Ryan Frederick Trial Begins

A jury of 12 with 2 alternates was seated by 2:30 PM today. Jurors were questioned in groups of three yesterday and today. After the first 2 or 3 groups, the process is about as repetitive as watching a traffic light, Red comes after Yellow every damned time. Prosecutor Ebert used an analogy explaining the nature of circumstantial evidence which may come back to haunt him. As he put it. ‘If you go to bed and the ground is bare, and when you wake up it is covered  with snow, you may not have seen it snow, but you know it has occurred.’

Seating a jury did not prove all that difficult.

Juror Instructions Masked as Questions in Frederick Case

Wavy 10 has posted copies of the Juror Questionnaires requested by the Prosecution and the Defense in the Ryan Frederick case.

What? Was he afraid someone would ding his paint?

OK, usually you see this with a Lexus or Beamer owner who is sure that his

Outside a Norfolk Mexican Restaurant where the officers were eating lunch

desire to keep his paint pristine supercedes the convenience of others wishing to use a parking space, but you don’t usually see police cars parked this way when officers are eating lunch at a Mexican Restaurant.

Are Norfolk Police now getting docked if their cruiser gets a door ding, or have they become  this arrogant in their certainty that the rules the rest of us live by do not apply to them?

Or is it it just laziness?

Or are they just so clumsy they can’t get their finger in their ear without a funnel?

More Malfeasance from VA Beach Police

No one likes getting a ticket. But there are times when the injustice involved should be an issue for everyone. Such is the case for a traffic ticket my daughter was given on Nov. 11 of this year.  At issue is Section 46.2-921.1 which requires drivers passing a stopped emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights to give way by changing lanes when possible. This is a reasonable regulation, one of the major dangers traffic policemen face is being struck by a car while tending to their duties. But, like many laws, its purpose can be perverted by a lazy or corrupt officer. Such is the case in VA Beach.

Does the Rule of Law Apply to Norfolk?

Last night (Oct. 7) I attended the Norfolk City Council meeting for two purposes. First, to document a proposed test case to Norfolk’s requirement that everyone entering City Hall sign in and present identification, an unlawful requirement to enter a public building, and second, to support the Virginia Citizens Defense League complaint to the Council regarding repeated harassment of citizens legally bearing arms.  The results of the effort in both instances were incredible.

Howzabout That Citizen Review Board

Last February, the Virginian-Pilot reported that Chesapeake Police Chief Richard Justice was opposed to a citizen review board. Now, in the wake of a botched raid on a marijuana grow-operation that wasn’t, he’s on his way out. Ironically, if a CRB had been implemented then, he might not be facing an early retirement.