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New Bail Hearing Tomorrow Morning for Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Lawyers for IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn have filed a new application for bail. It will be heard tomorrow in the New York's Supreme Court, by a different judge than the judge who denied bail Monday. Friday's appearance is for the return of the grand jury indictment. (The accuser testified today.)

The defense is again proposing bail in the amount of $1 million, coupled with an ankle monitor and residence at a New York apartment. Does he stand a better chance? Probably, particularly if the defense is also arranging for a private security company to monitor him at the apartment 24/7.

Ben Brafman told CNBC he's out of town and co-counsel William Taylor will handle the hearing. Taylor was at Rikers' today visiting their client.

The accused's lawyer is all over TV promoting her veracity and her impoverished immigrant status. He's a personal injury lawyer who met her for the first time Sunday, after the alleged encounter. [More...]

On Monday, after the bail hearing, he said, "She is telling the truth. She has no agenda."

How did she get a lawyer so fast? I read somewhere her brother called him after the incident happened. So he has no prior knowledge of her character or propensity for truthfulness. He has only his impressions formed after the encounter. How did she afford him? If he's working on a contingency, is it for a portion of the upcoming civil suit she intends to file? And why hire a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, even one who is accomplished in that field? How long until Gloria Allred arrives on the scene?

The more impoverished her lawyer makes her out to be, the more some on a jury might believe she was after money -- either money offered at the time from DSK in exchange for sex, or money she expected later from a civil suit.

DSK's lawyers are not making public comments about their defense or their client. Their statement about no evidence of a forcible encounter was made to the judge at a bail hearing, not to the media.

I have no idea what happened in the hotel, and neither does anyone else except the two who were present. Between the police leaks on the investigation and the accuser's attorney promoting her version of events on every network that will have him, DSK is becoming the underdog in my view. He should get bail. He hasn't been convicted of anything, and tomorrow's grand jury indictment is nothing more than an accusation, a one sided finding of probable cause.

As I said the other day, if the court thinks regular home monitoring by telephone with an ankle bracelet isn't sufficient, it should order GSP monitoring or approve a private security firm to monitor him as was done with Bernie Madoff, Cameron Douglas and others. Even if someone tried to arrange a private jet to fly DSK off to France, he'd never make it to the plane before being caught by the GPS or his security team.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Agreed. The issue at this (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by KeysDan on Wed May 18, 2011 at 07:29:44 PM EST
    point is bail, and while denial of such on Monday seems to have been a reasonable and justifiable decision, continued denial is not.   The Court can impose as many safeguards as it deems necessary, including but not limited to,  GSP monitoring.

    Based on the reporting of circumstances and facts as they have been made available, M. Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his attorneys have their work cut-out for them, but the real facts and circumstances as well as judgments await a trial--as hard as that is for some in the media to fathom.

    The women testified (none / 0) (#2)
    by Green26 on Wed May 18, 2011 at 07:49:55 PM EST
    before the grand jury today, as did other people from the hotel. DNA testing being done on carpet piece taken from room, where spit out semen may have ended up. Yuck. All according to media reports.

    And (none / 0) (#12)
    by jbindc on Thu May 19, 2011 at 08:44:09 AM EST
    It is being reported that, according to the maid's card key, she blocked the door with her cart when she entered the room, leaving the door open. This could make it much more difficult to argue that she was going there to have consensual sex.

    Parent
    Maureen Dowd (none / 0) (#3)
    by lentinel on Wed May 18, 2011 at 08:02:39 PM EST
    has already reached a verdict.

    She has described Dominique Strauss-Kahn' as, "a crazed, rutting, wrinkly old satyr charging naked out of a bathroom, lunging at (the hotel worker) and dragging her around the room, caveman-style.

    I think she is getting more and more unbalanced.
    Today's column is almost surreal in its nuttiness.

    Dowd

    Link (none / 0) (#4)
    by lentinel on Wed May 18, 2011 at 08:07:30 PM EST
    But, wow, in the same article (none / 0) (#8)
    by rennies on Thu May 19, 2011 at 12:34:34 AM EST
    she called Schwarzenegger, "The Sperminator!"

    Parent
    "private security firm" (none / 0) (#5)
    by diogenes on Wed May 18, 2011 at 10:04:21 PM EST
    If the defense offered to bankroll the cost of 24/7 NYPD or FBI monitoring of the house arrest, that might carry a bit more weight.

     

    Won't the defense be required to show (none / 0) (#6)
    by oculus on Wed May 18, 2011 at 11:49:02 PM EST
    change of circumstances re the NY bail statutory criteria?  If not, why isn't this judge shopping?

    From quick google, looks like factors (none / 0) (#7)
    by oculus on Thu May 19, 2011 at 12:01:44 AM EST
    the trial court considers re bail include serious of the charges, prior criminal record, prior failures to appear, and ties to community.  As to the latter, does this defendant have any ties to the community?  Probably not.  

    Parent
    his daughter has an apartment there (none / 0) (#10)
    by Jeralyn on Thu May 19, 2011 at 12:55:10 AM EST
    It's where he would live while on bond. I wonder why they didn't offer it to secure the bond. Courts tend to think that putting up a relative's home makes the person less likely to flee than putting up cash, because defendants wouldn't want to see their loved ones suffer.

    Parent
    Maybe daughter refused. (none / 0) (#13)
    by oculus on Thu May 19, 2011 at 10:46:47 AM EST
    interesting slip you made (none / 0) (#14)
    by Shahryar on Thu May 19, 2011 at 03:32:38 PM EST
    "The accused's lawyer is all over TV promoting her veracity and her impoverished immigrant status."

    I don't think you like her but she's definitely not the accused.