Expect More Surprises in The Jodi Arias Case

Phoenix, AZ—The second attempt to get a verdict in the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias murder trial is about be get underway before Judge Sherry Stephens. Will it be death, life without parole or a 25 calendar year sentence?   Arias would get full credit for her years in pretrial custody. 

Arias is understandably and desperately seeking some control over her defense and public relations matters.  The problem is that she’s woefully unqualified to make any of those decisions.

The lawyers assigned to defend Arias are not exactly heavy hitters.  They are lightweights with limited skills and resources.  

Arias has been widely criticized for her missteps at every turn.  This young woman is fighting for her life while dealing with complicated issues few of us will ever have to face. For her there are no right answers.  Whatever she does turns out wrong. 

The only thing I know about Arias for sure is she has given substantially different versions of whatever happened in that Mesa, AZ home. I’ve learned long ago that people that use legitimate and lawful deadly force in self-defense far too often lie to authorities because they think it’s somehow necessary.  

The simple truth is if Arias had invoked her right to remain silent and simply refused to answer police questions she would have probably never been arrested.  In any event she’d be a free woman today.  

People that have never walked in this Arias’ shoes are the first to castigate her.  

Judge Stephens wisely booted the Media’s cameras out of the courtroom for the second penalty phase.  The actual murder trial that ended in conviction was as ugly as any court/media circus in American history. Perhaps this time the jury can do their jobs with less outside influence.

Protecting un-sequestered jurors from published material and videos is absolutely impossible in this day and age.  Judges have to take special precautions to prevent the court’s evidence from being co-mingled with Internet gossip.

Frankly the courts have been incredibly negligent beyond giving jurors redundant but meaningless admonishments to avoid such material. 

Under the media's radar, this case has had lawyers arguing and litigating under court seal since this sensational trial ended.  In my decades of courtroom and criminal justice experience I’ve seen nothing like this. 

My trusted Phoenix court sources have told me the protracted secret fight is over a “new” witness and evidence that was not considered at the first trial. This has nothing to do with the penalty phase but in fact what may actually lead to a new trial that may yet clear Arias.

This case has drawn an astronomical number of vocal trolls that have consistently spread anti-Arias hate and venom.  These trolls all claim to have watched the whole trial and know everything.

What these trolls are clueless about are the hours of the trial that they have never seen!  That was the numerous fights over evidence and admissibility in Judge Stephens’ chambers where the press, their cameras and public was excluded.

I hear the trolls say, "But she stabbed him so many times!"  What people don't realize is that few of these wounds were mortal.  The human body is so amazing that it will continue to fight to survive.  

A somewhat frail woman realistically would have to stab a stronger male numerous tines before he would begin to weaken or expire. Superficial wounds inflicted by a weaker female would do little but invite more aggression from a stronger male. 

The Arias case is sure to take many more surprising turns before it is over. 

I’m convinced that ultimately there may be enough prosecutorial and judicial misconduct in the Arias case to reverse any conviction and prevent a retrial.  I would not count out the real possibility that Arias may be freed before the litigation is over.

The Unimaginable Downfall of A former NBA Basketball Player and Current Sports Broadcaste

Rex E. Chapman (credit Maricopa County Sheriff)

Scottsdale, AZ—Rex Chapman, 46 had a great 12-year NBA basketball career Playing for the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.   

In 2006, he served as the vice president of player personnel for the Denver Nuggets.  Today he’s employed TV sports broadcaster for Turner Broadcasting. 

 I say that he had a great career, because it has suddenly all ended in an epic crash after his September 19^th arrest for stealing some $14,000.00 in merchandise from a local Apple Store. 

The foolishness of Chapman’s caper defies logic.  Apple store records show he was present on several occasions and video shows him purloining the property with a knapsack or white Apple bags.

In an even more stunning lapse Chapman apparently wasted no time selling the booty to local pawnshops.  They too keep surveillance video recordings and are required to obtain identification of anyone pawning or selling property. 

Most people are thinking this mess may resolve itself with some probation with restitution.  Not in Arizona! This state has some of the more draconian laws in the USA.

Since there are several separate criminal events they are all treated as prior offenses.  The five separate felony counts of Trafficking In Stolen property counts involved alone could easily put him behind bars for the rest of his life. 

Video surveillance without eyewitness testimony is worthless because it is hearsay.  However in court the Apple Store’s records will refresh the clerk’s memory so he can identify Chapman, as the person on the video is the same one he served.  The same holds true for the pawnshop clerks.

I can’t imagine Chapman being so desperate for money considering his high-end salary garnered from both careers.  I can only ask what was he thinking? 

The Scottsdale police officer’s probable cause statement below in the attached court record tells this sordid story. 

Should The LAPD Use Drones?

Dragonfly Drone 

Los Angeles, CA—Let me be the first to say that I find the increasing militarization and spying by police repugnant.  Government at every level is out-of-control.

Today there is a demonstration in progress at City Hall protesting the use of two small multi-rotor drones in possession of the LAPD.  This group is uninformed and unfamiliar with the limitations of these devices also called unmanned aerial vehicles. 

I suspect these demonstrators are confusing these drones with the much larger, multi-million dollar weaponized drones used by or military in combat zones.

However there are substantial benefits of our first responders using multi-rotor drones to deal with instances such as common disasters, searches for lost people and potentially dangerous animals on the loose in neighborhoods.  The diminutive drones can more safely enter tighter spaces than any helicopter.

