Phil Spector Verdict Watch Day 6

8:38 am: I think Mr. Sprocket broke too many speed limits getting me to the Red Line station in time. I try to get down the escalator as quickly as possible but my left knee isn’t cooperating. Usually, the car right beside the down escalator gets overloaded with people who are last minute, trying to make the train. I’m lucky that I get in the next car farther away that has a few empty seats left.

Did y’all see the notice about the new Dateline show with DDA Alan Jackson on the three-person panel? I heard about it on the 11 pm news but I was too tired to fire up the laptop and put an entry up last night.

Typing on the train is almost as hard as inside the courtroom. I’m sure it would help if I could master using the built in mouse pad but I’ve failed miserably each time I’ve tried it. I have rigged up something that is not ideal but close to a standard mouse. I have the edge of a spiral notebook tucked in-between my lap and the iBook. On that, I’ve set a trackball mouse. I’m doing so-so learning the trackball. I practice with it by playing my current favorite online game “Big Money.” (I’m not a very good player; my highest score has only been around 5,700.) The track ball is much easier than a standard mouse that I was trying to use before. With a standard mouse I would place it on the wood bench beside me with a piece of paper underneath. This is an improvement over that.

8:53 am: Next stop Vermont/Santa Monica. As far as stops go, we are halfway there!

9:23 am: I'm here inside 106 finally. Linda from San Diego tells me she saw the jurors go in the jury room at 9:16 am. Pat Kelly from the PIO department is her beside me, keeping me honest.

9:28 am: BUZZ! The jury has resumed deliberations.

The "robbery gone bad" case that has three defendants is setting up. A reporter from City News is here and a few interns. A reporter from NBC is here. I've seen him before but today I ask him if I can report his name. It's Gary.

9:32 am: The family for one of the defendants is here and ther are several young ladies from a journalism class have come in to listen to the proceedings.

9:34 am: Answering a comment. Everything that I know about the Dateline show is in the preceding entry. It's this coming Friday, on NBC at 10 pm. It features Alan Jackson as one of a three-person panel covering unsolved cold cases.

9:38 am: They are getting the defendants I believe (for the robbery gone bad) case.

9:43: am: Waiting for the current hearing to get underway.

9:45 am: Fidler takes the bench and they are going to resolve the issue of two separate trials and other issues.

Answering a comment. Mr. Sprocket appreciated all the accolades. I don't know how the jurors were dressed. I don't think that is significant since not all jurors are necessarily willing to meet the press.

9:47 am: The AP reporter enters 106.

Answering a comment. My commute is about 45-50 minutes total. I do not receive any compensation. I have an entry talking about "why" I'm covering this trial gavel to gavel.

There is another reporter from possibly another network who is sitting in the back row against the wall next to the inner doors. He doesn't look familiar to me.

9:53 am: Answering a comment. Spector is not here, waiting at the courthouse. I have no idea what he's doing or what he's snacking on. Maybe he's at home page loading the blog like y'all are. It's my best guess that he waiting at home just like the Clarkson family.

(Note: Please see the correction on the pending case listed at 2:23 pm. Some of my entries on the case in the morning hours are incorrect. Sprocket.)

Pending case: I think there might be more than one victim, but I'm NOT positive on that. I believe one of them is William Whiteside (sp?) but that's just a guess. At least the female defendant was living with someone by this name.

10:02 am: In the pending case, one (or more) of the defense attorney's is trying to get some statement's excluded (that I believe one or more of the defendant's said). It's something about a device used to beat someone (to death?) that is called a "nigger beater." Since the word nigger is such a volatile word, they don't want it included.

Pending case. Ronald Kutch (Cutch?), Mr. Kennedy. These might be the names of the defendants. That is NOT confirmed. Valerie Martin is one of the defendants. William Whiteside is the victim and he was burned alive. How horrible.

10:10 am: Sherri is here. Katie and Lisa arrived about 15 minutes ago. Listening to this pending case...the more I hear, it's horrible. One of the prosecutors is a pretty blond, Ms. Green (sp?).

