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[Daily inside reports of the Arndt trial. Furnished courtesy "Reporter", Justice Watch Forum]
"Arndt Day 4" Sorry to be so late tonight. It was a fun day. I have escaped the household of Daughter-with-three small-children and am now using another friend's computer with one of those split keyboards.
Here goes: In questioning Larry Mason (LA's immediate supervisor)somehow the fact that it was actually the Ramsey Team That were resposible for the leaks to the media attributed to Mason was overlooked. In fact Steve Thomas was named as the one who was passing reports on to Cmdr. Eller. Larry Mason's wife ws a witness to the extent of the gag order. LA attorneys seem to struggle and the attorney for the BPD is dogged about objecting. I am wondering if the jury might find the countless objections to be a negative. It slows things up and makes it look like he doesn't want evidence in. "Lack of foundation" over and over. The BPD attorney, Ted Halaby, is a balding man, nice suit, about 60 and is very effective in his questions. His cross examination is longer than the direct sometimes. Roger Arndt, brothere of Linda, testified to the effects of the many articles and volumes of written matter and talk shows. Halaby kept refering to LA's attoneys' newspapers articles as"well, it looks like they just got this from the internet." Like that was somehow tainted. Hard fighting to get those into discussion. Judge won't let articles into evidence. Peter Boyles is the big bad boy, by all accounts it seems. The jury is attentive and takes notes. One Hispanic woman, one Black woman,4 other women, two men. One lady, a former county commissioner and wife of a federal judge is shall we say, over 50. All others are in their 40's, approx the age of Linda. Linda has maybe a half=dozen people sort of 'on her side' and she talks to them during breaks. The other side, on the other hand have many people there for them. Boulder staffers, just lots of people. Carol Mckinley and Paula Woddward made an appearance and I introduced myself to both. Frank Coffman was there again and I spoke with him. I do not follow all the personality blow ups on these forums, so someone needs to remind me of what hoopla he has been involved in. He seems to be very hard of hearing. When I talked to him, he just changes the subject. I am clearly not a "person". So far, Carol, Frank and others all say...."I don't read on the internet", a claim I find hard to swallow. I am finding it a little disconcerting to have Steve Thomas's name come up as perhaps the new scapegoat. I hope I am wrong. The reporters all think the Dirty Laundry is coming soon. They sure all are friendly with each other and have to listen all day to disparaging remarks about "the media". As if "the Media" is the reason this case is all f===ked up. Until tomorrow. Thanks for the nice comments. It is interesting and I enjoy it. Downtown Denver is great and the mall shuttle is fun and I am having a great adventure.
"Arndt Day 5" To start, I am not trying to note for you all the testimony. I think the "pros" will better do that, although if I differ from their viewpoints I will share that. I am trying to share with you the little things that you might note if you were there. Everyone seems pretty dressed up today. It begins at 9:30 with Brook Jackson, an impressive older judge who, I was told, handled many of the Columbine lawsuits. He was Linda's attorney early on before he was a judge. Within 2 minutes Halaby (BPD counsel) objected and there was a sidebar. One of MANY today. Jackson wrote a letter to Koby in Oct 1997 listing 8 items of which Linda was being wrongly accused in the media. He asked for Koby to either correct this misinformation or allow her to do it. Of course we know that did not happen. But the struggle to get that out as testimony essentially took ¾ of the day. It was interesting, although frustrating to have these two old pros go at it. Jackson testified tht Koby agreed that all 8 items actually were mistakes. Here are the items:accused of covering JB with sheet, destroying bodily fluid; hacking into a computer, not taking into evidence a hammer and a flashlight; leaking a copy of the ransom note; refused to allow FBI into the house. Jackson and Koby had a 41 minute phone conversation where Koby essentially said that telling the media the truth only generated more spin and abuse. Examples, Hunter tried to clear his name and the Ramseys tried to clear theirs. Media are the real bad guys here. Koby's reasons to take Linda off the case were to spare her future trouble and because he needed her on the sexual assalult team. All media begged Jackson for an interview but the gag order prevented that. They also wanted to talk to Linda, of course, and gag order prevented that. Halaby gets in a lot about Linda's mistakes during his cross. He then goes into the Fleet White and John Ramsey search for things out of place in house. The official police report was entered into evidence, in part. Only the jury can see it and then it is sealed again. No copies to be made. Reference was made that Linda's report did not indicate the part about "Don't touch anything and report back if you find anything". The next witness was an expert witness VanBlaricom testifying that his analysis of Linda's actions indicated they were proper given the circcumstances. He got in