Oh this is sketchy as hell. The notorious activist DC Judge Amy Berman Jackson announced today she will deliver the sentence for Roger Stone on Thursday; however, she will immediately postpone execution of that sentence until the issues around the request for a new trial are resolved. Here’s what appears to be happening….
Judge Amy Berman-Jackson doesn’t want to deal with; and doesn’t want the optics of; the serious issue surrounding the activist jury foreperson, Tomeka Hart, prior to delivering her sentence.
Within the process to deal with Stone’s motion for a new trial, judge Berman-Jackson knows the petition would involve bringing in Tomeka Hart to her courtroom for questioning. The judge doesn’t want that damaging political optic prior to delivering her sentence. Obviously, such an appearance begs the question of how poorly Judge Berman-Jackson handled jury selection. This CYA is a seriously political and sketchy decision.
Judge Amy Berman-Jackson will pass her sentence on Stone, and then take up the issue of a new trial *AFTER* the sentence is announced. As a consequence the judge will not carry out execution of the sentence until the Tomeka Hart issues are addressed. FUBAR.
WASHINGTON – […] In a 12-minute conference call with the defense and prosecution teams on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she will still hand down Stone’s sentence at Thursday’s hearing, but indicated she plans to defer the execution of the sentence until the court addresses Stone’s request for a new trial.
[…] Prosecutors told Jackson they were in favor of moving forward with Thursday’s sentencing as planned. But Seth Ginsburg, a lawyer for Stone, argued they should hold off until the motions before the court are fully addressed.“This issue goes to the heart of this case,” Ginsburg said. “It should be resolved before any further proceedings are had.”[…] Two newly assigned prosecutors on the case — John Crabb Jr. and J.P. Cooney — made their debuts on behalf of the government on Tuesday. (read more)
And what is “J.P. Cooney’s most recent claim to public fame?…
