A few thoughts:
1. Does the ban on cameras imply Mangum may have to testify concerning one of the motions, say the motion to supress the IDs?
2. Will the media sue to get access? Hard for me to believe CourtTV and FNC will not.
3. Is Judge Smith the third consecutive really really really stupid NC judge who is assigned a case that is clearly a hot potato and fails to understand what he has? The faith in the NC justice system is in the balance here. His role is to both oversee a fair trial and convince the public that it was a fair "trial." [I put trial in quotes because there may never be one, but the hearing must be seen as fair.] This includes those of us here and the Durham and broader black community that believes the woman for whatever or even no good reason. Banning cameras does not smack of someone understanding what they have gotten into.
4. Why is it Gottlieb not Himan lying. Gottlieb has been doing this for years and year. Surely by now he has seen all sorts of criminals lie. Surely by now he knows that while a criminal might be smarter than each police investigator alone, what trips someone up is nobody is smarter than four or five people. A group of investigators always finds the holes in your story if you lie. Yet Gottlieb spins out a pack of lies that will be examined by 100s or thousands or even millions of people. He had to know it would not work. I could see a rookie like Himan thinking he could get away with this, but an experienced investigator? It is shocking.
Somewhat beyond "reasonable doubt" ~ this drifts into the category of Nifong not having an AV who can serve as a witness to the crime.