that she was the most junior detective and all the decisions were made by others. MUCHO wrangling between attorneys here. While expert is on much note taking by Koby, Beckner, and both attorneys. Still lots of reporters but few stay all day. More talk to me now. Not much, but I sit closer and join in some. Met someone helping JT Colfax with his reports. Please JT, if you show up next week, introduce yourself. I will be the fidgety one eating Extra Cheddar Goldfish on the sly. In yesterdays report I may have given the impression that the judge was down on internet copies of media reports. It was not him, it was Halaby. The judge is pretty interactive, asking questions of the witness and sometimes giving advice to the lawyers. One funny thing happened when Judge Jackson was testifying,. There was an objection and he ruled on it himself. Big laugh. Frank Coffman still won't tell who he is attending the trial for. Yes, I think that people consider following this case on the internet sort of like admitting, "yeah, I buy all my underwear at garage sales." Or something like that. In many ways the media is on trial here, and I hope someone will write something with that point of view. Very interesting. But those reporters just sit there and take notes and seem to take it in stride. Even though it seems, sometimes, that the media and we internet followers are probably the reason this case is screwed up.(according to some in the courtroom) Well, enough. Sorry this is so long but I just can't edit tonight. I will have to edit is when I get back home this weekend and may store it. I am going to try and go all next week. Mr reporter is not very happy about that but it is finally getting so good. Linda would testify on Tuesday is my guess.
"Arndt Trial Day 6" Well, I did the report and have it in Word and since I am a Mac person I am having trouble on this Compac machine with the cut and paste plan. If anyone can post instructions here I will send it forthwith... 2. "Voila!" Posted by reporter on 21:07:46 6/04/2001 What a sad day! The reporters in the hall are remembering what a consummate newspaperman Chris was. One reporter counted walking to lunch with him hand having Chris point out many fringe players in the case which were unknown even to the reporter. "Just goes to show you how well he knew his subject." The court extended its sympathy to the family. It is interesting to sit there and try to figure out which side a spectator is most interested in….or who they are taking notes for. Sooner or later a nod or an exchanged word tells the story. Bruce Jones (LA's attorney) reported that they had tried to get 20 some exhibits "stipulated to" by the BPD side and was unable to get this accomplished. Judge is not happy. Sally Goedert, Victim's Advocate for the BPD, now retired, testified that LA was capable and competent before Ramsey and changed very much for the worse after Ramsey. Short testimony and cross. With each witness Halaby brings out that this case affected everyone connected to case. From 10:30 on , all day then, the witness was Van Blaricom mostly being cross examined. Lots of jockeying to get in a chart or time line which shows who and when people were cleared of suspected wrong-doing in the case. Trying to show that LA was never cleared or supported. Jones brought out the 8 items listed last week by Jackson, LA's former attorney. In each and every item, Van Blaicom said that telling the truth about that item would not have hampered the investigation. Then lots of testimony about the investigation within the Department to determine the source of the police leaks. The Police Union would not permit polygraphs of the Police Ramsey investigative team. The a video was shown of a city council meeting where Boulder Mayor Greenlee urged Koby to be more forthcoming to the press. Koby cited the time spent on FOUR major investigations at once as reason he did not have time for the media. Koby had dark hair then and now it is almost all white. Dye, then? Or stress now? He predicted , in January 1988, that he would be 'ready to go' in the case "in three months". The afternoon session was fun. Halaby and Blaricom squaring off time after time. Each really knows how to testify and they proviked each other no end. He insists that moving the body by Linda is much ado about nothing. The upshot was that Blaricom stuck to his guns that the case was mishandled all right, but not by Arndt. He could not be moved from this point of view. The jury leaned forward, some taking notes. I have not noticed any inattention whatsoever from them. The media present today were Charlie Brennan, Owen Good (Rocky Mountain News), Frank Coffman and Raj Chohan (or however you spell that, from CBS in Denver). Linda wore a black skirt and a grey top, most everyone in the courtroom dressed somberly I think because of Chris's death. Tomorrow the redirect and short cross of Blaricom will take place, then what I think will be a short appearance of Linda's therapist and then Linda. Everyone expects that to be several days' worth. If this trial goes past Friday I don't think I can come, so who will take my place? Everyone expects the room to fill up then. What a sad day! The reporters in the hall are remembering what a consummate newspaperman Chris was. One reporter counted walking to lunch with him hand having Chris point out many fringe players in the case which were unknown