Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Belated Merry Christmas 2013

Tree at the US Capitol Building, date unknown

UPDATED 12/26: spelling of Ms. Brazil's name
The T&T crew hopes everyone had a memorable holiday this year.

Since I am under the weather with a sore throat, we had a low-key celebration at home. Mr. Sprocket is the resident cook and this year he made an excellent turkey with chili from the local Indian store.

Trial Coverage Update
After my last post on December 10, I took a break from writing to sew holiday gifts for friends and family. I did step away from my sewing machine to attend a pretrial hearing for Gerhard Becker on December 11, and more of Joshua Woodward's prelim on December 16.  I hope to be finished sewing in the next day or two and I will update those stories over the next few weeks.

I have the rest of the Bryan Barnes and Javier Bolden prelim coming, as well as a story on DDA Deborah Brazil's December 11 swearing in ceremony to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Sprocket Gift Wrapping Tip
If you run out of wrapping paper on Christmas eve, fabric works in a pinch.


Happy Holidays, and best wishes for the new year.


Monday, December 23, 2013

The Christian-Newsom Torture-Murder Case: A Synopsis

GUEST ENTRY from DAVID in TENNESSEE! 

On Saturday night, January 6, 2007, Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23, were carjacked from the Washington Ridge Apartments in Knoxville, Tennessee. They were taken to a house on Chipman Street about three and a half miles away. 

Over the next several hours, Christian and Newsom were both raped, tortured, and murdered. Chris Newsom was dragged by a dog leash around his neck to a railroad track several hundred yards from the Chipman Street house. He was naked from the waist down and his hands were tied behind his back. Chris' face was wrapped in a sweatshirt and his mouth was gagged with his own socks, His bare feet were bound. He had been raped with "an object." and by unknown males. At the track, Newsom was shot three times, only the last was fatal. His body was set on fire, which destroyed the DNA evidence and made it impossible to identify which of the killers raped him. 

Mary Newsom, Chris' mother, wanted to see the body. The police would not let her. She put her arms around the body bag. 

Channon Christian's body was found in the house of Lemaricus Davidson, who is considered the ringleader of those involved. The five feet, eight inches tall Channon Christian was "crammed," according to the medical examiner in a garbage can. She was "hog-tied" with a plastic bag over her head. DNA evidence showed she had been raped vaginally and anally. Semen from Davidson's half-brother was found in her mouth. Her vaginal area had been beaten bloody, either kicked or by something used as a club. Bleach had been sprayed down her throat in an attempt to destroy DNA.

Channon Christian's Toyota 4Runner was found abandoned in the general area. It had been wiped down. However, an envelope was found with a fingerprint. When run through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) database, it belonged to Davidson. This broke the case.

Without this one fingerprint, the murders might be unsolved to this day. 

Four people were arrested for the torture-murders. They were Davidson, his half-brother Letalvis Cobbins, George Thomas, and Vanessa Coleman, the lone female defendant. A fifth, Eric Boyd, was charged in federal court as an accessory for aiding Davidson after the crime.

According to Cobbins, Boyd provided the vehicle and took part in the carjacking. Boyd was not charged in the murders because he could not be placed in the Chipman Street house. 

The crime was called a "robbery" and a "random" event. However, the only things stolen were items in Channon's purse which were found in Coleman's possession. The Toyota was not kept even though it had a market value of $15,000 according to Channon's father, Gary Christian, who worked at a Toyota dealership. Nor did they try to ransom the victims whom the perpetrators thought were rich.

Here is Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Jamis Satterfield's account of what she thinks happened on Chipman Street. Satterfield believes Boyd raped Chris and that Coleman beat Channon's private parts. I agree with her on these points. I disagree when she writes of it as a "random carjacking." "Random" means it was accidental. The whole affair was very deliberate and as mentioned above, the car was not kept by the killers.

Eric Boyd was convicted in 2008 as an accessory and sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. 

