No verdict yet.

10/25/2013

Event Scheduled

Event Scheduled Event: Trial Resumed Date: 10/28/2013 Time: 9:30 am Judge: LEIBOVITZ, LYNN Location: Courtroom 202

I wouldn't worry yet.  Deliberations resume Monday morning.  I hear lots of people stressing over how long it's taking... but remember they barely got the case before they recessed that first day and might have needed to get to the next day to even pick a foreperson.

There's two defendants, not just one, so each state's witness had two batches/sets of cross examinations (two different sets of defense lawyers).  I think about twelve charges per defendant (correct me if I am mis-remembering.)  And juries like making charts.  That's a lot of charts!  Plus we know two notes from the jury already meaning they are possibly disputing their recollection of testimony, and getting testimony read back by the court reporter takes time.

I'm not stressed about this.  It's NOT as simple as "hey there's two videos, why not a guilty in ten seconds."  I'm delighted when juries take their time.  I want a very well-reasoned, well-debated verdict.

Have a good weekend.

Maggiano's Spinach Salad

Here's my dupe of the spinach salad at Maggiano's, except I add fried chicken to it for some protein.  You could saute the chicken instead, without the batter (though it is gluten free) or you could add shrimp or chickpeas as an alternative.  Enjoy!

Baby spinach & kale

Balsamic vinaigrette

Boneless skinless chicken breasts- one will be enough for two people

Red onion

Red and yellow bell pepper

Pine nuts

Bacon-- about a slice per person, more according to taste

Gluten-free batter mix

Garlic powder

Paprika

Oregano

Parsley

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Canola oil

1/2 cup milk or half and half

1. Put the spinach in a bowl with the dressing, stir it up so that the spinach is all covered with dressing before you even start adding stuff.  Chill while you're finishing the rest.

2. Chop up a couple slices of bacon into small pieces and fry them up in a pan until they're crispy; put them on a plate with a paper towel but leave the bacon fat in the pan.

3. Mince red onion about 1/4" pieces and put that in the pan with the bacon grease and sauté until they're soft and translucent.  Drain on a paper towel, leaving the fat in the pan still.

4. Chop up some red/yellow bell pepper into approximately 1/2" pieces and sauté that in the bacon grease just a little bit.  Don't cook all the way to tenderness, you still want some crunch.  Drain on paper towel and clean out the pan.

5. For the chicken you want to use gluten-free batter mix- I get it in the grocery store- and you add to that some garlic powder, paprika, parsley, oregano, maybe a little salt and pepper.  Stir that up and have about 1/2 cup in a shallow bowl or pie plate.  Pour milk or half and half into another shallow bowl/pie plate.

6. Cut up some boneless skinless chicken breasts into tender-sized strips, and dip into milk or half-and-half then pat them into the gluten-free batter mix until well-covered.  Fry the chicken in 1 Tbsp canola oil until both sides are nice and peanut-butter brown.  Drain on paper towel and repeat till you have used up all your chicken.

7.  Clean out the pan and lightly toast your pine nuts over low-medium heat, shaking the pan frequently and keeping a close eye on them because they go from blonde to burnt easily. 

8.  Toss the onion, pepper, bacon and pine nuts with the chilled dressed greens, and strew sliced chicken over the top.  Enjoy :)

During deliberations...

Deliberations are still taking place in the Maldonado/Shultz rape trial, and that the jury has sent out two notes (which usually means requests to have portions of testimony read back, which can only happen when there is a dispute as to what was said, i.e. not just "we want to hear it again.")

The DCCourts.gov website indicates that those notes were filed (with the clerk of the court, presumably) at 12:36 and 1:06pm ET.  And I see a notation that deliberations were paused at 4:45pm ET to continue tomorrow, Friday the 25th.

I will continue to update as I get anything new.

Jury deliberating in the Maldonado/Shultz rape trial!!

From a friend:

 

"Just wanted to let you know that I was at the trial last week when the victim testified, and she did great. She was polite and answered all of the questions on cross, but she did not let the multiple defense attorneys (who are women, might I add) bully her around. I went with some [name of academy] people. 

 

[I also went with a friend] who is a defense attorney and also a former prosecutor (not associated with this case) and they said [the survivor] "presented very well". Apparently Nick [Shultz] did testify earlier this week, and that same defense attorney friend said that he came off very poorly, so there's that.

 

Nyjah did testify, though I wasn't there for that. Apparently she looked like an idiot, and I was told that she did nothing to help the defense. The jury is in deliberation as of this afternoon, and I am going to try and be there tomorrow in case a verdict is read."

 

Also from a different friend:

 

"Ohhh she [the survivor] dropped the dime about Lloyd paying for the defense attorneys.

 

'Defense atty: So, you consider Lloyd to be a friend? you consider him to be someone who was supporting you?

