Judge views taped evidence in dependent abuse case
11/17/2007
The case against a caregiver standing trial for a second time in connection with the 2002 death of a woman in Orick could once again come to rest on a single videotape — whether or not the tape is admitted as evidence at trial.
Joseph Pierre Rollin stands accused of dependent abuse, with the additional allegations that he proximately caused the death of the victim, 42-year-old Joi Henderson Wright, and that he inflicted great bodily injury on her.
The videotape viewed Thursday by Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna was recorded in an Austin, Texas, police station on April 10, 2003, more than a year after Wright’s death, and contains almost four hours of discussion between Rollin and Chris Cook, then a senior investigator for the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.
Deputy DA Ben McLaughlin filed a motion to admit most of the tape — all but the first 25 minutes, during which Rollin spoke openly about Wright’s death before he was advised of his constitutional rights to remain silent and speak with an attorney.
The entire statement was admitted during the first trial in 2004, when Rollin was convicted of the enhanced felony charge. But an appeal court found in December that the trial court erred in its admission of the non-Mirandized portion of the statement, and that the error may have affected the verdict.
Cissna must now decide whether any portion of the tape can be admitted, with attorneys presenting opposing motions about whether the Mirandized statement should be considered “tainted” by law enforcement’s initial failure to read Rollin his rights.
Wright, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, is believed to have died on or around March 19, 2002, in a condemned trailer in Orick.
Records on file at the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office indicate that at the time of her death she weighed only 60 pounds and was swathed in a soiled disposable diaper.
Stacks of motions filed by Rollin’s lead attorney, Barry Morris, suggest the defense plans to argue that the defendant did the best he could to care for Wright, but did not receive the assistance he needed from the county.
Rollin made comments to that effect during the taped interview, but it’s impossible to know whether the tape would ultimately help or hurt his defense.
While it contains no overt admission of responsibility for Wright’s death, the tape shows the defendant making a number of unsettling comments that could leave a negative impression on jurors.
To avoid exposing prospective jurors to details of the case that might not be admitted at trial, The Eureka Reporter is not publishing specific statements from the tape at this time.
Admissibility motions continued Friday with Cissna viewing the conclusion of the videotape, during which an Austin detective joined Cook and Rollin in the interview room, questioning the suspect aggressively for a few minutes until Rollin asked to speak with an attorney.
The interview ended abruptly there, but the conversation soon resumed — this time captured on Cook’s voice recorder as Rollin was being transported back to jail.
Rollin continued talking to Cook, who told the suspect two or three times that she could not talk to him unless he again waived his rights, which he agreed to do.
The story he told then differed substantially from his earlier statements, but Rollin persisted in his denial of responsibility for Wright’s death.
He appeared in court last week with his previously long hair cut short and his dark glasses replaced with clear reading glasses.
It remained unclear when opening arguments would begin. Cissna, apparently frustrated by the pace of proceedings, reminded the attorneys that they had told him the trial would end by Christmas.
“From my observation, the chance of that happening is absolutely zero,” Cissna said. “We haven’t even finished the first motion.”
Jury selection is expected to resume Nov. 26, after Thanksgiving, but two additional weeklong recesses are scheduled in December.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label Rollin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rollin. Show all posts
10.05.2007
ER - Rollin retrial confirmation delayed
Rollin retrial confirmation delayed
by Heather Muller , 10/4/2007
Two evidentiary motions filed by attorneys unrelated to the prosecution or defense in the retrial of Joseph Pierre Rollin upended court proceedings Wednesday and delayed a trial confirmation hearing.
Rollin, a former registered caregiver, is charged with dependent abuse resulting in the 2002 death of Joi Henderson Wright, 42, who suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis and weighed only 60 pounds when she died of pneumonia in March of that year.
The motions to quash were filed by the Humboldt County Counsel’s Office in response to subpoenas filed by the defense.
At issue were documents pertaining to services provided to Wright by Adult Protective Services, a division of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, as well as records of testimony presented before the 2002-03 and 2003-04 grand juries, which investigated the Wright case.
Deputy County Counsel Rosanne Zuber argued in the first motion that most of the APS documents requested were confidential.
Defense attorney Barry Morris, from Hayward, disagreed, telling Judge Harold Neville that the documents were subject to disclosure, and any suggestion to the contrary was “simply a bogus argument.”
Morris said he was seeking two categories of documents from APS, the first having to do with general policies and procedures of the department, and the second showing the process that led to the decision to terminate services to Wright.
His statements suggested that he plans to put the DHHS on trial, saying in court Wednesday that the documents are needed to show “why the APS abandoned a woman … six months before her death.”
The second motion to quash was argued by Deputy County Counsel Wendy Chaitin, who said records of testimony requested from the 2002-03 grand jury were no longer in existence, and that release of records that do exist from the 2003-04 grand jury could be ordered only by the court’s presiding judge, John Feeney, who was unavailable Wednesday.
After hearing both sides, Neville agreed in part with Chaitin.
“I think the argument is before the wrong judge,” he said, a statement that sparked a series of courtroom changes, with six lawyers, a cart full of documents and numerous supporting staff parading from one courtroom to the next, until everyone ended up back where they started without the arguments having been heard by the right judge.
In the end, Zuber voluntarily released documents detailing general policies and procedures to Morris and his co-counsel, Matthew Fregi, from Martinez, and Neville continued the other matters, including trial confirmation, until Oct. 17.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos won a conviction against Rollin in 2004, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal after a higher court determined that Gallegos used statements during the trial that were made by the defendant before he had been read his Miranda rights.
