Defense moves to admit Morris evidence. Some bullet points but really the whole thing is a great read-
- There is video evidence of Shannon and the others present at the bar - "identified third-party defendant who is alleged to have committed a similar sexual assault in the same location less than two weeks prior to the alleged assault in Mr. Shannon’s case and who was present (as evidenced by video) within a couple feet of the precise location of the alleged touching in the case at bar."
- Morris was standing next to Kevin McCullar, not Shannon. This is important as the alleged victim has testified that it was Shannon next to Kevin McCullar. I don't know how this works with the picture of Harmon and Shannon she sent to the police saying Harmon was standing next to Shannon cough white girl can't tell black men apart cough - "M.N. would later testify at preliminary hearing that one of those witnesses was immediately next to Mr. Shannon while Mr. Shannon was allegedly assaulting her. However, video surveillance reveals that the person who was immediately next to the witness was, in fact, the third party in question."
- Seiden says no relation between one bar assault and another - "Undersigned counsel indicated their belief that information related to the 8/26/23 bar assault was known to police but had not been part of the charges or the media coverage thereof." "counsel for the State indicated that the State would not agree to produce reports to the defense, even under a protective order, because of his belief that the two incidents were in no way similar."
- Bullet point 12 spans multiple paragraphs and the Defense rips into Seiden, all good stuff, too much to quote
The Argument and Authority section:
- Morris, not Shannon "Video evidence reveals that Mr. Shannon was not the person immediately next to KM. Instead, the person in that position was the third party at issue here. Multiple witnesses can testify as to the presence of the third party in this location at the time of the alleged touching. Police have never interviewed the third party about his presence at the bar or specifically in the area of this alleged assault."
- Morris might be aware the area doesn't have good camera coverage "Four days later, L.R. reported the incident to police who reviewed footage from the bar’s surveillance cameras and confirmed that the third party was in the area she had described but they could not see the touching due to his location, the camera angle, and the crowd of people."
- Because Morris committed a rape, either the police or the D.A. decided not to pursue the earlier sexual assault charge that sounds like it would have been a winner "Police interviewed an eyewitness (M.R.) who had seen the touching. Police did not contact the third party about this incident until September 11, 2023, two days after the incident in our case. Police prepared a probable cause affidavit on September 15, 2023. They prepared a second probable cause affidavit on the same date related to a separate allegation. The third party was charged with rape based upon the second affidavit. No charges were filed related to the alleged touching in the bar."
agree. It’s a spin to further a narrative.