As a camera drone pilot, former cop and licensed private investigator let me be the first to say the drones just are not helpful for spying. 

The drones don’t stay in the air for more than 20 minutes because of battery limitations and they can only carry smaller cameras.

Getting identifiable pictures of people with those drones is nearly impossible unless the drone is within a few yards of it’s target.

Capturing conversations is another impossibility because of the sound of the motors and prop wash.

Conventional helicopters and the technology of special cameras and other devices is a far superior surveillance tool.  The little multi-rotor drones simply can’t carry the weight of that kind of equipment.

In the case of a fire, earthquake, tsunami, floods or any natural disaster the drone are already proven lifesavers.  Victims needing rescue can be located.  Damage surveys can be made so that needed resources can be quickly allocated.

The benefits of first responders being able to deploy drones in emergency situations far outweigh their possible abuse. 

Here is drone video of a recent flood:

Are $8.00 McRib Mystery Meat Sandwiches and Pink Slimeburgers in your future?

Chicago, IL—Those fast food workers seeking unionization and a $15.00 per hour minimum wage are incredibly delusional.  Frankly if they were smart enough to figure out the folly of the efforts they’d not be working in fast food! 

Fast food appeals to Americans because it’s cheap and fast.  Unionization will kill this necessary industry along with the jobs and some needed training workers are currently enjoying.

Flipping burgers was never meant to be a career but a stepping-stone.  Getting a job at one of the many fast food chains is suited for young people just starting out in the workforce.  

These jobs may also suitable for some retirees supplementing social security and to stay useful in declining years.  An entry-level job in fast food is anything but a suitable career goal.

If burger flippers were paid as skilled workers they would never have incentive to learn and move on to become more valuable to our workforce.

Let’s talk about the fast food products.  Fast food is generally minimally acceptable for healthy diets.  This is the rock bottom of nutrition.  Pink slime and pressed mystery meat processing has made unsalable meat products somewhat acceptable at least in looks.  In the end most of it's really crap.  

Our nation has rapidly declined and is spiraling into joining the Third World.  A $15.00 per hour minimum wage will certainly kill jobs along with important incentive for workers to gain better skills.

The poverty that fast food workers complain about is exactly why fast food is popular.   The poor cannot afford to eat at the sit-down restaurants where burgers are better and cost $8.00. 

Even our middle class has to settle for cheap meals at least part of the time.  Paying for the kid’s braces or gas for the car means more visits to the Taco-Bell for meals. 

If the demands of some fast food workers are met they will actually suffer more than ever.  Not only will their employers shut down but also they will no longer have meals they can afford.

In the end it will be fast food workers that suffer the most with a boost in the minimum wage.

Is This Tyranny or Reasonable Government Regulation Needed For Public Safety?

Chase Culpepper 

Anderson, SC-- Chase Culpepper is an ordinary 16 year-old and like millions his age it’s time to apply for a driver’s license.

Well it turns out that Chase is not exactly ordinary but a male that apparently identifies as a female.  That may bring discomfort to a lot of people but not Chase or his mother.  He dresses as a girl and looks the part.

The lad completed and submitted the license application and passed both the written and actual driving test.  Now it was time to stand before the camera for that driver’s license photo. 

The motor vehicle clerk could not help but notice Culpepper’s face adorned with cosmetics and his application indicates he is male.  There is apparently a departmental directive that prohibits applicants from wearing a disguise.  Ignorance and the clerk's rather nasty attitude took over and the boy was told to wash his makeup off or not get a driver’s license.

The make up was no disguise like a fake beard, wig or mask.  The makeup did not really alter Culpepper’s appearance.  The other factor was that the lad like many girls did not want to be caught in public without it. 

The boy buckled to the clerk and washed his face but frankly with his blond tresses and female attire he still did not look much like a boy.  The license was issued. 

That’s not the end of this tale because the boy and his mother felt this action by the clerk was both discriminatory and insulting.  They have unsuccessfully demanded a new photo with the makeup. 

The argument here is quite simple.  Culpepper wears makeup all the time and without it he may appear different. He is who he is.

The funny part about this is that women are routinely seen in public with and without makeup and they for the most part are readily recognized as the same person. 

I think it’s fair to say if this were a woman not wearing makeup that same clerk would have thought nothing about taking the photo and issuing the license.

This was not about concern of a disguise but an effort to exercise a bogus authority over the young gender bender.  Pretending this was really out of concern for some kind of identity fraud to fool cops during a traffic stop is laughable.  
I guess we have forgotten that photos never appeared on our driver’s licenses until the late 1970s!  We had the photo technology for many decades before that but did not bother to use it!   

When did we give government the power to tell us how to dress, wear our hair or use makeup?  The answer is we did not! 

This was really about a clerk’s personal disapproval of Culpepper’s lifestyle.  You may not agree with Culpepper or his approving mother but when did we ever allow government to get involved in absolutely every aspect of our lifestyles?     

The motor vehicle clerk involved was unreasonable, petty and abusive.  Culpepper should get a new photograph the way he actually appears every day.  

Young Culpepper has since found a lawyer and filed a lawsuit.  As usual the taxpayers will get punished for the misdeeds of government officials.  

This is not about a lifestyle or morality but simple government tyranny. 

There is a way to end this kind of abuse and that's to strip government workers of the personal immunity that we mistakenly have given them.