even to the reporter. "Just goes to show you how well he knew his subject." The court extended its sympathy to the family. It is interesting to sit there and try to figure out which side a spectator is most interested in...or who they are taking notes for. Sooner or later a nod or an exchanged word tells the story. Bruce Jones (LA's attorney) reported that they had tried to get 20 some exhibits "stipulated to" by the BPD side and was unable to get this accomplished. Judge is not happy. Sally Goedert, Victim's Advocate for the BPD, now retired, testified that LA was capable and competent before Ramsey and changed very much for the worse after Ramsey. Short testimony and cross. With each witness Halaby brings out that this case affected everyone connected to case. From 10:30 on , all day then, the witness was Van Blaricom mostly being cross examined. Lots of jockeying to get in a chart or time line which shows who and when people were cleared of suspected wrong-doing in the case. Trying to show that LA was never cleared or supported. Jones brought out the 8 items listed last week by Jackson, LA's former attorney. In each and every item, Van Blaicom said that telling the truth about that item would not have hampered the investigation. Then lots of testimony about the investigation within the Department to determine the source of the police leaks. The Police Union would not permit polygraphs of the Police Ramsey investigative team. The a video was shown of a city council meeting where Boulder Mayor Greenlee urged Koby to be more forthcoming to the press. Koby cited the time spent on FOUR major investigations at once as reason he did not have time for the media. Koby had dark hair then and now it is almost all white. Dye, then? Or stress now? He predicted , in January 1988, that he would be 'ready to go' in the case "in three months". The afternoon session was fun. Halaby and Blaricom squaring off time after time. Each really knows how to testify and they proviked each other no end. He insists that moving the body by Linda is much ado about nothing. The upshot was that Blaricom stuck to his guns that the case was mishandled all right, but not by Arndt. He could not be moved from this point of view. The jury leaned forward, some taking notes. I have not noticed any inattention whatsoever from them. The media present today were Charlie Brennan, Owen Good (Rocky Mountain News), Frank Coffman and Raj Chohan (or however you spell that, from CBS in Denver). Linda wore a black skirt and a grey top, most everyone in the courtroom dressed somberly I think because of Chris's death. Tomorrow the redirect and short cross of Blaricom will take place, then what I think will be a short appearance of Linda's therapist and then Linda. Everyone expects that to be several days' worth. If this trial goes past Friday I don't think I can come, so who will take my place? Everyone expects the room to fill up then.
"Arndt Day 7, part 1" The courtroom starts out pretty empty today. 3 jurors have on dark clothes, 3 women have spring clothes and 1 man has on a light blue shirt. All jurors have been given note pads and thick, black binders into which they can put things entered into evidence. Having agreed between themselves to dismiss Van Blaricom, the defense calls Judith Fischer, LA's therapist. She came to the therapist because of recurring nightmares, extreme fear, headaches, recurring, intrusive thoughts, digestive problems. It was hard to listen to an account of a personal therapist putting out intimate details of such a painful and personal nature. *New tidbit I had not heard before. Linda was not debriefed by the BPD, standard after bing so pivotal in the early hours, and to this day has not been debriefed. Will be interesting to see the opposition on this. The testimony was long and a bit tedious. Most of it was regarding LA's ongoing trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. She thought she was suspected of department leaks. Hearing this testimony made me look at Koby and Beckner and wonder if they feel any guilt at the pain this woman and officer has endured. (Clearly, my bias is coming out). After she finally left the department, having outlasted Koby, Eller and Thomas, she was seeking employment....anything and no one would give her a job. Her decision to leave gave her both relief and devastation. As LA's financial situation grew worse the therapist offered a much reduced price. Linda, being proud and honorable, chose instead to reduce her sessions with the therapist. The cross was sort of interesting. Lots of maneuvering on Halaby's part to portray her as less than a competent therapist. Or on the fringes of the therapy world. She evidently keeps very sketchy records and much was made of that. The jury was dismissed for lunch and then the Judge told Halaby that his examination of Fischer was like a mouse playing with a dead mouse. The questions had been asked and answered many, many times. The the judge had to say that he meant no disrespect of the therapist. There is some crappola out of the hearing of the jury about a prior therapist whose records were stolen. No resolution on that. Back shortly with Arndt's testimony. Hey, no more "thank you" posts needed. You should ask questions or make comments. I do appreciate all of your words, though and if you were all here, wouldn't we all just ride that shuttle and go to lunch!
