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The Mehserle Verdict

This thread comes per comment requests in the bar thread.

The murder trial for the BART police officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant is wrapping up. The defense has rested and the jury is expected to begin deliberating on Friday.

This morning the judge issued a tentative order taking first degree murder off the table, ruling that the facts as presented to the jury could not support the premeditation element of the charge. It looks like the jury will be allowed to consider second degree murder and manslaughter, but expect some legal wrangling over the next two days -- the defense wants the jury to consider only murder or acquittal, and noting between. (My barbri outline suggests the defense will fail on this point -- lesser included offenses, baby -- but if they do win, I'll joyfully add the incident to my list of indictments against barbri.)

Meanwhile, Oakland just laid off ten percent of its police force. What timing. I am not sure whether the city has already sent those 80 police officers packing, but as the commenters in the other thread rightly suggest, an acquittal verdict seems likely to put Oakland in a state of, um, "disquiet."

. . . also. Somewhat apropos to this thread is this story about a BART officer who tased a fleeing man at Downtown Berkeley for fare evasion. Without sharing my own thoughts, suffice it to say that Mehserle's jury likely knows nothing about it.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on June 30, 2010 (boomark / email).