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US govt offers its notebook for court inspection
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Posted on May 19 2009
The U.S. government has offered to the federal court for inspection its notebook used by the prosecution during the jury selection in the trial of former Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez and co-defendants James A. Santos and Joaquina V. Santos.
In the U.S. government’s motion for “in camera” inspection, assistant U.S. attorney Eric O’Malley said the notebook would be submitted in response to arguments and allegations that were levied against the U.S. government.
A legal proceeding is “in camera” when a hearing is held before the judge in his or her private chambers or when the public is excluded from the courtroom.
Villagomez and the Santos couple have claimed that the U.S. government engaged in an organized and intentional effort to seed the jury with relatives of witnesses.
“There was no such effort. The notebook would be provided so the court may decide for itself whether there is any truth to the defendants’ allegations,” O’Malley said.
The prosecutor explained that the notebook is a compilation of the information received by the U.S. government’s jury consultants; it has not been changed or altered since being used at trial.
He said the U.S. government wishes to submit the notebook to put to rest “a line of argument that might otherwise waste the time and resources” of both the court and the defendants.
Last April 24, the federal jury returned guilty verdict against Villagomez and the Santos couple.
On May 1, the defendants filed several motions, including motions for a judgment of acquittal or new trial based on allegations that the defense had learned after the verdict that some of the witnesses were related to some of the jurors.
