1. Defense Begins in Trial of Landlord Accused of Murder
   
2. State Bar Unit Backs Videotaping Of Police Custodial Interrogations
   
3. Jayson Williams manslaughter trial
   
4. Jayson Williams trial
5. Attorney David Schwartz comments on Anna Nicole's settlement in OK! Magazine
6. Retired cop's murder trial will remain on Staten Island, judge rules

Defense Begins in Trial of Landlord Accused of Murder

By Joshua Kors

Brooklyn , NY — Lawyers for a landlord accused of setting his own building on fire in July of 2000, killing a young girl who was sleeping inside, began their defense yesterday, cross-examining a doctor who added credence to a key defense claim.

Antonio Casanova, 49, is charged with dousing the top floor of his Bedford-Stuyvesant brownstone with a flammable liquid and sparking a fire that ripped through the five-story walk-up on July 22, 2000 . The fire killed Ashley Sims, 13, and severely injured 17 others.

Casanova is charged with second-degree murder in Sims' death, as well as reckless endangerment and several counts of first- and second-degree arson. The Dominican immigrant claims he had nothing to do with the blaze. If convicted of Sims' murder, he faces 25 years to life in prison.

Attorney David M. Schwartz began the defense's case by trying to counter a damaging prosecution witness who saw burns on Casanova just one day after the fire. The defense contends that Casanova was burned several days after the fire, in an unrelated car accident in his native Dominican Republic.

To bolster this claim, Schwartz called a Dominican surgeon with intimate knowledge of his hospital's patient records. Through an interpreter, Dr. Pablo Frias testified that the records show Casanova being treated for burns three times in July of 2000, beginning July 20, two days before the fire.

During cross-examination, District Attorney Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi asked Frias to consider whether the entries for Casanova looked “smushed in.” The prosecution asserts the entries are actually forgeries penned after the fire by Casanova. The landlord worked as a medical intern at Frias' hospital at the time of the blaze.

Yesterday was the second time that Frias and Nicolazzi had had this exchange. The doctor testified in Casanova's first murder trial, which concluded in February with a six-to-six hung jury. During their previous exchange, the doctor admitted that the records book is often left unattended, on top of an administrative desk, where Casanova could have had access to it. Yesterday, when Frias insisted the records are always returned to a desk drawer, Nicolazzi read him his old testimony, pointing out the contradiction.

Frias became visibly frustrated. “A desk has drawers!” he blurted. The exclamation drew surprised laughter from one jury member. The defendant remained expressionless.

“I think he has no remorse,” said Carolyn Lee, aunt of the deceased Sims. “You have to understand, I'm angry. And they're cold-hearted people — him and his whole family.”

Lee and a clutch of relatives stayed through all of yesterday's proceedings, as they have every day through both of Casanova's trials. On the aunt's right sat Sims' mother, who watched the day's motions with a leaden sadness while clutching a locket engraved with her daughter's image.

At the time of her death, Sims was attending a slumber party thrown by her best friend, Kendra Carter, 15. According to the Daily News, Carter brought jurors to tears earlier this month when she testified how she dragged both Ashley and her dog out onto the window ledge to escape the flame-filled apartment.

“I had my dog under my arm and I had Ashley,” Carter testified. “I had her by the hand and I was telling her to go underneath the window. That's when she fell to the floor.”

“She didn't get up,” Carter said.

Casanova's building had no fire escapes and no functioning sprinkler system, safety violations for which he had been cited several times. Each time Casanova failed to make the appropriate corrections.

“As the owner of the building, he knew the sprinkler system didn't work, that the valve in the basement was turned off,” said District Attorney Kyle Reeves, who is trying Casanova for the second time. “There were no fire escapes, and the building was fully occupied. Someone as intelligent as Mr. Casanova should have seen the consequences of his actions.”

Firefighters arrived as residents were jumping from windows and hanging from ledges. Their efforts brought many of the brownstone's children to safety. But Sims had suffered terminal smoke inhalation and was burned on 90 percent of her body.

Defense counselor Schwartz said he would make one more attempt to find Casanova's elusive father and introduce him as the defense's second and last witness. If the father remains out of contact, Schwartz said, the defense will rest today after a single day of testimony.

The prosecution has been presenting its case since Sept. 6.

http://www.joshuakors.com/murdertrial-pf.htm

State Bar Unit Backs Videotaping Of Police Custodial Interrogations

John Caher
New York Law Journal
06-22-2004


ALBANY — Despite staunch opposition from New York's district attorneys, the policy-making body of the State Bar Association has called for routine videotaping of many custodial police interrogations.

The measure, spearheaded by the New York County Lawyers' Association and joined by the State Bar's Criminal Justice Section, calls on all three branches of government to embrace a practice that has been growing nationwide.

Proponents say taping interrogations will result in fewer instances of false confessions, and ultimately fewer false allegations of police abuse or misconduct. Critics, including the New York State Association of District Attorneys, are skeptical.

