David Camm: Indiana; Travis K. Kircher's' "David Camm Blog;" September 24, 2013. "Uncle Sam." WDRB News;

PUBLISHER'S Note: One of the best ways to follow the Camm trial is through the Blog posted by Travis K. Kircher, a Web Producer for WDRB News. Travis Kircher  is a keen courtroom observer who offers a highly readable personal "take" on the  day's proceedings, along with key testimony and questions posed by the jury.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

POST: "David Camm Blog; Uncle Sam;  Tuesday September 24, 2013;  (Travis K. Kircher is a Web Producer for WDRB News.)

GIST: "I hope everyone had a good weekend," Judge Jonathan Dartt told the jury as they walked into the courtroom Tuesday morning. "Now it's not only cold inside the courtroom -- it's cold outside too!" There was laughter from attendees of the third David Camm triple murder trial in Boone County, Ind. -- and the realization of just how much time has past thus far in the trial. Today marked the start of the seventh week, if you count jury selection which began on Aug. 12. It started in the heat of summer. Now, autumn is rolling into Boone County. Tuesday also marked another change -- a paradigm shift of sorts. Last week, Special Prosecutor Stan Levco rested the state's case against David Camm. Today the defense began making its case. The scores of witnesses who will be heard from in the next few weeks -- three weeks, if you believe defense attorney Stacy Uliana -- will be hand-picked to prove why David Camm is innocent, not guilty. As Uliana said last week, "now it's our turn to talk." And they began their case with two witnesses: a man who admits to talking too much, and Uncle Sam.........

The entire post can be found at:

 http://www.wdrb.com/story/23520116/david-camm-blog-uncle-sam

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com 

Brad Cooper: Attorney General appeals North Carolina Appeals Court ruling granting him a new trial in the death of his wife. (The Appeal Court found that the trial judge should have allowed him to call expert evidence in a bid to show that his computer may have been compromised.) NBC News.

STORY:  "Attorney General appeals Brad Cooper ruling," published by NBC News on April 20, 2013.

GIST:  "The Attorney General's Office has appealed the North Carolina Appeals Court ruling that Brad Cooper should get a new murder trial in the death of his wife. The appeals court granted Cooper a new trial earlier in the death of his wife, Nancy. The attorney general's office claims a review by the state Supreme Court is appropriate because the decision is one of significant public interest and involves a victim and defendant from another state (Canada)..........The N.C. Appeals court granted Cooper a new trial after his attorneys argued that based that a Google Map search could have been done by someone using Cooper's laptop."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/53062805/ns/local_news-raleigh_nc/

See story on  the granting of the appeal published earlier on this blog at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/09/new-post-following-seasonal-break-brad.html
 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com


Sent from my iPad

District Judge Ken Anderson: Associated Press reports that Michael Morton's former prosecutor has resigned; Beaumont Enterprise headline says it well: "Texas Judge who prosecuted innocent man resigns." Reporter Paul J. Weber.

STORY: "Texas judge who prosecuted innocent man resigns, by reporter Paul J. Weber, published by Associated Press on September 24, 2013.

GIST: "A Texas judge facing criminal charges over prosecuting a man who spent 25 years in prison for a killing he didn't commit resigned Tuesday as he awaits trial over whether he concealed evidence as a district attorney in the 1980s. State District Judge Ken Anderson wrote in a one-sentence letter to Gov. Rick Perry that he was stepping down immediately from his Williamson County court. In a statement later released through his attorney, Anderson did not allude to his criminal case. "There comes a time when every public official must decide that it is time to leave public life," Anderson said. "For me and my family, that time is now. For the foreseeable future I will be focused solely on making the transition into private life." Before Perry appointed him as a judge in 2002, Anderson was the district attorney in Williamson County and prosecuted Michael Morton in 1987 for murder in his wife's slaying. Morton always proclaimed his innocence, and he was exonerated in 2011 based on DNA evidence. In April, a special court of inquiry determined that Anderson intentionally concealed evidence favorable to Morton's defense. A former U.S. attorney is now leading the prosecution against Morton on charges of criminal contempt of court, tampering with evidence and tampering with government records. A trial date has not been set. If convicted, Anderson could face 10 years in prison. Morton's attorney called the resignation overdue. Anderson is also facing a lawsuit that accuses him of professional misconduct. "Judge Anderson deserves a fair trial, but if there are findings against him in either proceeding, we would expect that appropriate penalties be imposed," said Barry Scheck and John Raley, Morton's attorneys, in a joint statement. Anderson has apologized to Morton for what he called failures in the system but said he believes there was no misconduct in the case."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/texas/article/Texas-judge-who-prosecuted-innocent-man-resigns-4839996.php

Wikipedia report on Michael Morton prosecution:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_justice%29

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following these issues.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

David Camm; Indiana; Trial; September 24, 2013; Qualifications of crime scene investigator come into question as defence gets under way - and Camm's uncle becomes the first witnesss to establish Camm's alibi that he was at a church playing basketball when the murders occurred; Reporter Gordon Boyd; WAVE 3 News.

