Victoria's Secret ~~ Libby Trial Deliberations: 3-1-07

firedoglake.com ^ | 3-1-07 | Empty Wheel

[Lancey Howard]

To add a gloss of legitimacy, Ms. Toensing erroneously cites the law as requiring the covert agent to have had a “foreign assignment,” then concludes that Valerie was not “stationed” overseas.

Nice try.

Yeah, Ms. Toensing was only one of the staffers who WROTE the friggin law - - firedoglake certainly would know better than her.

[Txsleuth]

Thanks for the updates.

I posted earlier that the jury should be sequestered this weekend, IMHO..

I can't believe that judge would NOT answer their question about what a word "meant" because of the time...AFTER telling them they can't look at a dictionary.

How many people would bet money they don't ALL look it up this weekend???

I betcha we end up losing another juror over this...and they will have to start all over with an alternate.

[Txsleuth]

Hi sweet you!!!

I am so sorry that you are still on a rice diet...that has to be getting old.

I have been praying for you...and missing you!!

sleuth

[the Real fifi]

In response to a couple of upthread questions:
1) The jurors have been brought to and from the courthouse from a central location by the marshalls in a special van every day.
2)The standard procedure is that no juror is ever allowed a dictionary or other non-record reference materials. If they have a question it is to be posed to the judge who after consulation w/ counsel and on the record provides an answer to the inquiry.

[onyx]

((( sleuth ))) I am starting to really appreciate and like rice. :0) Off to eat some now.

[CutePuppy]

Thanks for answers.

Re 1) I was not sure if it were SOP (you confirmed it is) or a courtesy by judge due to bad weather condition in DC - I had no problems with either.

Re 2) Do they like their juries "barefoot and pregnant", too? Or afraid they might learn something [new] by looking in the dictionary? Sheesh.

[the Real fifi]

It is not to keep people stupid--it is to make certain that all the jurors are working on the same basis of information and that that basis is in the record. Some words like "reasonable doubt" and "material" have specific legal meaning and it is important that everyone understand what that meaning if,

[CutePuppy]

Yeah, I thought there maybe some legal dictionary with definitions translated from legalese to English, so everyone would work off of the same definitions.

The line about jurors "not dressed for court" was precious, I thought.

[Steve_Seattle]

"They're busy sorting through the details, peeling back layers of the onion,"

In other words, like Fitz, they've caught Watergate Syndrome, and are seeing some vast conspiracy of "All The President's Men," when what was really happening was a few guys trying to figure out who the hell Joseph Wilson was, and what was he talking about? The real conspirators were Wilson, Corn, Plame, et al.

[STARWISE]

And look at all the fodder for their books.

[Enchante]

"They were to a one grinning from ear to ear, giggling, having the time of their lives"

I don't trust anything coming from "FireDogPuke" but if there is something to this and the jurors are really united and enjoying themselves then that would certainly bode ill for Libby. They could simply be agreeing to spend enough time together to "educate" themselves for their new media careers as propagandists for the left. I don't like to despair in advance of the verdict, but I cannot imagine any DC jury enjoying themselves so much if there was any chance they would not convict Libby..........

Of course, this could merely be wishful thinking from our friends at FireDogPuke........

[CutePuppy]

Don't know about covert - I imagine there would be several levels of that. But Val, at the time of this whole embroglio, was pounding a desk at Langley and not in the field...and hadn't been for, what....2 years?

---

Besides Fedora excellent dissection of this subject, a very good summary and links on this thread :
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1790984/posts

Specifically posts #38, #49, #53 relate to Plame's employment history.