"Arndt trial, Day 7, part 2" Linda got on the stand about 2 pm. Born and raised in Minnesota, dad was a cop and mayor, sounds like the salt of the earth family. Many are in attendance at the trial for her. They went through her training, education and many awards.
Interesting question: Was there internal politics in the department at that time (March 1997) She says she has not (to this day) been debriefed "about what happened to me on December 26" LA ate at Dot's Diner with Chief Koby on April 8, 1997. At that time the media bashing of her had not begun. 2 key witnesses had contacted LA and said they were worried that a tabloid was going to name them as suspects. She warned Koby about this and wanted to protect the witnesses from being harassed by the media. Koby then had a meeting with the Public Informaton Officer (Susan Laurien?). Koby thought it should be just let be, let it lie. Media will spin anyway. Others at the meeting thought they had an obligation to do something, the sooner the better. A press release was issued saying these 2 were witnesses not suspects. Cmdr Eller told LA that it was the history of the BPD to deny a problem and look for a scapegoat and warned her that things would get worse. Eller told her, on the very night of Dec 26 that she might be in danger, to vary her route home. She was a key witness and the murderer might not want her to testify. Then there was a lot of testimony about Peter Boyles and how damaging he and Chuck Green were to her reputation. A tape was played of LA calling Koby and asking him to back her up. She finally took medical leave May 15 because she had been taken off the Ramsey team, was exhausted and it seemed a good time to do so. "This isn't about me" she said, "It is bigger than about me. It goes to the credibility of the department and the truth of the ramsey investigation." May 22 Koby saw her at a health club and told her the Boyles tapes were being collected and he and Union Rep would decide if they should sue Boyles. No one ever got back to her about that. Boyles was making statements that she had sent the FBI away and didn't collect the flashlight. Both are untrue. *New item: several time the words "unclothed body of JonBenet" have been used. Is it possible that she had less on? Why are they using those words? The stories took on a life of their own and kept multiplying, and multiplying. Did she give the Ramseys a sample of the ransom note. Yes, it was requested and AUTHORIZED BY ELLER, but was given AFTER the Ramseys had given samples of handwriting. Her father wrote 4 letters to police and Hunter. No response from police, although Hunter responded. In talking about a letter from The Globe News Department, the judge said, "Is this for real?? Does the Globe HAVE a news department?" That was funny. Again Eller warned her that things could get worse and that Beckner (now Chief) did not think well of her. The only tear we saw was when she was asked to tell about her quitting the department. A fellow work person (I don't know who) said to her upon witnessing her being berated for something minor, "You really ARE the bastard child aren't you?" She returns to the stand tomorrow at 8:45
"Arndt Day 8" They didn't get started till almost 9:30 and quit at 11, to reconvene at about 2, so there wasn't as much to get through today. Easy for me to say, but it was a hard day for Linda. The morning session was with her own lawyer, Bruce Jones finishing his direct examination. Linda wore a black skirt, grey blazer. Regarding the Vanity Fair article in September 1997 she clarified what she meant yesterday by 'deep throat'. Eller showed her an advance copy and she asked Eller if there would be an internal investigation regarding leaks. Cmdr Eller said he had tried three times to determine leaks and said a few sympathizing comments about the heat LA had been taking in this case. LA testified that the deepest insult you can say to a cop is to compare