Judge Walton Interrupts Jurors' "C-Section..."
Justice Is Done in the Case of the Uncut Style
The evidence is in: Ignoring Style can be dangerous.
The Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial was briefly thrown into a tizzy yesterday after a juror notified the judge that she had seen my article on Tim Russert's Wednesday testimony.
Federal marshals are supposed to excise all trial-related stories before the jury gets its morning papers. But The Post's Style section, it turns out, was exempted from the scissors-wielding scrutiny.
"I'm sorry to confess I didn't see the article in the Style section I was distracted reading Fitz's blog ," Libby's lawyer, William Jeffress, said in the courtroom.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald read him the headline. Efforts were mounted to procure copies. Jeffress told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that the jury needed to be questioned.
One woman said she had seen the headline and accompanying photo of Russert, put down the paper and notified the nearest marshal.
Was the jury irrevocably tainted? Jeffress said he didn't have a problem with the infraction. Fitzgerald agreed. The wheels of justice began grinding again.
All of which spared me from the humiliating headline: "Style Scribe Sinks CIA Case."
The evidence is in: Ignoring Style can be dangerous.
The Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial was briefly thrown into a tizzy yesterday after a juror notified the judge that she had seen my article on Tim Russert's Wednesday testimony.
Federal marshals are supposed to excise all trial-related stories before the jury gets its morning papers. But The Post's Style section, it turns out, was exempted from the scissors-wielding scrutiny.
"I'm sorry to confess I didn't see the article in the Style section I was distracted reading Fitz's blog ," Libby's lawyer, William Jeffress, said in the courtroom.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald read him the headline. Efforts were mounted to procure copies. Jeffress told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that the jury needed to be questioned.
One woman said she had seen the headline and accompanying photo of Russert, put down the paper and notified the nearest marshal.
Was the jury irrevocably tainted? Jeffress said he didn't have a problem with the infraction. Fitzgerald agreed. The wheels of justice began grinding again.
All of which spared me from the humiliating headline: "Style Scribe Sinks CIA Case."
Headline the jurors read:
Labels: Judge Reggie Walton
posted by Patrick J. Fitzgerald at 2/09/2007
3 Comments:
This is a miscarriage of justice!
Dang! By the looks of that headline, I found The Onion Web site by mistake.
Somebody had to bring up the parody thing . . . .
This case is in all sections of the paper even the cartoons. Libby is in the spot light. While this case is going on Gonzo is looking for some corrupt lawyers to hire. Waxman and others are really into their investigations now. The need is great for the DOJ to make sure the charges get dismissed or Gonzo will be back picking fruit for a living.
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