(San Francisco sheriff, accused of domestic violence) Mirkarimi lawyer seeks to bar wife's video
San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's attorneys moved Wednesday to exclude key prosecution evidence against him in his domestic violence case, including a video in which his wife described how he had allegedly bruised her on New Year's Eve and had abused her once before.
Mirkarimi, 50, made a brief appearance Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court in advance of his trial on charges of misdemeanor domestic violence battery, dissuading a witness and child endangerment. Outside court, he said he was "looking forward to getting this past us."
Prosecutors have sought to portray Mirkarimi ans a manipulative "Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde" figure who resorts to rage and violence when he doesn't get his way, including the New Year's Eve incident that authorities say left his wife with a bruise on her right arm.
On Wednesday, his lawyers filed a motion seeking to undermine such claims by excluding a video that a neighbor of Mirkarimi and his wife, Eliana Lopez, shot in which Lopez described how her husband had hurt her during an argument.
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The neighbors' statements are hearsay, (attorney Lidia) Stiglich argued. Lopez herself has denounced the case against her husband and has not cooperated with prosecutors.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/22/BA281NB8H4.DTL
Huh? A video of a victim making a statement is hearsay? I don't get that, unless the videotaped subject was drunk or confused or coerced during recording.
