TRIAL DELAY
It appears that the one-week delay in the trial of Frank Raia on an alleged 2013 voter-bribery-scheme was due to a pre-trial motion filed by Raia.
As you read here, on May 22, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito requested that trial Judge William Martini allow in documents and witness testimony from Hoboken's 2011 and 2012 elections.
Raia's defense vehemently opposed. Raia's May 31 motion (below in full) argues that introducing 2011 and 2012 trial evidence would be "highly prejudicial."
On June 5, Judge Martini issued an Order scheduling a hearing on June 10th: oral argument on the motion of 2011 and 2012 trial evidence ("the issue of 404b material"). Jury instructions, joint statement of the case and special voir dire questions were to be submitted on June 7.
So, there you go. The Motion hearing was on Monday. Unfortunately, no decision yet. GA will let you know when it comes in. If the court does allow witnesses and documents from Hoboken's 2011 and 2012 elections, the predicted "shit show" of a trial could get a lot more interesting.
So, there you go. The Motion hearing was on Monday. Unfortunately, no decision yet. GA will let you know when it comes in. If the court does allow witnesses and documents from Hoboken's 2011 and 2012 elections, the predicted "shit show" of a trial could get a lot more interesting.
RAIA MOTION OPPOSING GOVERNMENT'S INTRODUCTION OF
2011 AND 2012 TRIAL EVIDENCE (DOCS, TESTIMONY)
2011 AND 2012 TRIAL EVIDENCE (DOCS, TESTIMONY)
USA v Raia Pre-trial Motion : May 31, 2019 by GrafixAvenger on Scribd
GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSED JURY INSTRUCTIONS
DEBUNKING KING STUPID'S FAKE NEWS
One local web-tabloid that sprays fake news like a cat in heat, has made all kind of aspersions about the Defendants' attorneys--who is paying the bill, etc.
Allow me to debunk King Stupid of FakeNewslandia and his (one) reader with the facts.
Defendants Lizaida Camis, Dio Braxton and at least one cooperating witness are using CJA Panel attorneys. What is that?
"The Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel is a group of qualified and court-approved attorneys who are eligible for appointment by the Court to represent individuals in criminal cases who are unable for financial reasons to retain counsel. The appointments are made by the Court on a rotating basis among members of the panel."
Now, that information was easy to obtain. Here's a list of 2019's CJA Panel for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. It's s all just one click away! That's too far for the lazy King Stupid!
Raia's motion papers give us a pretty clear look at what his defense will be.
ReplyDeleteHe's a philanthropist and overall do gooder who ran for office to give even more back to the City he loves. Hiring workers to spread the good word and get out the vote is a common and perfectly legal campaign practice and that's what, as far as he knows, is what his campaign did. Running payments through Yacco's firm was just a convenience. If Callicio, Braxton and Camis were doing something improper, he knew nothing about it. If they say he knew they just told the feds what they wanted to hear to get a deal.
It could easily work.
Proving Pupie's knowledge and intent is the key to the case, and Callicio, Camis and Braxton will not be particularly credible witnesses. Let's hope both for justice and entertainment's sake the feds have more.
It will be interesting to see what the judge decides. Hopefully, the feds have alot more than we know about 2013, and this stuff will just be gravy, since Raia's lawyers make a pretty good argument for exclusion.