him to Mark Furman. She saw Chuck Green in the summer of 97 and told him, Everything you say about me is not true. Chuck said that unless she would give him specifics he was going to trust his source 'deep inside and high up in the BPD (I think he said BPD). Regarding ABC news interview (GMA),only portions of the interview were broadcast. She was not compensated. She had mixed feelings about finally speaking out. She finally had a chance to say what happened. Even though she spoke and gave interviews, and was no longer under an official gag order, She was aware of the Grand Jury. In order not to interfere with GJ, she was very careful about what she said. At the time of the interview she was not aware she had PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). By the end of the week of the interview it became clear that she had spoken too late. The damage was done and people had made up their mind. She pursued more than 30 job opportunities Boulder, Metro area, whole state. Finally unskilled labor. Did not get return phone calls. Has been living off liquidated retirement funds. Job at CU only lasted 5 months. Job at BPD had lasted 11 years. Estimtaes lost wages and benefits at $200,000. Judge became unhappy that Prosecution and defense had not stipulated about damages. Said it was the first case like this that that had not been done. Bruce Jones said they tried, but Halaby wouldn't stipulate. Comment on Bruce Jones, LA's attorne:. AT first (last week) I thought him kind of mild compared to the bulldog Halaby. But the effect of his powerful mastery of the details of the case and his cleaar knowledge of the law is very effective. His rate and tone of speech is deliberate and precise. His questions move very orderly. He never talks fast or uses long convoluted sentences. Afternoon Cross examination to follow
"Arndt, Day 8 part 2" The cross examination was brutal. I agree with Toadload's assessment. After seeing what she has been through it is hard to see her being beat up verbally. Halaby insisted upon getting an answer to whether she totally agreed with the Jackson letter with the 8 items. COMPLETE agreement??? She kept saying she trusted Jackson and agreed with the letter. Tried to get out the fact that she had consulted Jackson before she had resigned from the department. Regarding the conversation with Eller that Linda testified to yea\sterday that the BPD has a history of denying problems and finding a scapegoat, Halaby raised his voice and said, "That didn't happen did it Miss Arndt. " She strongly said That is a lie". Halaby goes line by line through the letter. Tough, tough session requiring following icredible word gymnastics. He took Linda through the obtaining of Patsy's handwriting sample at Pete Hofstrom's house. She was given a half hour to get over there and was given a single sheet of paper with the guidelines on how to obtain the sample. (editorial comment. Wouldn't you THINK that such a crusical piece of detective work would be done under controlled conditions, with much preparation as to how to go about this?? They really WERE flying by the seat of their pants!) Halaby told some story about another detective and how Linda had happily gone back to headquarters to get a Xerox copy of the note to give to Pat Burke. Linda denies this whole story. That is a lie, That is a lie, That is a lie she kept answering. Halaby is really going for the fact that the case is all about Linda. Me, me me. Linda tries to respond that she was not responsible for hiring an attorney to defend the whole department. I hope her lawyer brings this out. The audience was scolded by the judge who, the jury had told him, contained some people who grimaced or made their opinions know. They will be kicked out if it happens again. I think he was looking at me. I think the judge is just jealous because I sort of doze off now and then. That's it for today. Regarding "unclothed" no more word on that.
