a point of clarification -- and some humble[r] pie. . .
Docket Text: Set/Reset Hearings
as to I. LEWIS LIBBY: Motion
Hearing originally set for
6/14/07 at 1:30 pm was reset for
6/14/2007 11:30 AM in
Courtroom 16 before Judge
Reggie B. Walton.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
earlier today, i updated
my post on team fitzs' truly
outstanding response to team
libby's latest effort to win
him bail while his appeals are
sorted out. i have opined re-
peatedly that i think that out-
come -- bail on appeal -- is
not likely in scooter's case.
in saying so, i do not in any way mean to suggest that i fully appreciate the nuances of team libby's memory expert (or other evidentiary) claims, for that matter.many better bloggers do -- CHS, jeralyn merrit and bmaz, are just a few of the most-cogent examples who spring to mind, on that score.
so -- this is to say -- i could be
dead wrong on the outcome tomorrow,
or on appeal. . .
what i do know, on the other hand,
is that the standard for review of
any evidentiary claim -- like those
presented by team libby -- causes
a severe case of altitude sickness
for most convicted felons -- like
libby. it will be well-nigh impossible
for team libby to establish that judge
walton committed an abuse of his generally
quite broad discretion in admitting,
or refusing to admit, any evidence, at trial.
i will be shocked if it comes out
the other way, but clearly, many
criminal defense-trial-lawyers are
saying that it might.
for my money, though, team libby's
constitutional claim of error in
the appointment of patrick j. fitz-
gerald is scooter's best shot at
freedom -- that is so, because the
standard of review is "de novo",
or completely "new" -- the appeals
courts need not defer, in any manner,
to judge walton's decisions about
the law -- as opposed to the
evidence -- the facts. . .
having written that, i must say
scooter's chances to stay out during
the appellate process are quite slim.
but where this post started -- and
where it now, ends -- is to say that
christy and bmaz and jeralyn may well
be proven right, as early as tomorrow
morning. . .
but boy, i sure hope not.
2 comments:
so far, so good. i am writing this AFTER Libby's appeal to stay out of jail has been denied. as for the rest, we shall see.
indeed, we shall, lib --
it seems very likely, even to
jeralyn merrit, one of the leading
criminal defense lawyers in the
blogosphere, that scooter will
have to report to a federal prison
camp before any appellate court
will be able to consider the merits
of his appeal, or his request for
bond while on appeal.
that is the way it would be with
almost any other convicted felon;
so too should it be for mr. libby.
the american people are entitled
to that result -- paris hilton's
odd-exception to the rule of "one
law for all citizens, rich or poor,
famous, notorious (as in libby) or
unknown" -- notwithstanding. . .
i'll shortly post on the claims to
be made by team libby on appeal,
and my assessment of their chances
for sucess. . . hint -- they aren't
particularly high.
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