As a retired public defender trial attorney who has handled over a dozen capital cases in New Orleans, I am fascinated by this latest "progressive" outbreak against the old-fashioned unanimous verdict requirement of yore. Even I did not have to deal with the added stress of a 10-2 first, now an 8-4 sentencing verdict in my day. What must it be like to be in the trial trenches now in FL?
Wow. God help us all. At least the harbingers of trying these two same-defendant cases seem to be telling prosecutors, "Hey, not so fast, folks; putting just any old murder case up there for trial doesn't mean people are going to fall for it".
And yet, are prosecutors going to rub their mood rings and whisper, "Third time's the charm"?
Stay tuned. I sure hope not. This travesty of a law is close to Alice-in-Wonderland criminal justice. I hope Robert Holton's defense team has God's grace working on their side...
As a retired public defender trial attorney who has handled over a dozen capital cases in New Orleans, I am fascinated by this latest "progressive" outbreak against the old-fashioned unanimous verdict requirement of yore. Even I did not have to deal with the added stress of a 10-2 first, now an 8-4 sentencing verdict in my day. What must it be like to be in the trial trenches now in FL?
Wow. God help us all. At least the harbingers of trying these two same-defendant cases seem to be telling prosecutors, "Hey, not so fast, folks; putting just any old murder case up there for trial doesn't mean people are going to fall for it".
And yet, are prosecutors going to rub their mood rings and whisper, "Third time's the charm"?
Stay tuned. I sure hope not. This travesty of a law is close to Alice-in-Wonderland criminal justice. I hope Robert Holton's defense team has God's grace working on their side...