Final pretrial hearing

Over 20 motions were argued today at the final hearing before the start of Neil Entwistle's trial.

First, the defense moved to dismiss the charges against Entwistle, and if that failed, to move the trial to Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, where jurors would be less likely to have been exposed to media coverage of the case. Elliot Weinstein pointed out several examples of the media coverage that he says universally portrays Entwistle as guilty. Entwistle has been the subject of former Boston Herald reporter Michele McPhee's radio show every night for the past week, and on Tuesday she is releasing a book entitled Heartless: the True Story of Neil Entwistle and the Cold Blooded Murder of his Wife and Child. Additionally, Weinstein said that Google returns 165,000 hits for Entwistle's name. Judge Diane Kottmyer, however, denied both the motion to dismiss and the motion for a venue change.

In another motion discussed today, both sides wanted jurors to tour relevant locations, such as Entwistle's home in Hopkinton and his in-laws' home in Carver, which the judge seemed willing to allow.

Additionally, the defense moved to sequester all witnesses, while the prosecution moved to exempt Rachel Entwistle's parents, brother, and friend and allow them to watch the trial instead of being sequestered. Judge Kottmyer ruled that the friend, Joanna Gately, must be sequestered because she is an important factual witness, while the parents and brother are exempt, with the exception that the parents cannot be present during each other's testimony.

Furthermore, the judge allowed the prosecution's motion to show a picture of Rachel and Lillian alive to "humanize" the proceedings, but she denied their motion to use a baby mannequin to demonstrate how Lillian was killed.

The judge did not rule on the prosecution's "bad acts" motion, an attempt to introduce evidence of Entwistle's incriminating Internet activities and statements. She did say, however, that she would put a limit on the amount of such evidence, if any, that could be admitted.

The courtroom was pretty crowded with reporters and family members (of Rachel, not Neil), but I got there early and had no trouble finding a seat. The building is a lot newer and cleaner than the old courthouse in Cambridge. Entwistle looked much the same as usual, wearing a dark gray suit and navy blue tie. He seemed to smile when he entered the room, and he wore chains at his ankles but no handcuffs.

Entwistle trial approaching

The trial of Neil Entwistle is rapidly approaching, and I am going to try to be in court every day to watch it. There's a pretrial hearing tomorrow, and jury selection begins on Monday. It seems like it's going to be a huge media circus, but the media doesn't get reserved seats, so spectators like me will have an equal chance as reporters to get seats in the courtroom. This probably means everyone has to show up extremely early. Tomorrow I'll at least get some idea of how crowded it's going to be.

There have been some new developments in the case in the last week or so. First, defense lawyer Elliot Weinstein was going to try to get two Boston Herald reporters who wrote a story about Entwistle's alleged "suicide" letter to give up their secret sources. But now that the prosecution has said they aren't going to use the letter as part of their case, Weinstein has decided not to subpoena them after all.

Additionally, the Herald wrote a story about "shocking" new details in motions filed by prosecutors yesterday. Allegedly, at the time he was arrested in the London subway, Entwistle had on his person a page torn from a tabloid with ads for escort services, a handwritten note indicating that he was trying to contact a former girlfriend, and another note indicating that he wanted to sell the rights to his story. I don't think these new developments are all that shocking. Sure it doesn't exactly help the defense, but it shouldn't be news to anyone that Entwistle was looking for sexual partners, or that he desperately needed money. The Herald didn't yet get a chance to look at the defense's motion. I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

Here are a bunch of recent articles to check out:

• Boston Herald - "Entwistle court docs shock"
• MetroWest Daily News - "Reporters will not face judge in Entwistle case"
• Boston Herald - "Neighbors worry about rehashing brutal slay details"
• Boston Herald - "Court braces for media circus"
• MetroWest Daily News - "Reporters fight summonses in Entwistle case"

Battle of the Davids

I've been watching American Idol the whole season, but now that it's the finale I'm finally going to blog about it. I'm watching it right now as I'm writing...

