LEGAL SPEAKS BLOG

Avi Werdesheim- AP Photo

In a case that appears in some aspects similar to the Trayvon Martin case, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela White has found one Jewish brother guilty of assaulting a black teen, while walking in their Jewish neighborhood in 2010.  The second brother was acquitted.   The two brothers chose a trial before a judge, instead of their originally requested jury trial. The brothers stated they did not believe they could get a fair jury trial, in light of similarities between their case and the Trayvon Martin case.

Prosecutors said that in November, 2010, Eliyahu Werdsheim and his brother Avi attacked the black  teen, hitting him with a radio and holding him on the ground. Eliyahu testified that he acted in self-defense when the teen attacked him with a nail-studded plank. The judge rejected Eliyahu’s claim of self-defense.

And in a real twist of irony, the 16 year old black teen took the stand and refused to testify against the defendants.   The teen, after taking the stand, said he should not have called the police and would not testify. The 911 tape of his reporting the incident was allowed into evidence.  Although, prosecutors often drop a case when a victim is reluctant to testify, Baltimore State’s Attorney Greg Bernstein chose to continue with the trial. The teen’s parents, on behalf of their son, also dropped their civil suit against the two Jewish brothers.  Victims sometimes drop civil cases and attempt to drop criminal cases, when there has been some type of agreement reached between the parties. There is no indication of that happening in this case, but it is often the situation.  Only the prosecutor can choose to drop a criminal case.

The trial took one week to try before Judge White. At the conclusion of the trial, the judge found Eliyahu guilty of false imprisonment and second-degree assault, and cleared him of carrying a deadly weapon with intent to injure and Avi was acquitted of all three counts. The judge took a harsh tone in addressing the brothers and the testimony they offered in their behalf. She stated, “As I waited for straight answers, that wait proved thankless,” she said. Judge White also had harsh words for the Jewish neighborhood patrol group, Shomrim.

Eliyahu Werdesheim faces up to ten years in jail. And justice has been rendered in the case.

Debbie Hines is a lawyer, former Baltimore prosecutor and legal /political commentator appearing in national and local media including  the Michael Eric Dyson Show, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates,  RT TV, CBC- Canadian TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Black Enterprise among others.  She founded LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics.  She also writes for the Huffington Post.

The Baltimore Police Department homicide detectives assigned to find the killer of 16 year old Phylicia Barnes who went missing and found later dead, while visiting family in Baltimore during Christmas, 2010, arrested a suspect last week.  Michael Johnson, a former boyfriend of Barnes’ older half -sister has been arrested for her death.

It is a bitter sweet ending to a case that failed to garner national attention of 16 year old Barnes, a bright African American teenager, headed for college.   She was likely thought to have been abducted according to Baltimore police but later found dead in the Susquehanna River.  Phylicia was a straight A student from North Carolina who was visiting relatives in Baltimore over the Christmas holiday in 2010 when she went missing on December 28, 2010.  She was planning on attending college in Baltimore, having graduated a year early.

Baltimore detectives pitched the media to cover her missing story. There was some coverage on Nancy Grace show, ABC news and a few other outlets.  But, that limited coverage occurred when Baltimore police pleaded with the media to run her story.  By all accounts, if Phylicia were a white teen age girl, her story would have appeared nationally, just like Elizabeth Smart, Natalie Holloway, Casey Anthony, Robin Gardner or Chandra Levy.  The media was obsessed with both the Aruba cases of  two missing women Holloway and Gardner and of course, the Chandra Levy cases.  The media stayed on the Elizabeth Smart abduction from Salt Lake City, UT until she was located, months later. But, when it came to a similar black teen age girl, she was almost invisible to the media. Baltimore police spokesperson described her case as “Baltimore’s missing Natalie Holloway.”

The main stream media seriously lacks diversity when it comes to African American women appearing in the media and news stories about them. Often times, the faces of black women and girls are almost invisible from the media.  That includes black women commentators and news about black women or girls gone missing in the media. In the case of missing Phylicia Barnes, the lack of media coverage may have cost her life. If there is a silver lining, it is that the Baltimore Police Department did not give up on fighting in finding Barnes’ suspected killer.  The father of Barnes says the police were in almost weekly contact with him. The police stood by and fought until they could bring some closure to the family of Phylicia Barnes. May she rest in peace.  Johnson has been indicted for first degree murder in the death of Phylicia Barnes.

Debbie Hines is a lawyer, former prosecutor and legal /political commentator appearing in national and local media including  the Michael Eric Dyson Show, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates,  RT TV, CBC- Canadian TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Black Enterprise among others.  She founded LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics.  She also writes for the Huffington Post

The execution of Troy Davis  was a galvanizing moment raising the profile of the death penalty in America as a civil rights issue.  The Governor of Connecticut signed a bill repealing  the state’s death penalty into law.   “This afternoon I signed legislation that will, effective today, replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of release as the highest form of legal punishment in Connecticut,” Malloy said in a statement released on April 25, 2012 after he signed the bill behind closed doors. Ironically it will not affect the 11 persons already on death row. Governor Malloy, a former prosecutor, said he has seen the imperfections in our criminal justice system.  Today he did something about it.