Cobbins was convicted in August of 2009 and sentenced to life without parole. Davidson was convicted on October 28, 2009 and sentenced to death. Also in 2009, George Thomas was convicted and sentenced to life without parole. 

In 2010, Vanessa Coleman was acquitted of all charges regarding Christopher Newsom and of Channon Christian's murder. She was convicted of 17 facilitation charges against Christian and sentenced to 53 years. 

I was in the courtroom for three days of Vanessa Coleman's trial. It seemed to me that some of the female jurors felt sorry for Coleman. At the time, jurors were allowed to ask questions and I saw some pro-defense questions during police testimony. Coleman kept a journal and had some entries for the weekend of the murders. She wrote in part:
"Lets talk about adventures! I've had one HELL OF AN ADVENTURE since I've been in the big T.N.

HA! HA!"
The jurors had no questions about Coleman's diary.

In 2011, it was revealed that Richard Baumgartner, who presided over all four state trials, had been using illegal prescription drugs obtained from a probationer in his own court. He had used drugs during the Christian-Newsom trials.

Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood, who replaced Baumgartner, overturned all four verdicts and said they must be retried. 

The Knoxville District Attorney General appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court and another judge, Walter Kurtz, ruled the Davidson and Cobbins verdicts would stand because of the DNA evidence. Also, Cobbins had testified. Judge Kurtz ordered new a new trial for George Thomas.

The retrial for Coleman had not been contested and took place in November of 2012 with Blackwood presiding. This time Coleman was convicted on 13 of 17 counts and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, somewhat less than the first time. 

She will be up for parole around five years from now. 

George Thomas was convicted for a second time on May 17, 2013. This time Thomas received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. By law, he must serve at least 51 years.

For the parents of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, the second Thomas verdict made seven trials and over 300 court appearances. 

Let us hope the case is over.

David in TN

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Joshua Woodward Preliminary Hearing Day 4, Part II

Continued from Day 4.........

UPDATE 12/11: spelling, clarity, accuracy
December 9, 2013
When I arrive on the 7th floor, five members from Joshua Woodward's defense team are already here in the hallway.

8:40 AM
Dept. 51 opens and I take a seat in the gallery, second row.  A man from the district attorney's office brings a portable screen and sets it up in the jury box.

Janet Levine is wearing a sharp, brown winter suit.  The tailored jacket has a bit of a flair around the hips. Around her neck looks like a darker brown wool scarf. Levine's co-counsel, Megan Weisgerber is wearing an form-fitting medium gray dress and matching jacket. Weisgerber is an attractive woman with chin length, jet black hair. Judge Pastor's court reporter, Mavis, is setting up her equipment. The prosecution has not arrived yet.

8:50 AM
The defense team has neatly set up all their files on their table.  From where I'm sitting I can see six binders and various stacks of papers neatly laid out.   The court clerk and bailiff are having a conversation.  The defense brought with them several boxes of materials and a 32 bottle case of Aquafina water.

8:55 AM
Woodward enters with two more attorneys.  He sits with one of them in the second bench row on the defense side of the room.  The other lawyer sits in the row in front of me.

8:58 AM
DDA Habib Balian, DDA Marguerite Rizzo, Detective Fairchild and their witness, Dr. Kingston arrive. Dr. Kingston is wearing a double strand of pearls, a red sweater jacket with a stylish ruffle design and black slacks. DDA Rizzo has on a kelly green pea coat and I can't take my eyes off it. There's a blue and green silk like scarf around her neck.   Right after the prosecution arrives, Currie, Levine and the two prosecutors chat.  Not long after, another attorney on the defense team enters and sits in the row directly behind me.

9:05 AM
Woodward takes his seat at the defense table.

I'm still a little stuffy from a head cold over the weekend, but I'm hoping I won't need to cough too much.