"Arndt Day 9, part 1" Arndt Day 9 part 1 You are welcome to post this on another forum but please credit it. First impressions: Ahh today the invisible telegraph must have said "Wear white" Court reporter, lady who manages the court room, Linda Arndt, Judith Biggs, Owen Good (RMN), Boulder Daily reporter, myself and some jurors all wore white tops or all white. To begin: The cross examination continues. The police report is brought out and referred to. Probably from some secure place. At one point LA answered "The Boulder District Attorney did not take many cases to trial". She testified that her credibility has never before been attacked in a trial. She stated "I was the outcast of the Division." Halaby tries to make a point that Linda didn't ask enough for help up the chain of command. Portrays her as not trying. She is trying to say she asked for help and was ignored. Halaby's questions are artfully crafted and very compound. Trying to do a yes or no is almost impossible. She testified to calls and notes which frightened her. Did you ever tape anyone without their knowledge? Yes. (So...lots of tapes exist of meetings, phone conversations, voice mail and broadcasts) She denies saying "John Ramsey is mind-fucking me". She kept notes of that meeting but denies reviewing tape for this testimony. LA said in a meeting that John Ramsey has a good idea I think he killed his daughter. Her report was released to Ramsey legal team without her knowledge or approval or knowledge or approval of the BPD Ramsey Investigative Team. Koby told her it would be highly unlikely that JR would harm her. Halaaby uses the term Mind Fucker about 8 times and enjoys saying it (It seems). You were never physically threatened? No She felt, and reported, that JR would use mental techniques or people close to me to frighten or threaten her. To your knowledge no family member or friend was threatened? Correct She said she was keeping her immediate supervisor Sgt Wickham apprised of her work but that her reports were not being passed upwards. "I didn't feel Sgt Wickham was being straight with me/" "I was being excluded from the Investigation Team" Halaby asked, "You wanted to stay on the team? Even though it was a lot of work? Even though everyone had their lives altered? Everyone was making a great personal sacrifice? Yes to each question. Ok, I have done two pages and will write the Impressions Department and then post the next segment in a separate post. Impressions:The McVeigh hoopla continues and I have snapped some photos with my little disposable camera. I have to laugh at the millions of dollars of techno and photo equipment and I use my little $5.99 Walgreens disposable. Got some photos of Dan Abrams. Why do people come to a trial like this? You are on the Boulder payroll, you are family or friend on one side, you are a paid reporter and a few of us who just come. Stay tuned because there is some great stuff about Linda's notes.
"Arndt Day 9, part 2" Part 2 Now for a very exciting part. During the depositions it was learned that she had notes of the January 4 obtaining of Patsy's exemplars which have never been turned into an official report.
LA was not able to complete her report of January 4. Notes of that day were kept at a safe place, according to Linda. She tries not to tell, but is finally ordered by the judge to tell. A friend's house.
These notes were not provided to the BPD were they? No Until she left April 1, 1999, they were kept in a locked drawer of her desk at work. These were NOT secret notes. She had openly used them during meetings of the Ramsy investigation team and they all knew she had them. The judge clears up that these notes have now been turned over to the police. "Good" he says. Linda seems to find the questions hard to answer. Will the jury think it is because the questions are so complex? Because she is tired? Or is she being evasive or can't remember? Side bar?? Now the questioning is very long on how 'she didn't have time". Not when you were on leave? 'Not to this day" Something is definitely going on here. The courtroom is so quiet you could hear a pin drop on the carpet. No one hardly breathes. "In removing these notes without having written your report (of January 4) you did not inform anyone in the BPD about these notes? She sealed them and have them to a friend. "Why were they sealed? "They were important to the Ramsey investigation". Halaby has copies of these notes but demands that the originals be turned over to him tomorrow. Someting is very important here. Jury is impassive. More later. Must break for dinner.
3. "REst of the story" There was a lengthy part about which days of her investigation had generated an official report. By my reckoning, there are some missing day, among them Jan 4. Cmnd Eller wanted her to get in more and more timely reports. Sgt Wickham hadn't been aware that in addition to Ramsey duty she was also doing other casses. She keeps saying she 'could not complete that report". I am wondering when we will find out why. Halaby doesn't actually ask her that. Do you hve any concern for the identification and convictions of the perpeterators of this crime? A heartfelt Yes I do. There was clarificaton to the jury that the magazine articles etc. are admitted not for their truth, but for showing the state of mind of Linda and the effect they had on her. The judge says that only those who sit in the "hot seat" (witness box) are to be used as the determinoers of truth They now go line by line through the Vanity Fair article. *my comment: by 3 pm only 16 spectators remain in the courtroom. out of the 8 jurors, 7 keep close eyes on the lawyer or witness, one looks at the audience a lot. Bardach was contacting LA's family and friends so Linda called her at her hotel and arranged to go there. She went there and called from lobby. She told Bardach that if she wanted to know anything ask her, and leave her family and friends alone. Bardach cam down and the two of them spoke in the hotel restaurant. LA told her that except for the fact that LA WAS at the Ramseys on Dec 26, she had her facts about Linda wrong. Linda doesn't remember which facts exactly Bardach told her would be in the