The execution of Troy Davis did have a real impact on Connecticut’s action.  Connecticut now becomes the 5th state in 5 years to abolish capital punishment adding to the nationwide trend toward repeal.  In all, 17 states have abolished the death penalty. The national NAACP played a critical role in this happening.  NAACP president Ben Jealous visited Connecticut three times to lobby for repeal as well as the head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund came.  Davis’ sister Kimberly even visited Connecticut for news conferences and forums to press for repeal.

Next on the road to end the death penalty is California where voters will go to the polls in the fall to vote to end the death penalty.  The tide is slowly turning against the death penalty with hard work by Amnesty International, NAACP and other civil rights groups fighting for a more just society.

Nationwide, the death penalty disproportionately affects blacks and Hispanics more than whites. The Department of Justice looked at data between  1995 – 2000 and found that of 682 defendants charged with death eligible crimes, 48% were black despite blacks making up only 11% of US population.  Whites make up only 20% of those cases. Racial inequality is one factor to abolishing the death penalty.  The other factor is the death penalty does nothing to deter crime. The most important factor is the moral cost of the death penalty where for every 8.7 Americans sent to the death penalty, one innocent person has been exonerated.

It’s time to end the death penalty now.

Debbie Hines is a lawyer, former prosecutor and legal /political commentator appearing in national and local media including  the Michael Eric Dyson Show, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates,  RT TV, CBC- Canadian News TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Black Enterprise among others.  She founded LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics.  She also writes for the Huffington Post.

Credit: APTN

This week is a busy week in hot button legal cases across the country.

Trayvon Martin Case- George Zimmerman was able to make the $150,000.00 bail set for him by raising only $15,000 to pay a bail bondsman to post his bond.  He was released in the early morning hours of Monday, April 23, 2012.  He is allowed to leave the state but authorities released him with an ankle bracelet.  Authorities will be able to monitor his whereabouts as he prepares for trial.  His arraignment date is May 29.

Reverse Trayvon Martin Case-   Today in Baltimore, a case known now as the reverse Trayvon Martin case goes on trial with 2 Jewish men charged with beating a 15 year old black teen in a Jewish neighborhood of Baltimore in November, 2010. They spotted the teen in their neighborhood while they were in a car, exited and allegedly chanted “you don’t belong here” as they beat him, according to court and other documents.  One brother was a neighborhood watch or patrol person.

The two white men were originally charged with felony assault charges.  But newly elected Baltimore City State’s Attorney, Greg Bernstein, dropped the charges to misdemeanor assault as his first major decision upon taking office in January, 2011.  He had won election  in November, 2010 against former  long term black State’s Attorney, Patricia  Jessamy, upon vows to aggressively fight crime. The victim’s father says the charges should have remained felony assault for the jury to render a decision.  The victim sustained a broken wrist and head injuries. The 2 brothers claim self- defense. Jury selections are under way today.  And a jury is expected to be majority African American. The maximum sentence, if convicted is 13 years for all misdemeanor charges.

Jennifer Hudson’s Family Murder Trial- The former brother in law of Jennifer Hudson goes on trial today for the killing 4 years ago of Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew in Chicago.  If convicted, he will spend the rest of his life in jail.  The circumstantial case will not be an easy one for prosecutors as there are no eyewitness or DNA. The prosecution has gunshot residue found on the defendant’s car steering wheel.

Jennifer Hudson was the first witness to testify after opening statements. She broke down in tears as she described her sister’s volatile relationship with the defendant.  It was a smart and stunning move by the prosecution to start with Hudson’s testimony who now will be able to sit through the entire trial, with eyes of the jury on her, remembering her pain and loss.

John Edwards Trial- In a federal court room in Greensboro, North Carolina , in a case of sex, money and lies, prosecutors and defense attorneys are set to begin opening arguments in the trial of John Edwards for alleged violations of campaign finance laws to divert $925,000 in campaign funds to his mistress Rielle Hunter.  Edwards, a former Democratic presidential candidate, and trial lawyer denies any wrong doing and wants his day in court.

Edwards had been offered a plea deal of minimum jail time and keeping his law license. He declined the offer.  We will see soon if Edwards made a good deal or bad deal in declining the offer.   Rolling the dice is what Edwards did for a living as a trial attorney.  As a trial lawyer, Edwards had faith in jurors. The only difference now is he is the one who stands to go to jail and not his client, if convicted.  He is no longer the attorney arguing to the jury. It is not known  yet if Edwards will testify in his own behalf.   Edwards, if convicted, faces up to 30 years in jail plus monetary fines. The trial is expected to last 6 weeks.

Roger Clemens Trial-  Roger Clemens goes on trial again in federal court in Washington, DC after a judge granted a mistrial after 2 days of the last trial due to prosecutorial mistakes that tainted the trial.   Clemens is charged with lying under oath to Congress about taking steroids.  “One of the hurdles the government has to overcome is answering, ‘Why the heck are we involved in this type of investigation?’ ” U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said last week, out of earshot of the potential jurors. The prosecution has 5  prosecutors trying  the case–up from 2 from his previous trial. It sounds like an uphill battle for the federal prosecutors who have spent millions to obtain a conviction.

For those who say the legal process doesn’t work, many should take the time to attend some parts of an actual trial to become familiar with and understand how the judicial system works.

Debbie Hines is a lawyer, former prosecutor and legal /political commentator appearing in national and local media including  the Michael Eric Dyson Show, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates,  RT TV, CBC- Canadian TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Black Enterprise among others.  She founded LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics.  She also writes for the Huffington Post.