General Discussion

[Arubalover]

I have never heard of a trial being recessed for months. Strange how they hold court in Italy.

[Heli]

I have never heard of a trial being recessed for months. Strange how they hold court in Italy.

I find it ridiculous as well BUT in the jurisdiction where I'm a court reporter, some trials are continued months after they start. This is the norm not the exception.

Trial starts, for example, on February 1 and runs for a couple of days that have been reserved for it by the Trial Coordinator. If the trial isn't completed in those days then a continuation is sought and most times, the next available date isn't for months.

One of the worst I've encountered was an impaired and over 80 trial that began in February '09 and ran for one day. The continuation was in late August. Now that's totally NUTS.

And BTW, our Superior Court that, among other things, hears murder trials, does not sit through the summer months. Now, very few murder trials here last more then a few weeks so scheduling is such that no trial would adjourn in May or June and not be resumed until the fall sittings in September.

[yankee-in-france]

They recessed for their summer break. I think that it was eight weeks.

[pax]

Thatsa no biga deal to mea.

[yankee-in-france]

... gettin' better.

[DiamondDot]

I have never heard of a trial being recessed for months. Strange how they hold court in Italy.

I think it's strange, too. Still have to respect the justice process.

Since the trial has resumed, I'm still leaning towards guilty for AK. Not guilty for RS. BUT my guilty for AK is not guilty of the actual murder. Guilty of peripheral stuff.

Even if AK is found not guilty, she still faces a lengthy sentence in the libel case, doesn't she? The Gov't has already been found guilty and fined. I don't see how AK will not be held responsible as well. She's the one who told the lie.

[CherokeeKid]

Italy is in the south of Europe. The summers there are very hot. Many buildings don't have air-condition. Therefore, schools are closed during the summer months and it's vacation time for many families. Being three or four weeks on vacation is very common in Europe. Some factories and companies might close for a few weeks or work less.

The Italian court system has also jurors. It might be part of the summer break, to let those jurors, judges, experts etc. take their annual vacation. In addition, I doubt that those court rooms are air-conditions. JMO.

I'll post an article from West Seattle Herold in the Article thread. It explains a bit about the summer break and why court if only held on Fridays and Saturdays: the jurors have full time jobs and attend court after their jobs.

[DiamondDot]

Thanks for the links, CK.

“Even if the students are not closely interested in the case they feel deep respect for Amanda and Raffaele,” he said. “That surprised me about Seattle’s perception that all of Italy is against them. It’s not true.”

I found this statement interesting by Casandra Knox, AK's stepmother. She puts it into a perspective of the City of Seattle being on trial. It's not about Seattle.

Projecting much?

[Heli]

According to America, as we've repeatedly heard, no foreign legal jurisdiction measures up to the american justice system. All others are incompetent, corrupt, mickey mouse blah blah blah ...

Oh, and those foreign jurisdictions dare to have no court sittings at certain times of the year to accommodate vacation etcetera.

[resigned]

According to America, as we've repeatedly heard, no foreign legal jurisdiction measures up to the american justice system. All others are incompetent, corrupt, mickey mouse blah blah blah ...

Oh, and those foreign jurisdictions dare to have no court sittings at certain times of the year to accommodate vacation etcetera.

Mickey Mouse was an American - born in the Movie's in 1928 in California.

[pax]

Any more on the defense?

It seems pretty strong to me, so far.

[DiamondDot]

Waiting on the verdict maybe late Oct or early Nov.

However, the court could request another test on the DNA evidence since the prosecution and defense counteract each other. From what I've read, that could add several months to the verdict delay.

I've read both prosecution and defense have a right to appeal. So, it's very likely there will be another trial.

[pax]

Thanks DiamondDot. Hope you have a great day.

[DiamondDot]

RS had a late lunch at AK's apartment the day of the murder. They invited MK to join, but she was on her way for other plans.

Very striking is the way RS describes MK as being very cute and sweet, dressed in her boyfriend jeans.

On the other hand, RS wrote in the same passage that he could not remember how AK was dressed except she was wearing the same ugly black hiking boots which she always wore.

RS and AK had 'dated' for 2 weeks only. I don't believe RS was as enthralled with AK as has been portrayed by her family and defense.

Too many nuances lead to AK's in peripheral culpability. She knew too many details of what was behind the bedroom door.

[Isanah]

RS had a late lunch at AK's apartment the day of the murder. They invited MK to join, but she was on her way for other plans.

Very striking is the way RS describes MK as being very cute and sweet, dressed in her boyfriend jeans.

On the other hand, RS wrote in the same passage that he could not remember how AK was dressed except she was wearing the same ugly black hiking boots which she always wore.

