he's going to be pardoned almost immediately. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets pardoned before it even goes to trial. Yeah, the governor refused to find 11,000 votes for him, but he's still a Republican and trump is still the leader of his party. If he didn't pardon trump, he would be crucified by his voters and shamed out of office, and his successor would pardon him instead. If he stood his ground and couldn't be bullied into resigning, then just as in New York every Republican candidate would run on the pardon promise platform. Trump will NEVER face justice in Georgia.

In the federal case in Florida, a mistrial means the judge, a trump appointee, could drop the charges and prevent the DOJ from retrying it. Best case scenario, it would get delayed into 2025 or 2026 and a different judge in the southern district of Florida will be randomly assigned to it, but that's assuming Biden wins re-election in 2024. If trump wins, he'd immediately pardon himself, or invoke the 25th to have his loyalist VP pardon him to avoid a Supreme Court decision on a self-pardon's validity. If Biden wins, the 2028 Republican candidates will all run on promises to pardon him, so he'll be out of prison the second the White House goes red. I don't trust Democrats to hold the line long enough for him to die in prison.

The federal case in Washington, DC looks open and shut, the best chance for a conviction. Trump only has four appointees in that district, so the odds of him getting off on a retrial in case of a hung jury are 4 in 13, 30.77% (4/15, 26.67% if Biden can fill the two remaining vacancies). Again, all this does is kick the can down the road until 2025 or 2026. He will walk free whenever the Republicans take back power.

The only way donald trump faces long term consequences for his crimes is if New York stays solid blue for the rest of his life, something like the next 15 or 20 years. The federal charges will disappear the second one of his allies gets elected president; I don't think the party would nominate him for a fourth time in 2028 if he loses 2024 for them, so it's looking like it's gonna be ron desantis vs Kamala Harris (God help us all). Then again, who knows? A lot can happen in the next 5 years, so maybe some nobody will be frontrunner by then and desantis will have slinked away into post-gubernatorial obscurity like Jeb and Charlie Crist. Whoever trump endorses will be the nominee, so whoever strokes his ego the hardest will have hometeam advantage. My money says it'll be some blonde woman or a lightskinned black guy for diversity points (whoever it is, they'll be even farther right than trump himself)

[remembertheplunge]

A Christmas Eve Miracle

12/24/2023I can’t recall if I have blogged this story before or not. But, being that it’s Christmas Eve, I thought it would be worth writing up and publishing here today.

A Christmas Eve Miracle happened Christmas Eve 2015, eight years ago.

Since my first years of criminal law practice up until about 2019, I would act now and them as pro term judge in traffic court, meaning, I would fill in for the actual judge.

Christmas Eve 2015, I did this out in traffic court on Floyd Ave in Modesto, California.

The afternoon session ended at about 2:30pm . At the stop light at Oakdale Road and Floyd, I looked out about 2 miles to the north west to see intense black low clouds. They seemed to be in the area where two significant events in my life had taken place.

I was in a grocery story there when the Loma Prieta earth quake hit at 5:04pm. October 17, 1989. The store floor began to have a rolling motion and things fell from the shelves. I thought the roof was going to give.  And in 2013 a man was killed in front of some apartments behind the store. I would be appointed to represent Lisandro Mendosa, one of 5 codefendants charged with a gang related murder of the man. A 6 month jury trial resulted in a hung jury and a New York Times article about the trial, “”How do you define a gang member?   New York Times Sunday Magazine 5/27/2015. The trial was long and emotionally violent.

I continued my drive down Floyd Ave toward home. I decided to stop at the Star Bucks for a hot chocolate at Coffee road and Floyd. It sits across Coffee Road and a parking lot from the store I was in during the 89 quake. Just beyond and behind the store is where the man was killed resulting in the Mendoza trial.

Before entering Starbucks, I stood about 40 feet from Coffee Road and leaned my head back. Fine mist was falling now . I closed my eyes, felt the mist on my face and sent a healing prayer out across the store and the seen of the killing beyond it. 

Just then, unbeknownst to me,  about a mile west on Coffee road, a  storm related microburst caused a tree to to fall into telephone wires causing 50 foot tall telephone poles to one by one collapse into Coffee Road headed in my direction.

