Posted on 08/11/2007 5:13:46 PM PDT by melt
ORLANDO, FLA. Former astronaut Lisa Nowak wants a judge to let her remove the ankle bracelet that allows authorities to track her location as she awaits trial for allegedly attacking a romantic rival, saying it is "an unnecessary and excessive expense."
Nowak is paying $105 a week $2,940 so far for the monitoring device as a condition of her release, according to a court filing her attorney says was made Thursday. The clerk at the Circuit Court in Orange County could not find the filing, but said it could be in the pipeline.
Nowak also argues that the device interferes with her ability to exercise, which is a requirement for a Navy officer, and her ability to drive, fly on a commercial airplane and monitor her children in the pool.
"The device is not small, comfortable, lightweight or unobtrusive as its supplier would have one believe," the filing says.
Nowak has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault. She is accused of attacking another woman, Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, in a parking lot at Orlando International Airport last February. Nowak told police she and Shipman were vying for the affection of former astronaut Bill Oefelein.
Kepler Funk, attorney for Shipman, said he planned to fight the motion.
"Assuming the judge allows me to speak on the topic, I'm going to tell the judge that Ms. Shipman still has fear regarding Ms. Nowak," Funk said.
In an interview with detectives, Nowak says she confronted Shipman because she wanted to know "where she stands" in the bizarre love triangle.
Nowak, 44, allegedly attacked Shipman with pepper spray and tried to jump into her vehicle. Police say Nowak was carrying a duffel bag with a steel mallet, 4-inch knife and a BB gun.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Mark my words, she's not going to see any prison time. Beyond some of the bizarre details of this story, this is just a catfight that escalated into a simple macing. While that might constitute assault and battery, we don't often send people with clean records to incarceration for that. Especially when the perp is a woman.
She'll have a good lawyer, this is the kind of high profile case that some attorneys chase hard after. Her shyster will tell the jury that she's already suffered enough by being kicked out of the astronaut corps, the intense public humiliation she will continue to suffer as the 'diaper astronaut', and that she will probably be dishonorably discharged from the Navy when all is said and done.
The lawyer will pull out the 'hero' astronaut photos, and will remind the jury that she's a mother who just made a bad romantic choice. If there is a jury that is 50% or more female, she'll walk. And any prosecutor who winds up with such a jury will probably negotiate a guilty plea, with probation only.
If she is out on bail, then why the ankle bracelet? Was she not able to make bail and this was offered as an option? I’ve never heard of this being done before. Usually ankle bracelets are for someone convicted and serving part of their sentence at home, like Martha Stewart.
Turns out she never wore diapers. It was made up by the press to make the story sound bizzare and then Leno and the talking heads embellished the story further.
That just makes it easier for the lawyer to work up sympathy for her. She will still suffer from that story, even though it wasn't true. The humiliation will dog her every move for the rest of her life, and will even find its way into her obituary some day.
Pampers PING list!
She is scheming. Check her recent credit card records for Pampers purchases.
"The device is not small, comfortable, lightweight or unobtrusive as its supplier would have one believe," the filing says."
Oh, I'm sorry...we are supposed to forget your little road trip and the purpose behind it and instead make your life comfortable and happy. This poor little aldultress woman is a trip. Who is she to ask for anything beyond mercy? How about a county jail cell?
I s’pose ya think Brangelina looks any better without her makeup?
...this is just a catfight that escalated into a simple macing. While that might constitute assault and battery, we don’t often send people with clean records to incarceration for that. Especially when the perp is a woman.
Now if it were a man...and he pointed his finger at the woman...
Not as much as awaiting trial in a cell.
Exactly. Juries, and especially judges, are used to dealing with bad males all the time. Often, the male defendants can be made to look quite scary, and a jury wants to save themselves and people they love from such males. Judges deal with the kind of scum we see on every episode of "COPS".
In order for a woman to get prison time, she has to be REALLY scary, someone who just snapped at a romantic rival is not threatening to the average jury member. Add in the mother and astronaut hero worship factors, and you've got either an acquittal, or a conviction on a lesser charge.
Add in the mother and astronaut hero worship factors, and you’ve got either an acquittal, or a conviction on a lesser charge.
Unless you’ve dealt with a nutcase who has been given a leg up for PC/Affirmative Action reasons.
;-)
True, but it does make the story more interesting that reading about stupid people such as Paris, who may be borderline retarded, doing stupid things.
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