Some takeaways:
- Judge McAfee has authorized releasing the names of unindicted co-conspirators Individuals 1 through 30 to Defense
- Defense wants the transcripts from the Special Purpose Grand Jury. State will need to turn over portions of the transcripts related to witnesses the State intends to call. Defense makes a good argument for receiving all transcripts, on the basis of “What if there is a witness the State does not intend to call, who would be a good withness for the Defense?” I believe a ruling on that is forthcoming.
- Defense puts forth a thinly-veiled accusation that the prosecution unlawfully influenced the grand jury (the one which made the indictments), and wants to interview grand jurors “the ensure they were not unduly influenced by the prosecution.” But that falls into deliberation, which is necessarily secret. Ultimately, Judge requests that questions be submitted by Defense, along with case law to support those being questions that can be asked of grand jurors, essentially making the Court a gatekeeper between Defense and grand jurors.
- Defense complains that the State is using PowerPoint.
- Defense - after having impugned the reputation of the State, complains loudly that the State has impugned the reputation of Defense counsel, and accuses the State of lying to the court. Judge shuts this down quickly.
- Defense wants the State to provide specifically requested pieces of discovery. State says, "We gace them everything, they just want us to do the searching for them.: Judge directs Defense to make a motion about “discrete information as reqwuested,” to include applicable case law.
Defense complains that the State is using PowerPoint.
I really want to know what their complaint about PowerPoint is but I don’t have the attention span for videos.
Apparently, when a party “creates a document,” which a PPT is, the other side gets a copy of it.
Defense is complaining that the State is presenting these “documents” during the hearing, instead of presenting them as motions. That Defense “doesn’t have time to review this document.”
Even though the State is just reading the document into the record, just like they are all doing with all of their oral arguments before the court.
Defense’s complaint about the use of PowerPoint could easily be solved by … not putting the PowerPoint presentation in front of the court, but just presenting it all orally, and just using the PPT as notes.
Honestly, there’s nothing in any of the PPTs the State has presented that need to be presented in that format. It could all just as easily be done orally.