9:05 AM
The case is called and counsel state their appearances. Before they begin, the people and the defense enter a stipulation of LAPD SID testing performed.  The parties stipulate that Aletha Bacon-Dillo, (sp?) a lab analyst performed testing on August 3, 2010.  Several evidentiary items were tested by the analyst, a pair of panties, white powder in a glass jar, several pills.  If called the witness would have testified that she was unable to verify the presence of misoprostol or (laprazolam?), because no certified tests are available to determine the presence of the named drugs.

9:12 AM
Ms. Kingston retakes the stand. She is still under cross examination. Currie moves the podium near the defense table.  He then places several binders at the witness box for Ms. Kingston to reference.

Currie starts off by asking if she's had any conversations with the prosecutors since she last testified. She did not have any conversations about the substance of her testimony. Since she last testified, she re-reviewed the report she submitted and the documents she was given by the prosecution.  She did not review any additional studies.

Currie then asks several questions about whether it's common for pregnant patients to have a pap smear test. It is. Then there are questions about Chlamydia and it's potential role in spontaneous miscarriage.

KC: Can a patient have Chlamydia and not be aware of it?
JK: Yes.
KC: Are you aware 80% of cases are asymptomatic?
MR: Objection!
JP : Sustained.

Currie then has the witness look at people's exhibit #10, Ms. Doe's medical records.

KC: Did she [Ms. Doe] have a pap smear as part of her prenatal tests?
JK: Yes.

The page with the test results of the pap smear and reviewed. In regards to testing for Chlamydia, the analysis page states "quantity not sufficient for analysis." It means the lab didn't have enough of that sample to render the test.  Currie asks Dr. Kingston when rendering her opinion if she considered Chlamydia as a risk factor.

JK: No because I did not see any test results that showed she had a positive test (for Chlamydia).

In Dr. Kingston's report, she said, "All her prenatals were normal and risk factors were negative." I believe Currie asks her if it's true she can't rule out that she had Chlamydia.  Dr. Kingston agrees but also adds, "But there was no testing that she was positive."  Continue reading.....

Monday, December 9, 2013

Joshua Woodward Preliminary Hearing, Day 4

Misoprostol, 100 micrograms tablet 
Tablets with the exact same appearance were seized in a search 
warrant executed at Woodward's Los Angeles restaurant, Oct. 2009.

Monday December 9, 2013
The preliminary hearing of Joshua Woodward will resume today in Dept. 51, Judge Michael Pastor's courtroom. Woodward is charged with four counts of attempted murder on a 13 week-old fetus.

Dr. Jessica Kingston, an obstetrician from San Diego and one of three expert witnesses the prosecution has called, and Detective John Shafia who investigated the case are expected to complete their cross examination today.

I will have an update at the noon lunch break.

12:45 PM
During the morning session Dr. Kingston completed her cross examination testimony and she was excused.  We heard cross examination testimony from Detective Shafia for about 15 minutes in the morning session.  His testimony will continue in the afternoon session.

I will need to get a confirmation on this, but it appears the testimony by Detective's Shafia and Fairchild on November 18, was not part of the preliminary hearing, but part of a separate inquiry into how some prosecution discovery items were not turned over to the defense in a timely manner.

I will work on getting my notes up covering today's proceedings later tonight.

1:31 PM
I've confirmed that the testimony on November 18th was not part of the preliminary hearing, but just a discovery hearing.

4:15 PM
Cross examination of Detective Shafia is not complete. It will continue next Monday, Dec. 16 and could continue into Dec. 17.

Continued in Day 4, Part II...

Monday, December 2, 2013

Joshua Woodward Preliminary Hearing, Day 3

Joshua Woodward at an earlier pretrial hearing

UPDATE 12/10: It was confirmed for me on 12/9 that this testimony was not a part of Woodward's prelim. It was only an evidentiary hearing. Sprocket.
UPDATE 12/3: spelling, clarity
November 18, 2013
8:18 AM 
I'm in the hallway of the 7th floor at the criminal court building, right outside Dept. 51, Judge Pastor's courtroom. Also in the hallway is one of Woodward's counsel. This is one of the attorneys that sat in the gallery during the first two days of testimony. He looks noticeably older than co-counsel of record, Kelly T. Currie. He has a pleasantly lined face with salt and pepper hair.

