At hearing in military leak case, lawyers argue over questions to screen jurors
Source: Associated Press
... At Tuesdays hearing, military prosecutors and Mannings attorneys sparred over questions defense lawyers want to ask to screen potential military jury members. Potential jury members are asked a series of written and then oral questions before being put on the jury. Coombs, Mannings lead defense attorney, said he is using the questions to learn about jurors open-mindedness and familiarity with issues in the case, but also what makes the potential jurors tick.
To that end, both sides drafted a written set of more than 100 questions ranging from what newspapers potential jurors read to how much television they watch and where they volunteer. But the defense also wanted to ask more specific questions relevant to the case.
For example, on Monday, Coombs noted that his client is gay. As a result, a total of nine questions about homosexuality are being included in the written jury questionnaire, a prosecutor said. That includes a question about whether potential jurors agree with the repeal last year of the militarys dont ask, dont tell policy, which prohibited gays from serving openly in the military. But the judge in the case, Col. Denise Lind, refused to allow a question about whether potential jurors oppose gay marriage. She said potential jurors answers to the dont ask, dont tell question get at essentially the same information about bias.
The defense will also get to ask potential jurors whether theyve ever read a book about the release of classified information, whether theyve ever signed a petition or marched in a protest and whether theyre familiar with gender identity disorder ...
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/army-private-accused-of-classified-leak-asks-again-to-have-2-of-22-charges-dropped/2012/07/16/gJQApE6xpW_story.html
struggle4progress
(118,282 posts)the details emerged in arguments heard in open court ...
More than 100 questions for US WikiLeaks jurors
WEDNESDAY, 18 JULY 2012 11:33
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21864:more-than-100-questions-for-us-wikileaks-jurors&catid=81:news&Itemid=625
struggle4progress
(118,282 posts)Posted: 18 July 2012 1239 hrs
... Obama's comment that Manning "broke the law," made at a political fundraiser in California last April, and other public statements were deliberately designed to inflict damage on the defense, according to civilian attorney David Coombs ...
On Monday, the first day of the five-day pre-trial hearing, Manning's defence team argued that government lawyers must prove that the soldier intended to help Al-Qaeda by passing secret government documents to WikiLeaks.
The prosecution, however, has countered that they only have to show that Manning knew Al-Qaeda might see the sensitive files after they were posted on the Internet ...
Manning could opt for a single judge to rule in the case, but unless he does so a panel of between five and 12 service personnel will weigh the verdict.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1214196/1/.html
boppers
(16,588 posts)This is all just a sideshow.
RogueBandit
(182 posts)That's news to me. Maybe he did, do you have a few references for that statement?
I did an online search for "manning confesses" and all I got was about some preacher named James David Manning confessing in 2008.
Are you referring to chat logs that say, "I can't believe what I'm confessing to you?" Those are excerpts of chat logs from a guy with a very shady past, former hacker Adrian Lamo. Lamo gave the logs to Wired. We don't really know what Manning was confessing to ... it might have just been that he was gay. Certainly, Manning has not confessed to any court or officer of law or it would be all over the news. He might have confessed to Lamo but we don't really know what he confessed to.
I look forward to your verifiable references that show he confessed.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)with the prosecutor and negotiating some deal. So I doubt that he confessed to the charges brought against him -- maybe to being gay or something, but not to the charges against him. I'm just guessing, but I don't know why there would be such pre-trial wrangling if Manning had confessed.
boppers
(16,588 posts)Unfortunately, I cannot provide a public link, because they've all been taken down for privacy, and prosecution, reasons... he specifically talked about burning the data in question to CD-R's labelled "Lady Gaga", before going through blind channels to get them to Assange..... but I believe you are correct, that it would be news if he confessed in an official capacity.
As far as Adrian being "shady", I prefer the words of Douglas Adams: "He's jus zis guy, you know?". His co-operation with LEO was well known before Manning decided to talk to him, so I tend to believe it was an act of somebody wanted to be found out, and punished.