STORY: "Camm trial 9/24: Uncle testifies Camm was playing basketball," by reporter Gordon Boyd, published by Wave 3 News on September 24, 2013.

GIST: "Rob Stites called his notes "brainstorming," a place to collect his thoughts while investigating the murders of David Camm's wife and their two young children on September 28, 2000. But those notes included a conclusion that Camm could have gotten blood spots on his t-shirt, only as a result of  high velocity impact spatter; namely, that he was so close by when at least one victim was shot that only he could have been the shooter.  It was the linchpin in the Probable Cause Affidavit that led to Camm's arrest for murder three days later after the killings. Tuesday morning, Stites found himself answering for it as the first defense witness in Camm's third trial. "In hindsight, I would have kept my mouth shut," Stites told Special Prosecutor Stan Levco during cross-examination. Stites became part of the Camm murder investigation two days after the crimes, when then-Floyd County Prosecutor Stan Faith hired his boss, Rod Englert, an independent specialist blood-pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction.  Englert was unavailable initially so he sent Stites to take pictures and document evidence. Camm's team maintains that Faith misrepresented both the credentials and findings of Stiles when gathering and evaluating evidence; leading to miscalculations, erroneous conclusions and a rush to judgment. "I had done a lot of those (crime scene reconstructions) with Mr. Englert, but I don't know what I would define myself as," Stites told the jury. "You'd read only one book on blood stain analysis, and you'd not had any formal forensic training," said defense counsel Stacey Uliana......... Those conclusions also figured prominently in how Faith presented Stites' credentials and findings in Camm's first trial in 2002. "He (Faith) kept calling me ‘Professor', which made me uncomfortable," Stites told the jury. "I thought he was exaggerating a bit." Stites clarified his role during testimony in Camm's second trial. But such claims did not preclude presenting himself as a crime scene reconstructionist to a jury hearing another criminal case two months later. "Were you exaggerating then?" Uliana asked. "My roles were different," Stites answered. "During (Camm's) second trial I was referring to my role in the first." Stites also conceded errors in the Curriculum Vitae (detailing academic qualifications and experience) presented to jurors in Camm's first two trials.  They indicated Stites was pursuing Master's or Doctorate degrees inn Fluid Analysis. "Saying that you had a course in Fluid Dynamics, you lied," Uliana said. "Yes, and I regret that," Stites replied.......
Sam Lockhart, Camm's uncle, was the first witness to establish Camm's alibi that he was at church playing basketball when the murders occurred. Lockhart told the jury that Camm already was on the court when he arrived at Georgetown Community Church sometime between 7 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. "David asked me to sit out the second game so he could work on getting his heart rate up," Lockhart said.........When jurors questioned, Lockhart said he'd spent "past six figures" for lawyers to defend Camm in his first two trials. He'd sold one company in Kentucky, and mortgaged a home. "I've invested my time, my money, my life," Lockhart told jurors. "I would not have invested one penny, if I believe David had killed Kim, Brad and Jill.""

http://www.wave3.com/story/23520756/camm-trial-924-uncle-testifies-camm-was-playing-basketball

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following these issues.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Dr. William B. Barr; Warren Lee Hill; Blogger Joe Gamso's take on why prosecutors turn to Psychiatrist William Barr to fight the insantity defence; Jurors believe him!

POST: "Two stories: The Harry Potter Edition: Voldemort in court," by Joe Gamso, published on Gamso for the defence on September 22, 2013.

GIST: "It was 1995 when the good people of the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico for you folks who haven't marveled at the Sangre de Cristo mountains), through their elected representatives in the state Senate, unanimously approved an amendment to a bit of legislation. "When a psychologist or psychiatrist testifies during a defendant's competency hearing, the psychologist or psychiatrist shall wear a cone-shaped hat that is not less than two feet tall. The surface of the hat shall be imprinted with stars and lightning bolts. Additionally, a psychologist or psychiatrist shall be required to don a white beard that is not less than 18 inches in length, and shall punctuate crucial elements of his testimony by stabbing the air with a wand. Whenever a psychologist or psychiatrist provides expert testimony regarding a defendant's competency, the bailiff shall contemporaneously dim the courtroom lights and administer two strikes to a Chinese gong." Did I mention that it passed unanimously?".........Barr has respectable credentials.  He also has a point of view.  That's one reason the prosecutors turn to him.  The other is that he presents well.  Jurors believe him.  They believed him in that case, and the defendant's now serving time for murder.  It's theoretically possible, I suppose, that Barr was right in that case.  The thing is that the jurors didn't know either.  But they believed - or believed enough.  After all, proof in the courtroom and the law isn't about what happened.  It isn't about what's true or correct.  Proof, including proof beyond a reasonable doubt, is simply whatever the jury believes.  (It's a bonus, of course, if what the jury believes comports with reality, but it's not a feature of the system.)"

