Defendant Waives Right to Sidebars in Voir Dire and Trial So Jurors Will Not See He Is In Jail

Defendant Waives Right to Sidebars in Voir Dire and Trial So Jurors Will Not See He Is In Jail by Matthew & Russell Lee, Patreon Substack 100 CENTRE ST, May 4 – A defendant on the precipice of trial in 100 Centre Street was presented with a Hobson's choice on May 4 by Justice Robert M. Mandelbaum: either waive his right to attend sidebar questioning of prospective jurors, or let them all see that he is in detention.   Inner City Press was there.   The defendant has been given the right to wear non-prison formal wear. But if security accompanies him up to the sidebar, it will be obvious where he's living.   His lawyer, after first straining to hear the prosecutor's statements, conferred loudly with his client about the stakeouts. Finally the defendant asked Justice Mandelbaum if he would be the judge for the trial. When told Yes, the defendant said he waived his right to be present at the sidebar.   Meanwhile, in a criminal weapon possesion trial already underway before Justice Cori H. Weston, a technician witness put the odds that it was the defendant's DNA on a portion of the gun at 448 trillion to one. The prosecutor pointedly asked how many zeros are in a trillion and was told, "Twelve." In a perplexing turn, the odds of his DNA being on the actual trigger were put at 59 to one against. We're left wondering: what are the odds?    Justice Gregory Carro, who this fall will preside over the Luigi Mangione state case, spent the day picking a jury; Justice Ann D. Scherzer cued up closing arguments for Wednesday, if her defendant waives his right to testify.   Finally down in APAR1, the last defendant of the afternoon session was bought in handcuffed then released with a full order of protection for his former fiancee. The handcuffs were taken off. *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com