Public Defender Claims Prosecutor Using Cognitive Bias during Closing Arguments in Jeffrey Eble Trial
Following months of coverage, the Eble trial is coming to a close. Bliemann sharply notes the final moments of the tense trial in this Aug. 14 San Francisco article:
[Deputy Public Defender Aleem Raja] told the jury that “link after link” in this case “is based on assumptions, not evidence.” It is no lie that the victim was harmed, and was stabbed, Raja made note. But one of the key pieces of evidence in this statement is that the victim testified that Eble had never been violent, opening up reason to affirm his innocence. To read more, click here.
Victim in 80s Details Attack by Man on Birdwatchers, and How He Held Attacker for Police
By Ella Wade
In this piece, Wade recounts the testimony of a man who was attacked while birdwatching in a San Francisco park– as well as the public defender trying to calm the defendant’s family in 
court:
Toward the end of AP’s testimony, he requested to make a statement, in which he said, “I realized later, I had no animosity towards the attacker. I realized I only wanted to stop him from hitting me… I was in shock. I clearly remember, after [getting] three punches, thinking, I’m being punched in the head. Just the disbelief… I realized that if I didn’t stop him from hitting me, he would keep hitting me… [In those moments] you don’t think ahead, you just want to stop it.” To read more, click here.
Man’s Mental Health Evaluation Postponed Because of Defective Jail Phone – Attorney Calls It ‘Shocking and Infuriating’
Rawlings details the frustration of an attorney whose client’s services were delayed because of a jail phone defect. In need of a health evaluation in order for his case to proceed, this defect delayed the defendant’s trial in Santa Barbara:
Heaven’s attorney, Lauren Gartrell, recounted the situation, describing “Dr. Angelo was denied access to Mr. Heaven because when he went to the jail the phone didn’t work – which I find shocking and infuriating- and they didn’t just move him to the main jail.” To read more, click here.
Judge Justifies Decision – Sentences Man to 15 Years State Prison for Chinatown Armed Robbery of Elderly Man with Grandchildren
By Lois Yoo
In yet another case of a victimized elderly person, Yoo describes a Chinatown robbery where an Alameda judge deliberated sentencing carefully to find a fitting resolution:
Defendant Colbert shared a few inaudible words due to technical difficulties with the courtroom’s online audio.
“Having to go through such a traumatizing ordeal…I hope that the courts can have… I will be on my best behavior and do anything I could… God bless you all,” Colbert said, who was identified by the elderly victim as the one who committed the assault against him and his grandchildren. To read more, click here.
DUI Defendant Swears It Was Vanilla in Mouth, Not Booze – Judge Doesn’t Believe Him, Calls It ‘Fraud,’ Orders Him to Jail
This Aug. 9 article details the frustration of a Sacramento judge with a defendant’s unusual claim that he was not actually intoxicated while driving, instead drinking and spitting out vanilla:
Judge Marlette explained the SCRAM report showed a very distinct pattern of it going up by 0.02 percent in the first hour, another point 0.02 percent in the second hour, then there was a drop off, which may be because the SCRAM only samples about every 30 minutes. He said the pattern continued and then burned off, which was the “classical driving absorption…I see no reason to doubt this report, and frankly, I’m offended by Mr. Adams attempting to…defraud the court,” Judge Marlette said. To read more, click here.