article. Halaby now goes over it line by line and is impeaching Linda by showing that some most of what was said about Linda was true in part. Linda seemed to have looked at the part of each statement that was NOT true, Halaby concentrates on the part that WAS true. Believe me, I wrote that in a sentence. This took FOREVER to accomplish, one complex question at a time. Examples: Place body by Christmas tree. No, it was closest to the piano. Patsy collapsed on JB. No, she put her body on lower part of JB, over the blanket which covered her body. Some other things she said were inaccurate, but did not specify exactly how. There WAS a prayer, She dis not continue a relation with Patsy, although she spoke to Barbara Fernie. Bardach said on Boyles that Hunter and RAmsey team leaked stuff but BPD "were zipped shut". Would that surprise you? yes Now it was 5 pm. I was falling off the bench so I let you guys down and went home. Saw the big events of the McVeigh announcement that no more appeals will take place. No more now until Monday. I will let you know if I can be there or not. I am on the crappy computer and will not spell check or edit. Have a good weekend everyone
"Arndt June 11" After an hour of lawyer/judge squabbling (Charlie Brenon's characterization. He was there for the first hour. I was not), over witness and discovery issues, Linda resumed the stand for the rest of her cross examination by Halaby. He played the tape of the anonymous calls made to Linda soon after December 26 which she had testified wee digitally disguised and had frightened her. They WERE bizarre calls and I could see that LA did not like hearing them. The purpose of this seemed to be to impeach LA about whether they were digitally disguised. Cross examination hops all over the place, and so will this narrative. Halaby: How would you characterize your relationship with the Ramseys? Linda said she had no RELATIONSHIP with the Ramseys. They had requested her to be present during the handwriting gathering because they trusted her. There was a time in April when they sent flowers to her? Linda said yes, she had received publicity for a Victim's Advocacy award and the Whites, Fernies and Ramseys had all sent flowers or notes to her. And you saw that the notes were put into your file, right? I had ALL acknowledgments in my career put in my file. These were a few complimentary notes out of a large group of notes. Halaby goes over her lack of success in issuing a flat denial of the inaccuracies written by Bardach and Chuck Green. *comment: I have little experience with court observing but it is amazing to me how tortuous (judge's assessment) it is to craft and re-craft a question. It seems there is a trap in each question and it is Linda's job to sense and avoid the trap. I imagine it will be the same when Beckner and Koby are cross examined. Linda is trying to get across that the concern was that there were leaks in the department. Halaby is trying to emphasize that public discussion itself is harmful to the investigation. She had testified that she had repeatedly tried to get help and he showed that her calls were fewer and later than one would expect. They go over what equipment she had with her. Now they move to the personal meeting she had with Patsy Ramsey. Yes, at Barbara Fernie's with other people present. They then go to the fact that she met with Barbara Fernie once a week and took walks with her. She later believed BF was stalking her. She said that BF expressed concern over Patsy's mental and physical well-being and with the OK of Pat Burke (Patsy's attorney) she met with Patsy, Barbara F and Nedra. The ground rules were, no talking about the criminal case, meeting was to be one hour and all present were to remain present. LA met with BF in the first place after being directed to try to learn about Patsy from her friends as they could have no contact with Patsy because of the lawyers they hired. I will post this and then post the re-direct.
3. "Part 2, not spell checked" The redirect begins. We now learn the story of why she did not do a report on getting Patsy's handwriting exemplar Jan 4, 1997. She completed an evidence report and a property report, carefully documenting the chain of custody. Her verbal report was given to Eller to be given to CBI. She gave a complete verbal report the same day. She had to prioritize the writing of reports. The most important was the one on Dec 26 where she was the only one who could give an accurate report. She let the Jan 4 one slide because she were 2 other officers present. She shared all information with the team. She historically did reports when a case was over. On this case the supervisors wanted ongoing reports. At the team meetings there was supposed to be someone there taking notes of new information. All the BPD (and indeed most police officers) struggle to do all the paperwork required.) Why did she not catch up while on medical leave? She had to turn in her car keys, any ofice keys, was not to check her voice mail have no duties whatsoever. The notes were at the station and she had no access to them. Did anyone ever ask you for the Jan 4 report? No. How long was your December 26 report? 19-20 pages. It took her three days to dictate and proof it.Why did you take your notes with you? When Sgt Mason was removed from the team his keys and other things were taken from him. This wasn't done when I was removed from the case. When I left the case I was afraid of having the notes turn up missing or altered. So I took them with me. When Sgt Mason wanted to refresh his memory using his notes prior to the Grand Jury, the BPD couldn't find them and they remain missing to this day. Comander Eller authorized giving the ransom note to Ramsy team. Something was said about how she writes reports. She said that she writes them about what she OBSERVED at that moment in time, as a witness. (Actually police reports become witness reports, I think) Anyway, she wrote in her report that John left the house to get the mail and later learned that there was a mail slot in the door. Lunch break There are only 10 spectaters in the room, 4 media, 3 Arndt friends, 1 BPD notetakeer and 2 internet junkies.