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  My team of 1000 highly skilled researchers tells me that  in 1995, New Mexico state senator Duncan Scott  actually persuaded the state senate to  unanimously pass his bill as a  protest against  a perceived overuse of psychiatric professionals as expert witnesses in the courts. However, the amendment was ultimately excised before a vote by the House.

SUPPLEMENTARY PUBLISHER'S NOTE! Since I had no idea who Voldemort was - having never read a word of "Harry Potter -  I once again put my 1000 highly trained researchers to work. They inform me, as does Wikipedia, that  "Voldemort is the archenemy of Harry Potter, who according to a prophecy has "the power to vanquish the Dark Lord".

The entire post can be found at:

http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.ca/2013/09/two-stories-harry-potter-edition.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following these issues.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com

David Camm: Indiana; Courier-Journal story on the murder trial at midpoint: Status of blood-splatter evidence (scientific or subjective) is an issue in the case. Defence begins case tomorrow; (Tuesday September 24, 2013);

STORY: "David Camm trial reaches midpoint," by reporter Grace Schneider, published on September 22, 2013.

GIST:  "Levco has argued that blood evidence — including tiny droplets of Jill Camm’s blood on David Camm’s T-shirt — shows he was present during the murders. Levco argues that Camm played basketball, left and carried out the murders, and then returned to finish playing.DNA experts called by the state have testified that the dots of blood, when examined under high-power microscopes, show they are spatter from a gunshot — a fine mist they assert can only travel 4 feet and was driven into the shirt’s weave. Camm’s lawyers have insisted Jill’s blood was brushed onto his shirt when he pulled Bradley from the Bronco to resuscitate him. They also have aggressively challenged witnesses, asking DNA analysts about their educational background, their understanding of National Academy of Sciences views that blood-spatter analysis is subjective and the fact that investigators missed clues that linked Boney to the crimes. Boney was arrested in spring 2005 after detectives combing through the evidence found Boney’s palm print on Kim Camm’s Bronco and his prison-issued sweatshirt. Steve Romines, a veteran Louisville defense lawyer who has followed the trial closely, said in an email that Boney didn’t help the prosecution. Romines described his testimony as “absurd” and added that “the defense has established a very credible argument that the investigation was corrupt.”"

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130922/NEWS02/309220047/David-Camm-murder-trial-reaches-midpoint

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com

Sent from my iPad

Brenda Waudby: Moving Toronto Star story by reporter Liam Casey tells how a woman who was wrongfully charged with beating and killing her baby daughter - because of the perverse involvement of former pathologist Charles Smith in her case - has moved on 16 years later - and recently graduated as a law clerk; Now she needs a job! (Must read! HL);

PUBLISHER'S VIEW: In the decade I have known Brenda Waudby and have been writing about her case, I have developed an enormous respect for her good humour, intelligence and perseverance  in the face of a prosecution which was trying so hard to put her away for life. She fought an addiction. She fought to keep her surviving children from being taken from her by the child welfare authorities. She fought to be cleared of the second-degree murder charge; And when the murder charge was withdrawn she also fought successfully for complete and utter exoneration. Now, 16 years-later she has graduated as a law clerk and wants to use what she has learned through her lengthy ordeal to help others who get drawn into Ontario's  criminal justice system. If I were still in criminal law practice I would hire her on the spot. As that is not the case,  I sincerely hope that someone else will give her a chance to prove herself.

Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.

STORY: "Brenda Waudby moves on 16 years after Charles Smith debacle," by reporter Liam Casey, published by the Toronto Star on September 23, 2013.

SUB-HEADING: "Waudby, wrongfully accused of beating and killing her daughter,   recently graduated as a law clerk as she starts a new chapter in her life."

GIST: "Waudby and her lawyer fought to get her exonerated from the child abuse conviction. The Crown insisted Jenna had old rib injuries, indicative of chronic abuse before she died. Their insistence relied on a transcript of the babysitter’s confession that although he made “good solid jabs” to the girl’s stomach, his punches “wouldn’t have been enough force to break ribs.” The Crown’s conclusion: Waudby beat her toddler. But Waudby and her dogged lawyer, Julie Kirkpatrick, knew that wasn’t true. But they couldn’t get their hands on the tape of the confession until she filed an appeal and received the evidence in disclosure. J.D. actually said the exact opposite: his blows “would have had enough force to break ribs.” The court reporter had reported it incorrectly. Waudby’s appeal was finally heard last June, Justice Michelle Fuerst overturned the child abuse conviction, and Crown attorney Alison Wheeler offered a “deep and sincere” apology for the miscarriage of justice.

In addition to the typo, Smith had said the rib injuries were chronic in nature. Two other pathologists completely disagreed with his findings. They concluded there “was no forensic evidence that Jenna was chronically abused by her mother, Brenda Waudby.”"

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/23/brenda_waudby_moves_on_16_years_after_charles_smith_debacle.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com