4.Defense Rests and Post-Testimony Motions
51 linesBOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, the Defense rest.
THE COURT: All right. Folks, we had a brief talk while y'all were gone, that last break before you came back in, about planning next week. Here's what I kind of anticipate. The Defense has put up its case. The State has the opportunity to reply with a little bit of testimony. They intend to call one witness. It's going to be relatively short. 8:45 start time. We're then going to go from that witness into closing summaries and jury instructions. Okay? That's what you're going to look at tomorrow. Still, during this whole thing, every time y'all leave, it's don't discuss the case. Y'all are still under that strict instruction. It's not time to discuss the case yet until you've heard everything, closing summaries and my instruction on the law. Until then, y'all don't talk about the case. Don't do any internet research over the weekend, don't go reading anything. Y'all have done a wonderful job of paying attention. I've watched you. Thank y'all for y'all's attention, very good attention to this.
So Monday, we'll start tying things together and can give it to y'all to discuss it then. Whether we start deliberations Monday afternoon or Tuesday, I don't know. It depends on how long their arguments are, plus organizing the evidence so that y'all can understand it. The idea is I'm going to pick one of y'all to kind of understand how the evidence is organized. I've got an idea of somebody. And then I'm going to pick another person to be the foreperson to kind of supervise the deliberations. And then I'm going to pick another person to use the IT guy for videos to be played. Y'all will have a computer and that type thing. So I'm going to utilize a couple of you to manage some of the stuff, okay? We'll do that Monday. So until then, enjoy your weekend. Enjoy your graduation. See y'all Monday morning. We're going to get here early and start early. We're going to start at 8:45, okay? See y'all then. (WHEREUPON, the jury was excused from open court for the day.)
THE COURT: All right. Let's deal with a couple outstanding issues real quick. First of all, I'm going to do this. For the purposes of the jury, so they're gone now, you put on the record the Defense rest. I want to discuss with Mr. Jones his testifying or not and then you can rest on the record officially behind that. Fair enough?
BOYD YOUNG: And, also, we didn't address the correction of the crack cocaine.
THE COURT: Okay. We can address both of those. All right. First and foremost, let's deal with Mr. Jones. Let's place him under oath, also. TIMOTHY JONES, JR., being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
THE COURT: All right, Mr. Jones, just a couple of questions for you. You understand your right to testify or not? This is your trial. The jury -- you've been here the whole time. I've watched you. You have an opportunity to present testimony if you so choose. You're not required to. It is solely up to you, also, with the advice of three very competent lawyers who have been assisting you. Have you discussed whether or not you wish to present testimony of your own with your lawyers?
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: Yes, I have.
THE COURT: Now, do you -- have you had enough time to counsel with them to make a decision as to whether you wish to testify or not.
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Now, do you understand if you don't testify, the last thing I will tell the jury in my instructions will be they can't consider, discuss in any fashion whatsoever your failure to testify, that that will not be used against you? According to their oath and according to my instructions, they're not to discuss that and make any consideration -- inference from that electing to claim your right to remain silent. Do you understand that?
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Now, do you need any further time to talk with your lawyers about whether you wish to testify or not?
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And what's your decision.
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: I do not wish to testify.
THE COURT: Okay. Feel good today?
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: I mean, you've looked relatively healthy all week, so your condition looks favorable to me, alert, you've answered my questions perfectly. So you're not going to testify?
TIMOTHY RAY JONES, JR.: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Fair enough. All right. Now, with regard to the correction instruction on the Illinois charge, we'll do whatever y'all think is reasonable. I don't want to comment on the facts. Or maybe it's a stipulation that I could either read -- it will be, basically, it happened in 2000 whatever. It was powdered cocaine, the weight was thus and so. I mean --
BOYD YOUNG: It --
THE COURT: That's what I'd suggest.
