PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "At the end of the trial the jury will be asked to determine whether Mr Eastman caused the death of Mr Winchester, whether it was conscious, voluntary and deliberate, whether Mr Eastman intended to kill or cause really serious injury and whether murder was committed without lawful justification or excuse.Unless jurors are unanimous on all four points the verdict must be not guilty, Justice Kellam said.?"
STORY: "Jury sworn in for Eastman murder trial," by reporter Karen Sweeney, published by The Australian Associated Press on June 5, 2018.
GIST: "Jurors
have been told "it would be a tragedy for all concerned" if they had
any regard for a previous guilty verdict in the murder case against a
Canberra man. David Harold Eastman, 72, was found guilty "some years ago" of the murder of Colin Winchester, the jury heard on Tuesday. But
after lengthy hearings that guilty verdict was set aside and that
decision should have no bearing on his new trial, acting ACT Supreme
Court judge Murray Kellam told the jury of 16 men and women in Canberra. "Some
evidence should not have been led and as a consequence the accused did
not get a fair trial," Justice Kellam told the jury. Prosecutors are expected to give their opening statements, followed by Mr Eastman's defence team, from June 18. Jurors
were sworn in on Tuesday but have been given time to get their lives in
order ahead of what Justice Kellam expects to be a six-month trial. Media coverage in the past and during the upcoming trial should also bear no weight on their decisions, he said. "Pay no regard whatsoever to those reports," Justice Kellam warned. "You 16 people are the judges of the facts ... nothing outside should affect you." Outside
information also extends to jurors not carrying out their own
investigations or inquiries - an offence punishable by imprisonment. Given
the length of the trial, Justice Kellam also expects jurors to face
questions from friends and colleagues about what they're up to,
discussions he said they should not engage in beyond saying they're
serving on a jury. "You're going to have to resist that and perhaps the easiest way to do that is to blame me," he said. At
the end of the trial the jury will be asked to determine whether Mr
Eastman caused the death of Mr Winchester, whether it was conscious,
voluntary and deliberate, whether Mr Eastman intended to kill or cause
really serious injury and whether murder was committed without lawful
justification or excuse.Unless jurors are unanimous on all four points the verdict must be not guilty, Justice Kellam said."
The entire story can be found at:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/jury-sworn-eastman-murder-trial-040029644--spt.htmlPUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
