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I first found that very simple page on the Internet about 20 years ago, and it is still up. Side note: One thing I've always thought was amazing was that WFAA had Abraham Zapruder on the air within two hours of the assassination. His film had not yet been developed, and the interview was very, very brief.
- Ahmaud Arbery trial thoughts:
- The female prosecutor. Linda Dunikoski, isn't very good. And she has an awful habit of, when reading a complicated definition from the court's charge, stopping and saying, "Don't you just love lawyers?" That inadvertent revealing of her belief of self-superiority (something she doesn't even realize she is doing) will not serve her well. Don't call yourself a lawyer, call yourself a prosecutor! And in front of a jury she needs to distance herself from lawyers -- that she chose a different job: To represent the people.
- She also messed up an old idiom yesterday when she said to the jury, "Have you ever heard the old saying that you don't bring a gun to a knife fight?" She didn't misspeak. She really thinks that's the way it is worded. It's actually "you don't bring a knife to a gunfight."
- And when the judge asked her late yesterday how much time she needed to finish her closing argument this morning, she told him, "I'll need two hours because I've got a lot to say." Trust me, you don't need two hours. Less is more. And you better strike gold in the first 20 minutes because after that the jury will tune you out.
- The female lawyer for Greg McMichael's basically hasn't said anything all trial long but surprisingly delivered his closing argument. She did a fantastic job -- at least until she said, "Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails." (Video.) Say what? I've been trying to figure out if there could be some context that I'm missing, but there's not. I don't get it.
- This guy is only a tiny fraction as smart as he thinks he is. I think his client will walk despite of him.
- All the defense lawyers were smart enough to not call the defendants "my client" but instead referred to them by their first names. It humanizes the defendants. And you don't want to remind a jury that you are paid to stand in front of them. That's what you are doing when you say "my client."
- It's always a dicey proposition to predict a jury outcome, but I still think we've got lots of not guilty verdicts coming.
- Sherry Lemon announcing she is not running again for Wise County Clerk is a big deal. She's held it since 1991.
- Does the Wise County Republican Party not keep active web site of those who have filed for election? That's badly needed.
- We've got another candidate for Tarrant County D.A. who will run as a Republican. If I'm tracking this correctly, add him to the list that includes Phil Sorrells and Mollie Westfall.
- Yesterday evening, the dumbest man in East Texas announced that he is going after Ken Paxton's job. He decided to first reveal it on Newsmax which might be QAnon's favorite channel. Edit: DA candidate Krause from the above bullet point has endorsed Gohmert for AG which tells you everything you need to know about Krause.
- Speaking of, they were out in force at Dealey Plaza for the anniversary of 11/22/63. There are eight Trump signs in this photo.
- I've always had lots of questions about the government's "strategic oil reserve."
- Something happened west of Lake Bridgeport yesterday afternoon. (That's all I got on it.)
- Nerdy legal stuff outside of my area: I saw this story which made absolutely no sense to me. "In their lawsuit, the families accused the FBI of negligence. They say the bureau received tips about Cruz, including his amassing of weapons and his desire to shoot up a school, but agents failed to intervene and prevent the violence."
- So you can sue the federal government for failing to protect you from crime?
- I found this thread on Twitter last night which was started by a legal scholar trying to understand it as well. Some people believe, and I'll buy into this conspiracy theory, that sometimes the government hands out free money in civil suits when they have no legal reason to depending on the politics of the subject.
- Here's the new marker in downtown Dallas which I referenced last week. That's a wild bit of history (which wasn't all that long ago in the grand scheme of things.) Click to enlarge.
- 48 Hours has a new show on DNA genealogy being used to solve crimes. It has a good title.
- A guy showed up at the Wise County Courthouse Annex* yesterday reeking of weed. But he was in a very good mood. (*not official name.)
