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Jilly_in_VA

(9,962 posts)
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 10:35 AM Oct 2021

Court Mistakenly Gave Potential Jurors Access to Ahmaud Arbery's Mental Health History

The Georgia county court trying the alleged murderers of Ahmaud Arbery has mistakenly exposed potential jurors to suppressed evidence, including his mental health history, which a judge banned from the trial.

Jury candidates who visit the Glynn County Superior Court website seeking information about what time and what day they need to show up can view—in just a couple clicks—all the motions filed so far in the murder trial of Travis and Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan.

Those documents include specifics about Arbery’s mental health and prior criminal history that a judge ordered suppressed and never brought up in court.

The motions also include evidence that prosecutors would like to use against the McMichaels, including a Confederate flag vanity plate on Travis’ truck and how often the father and son had used their licensed firearms. The judge has yet to make a ruling on the admissibility of that evidence.

If a jury candidate were to read that information, it would make them ineligible to sit on the jury that will determine the McMichaels’ and Bryan’s fates. And if that person were to be chosen for the jury, it could be grounds for a mistrial, although that’s unlikely, legal experts told VICE News.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5qxgw/ahmaud-arbery-mental-health-history-given-jury-candidates

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Court Mistakenly Gave Potential Jurors Access to Ahmaud Arbery's Mental Health History (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Oct 2021 OP
"mistakenly?" oh please. Merlot Oct 2021 #1
Exactly. I am not buying "mistake" either. Irish_Dem Oct 2021 #2
Yeah. Whoops. underpants Oct 2021 #7
South Georgia. No mistake there, Ilsa Oct 2021 #14
Right. Someone put his/her thumb on the scale, "mistakenly". LoisB Oct 2021 #3
Snort Solly Mack Oct 2021 #4
This case must go forward Beatlelvr Oct 2021 #6
Of course it needs to go forward. Solly Mack Oct 2021 #9
It was frightening to see the aftermath, too, meaning the footage of the scene... CBHagman Oct 2021 #13
Impanel a new group of jurors no_hypocrisy Oct 2021 #5
That's the only appropriate measure now. Wingus Dingus Oct 2021 #8
Sorry... sarisataka Oct 2021 #10
Is this mistrial worthy? NewDayOranges Oct 2021 #11
A new slate of jurors ahs to be enpaneled obamanut2012 Oct 2021 #12
... Faux pas Oct 2021 #15
"Glynn County told VICE News that the court is aware of the links and a solution is in the works." csziggy Oct 2021 #16
Start over Jilly_in_VA Oct 2021 #17

Ilsa

(61,692 posts)
14. South Georgia. No mistake there,
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 11:32 AM
Oct 2021

even though there are plenty of fuckups, including not charging them after it happened because the district attorney argued that there was not sufficient probable cause to arrest Mr. Arbery’s pursuers.

Beatlelvr

(618 posts)
6. This case must go forward
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 10:54 AM
Oct 2021

Those cretins stalked him, deliberately cornered him and killed him. Why? Because they think he was on some property illegally? Yeah, that deserves a death sentence! And they filmed it! Put these fuckers away, please!

Solly Mack

(90,762 posts)
9. Of course it needs to go forward.
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 11:01 AM
Oct 2021

I agree. Throw them in jail.

And also find out who placed the suppressed evidence for potential jurors to find.

Throw them in jail too.

CBHagman

(16,984 posts)
13. It was frightening to see the aftermath, too, meaning the footage of the scene...
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 11:30 AM
Oct 2021

...when law enforcement arrived. The dehumanizing of Ahmaud Arbery had already begun.

On edit: I mean that in the footage I saw, I detected no effort to determine whether Ahmaud Arbery was even still alive, let alone an attempt to save him.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/12/17/ahmaud-arbery-body-camera-video/

csziggy

(34,135 posts)
16. "Glynn County told VICE News that the court is aware of the links and a solution is in the works."
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 11:49 AM
Oct 2021

From the link in the OP:

Glynn County told VICE News that the court is aware of the links and a solution is in the works.

“We are aware of that issue, and the decision about that will be made by the judge,” Glynn County Superior Court Clerk Ronald Adams told VICE News Tuesday morning.

The trial motions are available on a menu on the left side of the court’s website. Clicking one of the three links labeled “State Of Georgia vs Gregory McMichael,” “State Of Georgia vs Travis McMichael,” or “State Of Georgia vs William ‘Roddie’ Bryan,” directs visitors to a page containing every filing and ruling related to the case since May 11, 2020, when warrants for the McMichaels’ arrests were filed.


I wonder if this is routine for this Georgia county - leaving suppressed evidence movements accessible to potential jurors. If so, every defense attorney for every case that was lost, that could have been influenced by jurors seeing this information, should appeal to overturn convictions in that county!
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