Plaintiffs Amend Expert Witness List

A short, one-page filing hit the DC Superior Court clerk’s office this week, submitted by Plainfiff counsel Brett Reynolds of Covington.

In early March, Covington filed their first iteration of the expert list but new to the amended list of witnesses they expect to call at the October wrongful death trial is an old name – DC’s Deputy medical Examiner, Lois Goslinoski. 

Goslinoski was a key witness for the government during last summer’s conspiracy and obstruction trial.  We learned that her depo for the civil trial took place on May 2.

She testified during the first week of the trial and for the most part held up during a blistering round of cross by the defense team.  Highlights of her testimony and opinions follow, as well as some key dates on the calendar to keep in mind.

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Defense Continues their Depos

Under the header of bringing you last week’s news today, it seems that DC EMT Jeff Baker, was deposed at the offices of Schertler & Onorato last Friday afternoon.

Baker, as readers may recall, was a key witness at the summer conspiracy and obstruction trial and he took the stand on several occasions. 

His testimony, recalling the night of Robert’s murder, and his arrival on the scene – the EMTs Baker and his partner Tracy Weaver) arriving before the MPD, provided moments of horror and occasional levity too.  He appeared mostly steady on the stand under what seemed at times rather hostile and rapid-fire cross.

A review of his time served in Judge Leibovitz’ courtroom and this depo subpoena follows.

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And Some Relief 

You’ve all been there – doing anything you can to avoid a lenghty conference call at the office.  Yesterday, in lieu of a status hearing on the MPD Motions to Quash detectives’ deposition testimony based on law enforcement privilege, a conference call was all that occurred. 

At issue was was the MPD’s hesitancy, argued by the DC AG’s office, to have their detectives open up the Wone murder case files, for fear that it could jeopardize their further efforts and violate the sanctity of the investigative process. 

Judge Michael Rankin, did however rule, and issued an order later in the day to try and settle the dispute.  About fifteen minutes before the 1:45pm scheduled start, the court clerk told observers that the conference call option was a distinct possibility. 

The next clue that there wasn’t going to be a hearing was the surprising lack of attorneys that normally haunt the hallway to courtroom 517, and inside the room itself. 

One however did show up but he wasn’t attached to these particular proceedings.  Assistant US Attorney Glenn Kirschner, lead prosecutor for last summer’s conspiracy and obstruction trial, and for all we know, starting quarterback once again if there is ever a murder trial, did a drop by.

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1509 Swann Street: Back on the Market
Over the past two and a half years, we’ve trawled real estate sites to get pictures of the interior of 1509 Swann Street.  We studied the cutaway scale model of the dwelling that was schlepped in and out of Judge Leibovitz’ courtroom last summer, and have walked by that house so many times that we’ve lost count.

Hours have been spent staring at the facade and peering into the backyard with the foolish hope the house would somehow reveal some of its many secrets.

If the walls could talk, we thought, because the defendants so far have refused to. Sunday saw us inside the home for the first time. An recent on-again, off-again sales history is now back on - and there was an open house that afternoon.

It was everything that anyone would expect in a $1.6M DuPont listing: well decorated, nicely appointed and staged within an inch square foot of its life, and advertised as “FIVE FLRS OF ELEGANT LIVING.”

The open house also had plenty of traffic during the 30 minutes we spent in there, and not all of those people looked like serious buyers.  Some who were in there paced the halls deliberately, almost reverentially, revisiting rooms a second and third time, all under the watchful eyes of two realtors.

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At Least The Date Is…

When Judge Rankin set the date for the next status hearing he noted that “Cinco De Mayo” was available.  Somehow we don’t think that he was intending to celebrate the Spanish holiday that commemorates the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

But, by scheduling a hearing on 5-5, we are wishful, though doubtful, that he was signaling he would rule on the 5th Amendment issues that have become the monkey’s wrench in preventing the plaintiff from seeking additional information about what happened during those 79 minutes at 1509 Swann Street on August 2nd, 2006.

Kathy Wone’s counsel, Ben Razi, made it perfectly clear at the last status hearing that the primary information missing from this case is not the evidence from the police.  The missing information, the plaintiff contends, is the answers to the plaintiffs’ 500 questions on a wide-range of issues from the mundane such as when did the defendants first meet Robert, to the revelatory such as their “violent sexual practices.”  The defendants are not answering any of these questions by asserting a blanket 5th amendment privilege.

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Tuesday’s Motions Hearing

It was hard to get a grasp on Judge Michael Rankin’s style today.  He started the hearing fifteen minutes late and played the Absent Minded Professor Jurist (AMJ) with us.  After taking his seat on the bench he admitted to forgetting the password to the computer on his desk.  “You must remember it,” he said to what seemed like no one in particular in 517.  ‘Try ‘password,’ lead plaintiff attorney Ben Razi replied. The stage was set for what turned out to be a brief yet sometimes amusing session.

At the December status, the room was fat with counsel, today, there were several no-shows, in particular Robert Spagnoletti, counsel for defendant Dylan Ward, and plaintiff co-counsel (and gunslinger) Patrick Regan.  Later in the session however, another attorney would be channeling his “energy.”

“Standing in” for the Spag was a familiar face from those hazy, crazy but hardly lazy days of summer, Schertler & Onorato’s Veronica Jennings, a regular fixture in Judge Leibovitz’s courtroom during the criminal trial.

Also MIA was any counsel for Defendant Victor Zaborsky, neither Hunt Valley, Maryland, attorneys Frank Daily or Sean Edwards were in the house.  Noting their absence, Rankin said, “Someone had no interest… and didn’t drive in from Baltimore…”  

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In and Out

Boy, were we ever wrong about what was on tap for today’s status hearing.

Sooner or later, probably later, Judge Michael Rankin may get around to hearing arguments and ruling on the stack of 5th Amendment motions that are piling up on his desk, but today he had one item only on his plate, the MPD Motions to Quash police detectives’ testimony, and the defense’s opposition.

We were in and out in 30 minutes and left courtroom 517 without a very clear picture of Rankin’s style.  At first blush, we thought him to be a cross between Weisbgerg and Leibovitz.  Nah, maybe not the best description.

In any event, a full post on the short hearing comes up tomorrow morning.

Hint: The password is…