Meeting before presentation?
Tom Pratt
Alberto Gutierrez
Alberto J. Gutiérrez
Mike
Madaleine Shields
Madaleine Shields
Jason
Alberto Gutierrez
Thanks
Alberto J. Gutiérrez
Tom Pratt
Madaleine Shields
Jason Halpern
Yeah, I think that would be a good way to do things. I'm coming as early as I can...so expect me at 6:00 to 7:00. Can we meet at the lunch tables outside?
Jason Halpern
BTW, Defense: Please check out Angel. I have posted a ton of information.
Alberto Gutierrez
Alberto J. Gutiérrez
Tom Pratt
Alberto Gutierrez
Alberto J. Gutiérrez
Alberto Gutierrez
Alberto J. Gutiérrez
Frank Teoh
frank
I am going to do:
1) Write up my witness testimony speech for Tavan Belo Reaper and send
to defense team for review & feedback. Will upload to Angel
2) I can help to review/feedback if you need
For the Thursday night presentation, I will be dialing in using
Skype. Does anyone has skype installed on his/her laptop that I can
use to video conference?
My skype id is frankteoh1
-Frank T
Mike
Alberto Gutierrez
- Noteworthy Points For the Defense
As part of the interviewing process to become an RA, Sam had to meet with the Dean and a panel of professors. They asked him various questions regarding his tolerance of other cultures and appreciation for diversity. The Dean being included in this panel, it can be suggested that the Dean also holds tolerance and appreciation for diversity in high regard.
When Sam goes to visit the Dean on October 8th to inform him of his TB diagnosis, they initially have a friendly exchange. There was no conflict between them prior to Sam informing the Dean of his TB diagnosis.
Sam admits in his testimony that he “had already begun transforming his life to conform to the Rasta movement even before he had TB”. This is an important point because it can be inferred that there was a point in time when Sam was a Rastafarian and him and the Dean were on good terms.
The state has not paid Sam’s medical bills because the Dean called the State Department of Health to report that he was not taking his prescribed medicines. Given that Copper State University falls within the jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents, and is a government agency (a political subdivision of the State of Arizona), we could argue that the Dean has an ethical obligation to inform them of Sam’s compliance with his court order. If CSU is a government agency, then the Dean is employed under the government. The State Department of Health is a government agency, so there is a plausible reason for why he would have called them.
Marion Leverage stated in her testimony that she does not consider Rastafarianism a religion. She considers Rastafarianism to be a political and social movement.
Marion Leverage’s testimony reveals that she alone recruited all the members of the CSU Rastafarian Group. The Dean testified that (to the best of his knowledge) there were no Rastafarians at CSU before Marion Leverage organized the group.
During the meeting in which Marion Leverage spoke to the President of the Arizona Board of Regents, she informed him that she was interested in acting as Dean of CSU if the Board deemed it necessary to terminate the current Dean’s employment. Marion could be suspected of trying to discredit the Dean in order to take his position at CSU.
Marion Leverage, in her testimony, admits that Sam had taken off his mask while in attendance at a CSU Rastafarian Group Meeting at her home on November 7th. She says that Sam “may” have taken off the mask briefly to eat pizza, but does not have a truly conclusive explanation as to why he was not wearing the mask. Sam’s court order states he is required to wear a mask at all times when not at his private residence, and thus violated that court order in this instance.
Marion Leverage believes that Sam is not very committed to the Rastafarian movement. This is an important point for the Defense, given that the prosecution’s entire case rests on the notion that the plaintiff is some type of avid follower of the religion. This can be used during cross-examination to help secure doubt among the jurors.
Additionally, Marion Leverage states that Sam once came to a CSU Rastafarian Group Meeting drunk and carrying a bag full of Mexican take-out. This is a huge discrepancy in the plaintiff’s case. Sam Holiday attests to following an I-Tal diet (excluding his medications), however, alcohol is not permitted as part of that diet, and neither is fast-food.
Marion Leverage has filed a suit against CSU for wrongful termination. She was fired by the Dean, and carries a vendetta against him. In fact, her testimony says “…she is going to pay for what she did to me. Just you wait and see”. The defense could reference this suit and her termination issued by the Dean to assassinate her character during cross-examination.
Sydney Mendenhall, the prosecution’s expert witness, is being paid to testify for Sam and endeavors to begin a career as an expert witness. This would be an important fact to cite during cross-examination to challenge his credibility.
The Dean states in his testimony that Marion Leverage formed several student organizations on campus which proved to be disruptive to the College, including a PETA group and a NCIC (“No Class in the Classroom”) group. The CSU NCIC group lobbies for the college to hold all classed outdoors, as it is a “better learning environment”. Additionally, the CSU PETA group has picketed the dining hall on a regular basis. From these examples, and Marion’s own testimony, it is obvious she holds some extreme, far-left ideologies. However, depending on the already existing bias of the jury, the defense may be able to use this against her. Marion’s job as VP of Student Life at CSU demanded that she control and monitor student groups, but she acted as a demagogue instead.
The Dean, in her testimony, states that Katy Hummel caught TB from Sam. While there is no evidence to substantiate this claim, there is also no evidence available to the prosecution that says she didn’t.
