wcrapkin
08-29-2009, 12:53 PM
I wanted to put this out there for debate. Does anyone think this is a legitimate motion? I say the defense is the one who violated discovery. They ambushed the prosecution and they have the gall to complain that the judge didn't let them get away with it.
Buzbee lawyer seeks dismissal of charges for murder of Spanish Fort service station owner
by Craig Myers, Staff Reporter
Thursday August 27, 2009, 7:00 AM
Leslie Eric Buzbee, 24, of Spanish Fort, has been charged with the 2007 slaying of longtime Spanish Fort service station owner Arthur "Bobby" Wilson, 71, who was robbed as he was opening the business on U.S. 98.BAY MINETTE -- After two mistrials, Leslie Eric Buzbee's attorney is seeking dismissal of his capital murder-robbery charges on the principle of "double jeopardy."
Buzbee is accused of savagely beating and robbing Spanish Fort service station owner Arthur "Bobby" Wilson in the early morning of Aug. 11, 2007.
Baldwin County Circuit Judge James Reid declared a mistrial Friday at the prosecution's request when the defense announced an expert witness who was prepared to dispute the timing of the attack as laid out by law enforcement.
The trial -- halted after three days of jury selection and a day of opening arguments --was reset for Oct. 5. A previous trial in May ended in a hung jury.
"The state with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual," lawyer John Beck's motion filed Wednesday states, quoting a 1957 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The most common use of double jeopardy is to prevent someone acquitted of a crime from being tried for it again, Beck said.
"But the second most fundamental situation is when the prosecution, in the middle of trial, realizes they will have trouble convicting a defendant and pulls up their tent and seeks a mistrial," he said. "You can't just say 'We're not ready for this witness, give us a do-over.'"
Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Pylant said the principle is being misapplied by Beck. "Every defendant is afforded the right not to be tried for the same crime twice, but we don't think double jeopardy has attached in this case," Pylant said.
He said it is Beck's job "to say the state's case is weak."
"They were giving the state notice of an expert witness in the middle of a trial. That is a violation of the court order and criminal procedure rules," Pylant said.
Beck argued that prosecutors had three weeks to prepare for Dr. James Lauridson, who was going to testify with a "very high degree of medical certainty" that Wilson was attacked after 5 a.m. that day. Beck said that the prosecution's case hinges on a 4:45 a.m. attack.
Pylant said he doesn't know how Lauridson made his determination of the timing, and hasn't seen a written report on Lauridson's findings.
"We were given extremely late notice of a witness and that put the state at an extreme disadvantage," Pylant said.
Buzbee lawyer seeks dismissal of charges for murder of Spanish Fort service station owner
by Craig Myers, Staff Reporter
Thursday August 27, 2009, 7:00 AM
Leslie Eric Buzbee, 24, of Spanish Fort, has been charged with the 2007 slaying of longtime Spanish Fort service station owner Arthur "Bobby" Wilson, 71, who was robbed as he was opening the business on U.S. 98.BAY MINETTE -- After two mistrials, Leslie Eric Buzbee's attorney is seeking dismissal of his capital murder-robbery charges on the principle of "double jeopardy."
Buzbee is accused of savagely beating and robbing Spanish Fort service station owner Arthur "Bobby" Wilson in the early morning of Aug. 11, 2007.
Baldwin County Circuit Judge James Reid declared a mistrial Friday at the prosecution's request when the defense announced an expert witness who was prepared to dispute the timing of the attack as laid out by law enforcement.
The trial -- halted after three days of jury selection and a day of opening arguments --was reset for Oct. 5. A previous trial in May ended in a hung jury.
"The state with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual," lawyer John Beck's motion filed Wednesday states, quoting a 1957 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The most common use of double jeopardy is to prevent someone acquitted of a crime from being tried for it again, Beck said.
"But the second most fundamental situation is when the prosecution, in the middle of trial, realizes they will have trouble convicting a defendant and pulls up their tent and seeks a mistrial," he said. "You can't just say 'We're not ready for this witness, give us a do-over.'"
Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Pylant said the principle is being misapplied by Beck. "Every defendant is afforded the right not to be tried for the same crime twice, but we don't think double jeopardy has attached in this case," Pylant said.
He said it is Beck's job "to say the state's case is weak."
"They were giving the state notice of an expert witness in the middle of a trial. That is a violation of the court order and criminal procedure rules," Pylant said.
Beck argued that prosecutors had three weeks to prepare for Dr. James Lauridson, who was going to testify with a "very high degree of medical certainty" that Wilson was attacked after 5 a.m. that day. Beck said that the prosecution's case hinges on a 4:45 a.m. attack.
Pylant said he doesn't know how Lauridson made his determination of the timing, and hasn't seen a written report on Lauridson's findings.
"We were given extremely late notice of a witness and that put the state at an extreme disadvantage," Pylant said.