I finished my prayer, unaware of the collapsing poles, and walked 17 seconds to the Star Bucks. Inside , the power was out and there was a general sense of panic . The staff locked the door and wouldn’t let us out. Starbucks had no windows facing Floyd or Coffee Road, so we couldn’t see that the pole 40 feet from where I said the prayer had collapsed into the street as well the one just beyond  that I had just driven by.

Despite the fact it was Christmas Eve afternoon, and that Coffee Road is a busy four lane road, no one was hurt or killed inn the mile long collapse of polls and live wires into the road.

We had been told during the Mendosa jury trial that the trial had been cursed by people in Vera Cruz, Mexico. The man who was killed was hispanic. Not sure who placed the curse or why.

I drove to the jail after leaving Starbucks to meet with Mr. Mendosa who was incarcerated there.

I told him about the telephone pole incident and asked him if he thought it was as a result of the curse. He said he didn’t thinks so. He said he thought it was a sign he would get a break in the case. He did. In 2016, he received a 16 year sentence instead of life in prison via a negotiated plea. Recently, due to a change in sentencing laws, he was re sentenced and released!

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“FOR THIRD TIME VINKLE JURY HAS DISAGREED,” Kingston Whig-Standard. February 23, 1933. Page 2. ---- Case to Be Called to the Attention of the Attorney-General of Ontario ---- For the third time in five month, a jury in Supreme Court has been unable to agree on a verdict of guilty or not guilty, in the case of Hess Vinkle, of the Township of Olden, charged with setting fire to Ross McGinnis’ barn. Yesterday evening after deliberating for more than seven hours, the jury found that they could not agree on a verdict and accordingly were discharged by Justice Raney, the case being put over til the next court; it will also be brought to the attention of the Attorney-General. Sir Alfred Morine acted for the Crown and A. E. Day represented Vinkle. 

The jury in the case retired shortly after eleven o'clock on Wednesday morning and at four o'clock returned with the announcement that they could not agree on a verdict.

"You have, of course," said Justice Raney, "heard of the two previous disagreements. I wish that you would try and reach a verdict and if I send you back I wonder if you can come to an agreement?"

“Well, your Lordship," said W. M. Campbell, foreman, "we can only try.” 

Whereupon the jury again retired and remained locked up for two hours more. At the end of that time they returned and Mr. Campbell announced that the jurymen were all unable to reach an agreement.

"I wonder if I sent you back there with your suppers, if you could finally agree," asked Justice Raney.

“I don't think there is any chance at all," replied Mr. Campbell. 

"Are you sure you are not following precedent, as the lawyers do?” 

"No" replied Mr. Campbell, "we have been deliberating most thoroughly and there seems hardly a chance at all of an agreement.” 

Justice Raney then said that be would discharge the jury and would traverse the case to the next court at the same time bringing the matter to the attention of the Attorney-General.

“What did you say, Mr. Day?" asked Justice Raney.

“I merely said thank you, my Lord," replied Mr. Day. "Don't thank me," remarked Justice Raney. 

Vinkle appeared in Supreme Court in September last on the same charge and the jury disagreed, while again December the jury failed to come to a decision.

[l3rking]

[william-r-melich]

Election Interference - 04/18/2024

Trump would like to be out campaigning, and instead he has been stuck in court all day every day this week for that ridiculous "hush money" court case, for which they have already selected 12 jurors. It usually takes much longer but given that it's nearly impossible for anyone to be completely fair and impartial, especially in Manhattan, NY, the potential jurors dropped very quickly. I don't want to spend much more time on this because the whole thing is ridiculous. Trump came out of the courtroom voicing his some of his frustrations. "I'm supposed to be in New Hampshire. I'm supposed to be in Georgia. I'm supposed to be in North Carolina and South Carolina. I'm supposed to be a hundred different places campaigning. But I'm here all day on a trial that really is a very unfair trial," he said. He held up several copies of news stories that sighted many legal scholars who declared what an unprecedented, unlawful, and immoral trial this is.