Round 1:
David Cook sang: "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2
David Archuleta sang: "Don't Let the Sun go Down on Me" by Elton John
Well, I liked David C's song better, and I thought he did an absolutely awesome job performing it. I honestly didn't think David A was going to be as good this round. But then he started singing, and his vocals were just flawless. So this round ends up as a tie for me.

Round 2:
David Cook sang: "Dream Big"
David Archuleta sang: "Stuck in this Moment"
I liked both of their songs, and they both gave good performances, but I think David A's vocals were just a little bit better. It's amazing that such a big voice comes out of such a little guy! And it's even more amazing that he's only 17 years old.

Round 3:
David Cook sang: "The World I Know" by Collective Soul
David Archuleta sang: "Imagine" by John Lennon
I liked that David C did a song that he didn't do already; it always annoys me when they sing the same song twice. Plus, he did an absolutely great job on it. I liked his performance better than the original version of the song. But again, David A's vocals were perfect. I think this round was a tie, too.

I guess if f I must pick a favorite I pick David Archuleta. He has the greatest personality. It's so funny how he kept saying "gosh!" when he visited home. But I didn't think it was right of Simon to say that it was a "knockout," and I didn't agree with him that David Cook picked the wrong song. In my book, it was almost a tie.

Congrats Jon Lester!

I am so excited; Jon Lester just threw a no-hitter! This is the second time in two years that the Red Sox have had a no-no. I guess I'm lucky to have two no-hitters and two World Series championships in my (relatively short) lifetime. Anyway, this is just a quick post to say good job Lester!!! And go Sox :)

Thoughts on Bob Barr

Bob Barr, a Libertarian, entered the presidential race yesterday. This complicates things for libertarian-leaning Republicans like me. I like Barr's positions on the issues better than McCain's, but Barr doesn't really have a chance of winning, and he'll likely take votes away from McCain just as Nader took votes away from Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. I really don't want Clinton or Obama to win, but I've never been too excited about voting for McCain, and it's cool that there's a candidate I'd actually be excited to vote for. Here are some of Barr's views:

• Adopt a national sales tax, which would replace the IRS, and also repeal the 16th Amendment, which gives Congress the power to levy an income tax
• Secure people's 4th Amendment rights
• Let people make more of their own choices and accept responsibility for the results
• Secure our borders against people who want to take advantage of American taxpayers
• Don't interfere with other nations; use the armed forces only for national defense

Barr still has to become the Libertarian nominee, and he's up against Mike Gravel, Wayne Allyn Root, and others. The Libertarian National Convention will take place over Memorial Day Weekend, May 22-26. Should be interesting! In the meantime, check out Barr's site: BobBarr2008.com.

Kentucky Derby tragedy

Not too surprisingly, the favorite Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby. The most surprising and horrible thing, however, was the tragic death of Eight Belles, the only filly in the race. She broke both front ankles and had to be put down on the spot.

This reminds me of when Barbaro broke his leg in the Preakness two years ago. It seems that things like this have been happening a lot lately, and I read that thoroughbred racing has about 1.5 casualties per 1000 starts (1), which is the most casualties per competition of any major sport. I love horse racing and would never want it to be outlawed, but I think it needs to be made safer.

Many tracks have started using synthetic surfaces, which are less likely to cause injuries. Additionally, according to Wikipedia, thoroughbreds have been bred to be more and more muscular so that they are faster, but their bones haven't caught up (2). Racehorses' muscular bodies, combined with the speeds at which they run, can be too much for their skeletons to safely handle. I don't know much about horse breeding, but I wonder if it would be possible to breed for stronger bones so that the horses aren't as fragile.

Anyways, I offer my condolences to everyone who worked with Eight Belles. She was a great horse who ran a great race, and I'm sure she'll be missed!

Sources:
1. Washington Post article
2. Wikipedia article