Pending case. Mr. Lethowitz (sp?) is one of the defendants. A Mr. Daly (Daily?) is one of the attorneys.

The prosecutor in the pending case feels it may take 3 to 4 weeks. They are shooting for April 22nd to start the trial. Possibly even starting their voir dire April 14th. If that's the case, I may be in the hallway if we don't have a verdict by that time.

10:23 am: Just a special shout-out to my readers from Germany. Thank you so much for reading T&T! What time is it there?

Pending case. There still may be two different juries, two cases. They will be meeting back on this case next Monday. They are setting the calendar 0 of 30. Kennedy is severed and those jurors will be sworn in later, in May than the first set for Martin and the other defendant.

I'm going to try to get some more information on this pending case.

10:31 am: Thank you JayDee. Here is a link to a bit about the story.

The prosecutor is Maureen Green. I don't think she has a co-counsel. Just got the case number MA026254. It happened in Antelope Valley. And that's it. The hearing is over. The courtroom is pretty empty again.

10:43 am: BUZZ! The jury is taking their morning break.

10:56 am: BUZZ! The jury is back on the clock.

I've added up the time from yesterday. I'm trying to get a total on deliberating hours so far for everyone. Give me a minute or two.

10:58 am: Total hours deliberated yesterday: 5 hours and 7 minutes. As of this morning, that gives us a total of 18 hours and 26 minutes.

Up until the FIRST BREAK today, they have deliberated 19 Hours and 41 Minutes.

Dateline finally has a write up about the new series online.

11:22 am: Answering a comment about the DNA. Yes, it's true that Lana Clarkson's DNA was found on Spector's scrotum. There were also (I believe) two foreign male DNA markers found on his scrotum. The DNA marker from Lana Clarkson was a weak marker. Steve Renteria stated it was 1 in 96,000. That right away tells you the marker was weak. What it means is that you would have to test 96,000 people before you would find another person with that set of markers. When you have a full solid set of strong markers, the percentages are like, 1 of a trillion or some other such astronomical number. The source of the DNA is not known. There is not enough there to determine if it was from saliva, or blood, or sweat or simple touch DNA.

Here is my OPINION on this DNA. It could have been that Spector touched Lana, and then touched himself when he went to the restroom. To me, that would explain the weak marker.

Please keep in mind that the two Y markers....that's all there was. There were not complete DNA profiles of two males. Only their Y markers. That's a very weak profile. Insignificant, really.

11:57 am: Harriet asks Wendy about Friday.

11:59 am: We are being kicked out.

12:33 pm: I've just finished lunch. Being "kicked out" means the bailiff tells us we have to vacate the courtroom. I'm sorry. No more scrotum comments. I won't publish any more. All of it is speculation. We don't know how the DNA got there and we will probably never know.

Answering a comment. Beth Karas was just here for the Howard K. Stern arraignment. She was hoping that she could stop by to say hello but it didn't work out.

Answering a comment. It was never brought out in testimony who the lipstick belonged to found on Lana Clarkson's body. The most logical assumption is that it was hers.

Answering a comment. I did not see the jurors this morning. Personally, I don't think how they dressed is important. Not everyone who is on a jury will speak to the press.

Answering a comment. To find out why we were kicked out, read up. I answered that already.

Answering a comment. As far as I know, there will be no live feed. Not a single news organization has the resources to keep a cameraman inside the courtroom, waiting. We have some members of the accredited press, but they are often not here all day. Sometimes they just pop in for a hour or two.

Answering a comment. Most of my trial watching companions want a verdict, like yesterday. I think everyone should just be patient. They will come back when they come back.

Answering a comment. I will expect that a video camera will be rounded up pretty quickly from one of the news organizations to cover the proceedings if/when a verdict is reached. I do NOT believe it will be live streamed. That would require a satellite truck.

Answering a comment. Fidler has not placed any restrictions on the jurors as to how long they can deliberate. They will get this done when they get it done. Please be patient everyone. Okay. I'm heading back upstairs. Once I get inside the courtroom, I'll check in again.

1:40 pm: I'm back inside 106 but we have not been provided the times yet. There is a new PIO in the room but she is one that I don't know personally.

