Sat, 2009-10-17 05:29

While I don't know if it is applicable here, I think that is a valid concern in any community that has had such an outcry over this kind of thing. Regardless of where he is tried, there will likely be protesting. To me that is a difficult call to make, and I have a feeling that one way or another, people are going to be pissed about it.

Mon, 2009-10-19 22:58

The trial should not have been moved. Can a Non-Oakland jury be impartial? What can "impartiality" mean when the video was seen internationally?

Tue, 2009-10-20 05:16

Strategic... I think. You?

Seems like an obviously  strategic move on behalf of Mehserle's defense attorney - which somehow he's been made able to afford (where most people cannot - something that folks need to talk about).  I think that he will be able to find some grace in spaces where the incident hasn't effected citizens intimately, but as Chris points out, the clip has been seen internationally.  

The shifts we make around "fair trials" I think is also of note.  Had the victim been a young white man and the cop a young black man, I don't know that we'd see this case moved, nor would we have seen a lot of the shady shiftin' like activity on behalf of BART and the other active bodies of folks in this case.  We don't hear of all of the stories where folks are tried "by a jury of their peers" that really isn't their peers, but their counsel does not have decency, wherewithall (or both) to argue for a better jury.  That is not FAIR or JUST, and does not ensure due process.  

I think it's fair for Mehserle's defense to pursue an unbiased space (because I think that any person accused of a crime should have a trial that is unbiased and that truly reflects an assessment of the facts at hand) but ultimately I don't expect a result other than a "guilty" verdict, so I'm not sure there is much going on except stalling.

That said, I'd like to see us also assess the system by which we determine "justice."  How will a guilty verdict, and locking up a person really stop it from happening again.  We've got to really think a bit more critically on how we, as a community, dole out justice.  Prison, jail etc is NOT rehabilitation - Mehserle needs help (not JUST punishment for his misdeeds).   Oscar Grant's family needs closure - for this man to admit his wrong-doing and be held accountable for stealing the life of their loved one.  How that is done is still on the table...