2.State Rests and Defense Motions
72 linesRICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, at this time, the State rest.
THE COURT: All right, folks, we've got a couple things to do. We've got to put a couple things on the record. Before I send you to the jury room, y'all maintain there. There are two SLED officers on the new SLED detail team. I'd like y'all to present yourselves around here to my clerk for placing the new SLED agents on duty, okay? On the spot. Y'all come on around. (WHEREUPON, SLED Agent Jeff Fuller and SLED Agent Sandy Templeton were sworn in.)
THE COURT: Thank y'all for y'all's help. Now, y'all get a break. Don't discuss the case. I'm going to give you some instructions when you come back and we'll proceed on.
(Whereupon, the jury is excused from the courtroom.)
THE COURT: The State has rested. Mr. Young, what you got?
BOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, I'd move under Rule 19 for a motion for directed verdict. We would renew all our previous motions and objections. We would renew our motions for a mistrial. We would renew our motions for a change in venue. We would renew our continued objection to evidence seized from the motor vehicle and the motions pursuant to any statements attributed to Mr. Jones as being voluntary along with all the objections and motions that we've made during the course of the proceedings.
THE COURT: Considering I've been ruling consistently with the traffic safety checkpoint, the statements made after that as well as the search of the vehicle after that and everything throughout the State's case, I've consistently denied y'all's request and will respectfully deny that motion at this time. I will respectfully deny your motion for a mistrial as well as denying your motion for directed verdict. The State has presented ample evidence for the jury to consider the case, based upon what they have presented at this time. Did I rule on all four motions? I think it was four, the search, statements, mistrial, directed verdict?
BOYD YOUNG: Venue?
THE COURT: Venue. The motion for venue change request is respectfully denied, also.
BOYD YOUNG: And then over the course of the trial, a number of other objections and motions and motions in-limine have been made.
THE COURT: Respectfully, I'm going to deny those, also. That should be all. Y'all want a couple of minutes?
BOYD YOUNG: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: I want to give a brief instruction to the jury when they come back in about what to expect now, much like I did earlier. You know, your opportunity as the Defense team to present evidence for them to consider in light of the defense presented and go forward from there.
BOYD YOUNG: And in light of the fact that when it comes to our burden, we would request the table closest to the jury.
THE COURT: I don't think so. The State's burden is still higher. You've got a burden, yes, but I think that creates too many challenges for the courtroom itself. So, respectfully, no. I've never done that motion before. Interesting request, but I don't think that's -- I think that would be in discretion -- all the civil cases I've had where it's been mutual burdens, the tables weren't swapped from plaintiff to the defense even though it's the defense burden on counterclaim. They remained the same. So I'm going to follow that logic and say no sir, respectfully. Stay where you are.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, I didn't know if it would be appropriate, and Your Honor is the only one that can determine that, if this is the time you want to ask Mr. Jones if he's discussed whether he's going to testify or not. Typically, it's at this point in the trial when Your Honor goes over that, specifically, with the Defendant. I think this is no different.
BOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, he understands that he has the right to testify, it's his absolute right. He can testify if he wants to regardless of what Counsel thinks. He understands that.
RICK HUBBARD: I think, I would ask --
THE COURT: I normally wait until they are about done.
RICK HUBBARD: Okay.
THE COURT: And I then inquire then, but I'm not going to inquire right now. Yes, I agree with you, I need to inquire that at some point.
RICK HUBBARD: And my request would be that it's directly to the Defendant.
THE COURT: Oh, yeah.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: That's my normal practice.
RICK HUBBARD: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: All right. Stand down for a few minutes.
(WHEREUPON, a short break was taken.)
THE COURT: All right. Get the jury. (Whereupon, the jury came into open court at approximately 9:50 a.m.)
THE COURT: We're ready to continue on. The State's rested. They've presented the testimony and evidence they wanted to in their case-in-chief. They are done for now. The Defense, it's their opportunity to present testimony and evidence as they choose in support of their defense as they presented. So they have a burden of showing the defense. I'll try to explain to you some of the burden of proof. The State's burden is beyond a reasonable doubt. The Defense's burden is going to be something different, called the preponderance or greater weight of the evidence. We'll explain how you consider and weigh this evidence. We're working on making certain -- the first witness is one of those we videoed. I just want to make sure it's going to work right, so he's trying to cue that up. That witness will be called and y'all will get to hear that. We didn't quite have the audio worked out then. We do now, that's why that microphone got added. But I've got copies of the testimony, the questions and answers for y'all to look at and read along with if you like, so we'll hand those out momentarily. This is the Defense's opportunity to present evidence in support of their defense. We'll continue moving along. They'll call witnesses, same scenario except they call the witnesses and the State then cross-examines, so kind of role reversal. I'll explain the burdens both ways in more detail, okay. So that will be my final instruction, but I want you to know the Defense has the burden of proving their defense by a preponderance. All right. Mr. Young.
BOYD YOUNG: With the Court's permission, I'll hand out a copy of the transcript.
THE COURT: Yes, sir. There should be 18 there.