Deputy District Attorney Ben McLaughlin will prosecute the case this time around, with jury selection expected to begin later this month.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
by Heather Muller , 10/4/2007
Two evidentiary motions filed by attorneys unrelated to the prosecution or defense in the retrial of Joseph Pierre Rollin upended court proceedings Wednesday and delayed a trial confirmation hearing.
Rollin, a former registered caregiver, is charged with dependent abuse resulting in the 2002 death of Joi Henderson Wright, 42, who suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis and weighed only 60 pounds when she died of pneumonia in March of that year.
The motions to quash were filed by the Humboldt County Counsel’s Office in response to subpoenas filed by the defense.
At issue were documents pertaining to services provided to Wright by Adult Protective Services, a division of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, as well as records of testimony presented before the 2002-03 and 2003-04 grand juries, which investigated the Wright case.
Deputy County Counsel Rosanne Zuber argued in the first motion that most of the APS documents requested were confidential.
Defense attorney Barry Morris, from Hayward, disagreed, telling Judge Harold Neville that the documents were subject to disclosure, and any suggestion to the contrary was “simply a bogus argument.”
Morris said he was seeking two categories of documents from APS, the first having to do with general policies and procedures of the department, and the second showing the process that led to the decision to terminate services to Wright.
His statements suggested that he plans to put the DHHS on trial, saying in court Wednesday that the documents are needed to show “why the APS abandoned a woman … six months before her death.”
The second motion to quash was argued by Deputy County Counsel Wendy Chaitin, who said records of testimony requested from the 2002-03 grand jury were no longer in existence, and that release of records that do exist from the 2003-04 grand jury could be ordered only by the court’s presiding judge, John Feeney, who was unavailable Wednesday.
After hearing both sides, Neville agreed in part with Chaitin.
“I think the argument is before the wrong judge,” he said, a statement that sparked a series of courtroom changes, with six lawyers, a cart full of documents and numerous supporting staff parading from one courtroom to the next, until everyone ended up back where they started without the arguments having been heard by the right judge.
In the end, Zuber voluntarily released documents detailing general policies and procedures to Morris and his co-counsel, Matthew Fregi, from Martinez, and Neville continued the other matters, including trial confirmation, until Oct. 17.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos won a conviction against Rollin in 2004, but the verdict was thrown out on appeal after a higher court determined that Gallegos used statements during the trial that were made by the defendant before he had been read his Miranda rights.
Deputy District Attorney Ben McLaughlin will prosecute the case this time around, with jury selection expected to begin later this month.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
5.22.2007
ER - Retrial for man accused in Orick woman's death moved back a month
Retrial for man accused in Orick woman's death moved back a month
by Kara Machado, 5/22/2007
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna decided Monday to move Joseph Pierre Rollin’s trial from June 8 to July 9.
The request to push the trial over one month was brought before Cissna by Rollin’s attorney, Humboldt County Deputy Public Defender Mike Eannarino.
Eannarino said he needed more time to prepare for trial by acquiring the services of expert witnesses.
As of Monday, Eannarino said he was closing in on possibly two expert witnesses.
Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos did not object to the continuance. However, he commented in court that the defense was “sparse on details” about why it needed its expert witnesses or “what the purpose (would be for) its expert witnesses.”
After Cissna vacated Rollin’s previous court dates and set new ones, he recommended Eannarino get his expert witnesses posthaste so there wouldn’t be a need for another continuance.
Monday’s decision was made a week after Eannarino initially brought up the request for a continuance. Rather than make a decision then, Cissna opted to hold off on a ruling on the continuance until Monday in order to give Eannarino more time to come up with a time frame.
Rollin’s case is being retried after being overturned on appeal — he was previously convicted in connection with the 2002 death of Orick resident Joi Henderson Wright.
According to past reports, Rollin’s conviction was overturned in December due to Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos using Rollin’s non-Mirandized denial of responsibility as evidence against him.
During his court appearance Monday, Rollin sat in the back section of the courtroom’s jury box, his left wrist cuffed to another inmate.
Rollin, who typically wears wire-rimmed glasses with dark lenses during court proceedings, is a tall, lanky man with curly, bushy salt-and-pepper hair.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
by Kara Machado, 5/22/2007
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna decided Monday to move Joseph Pierre Rollin’s trial from June 8 to July 9.
The request to push the trial over one month was brought before Cissna by Rollin’s attorney, Humboldt County Deputy Public Defender Mike Eannarino.
Eannarino said he needed more time to prepare for trial by acquiring the services of expert witnesses.
As of Monday, Eannarino said he was closing in on possibly two expert witnesses.
Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos did not object to the continuance. However, he commented in court that the defense was “sparse on details” about why it needed its expert witnesses or “what the purpose (would be for) its expert witnesses.”
After Cissna vacated Rollin’s previous court dates and set new ones, he recommended Eannarino get his expert witnesses posthaste so there wouldn’t be a need for another continuance.
Monday’s decision was made a week after Eannarino initially brought up the request for a continuance. Rather than make a decision then, Cissna opted to hold off on a ruling on the continuance until Monday in order to give Eannarino more time to come up with a time frame.
Rollin’s case is being retried after being overturned on appeal — he was previously convicted in connection with the 2002 death of Orick resident Joi Henderson Wright.
According to past reports, Rollin’s conviction was overturned in December due to Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos using Rollin’s non-Mirandized denial of responsibility as evidence against him.
During his court appearance Monday, Rollin sat in the back section of the courtroom’s jury box, his left wrist cuffed to another inmate.
Rollin, who typically wears wire-rimmed glasses with dark lenses during court proceedings, is a tall, lanky man with curly, bushy salt-and-pepper hair.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.