1:42 pm: Wendy takes to her desk. I can see from where I'm sitting that the door to Fidler's chambers is closed. Sometimes it's been open.

1:45 pm: Truc Do just entered 106 carrying a laptop. She went back into the area behind Wendy's desk, where I believe the court reporter's have their desks. For those of you who might have missed it, Fidler has commented a few times during the trial that Ms. Do is the DA's "computer expert/wizard." So, MY GUESS is, she came down to help someone with a computer issue.

1:49 pm: The AP reporter enters 106 and takes her favorite seat.

Answering a comment. I've already mentioned several times that the defendant is not required to wait at the courthouse for a verdict. I'm sure he's home, waiting. Spector, Rachelle, Donte and the bodyguard only came to court yesterday to hear the readback.

1:59 pm: We just now hear the times. They stopped at 12:18 pm and resumed at 1:25 pm.

I just dropped my laptop and now have a big mark on my screen. Crap. Wonder how much THAT will cost to fix.

2:05 pm: I now have the jury clock up unto 1:25 pm as: 21 Hours and 3 Minutes.

Answering a comment: It might be helpful to understand the definition of "Implied Malice" in the California Penal Code. The fact that Spector pulled a gun and pointed it at someone, that's implied malice and that's murder 2.

Answering a comment: My laptop is an iBook. Model A1181

2:23 pm: I'm informed that I had several issues incorrect concerning the pending case this morning. (In my defense, I only heard snatches of the hearing. I reported a defense attorney's last name was one of the defendants! E-gads!) Kennedy and Martin will be tried together but they will have separate juries. Kupsch's case was severed today from the others. I apologize for any erroneous reporting on that case. I had thought that I would perform some research on this case later, maybe when I got home but this clears all that up.

2:32 pm: BUZZ! The juror's are on a break.

Anyone have the time to search eBay for me for a new screen?

There is definitely a scratch. There is some matter, some blue streak stuff, looks like ink but it's not too bad. The other bad news had to do with our washing machine. Mr. Sprocket took it apart today and told me it's not worth fixing so we will be shopping later tonight.

2:42 pm: BUZZ! The jurors are back on the job! This puts the jury clock at 22 Hours and 10 Minutes.

I purchased the iBook about 2 years ago. I believe it's a G4, but I'm not positive. It was the "mid-line" model of the three offered that year.

Thank you so much for suggestions on a washing machine. You have to understand that any electronic purchase has to pass Mr. Sprocket's rigorous standards. You have no idea what I go through when it comes to buying even the smallest mechanical device. He has to have input on EVERYTHING lol!

2:57 pm: Sandi Gibbons from the District Attorney's Office stopped by. She and the AP reporter are longtime friends and are chatting.

Thank you everybody for taking the time to search eBay for me. It's much appreciated. I've got lots to work on tonight what with shopping for a new washing machine. Please understand that I am NOT ASKING for anyone to buy me a new screen or a washing machine. It's just something to talk about while we are here waiting.

I will be on DENNY GRIFFIN'S BLOGTALK RADIO show tonight at 6 pm PT; 9 pm ET. Here is the link where you can listen to the show. Juror #9 from the first trial, Ricardo, will also be on the show with me.

Answering a comment. I just passed on the message to the AP reporter. She said the compliment made her day.

We are all so bored we are helping the AP reporter try to answer the LA Times crossword.

3:14 pm: We get a new PIO person. It's the pretty Vania. She is so nice.

Answering a comment. I got up from my seat and took the laptop over to Ms. Deutsch to show her the positive comment. She thanks you so much. She did say that she did receive something but since it came through New York there was no way to respond to it.

3:35 pm: We're still working on the crossword.

3:41 pm: Answering a comment about how the jurors are leaning. I have no idea. There could be some that are undecided.

3:48 pm: Sherri, Katie and Lisa all took off already. Linda from San Diego just left. It's now just me, three reporters and Vania, the PIO.

3:51 pm: BUZZ! That's it. I have for the time: 23 Hours 19 Minutes.

That's it for today. Starts again at 9:30 am, Tomorrow morning.