Thank goodness there is a clear headed, common sense, experienced Judge overseeing this case.
The defense has 4 peremptory challenges left and the state has 10. There were 12 jurors chosen as of 3 days ago and one has asked to be excused. This leaves one regular juror and six alternates that need to be chosen. This process has taken excruciatingly-and ridiculously long enough; this defense has filed more fluff pre-trial "motions" - most of them transparent attempts to slow down the process, than any trial in Connecticut's history. Thankfully, all of the Judges involved, (some of the motions involved Judge Fasano as Judge Blue, Fasano presided over certain aspects of the pre-trial after Judge Damiani retired) have used sound legal and judicious arguments within their decisions to grant or deny these mostly ludicrous motions.
And once again, the Komisarjevsky defense team, this time with Banyon playing the lead- part of outraged moralist, tried ever so predictably to use the Senators remark, which was obviously made out of outraged grief and anger re the targeting rape and murder and photo taking of the Petit children which joshua komisarjevsky told the whole world about via a writer he'd written toipulate the entire system in an effort to delay their client's ultimate day in court.
They actually had the audacity to speak of "unprofessionalism" after the stunt that their lead attorney, Jeremiah Donovan pulled on the steps of the Hayes trial. The impromptu press conference whereby he tried to explain away forensic evidence that had just been discussed that very day proving that eleven year old Michaela Petit had been sodomized before she was set on fire tied to her bed.
That despicable, and illegal mini press conference earned Donovan, a summons to a hearing before Judge Fasano ,where he could have and indeed should have been found guilty of contempt of court for breaking a restraining order and a Gag order.
The Petit Hawke families had already asked for a restraining order due to prior attempts made by the Komisarjevsky defense team to contact them in a similar disingenuous fashion, trying for a plea bargain via a restorative justice firm hired by the Public Defenders office. Predictably as soon as the Petit's responded angrily through their attorney, Komisarjevsky's lawyers showed their true colors and began an immediate attack campaign on the same man whom they'd just tried to unsuccessfully seduce into restorative justice compliance.
It's men like this that give a bad name to lawyers but It is particularly offensive when they start throwing stones regarding proffesionalism
ethics and morality, no matter how they try to dress it up, hypocrisy is all that's left.