RS and AK had 'dated' for 2 weeks only. I don't believe RS was as enthralled with AK as has been portrayed by her family and defense.

Too many nuances lead to AK's in peripheral culpability. She knew too many details of what was behind the bedroom door.

If I walked into that scene, I may have fled too!

[yankee-in-france]

If I walked into that scene, I may have fled too!

The door was locked to Meredith's room.

[Seraph]

It doesn't look good for A.K. and R.S, I think their reactions show despair. Maybe they hoped a third review of the evidence would create some doubt, it does seem that their fate has been decided. If the judges have accepted the damning evidence, I believe they will be found guilty. Rudy Guede received 30yrs for a 'fast track' trial, so I think Amanda and Raffaele will receive more than 30yrs. Does anyone think the verdict will be different?




11:17pm UK, Friday October 09, 2009

Nick Pisa, in Perugia

A judge has rejected defence requests for an independent review of evidence in the Meredith Kercher murder case - meaning a verdict will be delivered within weeks.

Amanda Knox in court - she denies the charges against her



Meredith, 22, was found with her throat cut in the bedroom of her house that she shared with defendant Amanda Knox, 22.

Prosecutors have told the court that Meredith was killed by Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 25, in a bungled sex game.

Lawyers for Knox and Sollecito argued that the review should be held because of errors in the police investigation and the way evidence was collected.

Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, insisted there had been evidence of contamination during the examination and he also asked for a review of a bloodied footprint found by Meredith which the court heard matched Knox's size.

Sollecito's lawyers had also asked for a review of a bloodied bra clasp found at the scene which had his DNA on it.



Meredith Kercher

They pointed out that the clasp had been found during an initial police search in one point and then "lost" for six weeks before being found elsewhere in the room.

After two hours consulting with the jury, Judge Giancarlo Massei ruled that he was rejecting the requests for a review.

He then set out a calendar for the summing up and sentence requests and said that he would retire to consider sentence and verdict on December 4.

As the judge read out his decision Knox, who earlier had been laughing and joking with guards, closed her eyes and looked upwards.

Sollecito rubbed his eyes and was in tears as the decision would seem to indicate the court has already made up its mind.

Meredith, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found dead in November 2007. She was in Italy as part of her Leeds University European Studies degree and had only been in Perugia for two months before she was murdered.

Knox, from Seattle, and Sollecito, from Bari, southern Italy, both deny any wrongdoing. Both have been in custody for nearly two years.

Last October Ivory Coast drifter Rudy Guede, 22, was found guilty of sexually assaulting and murdering Meredith and sentenced to 30 years. His appeal is due to begin in November.

[olympic]

here is an interesting article

Newsweek’s Barbie Nadeau Has A Really Vital Piece On
"How The Evidence Stacks Up"

http://www.newsweek.com/id/216903

[CherokeeKid]

It doesn't look good for A.K. and R.S, I think their reactions show despair. Maybe they hoped a third review of the evidence would create some doubt, it does seem that their fate has been decided. If the judges have accepted the damning evidence, I believe they will be found guilty. Rudy Guede received 30yrs for a 'fast track' trial, so I think Amanda and Raffaele will receive more than 30yrs. Does anyone think the verdict will be different?
snip...

I agree, it's not looking good for A.K. and R.S.

I'm not surprised that the judge turned down the defense's request to bring their own experts in. I read that the DNA expert is highly respected by the Italian court.

The 30 years is already a stiff sentencing, IMO. But I think you might be right, it could be higher for those two as it seems the prosecutor believes they were the one who murdered Meredith.

[Hannie]

Plus she accused an innocent man and staged a burglary etc.. So if they will be convicted I would think that the sentence will be higher than Rudy's.

[DiamondDot]

No matter the verdict, there will be a second trial. In Italy, both prosecution and defense have the right of appeal.

If found guilty, AK will be jailed until the second trial.

Don't know how it will be handled if the verdict is not guilty this time.

[Heli]

ITALY:

Criminal court in Italy includes two professional judges and six lay jurors, the latter chosen through a process of random selection to be seated for a period of time. The decision rule is purely majoritarian, judges and jurors deliberate together, and ties are resolved in favor of defendants.

[olympic]

this is just an excerpt from a different article, everything else that gwen posted is pretty much the same..

wonder just how much significance this had on the deliberation.

excerpt:

"It is Amanda who started the fight , which triggered an unstoppable crescendo of violence, and it is Amanda who plunged the knife into Meredith's neck," Mignini said. "It is Amanda who later covers the cadaver with a blanket -- a form of pietas, of respect for the victim. An unknown male would not have any need to cover the body. As a woman, and friend, she couldn't stand to see that nude, battered cadaver that she was responsible for."