Scotter Libby Trial

[Felix_Nietzsche]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...600405_pf.html
The judge dismissed a juror in the Libby trial so now 11 people will decide the fate of Scooter Libby.

Mark Levin, a conservative lawyer, had some interesting thoughts on the dismissed jury and the reactions of the defense and the DA.
What make this event fascinating is NORMALLY when a juror gets dismissed, the defense moves to replace that juror. The thinking is that it only take one hold-out juror to have a mistrial. So better to have 12 than 11 in a close vote. But in this case the opposite happened. Fitzfong wanted that juror replaced but the defense said no, let the 11 decided his fate. The judge sided with the defense. Is Fitzfong running scared of an acquital? If he can't get a conviction by a Washinton DC jury of a Republican politcal aide then he must have had a flimsy case.

Also, did anyone hear about the judge complaining that Libby's lawyers tricked him.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/cat...mbalibbytrial/
Evidently this judge made a bizarre ruling that the defense could ONLY present certain evidence if the defense would agree to make Libby take the stand. The defense said ok, then presented the evidence, and then said sorry judge Libby changed his mind. The judge ruled that the defense could not refer to that evidence in their closing remarks. This seems VERY-VERY-BIZARRE. One of the cornerstones of the American legal system is the state must prove their case and the defendent can NOT be forced to testify. For a judge to place this conditions on the evidence that the defense could present seems EXTREMELY bizzarre.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/0...l_n_41254.html

I think the best Libby can hope for is a hung jury and my reasons are:
1. Washington DC is a HEAVILY democratic city and the jury pool was heavily tainted with people who don't like Bush/Cheney.
2. The judge is probably a democrat. Why? 90% of blacks typically vote democrat and this is a Washinton DC judge. So the odds of him being a coonservative black are about 10,000:1
3. The judge's bizzare rulings of trying to coerce the defense to make Libby testify raise a lot of questions of his impatiality Not allowing the defense to reference previosuly presented evidence in their closing remarks is HIGHLY irregular.