8:19 AM
Mavis, Judge Pastor's court reporter (I just adore Mavis), arrives and says hello. 

8:21 AM
I call Mr. Sprocket to tell him that my computer is still not "right" after his first repair attempt. It won't start up.  I spilled water on it and he applied gentle heat to try to dry it out. We got it to start after a while.  It was on the train ride downtown when I discovered I couldn't get it to boot up.

The 7th floor is virtually empty. We are the only two people at this end of the hall.

The salt and pepper attorney overhears my conversation with Mr. Sprocket. Smiling he says, "Can't live with them or without them.  Computers, not husbands."

It's very quiet. We are still the only two people at this end of the hallway.  Moments later, two more of Woodward's counsel arrive. All three attorneys move to the very end of the hall to chat.

Defense counsel Janet Levine is here. I overhear her ask the other female co-counsel if she is ready.  Now two more defense attorney's arrive. One of them is Kelly T. Currie.

8:42 AM
The bailiff opens Dept. 51.  A minute or two later the defense team goes inside.

8:43 AM
Joshua Woodward arrives with another attorney. His parents are not with him today.

8:45 AM
I'm inside Dept. 51.  Judge Pastor's court reporter, Mavis is setting up her equipment. Several of Woodward's attorneys are sitting in the first row. I take a seat in the second row and try to sit as close to in line with the witness box as possible.  During the first Phil Spector trial, Dominick Dunne liked to sit directly in line with the witness.

8:48 AM
Judge Pastor comes out from the back area. His clerk says hello and tells him they have "... the search warrant thing this morning." To the gallery, the clerk asks, "Do we have everyone?"  Ms. Levine answers, "The DA's not here yet."  I'm the only journalist in the room.

8:57 AM
Another case is called, the search warrant case.

8:59 AM
The prosecution team arrives. DDA Habib Balian, DDA Marguerite Rizzo and Detective Fairchild. Their witness, Detective Shafia is with them.  Woodward has three attorneys in the well and four in the gallery.

Judge Pastor goes on the record with the other case. It's about an attorney who was practicing law without a license.  The illegal attorney was representing clients who were in the country illegally. They are victims. They paid this attorney to represent them but their cases were never worked. The state bar has intervened. Some of the cases were never closed; never rendered. The cases involved people who were going to be deported.

Judge Pastor is concerned there may be statute of limitation issues for the victims.  Many of the victim/defendants didn't know they were victim's of fraud.

9:04 AM
DDA Balian motions to DDA Rizzo and Detective Fairchild to step outside the courtroom.  They all reenter the courtroom a short time later.

9:13 AM
While the other hearing is going on, DDA Balian moves to the jury box to sit beside Ms. Rizzo and converse privately.

Judge Pastor states they need to find out who notifies whom. He tells counsel that he's never run across this situation before. Judge Pastor is very concerned about the people (victims) who in good faith, consulted with someone that they thought was an attorney, on criminal matters.  "I can't imagine that the state bar hasn't dealt with this," Judge Pastor states. "This is very important. Everyday that goes by is a potential problem for litigants." Judge Pastor is not sure if they need a special master but definitely someone from the state bar.

One of the issues is, who can go through the defendant's files to determine 'who' might be a victim? Can the defendant's attorney's do that? Can the prosecution do that? Do they need a special master to do that? This is why Judge Pastor states they need a representative from the California State Bar to tell them.

The case is given a new date for the parties to return and for someone from the state bar to be present.

