I don’t hand these out as much as I should, so it is time to give out another Gold Star Award, to someone who truly hit the spot on Twitter with some excellent legal analysis on a platform that allows thoughts of a maximum of 140 characters.
Her name is Lisa Bloom and she is MSNBC’s legal analyst, and her twitter timeline is filled with brilliant analysis. Vox highlighted 8 tweets in particular, but there are far more than just those tweets. In order, with additional commentary from me as required…
Great presentation by defense attorney for Darren Wilson. Oh wait, he’s the prosecutor.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Waiting for the part where he explains how Darren Wilson’s life was threatened by a twice shot, unarmed Mike Brown.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014
Yeah, that does sound a little silly.
Someone please ask McCulloch why only Darren Wilson got this “all the evidence, no recommended charges” grand jury presentation.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 If conflicting witness testimony was a reason not to charge, America would no longer be the land of mass incarceration.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 After the shooting, Darren Wilson said he didn't need to go to the hospital. Speaks to his attorney, then agrees to go. p. 248
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 That should be a red flag right there, to any juror. That should be enough to create a suspicion about the evidence, on it's own. It would be a red flag to me as a juror, no matter what the case.
Hospital finds no injuries to Darren Wilson other than slight redness on his face, though he says Mike Brown punched him full force twice.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Darren Wilson says Mike Brown had a handful of cigarillos and MB punched him with that (right) hand. Concedes no pieces of cigarillo in car.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Wilson then testifies Mike Brown switched the handful of cigarillos to his left hand. In the midst of a skirmish. No pieces found in DW car
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 These three tweets highlight major inconsistencies, and again, had the prosecutor done their job, should have queried each one.
1st thing Wilson says he did at station after incident was to wash blood off his hands, 2x. A police officer trained to preserve evidence.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Takes a grand juror (not prosecutor) to ask Wilson if he thought Brown had a gun. "I wasn't thinking about that at that time." No follow up
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Wilson says no one in police dept asked him to give statement. Only 1 he wrote was for attorney, conveniently protecting it from disclosure.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 These three tweets remind me of Boss Hogg's Sheriffs in The Dukes of Hazard. About the same level of competence shown.
Prosecutor's questioning of Wilson so friendly that at the end HE points out no one asked him how Brown was a threat if he was running away
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 This would be another red flag.
During Wilson's testimony prosecutor refers to "this type of crime," then corrects herself. "Not crime, but situation." Clear message to GJ
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Q of day is why Darren Wilson was not cross-examined as any other defendant would be by a prosecutor in a grand jury room. Mr. McCulloch?
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Darren Wilson testified both he and Mike Brown used profanity in their altercation. Of course, his was justified, Brown's wasn't.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Standard Q not asked of Darren Wilson: what did you do to prepare for today? What media watched? What docs reviewed? Who speak to?
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Sargeant says Wilson told him he did NOT know of stealing incident. Wilson says he DID know about it. No one points out this inconsistency
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Another indictment of failure.
Mr. McCulloch: why did you talk about inconsistencies in eyewitness testimony but not inconsistencies in Darren Wilson's testimony?
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Darren Wilson's police intv: Mike Brown struck me in my face 10x. Wilson to grand jury: he struck me in my face 2x. No one points this out
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 ...and another indictment of failure.
1st GJ witness, medical-legal investigator, name redacted. Didn't take crime scene photos because camera batteries were dead.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 As a photographer and video-journalist myself, I always know to keep spare batteries with me at all times. That's a lack of professionalism.
Investigator didn't measure distances at scene as "It was self-explanatory" "there was no question as to any distances." vIp33 @ShaunKing
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Nothing is self explanatory, especially when there are no pictures and no sense of scale. Measurements are a MUST. That could be a gross misconduct right there.
