Link to original: http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=MEHSERLE-HEARING-baglm
The preliminary hearing for former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle on charges that he murdered an unarmed passenger on New Year's Day began today with tight security and a protest by about 100 people.
The hearing before Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay, which is expected to take up to two weeks, will determine whether there is enough evidence to have Mesherle, 27, ordered to stand trial on murder charges for the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III, who was shot in the back at the Fruitvale station in Oakland.
The shooting occurred after Mehserle and other BART officers responded to reports that two groups of men were fighting on a train.
Todd Chretien of the Community Council, a group that helped coordinate a protest outside the courthouse where Mehserle's hearing is taking place, said, "Five and a half months ago we all watched Oscar Grant murdered in cold blood on the BART platform, but there's a gap between that event and making sure that justice is done."
Chretien said, "We're here to guarantee that Johannes Mehserle is convicted of first-degree murder."
Legal commentator Michael Cardoza said the presence of the large group of protesters, coupled with massive protests in January that sometimes erupted into violence, could make it easy for Mehserle's lawyers to argue that his trial should be moved away from Alameda County because it will be impossible to get a fair trial here.
"It will be up to the sheriff to make sure that jurors are not intimidated. You can't have jurors who are intimidated by people in the streets," Cardoza said.
Cardoza said he thinks Mehserle's case will be "a fight between second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter," not about whether he's the one who killed Grant.
He said of the case, "This is a what-is-it, not a whodunit."
A judge has issued a gag order in the case, so the attorneys aren't able to comment on the order of witnesses in the preliminary hearing.
Judge Clay is expected to begin the hearing by ruling on a defense motion that asks that the Alameda County District Attorney's office be removed from Mehserle's case, alleging that prosecutors violated state and federal laws, State Bar ethics rules and the U.S. Constitution by trying to get Mehserle to talk to investigators without the knowledge and outside the presence of his attorney.
Cardoza said he thinks one of the key issues in the hearing will be apparently contradictory comments made by Mehserle shortly after the shooting.
Citing legal briefs filed by the district attorney's office, Cardoza said that at one point Mehserle claimed to have fired his gun because he thought that Grant was reaching for a gun but at another point Mehserle said he actually was trying to fire his Taser and fired his gun by mistake.
"Those are two different stories," Cardoza said..
He added, "I don't know if he really said those things and that is something that should come out in this hearing."
2 comments:
I wish they would have gone for Murder.. There would have been no way it could have been proven and would not have qualified as murder. Which may be why they are going for manslaughter.
There could be a chance a jury might convict manslaughter.
I hear they may have some new clearer video, that should help. And look at the backgrounds of all involved to make an educated and fair trial.
I would hope it was an accident, if so should be treated as such.. If he went to work to shoot someone that day, he should be convicted.
We need more police, Oak is sad compared to the rest of he bay. There almost need to be a house to house parolee search in Oak.
Not quite sure what this commenter means. If they mean that it could have been an accident if the cop was going for a taser and instead shot Mr. Grant, that is ridiculous.
True, we do not know what "what was in the heart" of the cop, but Mr. Grant did not get the benefit of the doubt and neither should the cop. I think he should be tried for murder.
The power relationships are built in and are not on the side of civilians, as we witness every day.
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