9:20 AM
The Woodward is case is called.  The podium is moved.  Counsel take their places at their respective tables.  The other female defense attorney, Megan Weisgerber is sitting with Ms. Levine at the defense table. Mr. Currie sits in the extra seats in the well while Ms. Levine and Ms. Weisgerber sit at the defense table. DDA Balian will continue with direct of Detective Shafia. Ms. Weisgerber will cross examine Detective Fairchild. Judge Pastor politely asks Mr. Currie if he wants to sit up front.  Mr. Currie indicates he is fine where he is.

John Shafia.
On October 30, 2013, Detective Shafia met with Mr. Balian and Ms. Rizzo.  He brought his entire copy of the case file with him. Shafia verifies that what he brought was everything on the case in his possession. I believe Shafia states that they went through to verify that everything Detective Shafia had in his case file was turned over to the prosecution.

Direct is finished and Ms. Levine steps up to cross Detective Shafia.

JL: ... want to make sure that all areas have been searched for all documents?
JS: Yes.
JL: ... talking about electronic documents that may (not?) exist on paper but on servers. ... In terms of (Brady ?) and (?)...
HB: I'm going to object to ... I don't know that this line of questioning ...
JP: Sustained.
JL: (I'm) going to question (you?) as to what steps you took to preserve ... [documents relating to the case].
HB: Objection!
JP: Over ruled.
JS: Do you want me to discuss all (the) steps (I took?) to document in this case? ...  Everything I turned over was recorded on CD's or paper or photographs.
JL: How do you preserve electronic data?
JS: It would be copied onto CD.
JL: How about CD?
JS: It would have been printed out and turned over and put in the (murder) book.

There are questions about Detective Shafia's documentation process. He states that on or about November 1, 2009, his files were turned over to Detective Fairchild. There was a meeting between Detective Fairchild and Shafia, and a copy of the file was turned over to Detective Fairchild. I believe Ms. Levine asks about the photos that were discovered on October (13? 30?), 2013.  Shafia states the original photos were transferred to CD and turned over.

Ms. Levine questions Detective Shafia about who he spoke to on October 30th and anything else he did. Ms. Levine hands the witness a report by Detective (Coreia?) in 2011. There are questions about when he received that document and when it was turned over to Detective Fairchild or the district attorney.

Shafia is next asked about an email between himself and the victim under a different email account name.  Shafia states he turned this email over to the DA but he doesn't remember when.  I believe the email contained a text message. The communication from Ms. Doe went to his LAPD email account.  Shafia is asked if this is the only email he received from Ms. Doe.

JS: I don't receive any emails from Jane. I recall some phone ...
JL: Is this the only text message or email?

Shafia states he did not preserve the text message between him and Ms. Do on the date Woodward was arrested. Shafia and Ms. Doe had personal text messages (using his personal phone, and not his LAPD issued phone) that were not preserved. He did not take screen shots. Shafia directed Officer Hernandez to take photos of other text messages on Ms. Doe's phone.

JL: Do you know if Ms. Doe erased or kept [that text message] on her phone?
JS: No.
JL: Do you know what she may have erased [in the way of] conversations or text messages with Joshua Woodward?
HB: Objection!
JP: Sustained.

I believe Ms. Levine states she would like to subpoena Mr. Shafia's phone records.

JL: Do you know if you sent texts to anyone else about the case?
JS: No.
JL: Did you send emails to Ms. Doe?
JS: No.

There are questions whether or not he used his personal email for work or business.  "No," Shafia responds. Questions if he used his (work?) phone for personal business. Next there are questions of preservation of evidence.

JL: Did you take Ms. Doe's computer and image her emails?
JS: No.
JL: Did you take her phone and take nay images beyond (those already taken?)?
JS: No.

Next are questions about what he did to preserve lab reports. I see the gray haired man who spoke to me the hallway hand a note to Mr. Currie.

JL: Are there any additional diagrams and or (writings?) that have not been disclosed?
JS: No.
JL: Did you look at Ms. Doe's computer for her search history?
JS: (No.)