BOYD YOUNG: If everybody will just take one and pass those.
THE COURT: Any objection -- one of the jurors just communicated with me. One of them wants to know if they can write on the transcripts. I say absolutely. It's all right, a good question.
BOYD YOUNG: Keep the transcript. I mean, I don't -- if the State doesn't object to them keeping the transcript. Normally, they would not be allowed to keep them.
THE COURT: I hadn't thought about that.
RICK HUBBARD: That's going to be in your discretion, Your Honor. I know typically they don't have the transcript in evidence with them, but it's up to you how they take their notes, or if they want to transfer those later. However -- obviously, Your Honor, that's your call.
THE COURT: I'm going to allow the jurors to take notes on the transcript if they'd like and then they can maintain it with their notes. Your notes are for yourself. You're not to pass around and grade each other's notes. The notes are for you. If someone didn't take notes -- and I'll explain this. Once you're in deliberations and y'all are discussing well, you know, you remember that batch in the case when they were testifying about this, well, I remember it this way. My notes say I took it that way. The note taker's notes don't trump the listener's listening. Everybody has got equal footing, but it's just how you consider and discuss what was presented to you. So one doesn't trump the other, one doesn't mean more than the other. It's what y'all heard in the presentation of the case. So I will allow the transcripts if they wish to be kept with their notes, to take notes on them, but they're to be yours individually not, here's what I remember, read my stuff. It's y'all's. It's individually yours. Okay. That's what we'll do.
BOYD YOUNG: At this time, the Defense would call Travis Snyder. And because he was not available to be here when the Defense started the case, we videotaped his testimony in this courtroom prior to the beginning of the trial. And we'll play that now. If anybody has a problem hearing or if I've messed up volume or there's too much feedback, please let us know --
THE COURT: Let me know. I'll be talking in the microphone. Most of our control is in the back -- the media is helping us with this. They're the ones doing it. They've got their cameras here, so they were assisting us with preserving it. So we'll start, if we need to adjust something, we'll let the guys in the back know or figure out how to adjust it and we'll go from there. So y'all give me the universal sign for can't hear or it's okay. So proceed on. (WHEREUPON, video testimony of Travis Snyder was played for the jury starting at 10:00 a.m, ended at 11:21 a.m.)
THE COURT: Is that it?
BOYD YOUNG: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: It's time for a break. Make sure you put your names on the transcript so you don't get them mixed up. Go back to the jury room. Take yourselves a nice break. You'll probably have a good 15 minutes. We'll have you back here in a little bit. Don't discuss the case. (Whereupon, the jury is excused from the courtroom for a break.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, if I may?
THE COURT: You may.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The transcript that was prepared did include -- when we were handed it this morning, didn't review it through, but during the testimony, starting on Page 62, it shows the in-camera testimony that the jury is not supposed to hear. They walked out of the courtroom with them. I would ask that you have somebody go get them, grab all of them up and then remove the offending pages.
THE COURT: Can we take care of that?
BAILIFF: Sure.
THE COURT: I will figure out how to do that, but that's not an unreasonable request.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. We'll stand at ease for a little bit.
(WHEREUPON, a short break was taken.)
THE COURT: I had my Law Clerk, a SLED detail member retrieve all of the transcripts back in the jury room, she removed, Whitney removed all the in-camera testimony portions of the transcript. I have them here. I think an explanation to the jury would be, we removed a part that wasn't played and now have it back and leave it at that.
SHAWN GRAHAM: That is fine with the State, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Y'all want this marked as an exhibit or anything?
BOYD YOUNG: I need to mark the transcript and the video as an exhibit.
THE COURT: And the transcript subject to the removal without the in-camera.
BOYD YOUNG: Right, I need one of those too, I need the whole one as a Court's exhibit, right?
THE COURT: There you go, you can have mine. There is a whole one.
BOYD YOUNG: Do you want to do a redacted one.
THE COURT: Mine has the in-camera in it.
BOYD YOUNG: The video we put in--
THE COURT: The video will be an exhibit and it has been played. The transcript is Court's 85. (Whereupon, Court's Exhibit 85 was marked for identification only.) Joy, make a note, your transcript includes the in-camera testimony. The transcripts for the jurors, the in-camera testimony was removed. And I have those copies in a clip. It will not be marked.
COURT REPORTER: I've got it. (WHEREUPON, Defendant's Exhibit number 128 was admitted into evidence.) (WHEREUPON, Defendant's Exhibit number 129 was marked for identification.) (WHEREUPON, Court's Exhibit number 85 was marked for identification.)
THE COURT: All right. Are y'all ready?
BOYD YOUNG: Can I check with matters real quick?
THE COURT: Yes.
(Whereupon, a brief recess was taken for Mr. Young.)
ROBERT MADSEN: We have a proffer.
THE COURT: Proffer?
ROBERT MADSEN: The same as the other ones.
THE COURT: This is a live witness. Tell the jury they are excused for lunch and be back at 1:30. All right, let's do the proffer. I sent the jury to be back at 1:30. Let's go forward with the proffer. Call your witness, please.