As @Mk_VII indicates. Even if that is not the intent, it is problematic. If it is an intentional attempt to influence the jury pool and believe the accused is guilty before the trial even opens, that is not acceptable.
If showing the truth of what happened is inconvenient to the accused, then tough marbles.
Then why bother with a trial?
Freedom of information has nothing to do with a trial. Police bodycams are not a freaking state protected secret.
It does if it interferes with a fair trial.
Is unedited video footage really worse than the inevitable fact that any juror will have heard news stories? Provided of course that it’s admissible evidence that the jury will ultimately be permitted to see at trial. For a future juror to get early sight of direct evidence with their own eyes and form their own opinion seems less prejudicial than hearing the opinion and commentary of others in news reports.
But that’s just it. Why would truthful information interfere with a fair trial? Why would it matter if the juror learns this true information before the trial instead of during?
I would think that any argument would need to involve explaining how this information may not in fact be true—that it might be misleading.
This is a really good point. I know they make a point of getting jurors who are unprejudiced or even completely ignorant, but for high profile cases, this is almost impossible. Potential jurors have already gotten all kinds of other evidence into their heads from the media.
Why should seeing “eyewitness” video be more prejudicial?
Certainly there are cases where evidence presented out of context could be unfairly prejudicial. I don’t see why that would be any less true with video. While I doubt this is one of those cases, it’s at least a theoretical possibility, and so it’s fair to be concerned about the practice in general.
Oh, yeah, be careful, but to categorically declare it prejudicial seems, well, kinda prejudicial.
It’s inevitable that the video gets played for the jury at trial. Assuming the defense wants to give context, I doubt it matters how much earlier it’s seen.
Anchoring bias can be strong.
I’m sure there are plenty of people, like me, that refuse to watch this video or the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols. I am still haunted by memories of watching a few videos I wish I didn’t and I refuse to do so again. But if I were a jurist on a case like this, I would do it.
There are plenty of “funny” videos of people hurting themselves on skateboards, bicycles, etc and I refuse to watch those to. Slo-mo replays of athletes injuring themselves…nope! I was in my teens when Joe Theismann ended his career and I still cringe thinking about it.
Does anyone else find the video incredibly weird?
I get terribly distraught just thinking about them. I’d watch them if I were a juror, but I’d need therapy afterward.
Same!
With what I just wrote, can you describe what is weird about it? I believe the cops were present when Pelosi was attacked, but…?
So, cops go to the door and knock, Pelosi opens the door with a hand on the hammer with DePape. He seems to have a drink in his other hand and doesn’t immediately ask the police to help him.
I’ve never been drunk while a guy broke into my house with a hammer (and the back door footage clearly shows that; I’m not a conspiracy theorist) so I don’t know how I would react. I do think if I was wrestling the guy over the hammer I would put my drink down and ask the police for help though.
Pure conjecture, but the police didn’t get there for many minutes. That’s how long Pelosi was trying to talk the guy down. Probably offered him a drink and ended up at least pretending to make one for himself.
Yeah - that’s how I interpreted it. Mentally unstable guy in your home, no immediate violence, you try to humor him, offer him a drink, try to buy time until the cops arrive. Picking up your own drink could be a way to encourage him to pick up his drink - and put the hammer down. And with him still physically holding you and with a hammer in his hand, you wouldn’t necessarily abruptly switch modes from trying to humor him to immediately screaming “help” when you open the door.
I don’t think we need to be reaching for theories that he was Pelosi’s secret lover, although I’m surprised that less reality-oriented news sources haven’t insinuated it.
Say what? That’s one of the first things I heard out of them.
Yep. The only way to make me watch one of those videos is to force me to sit on a jury. I do not like seeing humans or animals being hurt and will not willingly watch it.