Watch this week’s legal round-up with Adam Klasfeld of All Rise News.
Today we kicked off with the Harvey Weinstein verdict, which is just in. Sort of. The jury - which has been at loggerheads according to the foreman, arguing things that aren’t supposed to be relevant to the case - has found that Weinstein is guilty on one count of sexual assault; not guilty on another charge of assault; and still hung on the third count of rape. The judge has told them to continue to deliberate.
That that we have a jury that can’t agree on one count, and complaints that jurors are discussing Weinstein’s track record, rather than just the evidence - means that there will be an immediate appeal.
Adam mentions that the term “Molineux evidence” has appeared in the Weinstein transcripts.
Fascinatingly, he explains that Molineux refers to a legal precedent stemming from a landmark case in New York in 1901 around Roland Molineux, a handsome well-to-do son of a General, and, as it turned out, a serial poisoner. The People vs Molineux established that a criminal case should be tried on the facts and not on the basis of a defendant's propensity to commit the crime charged - which, as Adam points out is an issue in both of Harvey Weinstein’s New York trials - but it’s also an issue that came up in the pretrial arguments before criminal hush money trial of Donald Trump. The judge had to consider how much other evidence of Trump’s background should be included and he wound up “threading a needle”.
That brings us to the appeal of Trump’s conviction that took place earlier today. Adam was in court to hear the argument for and against. Each took 70 minutes instead of the expected ten. Adam explains that what’s at stake is whether the appeal gets moved into Federal Court. We get into what that might mean: and the inherent conflict in the fact that the Justice Department has filed an amicus brief on his behalf - without getting into the thorny problem that its leaders were Trump’s criminal defense lawyers on the very case he wants to appeal.
This brings us to the question of authoritarianism - and the lawsuit filed by California Governor, Gavin Newsom, seeking to block the Trump Administration from sending the troops into his state.
I ask Adam: “Who is Judge Breyer, the judge in San Francisco who will preside over this tomorrow?”
Turns out he’s the brother of Supreme Court Justice, Stephen Breyer. Make of that what you will.
Around the 21 minute mark Adam and I get into the latest in the Sean Combs trial and the devastating testimony of “Jane”.
And at the 30 minute mark we address the detention hearing of Kilmar Abrego Garcia scheduled for Friday. Adam will be in court in Nashville, Tennessee.
So tune in for his live coverage in All Rise News!
And join us next Wednesday for more insight and analysis of what’s going on in the courtroom.
Thank you
, , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Share this post