Also over the weekend, the State Bar's Executive Committee for the first time approved legislation that would bring New York in line with every other state and allow no-fault divorces. The measure was passed at the urging of the Family Law Section and its chairman, Brian Barney of Rochester.

Several states now require, either through legislative action or court order, taping custodial interrogations in some fashion. The proposal advanced by the State Bar at Saturday's meeting in Cooperstown would generally require videotaping in more serious criminal matters. It comes on the heels of a similar measure approved earlier this year by the American Bar Association.

Prosecutors fear routine taping would lead to fewer confessions and result in more guilty people going free. However, national surveys suggest that prosecutors and police, once they get used to a new system, overwhelmingly support the practice.

Brooklyn criminal defense lawyer David Schwartz, a former prosecutor, said videotaping interrogations can only improve the criminal justice system. Mr. Schwartz, who served as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn for much of the 1990s, said his office frequently taped interrogations.

"When I was in the DA's office in Brooklyn, on any cases we 'rode' — those where we went out in the middle of the night on high-profile cases like homicides and rapes — if the defendant was willing we would videotape the statement," he said. "We felt as a prosecutorial agency that our case was enhanced by videotaping the defendants."

Mr. Schwartz said the existence of a tape works to the advantage of both the prosecution and defense. He acknowledged routine taping could lead to fewer confessions that result from illegal or questionable interrogations, but suggests that that would benefit the "integrity of the system" not undermine it.

"I think it is a win-win all around," Mr. Schwartz said.

Oneida County District Attorney Michael A. Arcuri, president of the District Attorneys Association, said there is no valid proof videotaping allegations protects wrongfully accused suspects. He said the organization would oppose any mandate that interrogations be recorded.

Proposals similar to the one passed by the State Bar on Saturday are pending before legislative bodies in New York City, Oregon, Connecticut, Missouri and Maryland. Illinois and the District of Columbia recently enacted such legislation. Taping is required by judicial opinion in Minnesota and Alaska.

No-Fault Divorce

On Friday, the Executive Committee agreed to submit a no-fault divorce bill to the Legislature. The bill would add grounds for divorce in New York, including irretrievable breakdown of the relationship.

"The idea that one would hold people together who are miserable, I don't know if that's healthy," said Mr. Barney, the chairman of the State Bar's Family Law Section.

Mr. Barney, of Barney & Affronti in Rochester, said New York is the only state that does not recognize, at least in some manner, the concept of a no-fault divorce. He said Friday's action marks the first time the Executive Committee has actually agreed to send a bill to the Capitol. In 1997, it supported the concept of no-fault divorce, but took no further concrete action on a measure opposed by some women's groups and the Roman Catholic lobby.

Also at the weekend meeting:

• The State Bar offered several recommendations regarding new rules on fiduciary committees, especially those implicating Mental Hygiene Article 81. It would re-allocate court resources to cut down on the time delay between the death of an incapacitated individual and approval of the final accounting; provide for additional training for Article 81 judges; and accommodate lawyers serving pro bono by easing some of the filing requirements.

• The Executive Committee unanimously urged the Appellate Division, First Department, to reinstate letters of caution in attorney disciplinary matters. The three other departments continue to permit cautionary letters as a disciplinary tool and the Executive Committee is asking the First Department to resume that form of discipline.

— John Caher can be reached at jcaher@amlaw.com.
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By KRISTA LARSON
Associated Press Writer

April 29, 2004, 6:31 PM EDT

TRENTON, N.J. -- Jurors deliberating in the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial tried to reach final agreement Thursday on two of the eight counts against the former NBA star, leaving lawyers and legal experts guessing about which issues are still unresolved.

The judge sent the jurors back to continue their work after he was informed that they had come to a consensus on six of the counts.

"What the jury is saying is 'We've done our job; we want to go home,"' said John J. Fahy, a former Bergen County prosecutor who now does defense work. Still, it's unlikely that the judge would let them declare they were deadlocked at least until next week, Fahy said.

The judge could eventually allow a partial verdict, said Alan L. Zegas, a defense attorney from Chatham.

"At this stage of the process, it would be extremely unusual for a court to take a partial verdict," Zegas said.

And without knowing which charges remain undecided it's difficult to predict how prosecutors might respond, defense attorney David M. Schwartz said.

Williams, 36, faces eight charges. The most serious charge is aggravated manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

Collectively, the charges carry up to 55 years in prison, but the actual term would be less than the maximum for the most serious charge. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but likely would result in probation.

"My theory is that if he is convicted of the aggravated manslaughter, clearly any other count in the charge that the jury is deadlocked on will automatically be dismissed," Schwartz said. "They'd have the option to retry him, but why would they? They've already gotten him on the top count."

Schwartz said that if the counts that remain undecided include manslaughter the outcome would likely be quite different.