JP: Detective Shafia, you've gone through Mr. Balian's (and?) your files as file maintenance by the prosecutor's office?
JS: Not sure.
JP: Have you looked at what the people have in their file?

Shafia states he compared from his book to the prosecution's book. It's a mirror image.  DDA Balian clarifies for the judge that the people's file is larger than Detective Shafia's, because their investigation went beyond Detective Shafia's.

It's not in my notes, but I remember Detective Shafia testifying about how some documents from the Woodward case were mistakenly filed in a totally different case that he was assigned.

This witness is finished and Detective Kimberly Fairchild is called as the next witness.

5. KIMBERLY FAIRCHILD
(Unfortunately, my notes do not reflect who presented Ms. Fairchild's testimony, but I believe it was Ms. Rizzo. Sprocket)

MR: On October 31, of this year, did you meet with Mr. (Balian?) and myself on this case for purposes of discovery?
KF: Yes.
MR: And what you had was everything in relation to discovery?
KF: Yes.
MR: Was some additiona information discovered that we didn't have? ... Was everything you discovered copied and made available?
KF: Yes.

Direct ends and cross begins by Megan Weisgerber.

MW: I want to know generally, what you did to prepare for today?
KF: I did not prepare.

There are questions about what she did to transition the case from Detective Shafia to herself. She met with Shafia. She did not see anyone take notes, only herself and Shafia.  When she met with Shafia, there was a copy of the file already made for her.

Judge Pastor asks a question as to how the detectives refer to their investigative file. It's referred to as a "murder book."

MW: Did you believe that you had received everything that (was?) involved in this case?
KF: Yes.
MW: Were you aware that photos were taken during the search warrant?
KF: Yes.
HB: (Objection!) Which photos?
MW: (Any photos.) ... Have you seen any photos in the execution of a search warrant?
KF: Yes.
MW: When
KF: I don't recall the exact date.
MW: Were there any photos you (just?) received ...?
KF: They were photos of (the?) backpack that were taken in the search warrant.

There are questions about how she takes notes. She listens to interviews and takes notes in a notebook.

KF: Sometimes in a bound notebook and sometimes on loose paper. ... I don't use electronic devices. I use hand written notes.
MW: Anywhere else that you store handwritten notes?
KF: In another notebook stored in my desk.
MW: do you ever store anything at home?
KF: No.
MW: Do you ever store anything in your car?
KF: No.

Detective Fairchild states she searched her desk last week and there's "nothing else" in the way of work notes related to this case.

MW: In this case, when you interview witnesses or prepare, did you store notes in any other way?
KF: No.

There is a question about how she decides what goes from her hand notes into her typed notes. Detective Fairchild explains that everything from her hand notes go into typewritten notes.

MW: Are any type written reports ever edited?
KF: No.
DDA: Objection! Vague.
JP: Sustained. Stricken.

Ms. Weisgerber asks if the witness has ever gone back and edited reports that she prepared.  Detective Fairchild states she only does that to verify spelling and grammar. Reports are saved to the LAPD server.

MW: Did you search the server (before appearing today?) to ensure everything was turned over?
KF: Yes.
MW: When did you do that?
KF: Last week.

She ensured everything was turned over to the DA's office.  There is something that she did not send (via CD?). There's no electronic version of the chrono log on the LAPD (servers).  Some of the chrono is typed, some is hand written. (I've seen this in other chrono logs I've had the opportunity to look at. Sometimes notes are typed; sometimes hand written. Sprocket.)

MW: What do you put on the log?
KF: Everything related to the investigation.
MW: So everything that pertains to this case?
DDA: Objection!
JP: Sustained.
MW: Are all interviews you (obtained?) with witnesses, are contained in the log?
KF: I believe so.
MW: Is... are all of (your?) conversations with Ms. Doe noted on the detective log?
KF: No.
MW: Are there any conversation you had that are not on the detective log?
KF: Yes.

