Addams
You Bet Your ASS Team
ForumsNet Member
Gender: 
Posts: 5398
|
 |
Rosie pays for boys' new lawyer(s)
« on: Oct 21st, 2002, 2:10am » |
 Quote  Modify
|
This article is from CNN http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/10/19/rosie.king.trial/index.html
I think what Rosie has done is a very gracious thing. To fund this from her own finances. What a generous person.
Also of interest are the jury remarks discussed in the article. In Canada jury members are not permitted to discuss their reasons after a verdict unlike the USA. In this controversial case the jury member's comments were pivotal to the defence seeking a new trial and extremely important in understanding the jury's thinking.
"MIAMI, Florida (CNN) --Former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell has hired two high-profile Florida lawyers to represent one of two Florida brothers found guilty last month of killing their father, one of the attorneys confirmed Saturday.
A judge Thursday threw out the convictions of Alex King, 13, and his brother, Derek, 14, and ordered the prosecution and defense to try to reach an agreement on how to resolve the case without another trial.
Miami attorney Jayne Weintraub said O'Donnell called her two weeks ago because "she felt so sorry for those boys" and wanted to help in any way she could.
"In no way, shape, or form did Rosie O'Donnell seek to exploit this," Weintraub told CNN. "The boys don't even know that Rosie hired me."
Weintraub, who is representing Alex King, said she was "pretty upset" that news of O'Donnell's involvement was made public.
"I think she really just is a champion of the underdog, and that her heart is with those kids," the lawyer said.
The boys' case garnered national attention, not only because of the sensational crime for which they were accused, but also because the same prosecutor tried an adult friend for the same crime, accusing him of beating the boys' father to death with a baseball bat.
The verdict in that trial was kept sealed until the end of the boys' trial; jurors expressed dismay when they learned that the man -- Ricky Chavis, a 40-year-old convicted sex offender -- was found not guilty.
Attorneys for the boys then filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the entire process was "fundamentally flawed," and jurors had been misled.
The judge Thursday granted the defense motion but ordered both sides to mediation. A new trial would be held if the talks fail.
Weintraub and another Miami attorney, Ben Kuehne, said they would now work with the other party to resolve the case outside the courtroom.
"The judge asked us -- he basically ordered mediation between the parties, and I am very hopeful that we'll be able to resolve this," Weintraub said.
Sharon Potter, an attorney for Derek King, said the mediation could allow the parties to avoid another trial.
Prosecutor David Rimmer said he was disappointed with the ruling, and was trying to decide whether to appeal. But he added, "I've never participated in mediation before, and maybe it'll be productive."
The boys originally confessed to killing their father with a baseball bat and setting fire to the home last November, but later changed their story and implicated Chavis. They claimed Chavis persuaded them to take the blame.
Rimmer said after the two trials that he believed Derek wielded the bat, Alex was a principal actor in the killing, and Chavis encouraged the boys.
But James Stokes, who represented Alex, blasted the prosecution, saying the state could not possibly have prosecuted both cases, believing both parties were guilty of the crime.
The boys had been charged with first-degree murder but were convicted on lesser charges.
The forewoman of the boys' jury, Lynn Schwarz, said she "couldn't believe it" when she learned Chavis was found not guilty. She said she and other jurors did believe the boys had some involvement in their father's death but did not actually kill him.
She said the jury felt Chavis was the one who swung the fatal blows.
"
|
Sponsored by: The Fans!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Chat
Member Map
Login
Register
Reply
Add Poll
Notify of replies
Send Topic
Print