Last week was the trial of Betty Torres on a charge being an accomplice to the Delivery of a Substance in Lieu of a Controlled Substance. This is an unusual charge which arose out of a drug transaction monitored by detectives. The substance was fake pills manufactured to look like real Oxycontin pills which were exchanged for heroin in the transaction. Fake pills are sometimes used to make sure narcotics are not distributed.

The jury was seated on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon, had received all the evidence and was preparing to deliberate. Then it was brought to the attention of the court that earlier a juror had used his cell phone to access the internet in the jury room to answer some questions about the charge. This is contrary to the court’s instructions to and the juror’s oath. This problem formed the basis for a mistrial motion by the defense which was granted and a new date was set for the retrial. All the effort by the parties and the court was wasted as well as the 30 or so persons who had been summoned and from which the jury was picked. This illustrates the importance of following the courts instructions in the trial process.

Last Friday I attended a motion by Pamela Deskins to have the court reconsider the sentence of 550 days in jail she received on Feb 26. The sentence was the result of her convictions on charges of animal cruelty and other charges. Among the reasons she cited to the judge was “the unimaginable agony” of the 47 days she has been in custody. She requested the court release her from custody, or put her on electronic home monitoring. I opposed the motion. After listening to her statement, Judge Eaton stated that she was certain that the judgment was appropriate and refused to change the judgment. An appeal of the conviction has been filed in Superior Court.