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Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 09:18:29 AM EST
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Sorry to interrupt your Schiavo news, but this warrants mention:

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said jurors who acquitted actor Robert Blake of the murder of his wife are "incredibly stupid" and insisted his office put on a good case.

A juror responds:

"To hear him say we aren't a smart jury is sour grapes," Blake juror Chuck Safko said. "They didn't have a good case. Their case was built around witnesses who weren't truthful."

As legal analyst Laurie Levenson says:

"To criticize the jurors is unprofessional. It is unbelievable.

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    Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid | 14 comments (14 topical)
    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 10:47:59 AM EST
    Its the money and remember O.J. And really did Blake do the murder? but who did the murder? this is not unbelievable its normal and its a justice system and a police system made up of fools who can't or won't find the real evil doers, much of our political justice system is a race base system of political dishonesty and we are all captives of this system and in the end we will all be the casualties of madness. but if Blake didn't do it who did?

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 10:58:47 AM EST
    It's probably unethical too to flame a juror in public like this. Rule 5-320(D)
    , Cal. Rules of Professional Conduct: "After discharge of the jury from further consideration of a case a member shall not ask questions of or make comments to a member of that jury that are intended to harass or embarrass the juror or to influence the juror's actions in future jury service." You are deemed to intend the reasonably foreseeable consequences of your actions. A lawyer can reasonably foresee that calling someone stupid is going to embarass the person.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 11:00:24 AM EST
    Whose fault is that? Last I checked, prosecutors do half the job of picking out jurors in criminal cases. And Levenson's right--this is really tacky behaviour.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#4)
    by Sailor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 11:05:49 AM EST
    Let's hope the judge or the bar assoc. does something about this sore loser.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 11:13:16 AM EST
    It should really be the judge who takes this on, since the judge functions as the guide and protector of the jurors in this process. Openly insulting the jurors like this is also a slap in the face of the judge.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 11:35:18 AM EST
    but if Blake didn't do it who did? That's not the job of the jury to ascertain. The jury must be able to conclude that the defendant committed the crime, not identify who else committed the crime.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 11:48:51 AM EST
    i'm sure all the other prosecutors in the d.a.'s office are real happy with his loose lips. makes their jobs just a little harder. for awhile anyway.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#8)
    by txpublicdefender on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 12:25:53 PM EST
    I agree that the comments are outrageous, and probably a violation of the ethical rules. I hope someone has the nerve to file a complaint with the state bar. Where I practice, some of us got so fed up with prosecutors immediately telling jurors about other evidence they didn't hear and how wrong they were that we started filing motions with the judge ordering the ADAs not to make statements that would be violations of the Texas's similar ethical rule about harassing and embarassing jurors. The fact remains that many expert legal commentators (including former prosecutors) believed that a jury could easily conclude that the case hadn't been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, especially in light of the credibility problems with their key witnesses. And as someone else pointed out, the prosecutors are just as responsible for picking that jury as the defense attorneys are. This is just sour grapes to the extreme. I hate to break it to the DA, but just because prosecutors think something is so, doesn't mean reasonable people can't disagree about the matter, or that anyone who does disagree is "incredibly stupid."

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#9)
    by desertswine on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 12:54:05 PM EST
    Cooley: "Stupid humans. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 01:35:04 PM EST
    I think it was Terry Schaivo's fault Blake got off! :)

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 01:53:57 PM EST
    Stupid is as stupid does.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 04:18:02 PM EST
    "To criticize the jurors is unprofessional. It is unbelievable." And with that, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the new Associate Attorney General of the United States, Mr. Steve Cooley! I mean, these days a performance like that ought to pretty much give him a lock on a top-slot DOJ appointment, the Medal of Freedom, and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for Law and Medicine. If he's had a few illegal nannies in his past, or committed bigamy once or twice, maybe AG. After Abu Gonzales gets a part on next season's Supremos.

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 04:39:39 PM EST
    The members of one jury I sat on dealing with theft agreed first of all during the deliberations that the police witnesses were obviously lying and we couldn't rely on their testimony in reaching our verdict (not guilty it turned out).

    Re: Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 25, 2005 at 05:43:57 AM EST
    i'm sorry...but if the cops and the DA couldn't pin this on Blake they should lose their jobs. It wasn't a stupid JURY at all. Someone needs to go back and learn how to build a direct case.

    Prosecutor Calls Blake Jurors Stupid | 14 comments (14 topical)