Pellicano Asks for a Do-Over
Now Anthony Pellicano is a stickler for protocol.
The disgraced private investigator, who after serving as his own lawyer was convicted last month on 76 of 77 counts of wiretapping, computer fraud, racketeering and other sins he commited for his powerful clients, has filed a motion requesting a new trial, alleging that jury misconduct tainted the proceedings the first time around.
First, a female juror approached an attorney working for one of Pellicano’s codefendants to voice “concern” about the verdicts. They then learned that at least four jurors had discussed the case without the rest of the panel present and one juror’s husband had dished to her about a possible witness after reading a blog tracking the trial, said Pellicano attorney Steven Gruel, who’s based in San Francisco and is doing selective posttrial work for the ex-detective.
“Many of [the blog’s] accounts were derogatory and incriminating to all defendants,” his motion added.
“The jury is supposed to make its decision in a vacuum,” Gruel told reporters Monday. “A new trial is the only way to remedy the uncertainties created by the misconduct.”
Sentencing is currently scheduled to take place Sept. 24. Federal prosecutors have not yet commented on Pellicano’s latest move.
R. Kelly Found Not Guilty!
Well, that was easy.
It took more than six years for the case to go to trial, but after less than a day of deliberations, a Chicago jury has found R&B superstar R. Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl.
If convicted, the 41-year-old singer could have faced a minimum of four years in prison and a maximum of 15 years and would have had to register as a sex offender in Illinois.
Kelly’s acquittal essentially came down to whether or not his legal eagles instilled enough reasonable doubt in the panel of nine men and three women as they debated the kiddie-porn charges over seven hours. Obviously, Kelly’s camp succeeded.
“R. Kelly was found not guilty, because they had the best jury that Cook County could produce,” Kelly’s attorney, Sam Adam Jr. said outside the courtroom.
Three hours before the verdict was reached, Cook County Criminal Court Judge Vincent Gaughan received a note from an African-American juror who attends a culinary school requesting that he be excused from the panel because of some serious family illnesses.
Per the Chicago Tribune, the panelist told the judge that he needed to be there for his family after his cousin had died on Monday; his aunt and uncle were hospitalized with pneumonia; and his niece was diagnosed with cancer.
“My mom is stressed out,” the unidentified man told Gaughan when asked in open court. “I just need to find out what is going on.”
However, after discussing the issue with both prosecutors and the defense who objected to his dismissal, the judge declined the request and ordered the juror to give his family’s contact information to sheriff’s deputies so he could keep in contact with them.
The jury also asked for an easel and paper so they could “visualize our argument” as well as an additional TV and VCR so they could compare notes on the kinky sex tape at the heart of the case. The judge granted their requests.
Prosecutors began building the child-pornography case against Kelly, whose first name is Robert, in February 2002 after the infamous videotape was anonymously sent to Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim DeRogatis, who subsequently turned it over to authorities. After countless delays, the trial finally kicked off last month and lasted four weeks.
Helping the jurors in their decision to acquit was skepticism about a mole on his back that prosecutors claimed was proof that Kelly was indeed the man in the video who participated in the three-way with another woman and the minor in question and was seen urinating on the latter after engaging in various sex acts.
The alleged victim, now 23, refused to cooperate with the Cook County District Attorney’s Office, did not testify against Kelly and neither did her parents.
The “Bump n’ Grind” crooner’s lawyers called their own forensic expert to assert that the X-rated footage could have been manipulated to frame Kelly and was of “such poor quality” that the elongated mole near his spine was really a shadow that kept disappearing and reappearing depending on the lighting.
The defense also called up several people who challenged the credibility of a number of the prosecutor’s key witnesses, such as Lisa Van Allen, the other woman in the video whom Kelly’s lawyers tried to paint as a liar and theif and alleged had tried to extract $300,000 from the entertainer to keep her from taking the stand.
Van Allen, 27, told the Chicago Sun-Times after the verdict was read that she believed jurors were easily swayed by Kelly’s celebrity.
“Star power. Definitely,” she said when asked of her reaction. “I came forward. I told the truth. That’s basically it. That’s all I could do. I’m disappointed.”
Van Allen noted that she thought prosecutors “did a really good job.”
Confident that his team had successfully rebutted the charges, Kelly opted not to testify in the trial before the case went to the jury.
Natalie Portman and Her Birthday Boy Do Israel
Natalie Portman and Her Birthday Boy Do Israel
Cannes Film Festival juror Natalie Portman recently wrapped up her movie-rating duties in the south of France, heading off to her home country for some time with her beau.
Wearing a pair of short-shorts, the My Blueberry Nights actress and boyfriend Devendra Banhart were spotted strolling about Jaffa, Israel earlier this week.
And the timing couldn’t have been better - as the two can spend quality time celebrating Devendra’s 27th birthday (which just so happens to be today).
The little-known folk rock singer-songwriter and musician was born on May 30, 1981, in Houston, Texas. And now that he’s got Natalie by his side, the next year should hold some much needed publicity for Banhart and his musical message.
Big Jury Turnout Expected for O.J.
Theoretically you might have to question 4 million people before finding 12 with no preconceived opinion about O.J. Simpson, but the Las Vegas justice system just doesn’t have that kind of time.
Instead, lengthy questionnaires will be handed out to a pool of as many as 400 potential jurors, still a bigger number than the norm, in preparation for the football star turned pariah’s upcoming trial on armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges related to an alleged sports-memorabilia heist that went down in September.
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass said she will begin to start summoning prospective jurors and to start doling out the required paperwork, which will entail about 115 questions, at least two weeks before the Sept. 8 trial date.
A hearing on pretrial motionsincluding prosecution and defense objections to at least three of the juror questions and a motion filed by one of Simpson’s codefendants to reconsider trying all three suspects togetheris set for June 20.
Simpson and two other are accused of robbing two memorabilia dealers in a Vegas hotel room. The erstwhile murder suspect, who’s facing life in prison if convicted on all charges, maintains no guns were used and that he went into the meeting intending to retrieve items that belonged to him in the first place.