MURDER MURDER EVERYWHERE

"And all the boards did shrink...." whoops, wrong poem.

There are several interesting trials that are continuing or were concluded this week.

Of course everyone was talking about the implosion of the murder case before Judge Reemberto Diaz this week. After spending a week picking a jury, attorneys Andy Rier, Renee Sotorrio, and everyone’s favourite Rumpole suspect Phil Reizenstein were defending two men accused of second degree murder.

The word is that before the defense attorneys could say “no way, Jose” witnesses were imploding and exploding on direct examination. Tales of coerced and tainted photographic identifications filled the air, along with direct accusations by witnesses of being threatened by the police. One eyewitness, the girlfriend of the deceased, spoke of being repeatedly threatened with having her children taken away from her.

Before you could say NOT GUILTY, the case was nolle prossed during trial.

We hear the real fireworks happened afterwards, when the police department read the SAO spinmeister’s initial statements to everyone's favourite Herald Scribe about taking allegations of police misconduct seriously. Thus, we were not surprised to see the SAO back in the paper next day stating that there would be no investigation of the police.

From an email we received from one of the attorneys:

Rumpole….

...Perhaps the worst part of this smelly affair was that the Lead Detective was the one who arrested the eyewitness for perjury. The Eyewitness accused the lead detective of threatening her and threatening to take her children away from her. At the very least, these accusations should be investigated. And then, it is the lead detective who signs the Arrest Report for perjury and arrests the eyewitness. If that is not making good on a threat, then I don’t know what is.

At the bond hearing the next day, the prosecution told the Judge that the eyewitness had two outstanding bench warrants as well as the new perjury charge. There is one problem with that Rumpole: The eyewitness said she was in the state attorneys office the previous week being pre-tried, and the police and the state had contact with the eyewitness on the day of her testimony as well. At no time did they either notify the defense that they were giving her the benefit of not executing those warrants (A “Giglio” violation) and at no time did they ever seek to serve those warrants until she incurred their anger. That smells. Bad. “

Rumpole replies: Something’s rotten in Demark, as well as at 1350 NW 12th Avenue. Doesn’t it seem like, for the appearance of propriety, some independent agency should review what happened here?


Now to the case two floors down: The Murder Trial Before Judge Blake.

We hear attorneys Bob Amsel and David Raben had quite a time on Friday as the lead detective slinked on the witness stand to admit romantic involvement with one of the witnesses.
"What’s a good murder case without a little illicit sex?" we always say.
We hear that it was definitely a defense day on Friday, and the case without a body is looking pretty good for the defense.

GO AHEAD ...MAKE MY DAY.

And now, word reached us late Friday that attorney and noted tough guy, Scott Hidnert, seen around these parts as one of those attorneys scurrying from courtroom to courtroom handling a bevy of traffic tickets and bullying thuggish motorcycle cops, put a bullet between the eyes of a putative robber on Thursday.

Well Done Mr. Hidnert.

And if you need representation on any possible criminal charges, just say “Help Rumpole” and we will be there with our copy of the self defense jury instruction.

Two pieces of advice:

1) If one of the detective investigating the shooting makes an amorous advance, as is apparently the want of detectives in this town of late, resist the temptation to stray into the land of law enforcement Lotharios, and

2) If your statement is not exactly the way the certain detectives would like it to be, well, perhaps you’d better have a good bondsman on standby, since arresting witnesses in Miami has taken on a certain cache these days.

Well there is it, just another week in Paradise.

To summarize: one murder case ended with a nolle prosse and the eyewitness being arrested; another murder case continued with love in the air; and one defense attorney ended the life of a would be robber before a tragedy occurred.

See You In Court next week.