I just got a very successful outcome for a black man beaten by cops and guards. Only one way to do that: aggressive cross-examination.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 An attorney who does not aggressively cross-examine the target of an investigation is an attorney who does not want to get to the truth.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Most trial lawyers like me ENJOY cross-examination. It's where we can really go after inconsistencies and lies. Didn't happen in Ferguson GJ
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 How Wilson shd have been cross-ex'd: how did Brown solidly, "full force" punch you 2x in face, & yet you have no injuries to reflect that?
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 How Wilson shd have been cross-ex'd: how did Brown solidly, "full force" punch you 2x in face, & yet you have no injuries to reflect that?
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Key to cross-exam would be requiring Wilson to explain how Brown's allegedly taking one step toward Wilson is "charging" him.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Masterclass gratefully accepted, thank you Lisa.
Wilson testified he didn't think about whether Mike Brown was armed, but then he focuses on Brown's hand in waistband. Implication is weapon
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 So many missed opportunities for cross examination of Wilson. Should have been a grueling session, not the tea party the transcript shows.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 A good trial lawyer doesn't assume. Wilson: Brown's hand in waistband. Make him say he feared weapon.Then confront him w prior contrary stmt
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Maybe we should take up a collection to teach the Ferguson prosecutors how to cross examine an adverse witness. Step 1: ask tough questions
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Nah, just find out where the prosecutor went to law school and take them back there, and demand that they refund their tuition fees.
Hospital records for Darren Wilson's same day visit: "well-appearing, well-nourished, in no apparent distress." No one asks him to explain
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Wilson hospital record: "no bleeding, no laceration, no ecchymosis [bruises]" A cross-examiner's dream, but no c-x of Wilson on this, natch
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 That is a very damning indictment of failure.
How to not get charged: 1. don't talk or do incident report 2. lawyer up, review all evidence 3. get prosecutors who don't ask any hard Qs
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Yep, reads like a typical how to get away with it to me...
#Ferguson transcripts show prosecutors telling grand jury over and over again that this is not a typical case, everything is different
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Well, perhaps the prosecutor could tell us what a typical case looks like... *rolls eyes*
McCulloch seemed flummoxed by the novelty of conflicting evidence. In 28 years I have never had a case WITHOUT conflicting evidence.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 Another cross-exam Q NOT asked of Wilson: how'd Mike Brown punch you w his right hand on right side of your face as you sat in drivers seat?
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 25, 2014 This sounds strange to us Brits, but you have to remember, they drive on the right, and the driver sits in the left hand seat, which means he would have to reach across from the passenger side of the car, to reach the driver.
Some people have drawn comparisons between this and the Trayvon Martin case, and according to Lisa Bloom, those comparisons might actually have some justification...
Many parallels between failures of prosecution in Trayvon Martin & Mike Brown cases: dehumanizing victim, failing to ask tough Qs of shooter
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 26, 2014 George Zimmerman & Darren Wilson: both said brutally beaten, refused medical treatment, then went. Docs found only the tiniest of injuries.
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 26, 2014 And reaction to what Lisa Bloom has revealed on Twitter has been generally of a single tone. One word of warning, there is one use of very strong language in one of the following tweets...
If you aren't following @LisaBloom as she deconstructs the Darren Wilson testimony, you should. She's good. #Ferguson
— Chris Bennett (@Caesar_X) November 25, 2014 @LisaBloom just at a lost after reading all this. I major in criminal justice and my finals were harder than this
— Michelle McCain (@miss_m_mccain) November 25, 2014 I thought I couldn't get much angrier about the #Ferguson fiasco but I've just read tweets from @LisaBloom - Fucking furious now.
— Chris (@PunksatonyPics) November 26, 2014 There is more from Lisa Bloom on her twitter feed, and I expect there will be more in the next couple of days, but I have to say, congratulations Lisa on some exemplary analysis, and as a result of your hard work, and diligent analysis, you win today's Viewpoint Gold Star Award. I only wish I could give you a physical award myself, and tell you in person. But please, accept this little virtual award, for your excellent analysis and insights.