 

Survivor: Well, I did, until I found out that he was paying for the defense attorneys.' 

 

And from [the defense attorney's] reaction, it was obvious that yeah, he was paying for them."

 

WOOT.  Stay tuned and let's hope for great news tomorrow.

Trial update, and toreando pass counter

I believe the Maldonado Shultz trial continues today and it sounds like Shultz will be testifying on Tuesday.  I continue to get a couple barely-literate pro-defense pro-rape-culture comments here and there on the blog, which I decline to publish .... because I can.  I'll keep you posted.

Here's Jeff Glover with a toreando counter... I continue to work on my passing skills though I'm not training super much these days.  Just feeling like laying low and focusing on work and home stuff.



Have a good week ;)

How many people watched video of a teammate being raped and DID NOTHING?

That's my big question, as I await results in the DC trial against Maldonado and Shultz for the NYE rape of their teammate....

Here's what I know so far, and then you'll know what my opinion is without me even needing to say it...

This is a screen shot of the docket, sorry, I'm so bad at resizing things properly.   You can see the rest of the docket if you go to www.dccourts.gov and under Superior Court, click on criminal.  On the far right then you will see "Court cases online"-- click on that, and then click on "search cases" and enter Matthew Maldonado (below) or Nicholas Shultz.

But as of today, the government is continuing to put on their case in chief (i.e. their initial go-round of evidence as opposed to a rebuttal case, which would be countering the defense evidence.)  It looks like the defense is at least planning on calling Nyjah Easton and "Master" Donnie, as well as some doctors/shrink type people.  The defense argued a motion to keep the survivor from testifying, but lost, and I believe she has already testified or may be continuing in her testimony today.

I am talking with people who have friends watching the trial-- again that attenuated link chain-- and I'm told that the cell phone footage Matthew took and shared around at the Jungle House afterwards was very persuasive and made it clear she was not consenting.  I did hear from more than one source that she can be heard saying "no" and "don't" and "stop"  (and no, for the clowns in the peanut gallery-- not "Don't stop!")

But that's the root of my rant today.

That cell phone video was (I'm told by many) shown around at the Jungle House afterwards.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCHED A RAPE ON A TEAMMATE'S CELL PHONE AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT?

HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCHED A RAPE ON A TEAMMATE'S CELL PHONE AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT?

HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCHED A RAPE ON A TEAMMATE'S CELL PHONE AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT?

HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCHED A RAPE ON A TEAMMATE'S CELL PHONE AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT?

Update on Maldonado/Shultz rape trial...

I don't have any hard news or quotable sources, but....

I'm told by friends, who have friends either in attendance or with connections to people in attendance (yes, quite the attenuated chain there) that :

-- trial was held Monday-Thursday of this week, is in recess for the 3-day weekend, and will resume on Tuesday

-- I hear that the jury watched and heard the video from Maldonado's cell phone, as well as the surveillance footage from the garage camera...

-- I hear the survivor will testify, possibly on Tuesday

-- to me this means that IF the defense wants to present any evidence in their defense (which, under the Constitution, is not required and they are presumed to be innocent unless the State overcomes this with evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt) it would happen possibly as early as next Tuesday, and perhaps the guilt-innocence trial will be finished next week?

I'll try to get better sources/quotable professional journalism next week!  Sorry!

news coverage on the NYE rape trial so far....

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/10/matthew-maldonado-nicholas-schultz-on-trial-for-allegedly-sexually-abusing-fellow-mma-teammate-95045.html

How to attend the Maldonado/Shultz rape trial:

The rape trial is public and open to anyone to attend.

The judge is Lynn Leibovitz. Court room 202 at 9:30am. Monday they will be picking the jury.

It's in the Superior Court of Washington DC, 500 Indiana Ave NW, Washington DC.

Details can be found on www.dccourts.gov by searching either of the defendants' names, Matthew Maldonado or Nicholas Shultz.

The rape trial of Matthew Maldonado and Nicholas Shultz, October 7

Next Monday, October 7, the trial of Matthew Maldonado and Nicholas Shultz begins in Washington DC.

Couple links to refresh your recollection... here's the local ABC channel report.

Fight Opinion's piece with lengthy quotes from what I believe was the arrest warrant.

A brief Bloody Elbow piece on the indictment with a link to their full story stream.

Cage Potato.

And a Washington Times article.

Sadly because of the recent deaths in my family, travel and work pressures, I will not be able to be there with the survivor and her family as they go through this process.  But I do understand that the defense plans on presenting a vigorous attack and will likely claim either that she consented or that the guys could not have known she was not consenting.  I'm not going to go into further detail here because the jury may not be sequestered so who knows what googling they're going to do.

In any case, I will try to keep you updated with whatever information I'm able to gather, from people there and so on.

I wish the survivor all the peace, strength and courage of her convictions possible.  Best wishes to you honey.