The Dean received information, anonymously, from students residing within the Copper Canyon dorm. Her reason for doing this was to prevent the spread of TB to other students in the dorm by monitoring Sam’s compliance to his court ordered treatment plan. Many of the students which responded to the Dean’s requests for information claimed that Sam left his residence on numerous occasions without wearing a mask and had stopped taking his TB medication.
Katy Hummel was suffering from TB during the same period of time that Sam was, but the Dean did not receive any information stating that Katy was not acting responsibly to prevent infecting others. Any claim made by the prosecution that Katy was the subject of favoritism from the Dean is not substantiated due to this fact.
Tyler Blunt, in his testimony, explains his motivations for helping the Dean by informing on Sam. The Dean provided Tyler with a dorm room when Tyler was experiencing financial difficulties upon enrolling at CSU. By proxy alone, given that Tyler’s dorm room is across the hall from Sam’s room, he is the most reasonable candidate to be asked to perform this duty.
In his testimony, Tyler Blunt says that Sam invited him to drink with him when he was escorting Tyler to his dorm room for the first time. This is another important point for the defense because it questions Sam’s character even further; specifically, his commitment to the Rastafarian lifestyle. Rastafarians are generally not supposed to consume alcohol.
Tyler Blunt observed Sam in the bathroom entering a stall with a plastic bag containing pills which he could not identify. Tyler heard Sam flush the toilet, then witnessed Sam emerging from the stall with an empty plastic bag. It is extremely likely that Sam flushed his TB medication down the toilet, thus violating his court order to follow the required medication regimen. While there is no definitive proof that the plastic bag which Sam was holding actually did contain his TB medication, this is still a major point in the Defense’s favor. The fact that there is no evidence of wrongdoing does not even really matter, given that the seed of doubt has already been planted in the Jury’s minds.
In his testimony, Tyler Blunt notes that during a conversation with the Dean that the Dean expressed appreciation for CSU’s diverse faculty and student body. This can be used as a point towards the Dean’s credibility as a witness and to help refute claims that he is biased.
According to Tyler Blunt’s testimony, on October 27th Sam asked him to attend a Halloween party in the dorms. Sam was not wearing a mask when Tyler answered a door. Sam insisted that Tyler attend, despite his disinterest in doing so, and followed him to the party. Tyler suspected that Sam and many of the students at the party had been drinking. In response to this sight, Tyler sent a text message to the Dean informing him that Sam was not following his court order (Exhibit 2). This, yet again, is another instance in which Sam did not conform with the I-Tal diet or his court order and thus a point in the Defense’s favor.
In his testimony, Dr. Reaper explains that TB can be spread through the air when an individual afflicted with TB coughs, sneezes, or even coughs. The bacteria which is then emitted can stay in the air for several hours (depending on the environment) and only a small amount of bacteria must be inhaled to infect an individual. Throughout the world, one person is infected with TB every second. This information illustrates how infectious TB is, and ultimately, bolsters the Defense’s case against Sam’s cavalier attitude and behavior towards following his required court order.
Dr. Reaper explains in his testimony that individuals with latent TB infection may develop the active TB disease in the future if they do not abide by their prescribed treatment plan. If Sam did not take his prescribed medication, then he would develop active TB disease, thus endangering other students. This is a point which the Defense needs to make during direct examination to validate our claim that Sam was a potential threat to other students.
In his testimony, Dr. Reaper states that alternative, natural treatments for TB have not been clinically proven to be effective. In fact, he says “Patients who forego traditional medical treatment in favor of these alternative natural treatments put themselves and others at great risk”. This is an absolutely crucial point to raise during the trial. Sam, since December 20th, has been treating his TB through alternative means and is no longer taking prescribed medication. Furthermore, the Plaintiff admitted to investigating alternative treatments earlier than that, which would have put other students in danger.
Dr. Reaper, in his testimony, explains that it is unknown whether Sam has developed active TB disease due to the fact that he refuses to submit to a smear test. Sam, until this point in time, has only taken a PPD test which identifies that he has been infected with TB, but does not specify if the infection is active or latent.
In his testimony, Dr. Reaper states, “Holliday’s failure to comply with the plan is selfish and reckless, and I wholeheartedly support Dean Unamon’s swift and decisive suspension of Holliday.” Given that we are allowed to ask expert witnesses for their opinions, the Defense should include this statement in Dr. Reaper’s direct examination.
Exhibit 5 – The letter which Sam sent to the Dean after being suspended which outlines the Rastafarian way of life – explains the I-Tal diet in detail. It is important for the Defense to reference this information during the trial to illustrate that the Plaintiff was not living in compliance with the Rastafarian way of life. This is an important piece of information we must use to discredit Sam.
Exhibit 6 is probably the most important piece of evidence in the Defense’s favor of all materials supplied to us. The letter which the Dean sent to Sam informing him of his suspension reads: “Your suspension will remain in effect until you resume compliance with all the terms of the Plan and the Court’s Order, and you satisfy me that you will remain in compliance with the Plan and the Court’s Order”. It is imperative that the Defense draw attention to this statement, given that it shows that the Dean has already provided an opportunity for the Plaintiff to resume his studies provided he follow his prescribed treatment plan.
Alberto J. Gutiérrez