4. "Part 3, not spell checked" Still on Redirect Describe the general situation when the body was found. Indescrible Come True, Arndt said. (I capped that because it sounds like the title of an magazine article) A moment that immediatly preceeding it was filled with tension, but hope had turned into.......(I didn't get all she said here.It was good though.) That she had been in a house that had been searched by three cops.....that her body was carried in by her father...... The two victim's advocates had left. She detailed her attempts to get help. With respect to speaking to Bardach, did you deny things because they were literally or technically incorect or for some other reason? I was concerned because the conclusion the public was drawing that I was responsible for the bungleing and mishandling the investigation. Regarding the Mark Furman comment. Mark Furman screwed up the OJ case and there was no criminal prosecution. Linda Arndt screwed up the Jonbenet Ramsey csse leads the public to the conclusion that that is why there has been no prosecution. The Prosecution rests. No re-cross. It is 2:15 I will type the last hour, the beginning of the Beckner testimony early tomorrow before I head in to the courthouse.
21. "Last part" First, to answer the question above (Does she seem credible and sincere?), I think she seems honest almost to a fault. Her answers to questions by her own atorney were full and seemed hones. But that is always the case I think when 'on your own side'. Beckner is the same. The questions she was getting from Halaby, as I reported, had about 4 clauses in each question. If we ever see a transcript you will see what I mean. For example, if I asked you, "Do you want to go downtown today if we can drive and not take the train and if the car is washed and if we detour past the donut shop, if the bagel shop is closed? Answer yes or no." That isn't a really good example, but it gives you the idea. Her answers then became long thoughtful ones as she tried to steer through the minefield. OK, on to Beckner:There were 14 people in the courtroom as BEckner began by describing his training and 23 years in police work, all of it with the BPD. Why is it not allowed for an individual officer to offer explanations about their own role? We do try to keep the public informed about cases but our #1 objective is to solve the crime. We have to keep details confidential. Testimony that leaks were a real problem. They even worried abut telephone bugs and boom mikes. Never had seen such intense publicity. Enumerated all the agencies who had some of the confidentail information on case, implying the leaks could come from anywhere. Have you ever been able to prove a source of leaks in within the department? No Beckner said that the informatin contained in Vanity Fair is very accurate and made him realize she had accurate confidential sources. Did you find the allegations in VF as they pertain to LA as substantially factual or not factual? Substantially factual. We felt that defending LA would mislead the public. He reported that after he became chief LA did not come to him with her concerns and that her immediate supervisor, Doyle, also did not report that she had come to him with concerns. Is it your job to go out in the deaprtment and ask if anyone has concerns? No With that they ended the court day and dismissed the jury. They will do some lawyering, maybe to speed things up. ------ I know we all want estimates on how this will end. So do the reporters and so do both sides. I don't think there is anyway to predict, although those with more legal knowledge may be able to see a lot of "points" on one side or the other which I cannot detect.
"10:30 am Case Dismissed" I will write the full account of this as soon as I return to my home, a few hours away. At the opening of the court day, the judge ruled on the defense motion to dismiss and did, indeed, dismiss Linda's case. I hadn't the heart to watch the media interviews and left it to the "real" journalists to do the interviews. My heart is so sad for Linda, because regardless of the legal intricities, she is a wooman destroyed by the events of the past 4+ years. She looked good, though and I hope she will get her life together.
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