"To me it's a very aggressive prosecution," he said. "It seems they will retry him."

But legal experts agreed that it was to be expected that jurors would want to hear testimony reread following a three-month trial.

At one point the defense was allowed to reopen its case after a three-week delay caused by the prosecution's failure to give some evidence to defense attorneys before the trial started. The defense had rested just before the additional evidence came to light.

"It is very rare in a case of this length and of this complexity where a jury would not ask to have some testimony read back," Zegas said. "It would be the exception, not the norm. This trial took over three months to present to the jury and a lot of time has passed since some witnesses testified."

The testimony that jurors have asked to hear a second time does offer some clues into their thinking, said Fahy, who suspects they're deliberating over the aggravated manslaughter and unlawful possession of a weapon charges.

"The defense would love if they wanted readbacks on the firearms aspects," Fahy said. "The fact they're focusing on the eyewitnesses means they're focusing on Jayson's intent and whether there was extreme indifference to the value of human life."

But just how long they might take to resolve the case will depend largely on the issues being discussed. If they're deliberating over manslaughter, Schwartz said it could be awhile before a verdict is rendered.

"The difference between negligence and recklessness in this type of case could be some abstract testimony from some abstract witness somewhere," he said. "It could be anything _ anything could tip the scale when it's that close of a call. They could be out for days on those two counts."

Still, Zegas said it's hard to predict what the jurors are thinking and talking about _ and only they know for sure at this point.

"Everything is speculation and one thing I've learned as an attorney in dealing with deliberating juries is not to engage in speculation because more often than not, the speculation turns out to be wrong," Zegas said.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
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Jayson Williams trial

SOMERVILLE , NJ -April 4, 2004 — Just as the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial was chugging toward deliberations after eight contentious weeks of testimony, it got derailed.

With preparations for closing arguments under way, the prosecution said it discovered photos and notes from its weapons expert that it should have sent to the defense months ago.

Defense lawyers for the retired NBA star learned of this Wednesday night – hours after resting their case – and on Thursday charged that the late disclosure hurt Williams' chances of getting a fair trial.

Instead of hearing from prosecution rebuttal witnesses, the jury was sent home and state Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman heard arguments and testimony about the evidence.

First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember denied any misconduct. He asserted the mistake was inadvertent, and said any handicap to Williams could be cured by allowing the defense to reopen its case to question witnesses about the belated information.

As he adjourned for the weekend, the judge instructed the prosecution and its weapons expert to search their files for anything else to which the defense is entitled.

On Monday, the defense is to announce its desired remedies, which Williams' lawyers said could include an immediate acquittal. The jury is not to return until Tuesday at the earliest.

The defense maintains it was harmed because it did not learn until Wednesday night that the prosecution weapons expert had partially disassembled Williams' shotgun months before a defense expert completely took apart and test-fired the weapon.

The shotgun is a pillar of the defense case, which maintains that the weapon misfired when Williams snapped it shut while showing friends his mansion early Feb. 14, 2002, killing a hired driver.

Observers are divided on whether the judge should intervene, but agreed that late disclosure of evidence is common.

"I have seen it happen many times. Too many times," said a prominent defense lawyer, Alan L. Zegas of Chatham.

Whether or not the Williams prosecution intentionally withheld the evidence, Zegas said the judge should take action because late production "could well have tainted the right of Jayson Williams to a fair trial."

If inadvertent, the judge could allow defense lawyers to reopen their case so they could get fresh testimony from their weapons experts, Zegas said.

Another observer, defense attorney David M. Schwartz, predicted the judge will find the error did not harm the defense because it would not have affected its strategy or questions.

Rather, the defense is creating a record so it can raise the issue on appeal if Williams is convicted, said Schwartz, who has also been a prosecutor, spending four years as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The dispute involves notes and 25 photographs taken when the prosecution expert, Browning Arms Co. vice president Larry Nelson, examined Williams' 1993 Browning Citori 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun on Feb. 5, 2003. Williams' trial was expected to start soon after, but actually began more than a year later.

Nelson's report had been submitted to the defense in August, but did not explicitly mention he had removed the barrels and wooden stock to view the internal workings, the defense argued.

In addition to being vice president, Nelson is chief engineer and director of legal affairs for Browning, of Mountain Green, Utah.

Williams, 36, is charged with recklessly handling the gun and killing chauffeur Costas "Gus" Christofi, 55. The shooting happened in Williams' bedroom at his Alexandria Township estate.

He faces eight charges, the most serious of which is aggravated manslaughter. Collectively, they carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but would likely result in probation.

Williams had gone with some friends to see a Harlem Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa. Christofi had driven four Globetrotters from the game to a restaurant near the Williams estate for dinner with Williams and most of the group. They then went to the mansion in Alexandria Township.

Williams retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg suffered a year earlier in a collision with a teammate. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Last Updated: Apr 4, 2004
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