He spoke with disgust and anger in his voice as he thumbed through the thick stack of papers he held. "These are all stories over the last few days from legal experts, as is Wall Street Journal editorial. But all of these are stories from legal experts saying how this is not a case and the case is ridiculous, I see another one, the case is ridiculous. Trump indictment. It's missing fraud. There is no fraud." "Justice is on trial. You know, the whole world is watching this New York scandal trial." He called it a spectacle and went on to say, "The whole world is watching this hoax."

Opening statements will be heard on Monday, April 22nd, and gag-order violations will be addressed the following day, ridiculous! From what I read about the selected jurors, there's one that appears to have a good chance of voting not guilty, but I suppose you never know. Of course, it would take only one to make it a hung jury, which would be a big victory for Trump because this is such a bad case that it would more than likely be the end of it. Like I said a couple of days ago, this case should have never been brought. What a joke!

In spite of these sham trials, Trump continues to rise in the polls. It seems like bringing these cases against him makes him more popular. So, this election interference strategy of the left is backfiring so far, good! Trump is amazing. The more he's attacked, the stronger he gets.

[srotd]

they're changing possessions

you're changing your mind

[impzone]

after researching more into phalloplasty, i’ve been kind of blown away by how different the reality of people who have gotten the procedure is from the way people who haven’t had any kind of bottom surgery talk about it. even trans men who got it and had complications, or didn’t end up perfect, are still majorly happy with their results.

i know a lot of trans men with bottom dysphoria are taught to suppress it, and the dysphoric comments about how phalloplasty is awful and could never satisfy anyone don’t seem like they have an impact, but they do. other trans men see that, and it dissuades them from ever looking into a surgery that could greatly increase their quality of life.

take a minute and try to think about how many of the negative comments you see about bottom surgery are from people who have never had it, and who’s only perception is from other people who didn’t have it saying it’s not worth it. how many times have you considered it, and decided to give up because you’ve heard your fellow trans people constantly talking about how it would ruin you and leave you unhappy?

i know it sucks to not have a cis guy dick, but be mindful of what you say because it still shapes perception, and it can be really harmful especially if you’re coming at it from a purely hearsay and biased position.

technology has progressed so much, and phalloplasty does not leave you with an insensate tube of flesh you can do nothing with, i can tell you that much. it looks good, it feels good, and in the book Hung Jury results have been described as indistinguishable from cis genitalia. but ultimately there is more ways to measure the success of phalloplasty than how much it looks like a cis man’s junk. from what personal accounts i’ve read, it can and often is just as gender affirming and freeing as people talk about top surgery being.

[vlvprince]

ftm bloggers stop dunking on phallo challenge

[savvathun]

at this point the only way bungie could ever get me to grind out d2 before final shape launches would be to un-sunset the recluse/mountaintop god combo... so of course that's what they're doing lmao. my most beloveds will return to me at last! so much for quitting this ridiculous game 😔

[remembertheplunge]

Gang murder jury trial 2006

8/14/2006. 9:21pm

At one point Richard Herman exclaimed about me…”You are a fucking genius…”  Re: map of a house I had  witness draw re:

Drive by shooting.

Gene Trimble thinks Gun Shot Residue will prove “fatal” to our case.

So, an up day.

Walking out at 4:30pm, someone said “the real lawyers" re: Gene and I.

I felt so good that at 4:30pm when Judge called it quits—I wanted to keep going. 1pm to 4:30pm flew by in a snap.

8/15/2006. 5:47pm

Well, Gene thinks we may be in trial another month.

8/18/2006. 5:31am. Pre dawn

So, did I make a fool of myself yesterday? Again.  Or, was Gene right?  “Good Job” Whatever. Pick up you Easter eggs and move on.The trial was exhilarating. I think that we worked well together as a team—all four of us—Herman, Spokes, Trimble and Wentz.

8/22/2006

A moment of peace in a time of war. So, what of the trial? What of life? Intense fluff.

In a world where they’ll take life for a stick of gum in a second (3 strikes cases), we battle it out for months. Same penalty.  Life in Prison. Odd. The 3 strikes trial could take a day or two. We live in crazy times.