Detective Fairchild explains. Ms. Doe would call and ask how the case was going.

KF: I didn't feel they were relevant to the investigation.
MW: Do you recall approximately how many communications you received from Ms. Doe ... that are not documented? (miss answer)

Ms. Weisgerber asks how often she turns in (updates?) to the detective logs (to the prosecution?)?
KF: I think there have been about two.
MW: Since you last turned one (in), has there .... anything that has happened since that last time you turned over to the DA)?
KF: No.

Detective Fairchild states she hasn't searched other case files for notes on this case because she doesn't have a problem identifying different case files. She is asked if she searched any information for preparation in this case.

KF: No.
MW: Did you conduct a search for any other type of communication, texts, email, with other law enforcement investigators? (miss answer)

MW: Did you search for documents related to communication with witnesses or the coroner?
KF: No.
MW: Do you (recall? received?) the investigation report by Detective Coreia?
KF: Yes.
MW: Do you ... Do you have a personal email account?
DDA: Objection!
JP: Sustained.
MW: Have you ever used your personal email account or phone ...
DDA: Objection! Over broad.
JP: Sustained.
MW: Have you had any communication on your personal email, or use your personal computer or personal cell phone to do any (police work? investigation?)?
KF: No.
MW: Do you have an (?undist?) as to Brady materials?
KF: No.
MW: Is there anything in your files that would (?) your credibility and investigation in this case?
KF: No.

MW: Are you in possession of any substantive documents, interviews, ...
DDA: Objection! Broad.
JP: Sustained.
MW: Are you currently in possession of any documents related to any (investigation?) ...
(miss answer)

Cross is finished and redirect begins.
There is an initial question I believe, about her personal email account.

MR: Are you in possession of any (interviews) of witnesses, or statements of witness or piece of evidence related to this case on any work phone or in any work format?
KF: No.

The photos of the backpack that was seized in the search warrant are discussed, and what she remembers what the photos were of.

There were telephone calls to Ms. Doe but not interviews.

I believe redirect is finished and the people state there is no additional evidence to turn over to the defense.  Ms. Levine mentions something about a "follow-up letter to the DA."

Judge Pastor then tells the parties that what he would like to do now, is take in writing, a waiver execution in open court so that Mr. Woodward doesn't have to fly around the country.  Ms. Levine is going over with her client the waiver, so that he doesn't have to come to every court appearance where he is not needed.  Ms. Levine tells the court, "We have read it and Mr. Woodward has signed."

Judge Pastor advises the defendant. "The law requires that you be present ... required scheduling ... motions ... do you know and understand these ... ?" "Yes," Woodward replies.

Judge Pastor replies, "I understand that you may not be living locally. The law allows that your attorney can stand in for you. Do you understand that?"  "Yes, your honor."

The waiver of the defendant's personal presence.  Judge Pastor reads from the waiver. (Defendant) "... agrees that his (rep?) is (rep?) by attorneys. ... It's at discretion of the court to to excuse his presence. ... You're still on bond. ... Did you affix your signature?"

There are more questions that the defendant answers 'yes' to. If he understands, did he date and sign the document. His counsel, Ms. Levine states she dated and signed the waiver.  There are a few other comments, and then the next return date is selected. Monday, December 9th at 9:00 Am.

The next thing discussed are the motions to suppress the statements made by the defendant. I believe those motions will be argued on the 9th or after the prelim is completed.  On the 9th, they will finish the cross of Dr. Kingston and then the cross of Detective Shafia. I believe Detective Fairchild will be last.  The people will not call Detective Hernandez for the prelim.


There is an inquiry about whether or not one (the defense?) has looked over the LAPD SID investigation, [the lab work at Science Investigation Division (SID) on the case] or any problem calling witnesses. I believe the defense states they haven't decided.  Judge Pastor orders the defendant back on December 9th at 9 AM.  And that's it.