Re: Scooter Libby Trial
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Jesus, how much clearer can this be? According to the very first blog post you linked to, it was made clear to the defense at the beginning of the trial that certain lines of argument (ie "Libby was exhausted when this was going on") were only admissible contingent upon Libby taking the stand himself.
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<Sigh> How much clearer can I be?
The subject is whether a judge has the authority to allow evidence ONLY if a defendent to forgoes his right NOT to testify. The Bill-of-Rights carries a lot of weight and the judge tried to make an end run around Libby's constitutional rights.
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If there is a legal problem with this the defense team didn't raise it at the time, nor since then.
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Oh?...this is more than I know.
If you have a link to the court transcripts then I would love to read whether the defense attourneys said nothing. Most defense attorneys I know aren't afraid to raise objections to protect their clients. When objections are raised, between the prosecuter and the defense lawyers the judge makes a ruling. Is it your contention that the judge made a ruling that evidence could be admitted ONLY if Libby agreed to testify when no objection was even raised?????? The judge ruled that Libby's right NOT to testify should be invalidated if the defense presented other evidence. The judge sided with the prosecution on this issue. No where in the Bill of Rights does it place restrictions on a defendents right NOT to testify. The judge knew this and he had to back down when Libby chose not to testify...
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