I think a key to the case is times like now. Times to settle. Times of release. Because—so much of it is Brass bands and Buffoons and smoke and mirrors. It’s a show! But, like Pippin, it’s end is real human sacrifice.

So, my job, our job, is cut to the quick. The Da’s  closings are short “hour and 15 minutes”.  Mine are 20 minutes. We both say “that’s all the juror’s can take." Length of the potential sentence does not equal the length of the close. Close can be  but a word.

End of this part of entries.

Note:

The above entries are in reference to a jury trial I was involved in that lasted from miClosing argumentdJune to about mid October 2006.

It was a co defendant gang murder case. It was held in the Modesto, California Stanislaus County Superior Court. The four co defendants were represented by myself, Gene Trimble, Earnie Spokes and Richard Herman. The trial resulted in a hung jury. The jury deliberated for three and a half weeks.

Later, I plead my client out to 14 years in prison.  If convicted at trial of first degree murder, my client and his co defendants would have been sentenced to a minimum of 25 to life. 

The Da’s case was that a few car loads of men were headed to a party in Newman, California, but, stopped off in Patterson. They were allegedly Surreno gang members.

They encounter a Norteno gang member walking along.  The Surreno’s jumped out of their vehicles, kicked and hit the Norteno. Then, one of the Surrenos  pulled out a gun , shot and killed the Norteno. The shooter fled and was not present at our trial as he had not yet been apprehended.

Easter eggs , a term I created for trial, are points that made it into evidence and thus can be argued in closing argument.

"Close "means closing argument in the jury trial

Pippen was a musical in which the main character at the end of the show is encouraged by screaming onlookers to kill himself for their entertainment.

Gun Shot Residue is gun powder left on your hands or clothing after you shoot a gun.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"THIFFAULT FREED ON MURDER CHARGE," Montreal Gazette. October 28, 1933. Page 1. ---- Man, Once Sentenced to Hang, Acquitted on Third Trial ---- (By The Canadian Press.) Three Rivers, Que, October 27. - A fight for life and liberty, lasting a year and a half, was won tonight by Donat Thiffault who was acquitted by a Court of Kings Bench Jury of the murder of his wife, Bertha (Gervais) Thiffauit. Mrs. Triffault was burned to death in March, 1932, when their Ste. Thecle, Que., home was destroyed by fire.

It was Thiffault's third trial. The first resulted in a disagreement, while the second, last December 10, saw him convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged March 10. In appeal a new trial was ordered.

One of the principal witnesses at all three trials was Florant Thiffault, son of accused. He stated he had been suddenly awakened by thick smoke and had rushed down stairs, falling in doing so and dis locating his hip. His father had carried him out and had then attempted to reach his wife's bedroom, but was driven back by a wall of flame and smoke.

Mr. Justice P. F. Bouffard, in summing up today, told the jury that to find Thiffault guilty they had to be sure nobody else could be responsible. All evidence, he said was circumstantial. The presence of the accused's son in the house at the time of the fire was at indication, the Bench said, that Donut Thiffault had not set fire to his home that March night.

Upon hearing the verdict Thiffault smiled faintly and bowed his head in thanks. He shook hands with counsel and walked from the dock, a free man. In the body of the court reaction set in, the man broke down and wept hysterically. His lawyers led him to an open window.

A few minutes later Thiffault drove away with his father, one of his brothers and his two sons.

[pigspeetsandhooflikefeets]

voting a serious answer in a poll that will no doubtably be 65% vanilla extract as if I’m the only sane juror in this kangaroo court

[karmaphone]

also I fully believe if the Menendez trial(s) happened today it would have swung in the brothers' favor for two distinct reasons: 1) metoo means people are way more willing to believe survivors of sexual assault, including boys and men and 2) there would have been so much more public backlash as a result of disallowing making any part of their abuse part of their defense in the second trial they would have had to reverse it, if it was even attempted at all

[girlitfeelsgood]

no clue what's going on this year but I love seeing people freak out over the jury being terrible and biased as if this hasn't always been the case

[cappurrccino]

my opinion on writing fics and writing essays is the same and it's that instead of having a conclusion i should just be able to say The Fic/Paper Has Ended. and then we can all just continue on with our days