Trial of Mark A. Ott re: Robin Malta's murder continued to 9:00 AM on Monday, 11/16/09

[lunanola]

For a variety of reasons (the absence of key persons in the courtroom
this morning, concerns regarding the approach of Tropical Storm Ida
and the upcoming Veterans Day holiday), this trial has been continued
to 9:00 AM on 11/16/09 in Courtroom H at the Orleans Parish Criminal
District Court Building located at 2700 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans,
LA..

Approximately a dozen concerned parties attended court today in
support of the prosecution, including Robin's sister, Monica Malta.
Monica has personally requested that if anyone can attend the trial
for any day during its duration, she would be personally grateful for
a continued strong presence in support of the prosecution in the
courtroom.

Several motions presented by defense counsel in this case were denied
today, including a motion to suppress the DNA evidence relevant to
this case. The denial of this particular is of particular importance
to the prosecution's case and is a welcomed circumstance.

For more information about this particular case, please see this
link: http://bit.ly/2JWpXF

To review the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Docket Master
entry for this case (Case #482028), please see this link: http://bit.ly/2HWgBQ

The location of the trial event will be the Orleans Parish Criminal
District Court Building at 2700 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA.
Attendees should be there at least 15 minutes before the presumed
scheduled time of 9:00 AM.

VERY IMPORTANT: No cellular phones, electronic devices (including
cameras and iPods, mp3 players, etc .), weapons, food or other items
are allowed in the building. The Sheriff's Office will discard these
items and entry will be denied. In the event that you are unable to
leave these items elsewhere while attending the hearing, a volunteer
will likely be in attendance to collect and hold these items outside
the courthouse until after the activity for the day has concluded. If
a volunteer is not in attendance, it is likely that you will be able
to leave these items with another person attending the trial in his or
her vehicle. If you have concerns about this, please reply to this
email and I will coordinate access to an individual with a vehicle
where you can store such items during your attendance in the event
that a volunteer is not available.

For more information about the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court
and its policies, please visit their website at http://www.criminalcourt.org/

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Background information regarding this effort:

Court rooms usually have a contingent of family and friends on the
accused's side of the court. They will attempt to interact with the
jury and court in an attempt to gain positive support for the
accused. There is usually no one sitting on the prosecutor's side of
the courtroom to show support for the victim of the crime. In the
case of a murder, the victim cannot be in court, and in some cases
there might not be any local family members to represent the victim to
the Judge and jury with their presence or to even offer encouragement
to the prosecutor for his/her efforts.

The purpose of this project, which is another aspect in our campaign
against the crime that is plaguing us, is to focus attention on the
court system and the efforts of the DA's office by having a strong
presence in court from the initial bail hearing, through the trial,
conviction and sentencing of the criminals. Our presence will also
serve to attract media attention which in turn will keep these crimes
active in the minds of our citizenry who might otherwise let them
lapse as a distant memory.

Supporting this effort is something that citizens can do with a
minimum investment of time and effort. While a jury trial might take
place over a number of days, bail hearings and preliminary hearings
are usually just a few minutes, seldom over half an hour. Even the
trial can be handled by numerous people who are there only for a half
day. The general purpose served by attending is to provide a show of
support for the victim and for our community.

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