RICK HUBBARD: Here's what I wrote down just because -- we never had in our files that we saw an actual chemical test. So what we had was he's arrested March 3rd of 2001 by the Illinois State Police. They found rock cocaine. We know it tested positive for cocaine. That's all we know.
THE COURT: And six-tenths of a gram, was that the weight?
RICK HUBBARD: If somebody wants to put the amount in, that's fine. We don't have it.
THE COURT: Okay. I thought I heard in an earlier representation from Mr. Young it was six-tenths of a gram.
RICK HUBBARD: They may have something we don't have.
BOYD YOUNG: We requested just the lab report.
RICK HUBBARD: We don't even have the lab report, so how did we misrepresent something we don't have?
BOYD YOUNG: The misrepresentation was that he -- heavy crack cocaine use, heavy crack cocaine use. There's no evidence to support that. Even the arrest for point six grams of powdered cocaine in no way corrects the heavy crack cocaine use allegations. There is a way to correct it other than tell the jury that those allegations were false, that he was arrested with point six grams of powdered cocaine. Even in doing that, I don't know that it cures the misrepresentation by the State and we would move for a mistrial on that basis.
THE COURT: I'm not going to grant you a mistrial. I believe a stipulation as to what happened would be appropriate. And I believe you can argue that, what you just said, that it was mischaracterized by them as heavy use, when, in fact, it was simple possession of powdered cocaine as evidenced by the report.
BOYD YOUNG: They had no evidence to say his heavy crack cocaine use. And this is stuff they said to the jury without any basis in fact or evidence, which is why it's wrong and which is why they're supposed to correct it through the witness and say I was wrong, he never -- I had no evidence that he ever used crack cocaine ever in his life, period, and I made that up.
THE COURT: He didn't make it up.
BOYD YOUNG: No, no, Solicitor Mayes made it up.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, there's plenty of evidence he was using drugs. His favorite drug of choice was cocaine. The question was put about rock cocaine. If they really wanted, they could have followed up with questions to clear it up and say it's a factual dispute and say the Solicitor doesn't know what he's talking about. They chose not to do that. There's no --
BOYD YOUNG: How --
RICK HUBBARD: No intentional misrepresentation.
THE COURT: I think it goes to the weight of the whole case. I'm not going to comment on the facts the way you're telling me to say that the State made an exaggeration or mischaracterization of it. I'll read a stipulation of the conviction if you like, I'll do that, and y'all can argue that they exaggerated that. But, you know, likewise, there's certain things that both sides have exaggerated in my opinion, but I don't get to argue that. I've noticed it. So that one thing about conviction in 2000, I don't find that a reason to grant you a new trial.
BOYD YOUNG: I just think there's a distinction between an exaggeration and a fabrication.
THE COURT: Well, I mean, the Solicitor's telling me that they didn't know how much the weight was.
BOYD YOUNG: I understand.
THE COURT: I mean, you made your record.
BOYD YOUNG: Thank you.
THE COURT: Now, are there any motions?
BOYD YOUNG: We renew all our motions and objections for all the grounds and reasons that were stated in the arguments that we made at the time.
THE COURT: As to your motions -- these were your motions you made at the close of the State's case, you will be renewing all those six motions: Your motion for directed verdict, your motion for mistrial, your motion for change of venue, your motion for suppression of all the evidence from the search and the statements at the suppression post-safe checkpoint, the statements made subject to the arrest and all the other motions made during the State's case-in-chief respectfully denied. Those were the six you made at the close of the State's case and you renewed all six of those. Same ruling. Any other ones you want on the record?
BOYD YOUNG: We move for a directed verdict that the Defense has established by a preponderance of the evidence that he was not guilty by reason of insanity and ask for a directed verdict as to that.
THE COURT: It's even easier, the preponderance, the jury gets to weigh it, so denied.
BOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, I'm protected on all my motions --
THE COURT: You're protected on all of your grounds.
(Whereupon, the trial will resume on June 3rd, 2019.)