Bam Bam Mistries a Case

[bam bam]

Well, I am in CDC on a jury trial and you talk about having the f-ing deck stacked against you. All my evidence is excluded, all the defense evidence is admissable to the point where the judge is allowing the defendant to play a recorded cell phone message from someone else's cellphone that cannot be authenticated from the date in question. The date of the incident is Feb 27, the day of the recorded message, according to the phone is March 20. Furthermore the person whose cell phone it is, isn't in court. She had to go pick up her baby from daycare. The judge's ruling is that "he says this message was recorded contemporaneously with the date of the incident and the witness is unavailable so I'll allow it." Oh well, judge if he says that then it must be admissable.

Nonetheless, I realized I was going to get my clock cleaned, if this case went to a verdict. So on rebuttal, I put on all my evidence that had previously been excluded. Mistrial. Good luck getting this case off your docket, jackass.

I apologize to anyone who wasted a day of jury duty on my case.

It amazes me that there isn't a single contested seat @ CDC this fall.

[justagirl]

Are our judges the people who almost failed law school?

[buzd]

CDC = civil or criminal?

[TulaneRebel]

Nice strategic move.

[PNG]

Start a rumor around town that you are Obama's nephew. That may do the trick.

[bucket2]

Most of those judges over at the CDC are bleeding heart liberals. The poor criminals need a 2nd chance, or 3rd, or 4th or 5th, b/c it's not their fault that their criminals. Society has forced them to turn to crime to survive. Didn't you know that? We must give them every chance to stay out of prison even if it means disregarding the law. And yes, most of the CDC judges probably barely passed law school.

[lawgreenie]

Most of those judges over at the CDC are bleeding heart liberals. The poor criminals need a 2nd chance, or 3rd, or 4th or 5th, b/c it's not their fault that their criminals. Society has forced them to turn to crime to survive. Didn't you know that? We must give them every chance to stay out of prison even if it means disregarding the law. And yes, most of the CDC judges probably barely passed law school.

CDC refers to civil court, at Loyola and Poydras. Criminal Court is refered to as that, or "Tulane and Broad."

The CDC judges are bought and paid for, but don't you think, on the whole, the judges have improved since C. Hunter King and Yada McGee ruled the roost?

[jimbeaux]

You must have really pissed off the judge to get all your plaintiff evidence excluded, assuming there was any argument as to its admissibility. Defendants are usually the ones getting shafted in CDC. But rather than cheat and waste a day of everyone else's time, you should have taken your beating and lost graciously. Have you been sanctioned yet for your mistrial stunt?

[ChoWeb]

I can see where you're coming from, Bam, but I have to agree with the previous poster. Maybe you are meant to lose this one. If the evidence isn't admissible in court according to the books, then it would be an abortion of justice to allow it. Of course, I'm only hearing one side of things, and it is really hard to ascertain why the judge chooses the way they did from that alone.

[Alex]

Interesting story BB. Thanks for sharing.

[ToddMa]

I think the previous two posters are prime candidates to be CDC judges.

[ChoWeb]

I think the previous two posters are prime candidates to be CDC judges.

Why Todd? Because I prefer to hear both sides of a story before passing judgement? Is that an exclusively "liberal" thing to do now?

[powderedsugar]

Nonetheless, I realized I was going to get my clock cleaned, if this case went to a verdict. So on rebuttal, I put on all my evidence that had previously been excluded. Mistrial. Good luck getting this case off your docket, jackass.

I apologize to anyone who wasted a day of jury duty on my case.

It amazes me that there isn't a single contested seat @ CDC this fall.

I don't know much about law but I think that you made a ballsy call and I applaud you for doing so.

On a side note, I had a good day in court today. I was erroneously ticketed for running a red light when I was merely caught in traffic and all the lights changed just as I slipped through along with the rest of the traffic before, along, and after me. The police officer failed to appear. My two new favorite words in the English language are "Cased dismissed!"

[JudiB]

bam, I've seen attorneys do that in juvenile and criminal courts. lol, I've seen one or two of them held in contempt, too.

We had a judge years ago in Juvenile who was probably in the beginnings of dementia, although he wasn't very old. Poor thing... really nice guy... but we would have to fanangle the system sometimes like that for the sake of justice.... and usually in the accused favor.

[LiveOak]

Did the judge make any attempt to stop you at all? It's interesting that he allowed you to do it in your rebuttal.

[JudiB]

lol, LiveOak something like that has to be very carefully planned and executed... you start talking and don't stop when the objection is made and sustained... and get out just enough that you force the other side to request a mistrial - and hopefully NOT enough to land your fanny in a jail cell.

[bam bam]

I was essentially at the end of my rope. I had been in court since 9:00 am and was getting railroaded all day. There wasn't even a pretense of impartiality from the judge. I can deal with that but the minute the judge plays an unauthenticated recording of the incident to the jury, I can't win the case. I noticed my intent to take a writ (appeal) and asked for a stay. I was denied.

At that point I was going to lose. I had some things my witnesses were precluded from talking about on direct. On rebuttal, I put them on and had them start discussing these things. The reasons were 1) I was getting the shafted, so I didn't care about a mistrial and 2) I needed to rebut the recording and some of the excluded stuff explained away some of the things in the recording. The defense certainly didn't want a mistrial and I was called into chambers and screamed at by the judge. But I took it and have moved on.

Recusal is my next option.

[jimbeaux]

Well perhaps I was a bit harsh in my initial condemnation of your tactics, if you were being treated that unfairly. Still not sure you shouldn't have dealt with the unfair rulings on appeal, but I can see the decision in the heat of battle. Good luck on that recusal.

[Pelican Six]

This reminds me of the movie Armed and Dangerous where Eugene Levy is a public defender defending this Charles Manson type who threatened to kill him if he doesn't get off.

At one point, the judge tells him, "You have got to be the worst attorney I have ever seen in my life."

Eugene Levy says, "Great! Then I move for a mistrial!"

[ToddMa]

Why Todd? Because I prefer to hear both sides of a story before passing judgement? Is that an exclusively "liberal" thing to do now?

You must have made and exception for Global Warming. Or is it called Climate Change now?

[PNG]

I hear that BAM BAM is Obama's nephew. Can anyone confirm this?

[Alex]

I hear that BAM BAM is Obama's nephew. Can anyone confirm this?

LOL - I doubt it. Go to Rick's tonight and find the guy that is making it rain, and then obtain one of his empty glasses. We will take up a collection to get the DNA tested.