Thread by @meghanncuniff

Good morning from Los Angeles, where Tory Lanez is to decide today whether to testify in his own defense in his trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. I’m at the courthouse and will be updating this 🧵 throughout the day.

Here’s my latest for @LawCrimeNews, about the testimony of Hollywood Hills homeowner Sean Kelly, who said the muzzle fire he saw originated with a woman but also clearly said Lanez was “firing everywhere” and very agitated, hurling “a torrent of abuse.” bit.ly/3FKak99

The article has a few more details than I was able to tweet out during the breaks yesterday, including the end of the “how many shots did the short guy shoot” question from Deputy DA Alex Bott. From my handwritten notes. “…when you said he was firing everywhere?”

Kelly did say early on that Lanez was shooting “in the air,” in response to a question about where he was shooting, but it was followed by the “firing everywhere” comment, and his overall testimony indicated he said “in the air” not like he meant Lanez was firing warning shots...

...but in a “where else would you fire a gun but into the air unless you’re shooting someone at pointblank range” way.

The big key to this testimony is the tone. It’s hard to capture Kelly’s tone and how naturally he was answering these questions...

...but to me, the absolute jaw-dropper moment of this trial will go down as when Kelly said Lanez was "firing everywhere" and Bott followed up by asking, "How many shots did you see the short guy shoot when you said he was firing everywhere?”

Kelly’s answer was the jaw-dropper of the trial: "Four or five." And it wasn't just the words he said, it was how he said them.

I can’t keep up with my Twitter replies right now, but I did notice someone sharing a screenshot of what appeared to be a same-day trial transcript that had to have been purchased from the official court reporter for a hefty price.

If anyone has the full #ToryLanez trial transcripts, they would be providing a tremendous public service by posting those in full for everyone to read at their leisure, instead of just a screenshot of one exchange.

One thing for anyone who may be getting transcripts directly from Lanez or his lawyers, keep in mind that all those people should have their attention 100 percent focused on what’s going on in that courtroom, not what’s going on outside of it.

Kevin Spacey’s lawyer told @LADailyJournal recently: “The courtroom is its own little crucible. I think lawyers spend way too much time thinking about how the jurors are going to be affected by the outside publicity and not enough time thinking about that crucible.”

(Here's the full article on Kevin Spacey's lawyers' approach to his civil sexual battery trial in the Southern District of New York. It examples how in the end, good lawyering is a ton of work. Lazy people need not apply.) kelleranderle.com/wp-content/upl…

Regarding the jury (imagine being forced into jury service at this time of year, how horrible), there was some movement yesterday. A regular juror was dismissed, an Asian woman who was maybe in her 30s and 40s, and an alternate moved in.

The alternate is a Black woman in her 50s or 60s. Describing juror reactions can be difficult - it’s hard to read blank expressions, and many times the jurors are simply looking from attorney to witness, lectern (please don’t call it a podium) to witness stand.

I saw the older Black woman doing this during exams, but when Kelsey took the stand last week and clammed up, saying she’d said things in her September interview that weren’t true and she didn't see Tory shooting, I noticed the woman turned her attention fully to Tory’s family.

She was staring at them quite intently as they sat behind Tory in the gallery. She was looking from Kelsey to Deputy DA Kathy Ta in the beginning of the exam, but when it became clear that this was how Kelsey was going to be on the witness stand, she locked in on Tory’s family.

As I said in a @LawCrimeNetwork interview that will air today, a witness recanting prior statements on the stand like Kelsey did actually happens in court all the time. It’s why there’s caselaw allowing for questions about inconsistent statements.

Tory Lanez has arrived for his trial in downtown Los Angeles for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.

Judge Herriford is already running this trial like a plot line for a Parks & Rec-type show about an overburdened yet totally inefficient @LASuperiorCourt criminal trial court, and this morning could be its on episode: We're not starting until 11 a.m. now.

We filed into the courtroom about 10 a.m. under the strict supervision of a court PIO and a sheriff's deputy. After we were seated, the deputy addressed us like a kindergarten class and basically congratulated himself for managing to get the public seated in a public courtroom.

The deputy then informed us that we won't be starting until 11 a.m., but he can't guarantee we won't lose our seat if we leave the courtroom, so basically good luck to all of us for the next hour.

I've got a badge so feel OK about not losing my seat, but if judge takes the bench when I'm out here, I can't go back in. Judge David Herriford seriously issued an actual real court order prohibiting in and outs. As if that's the preparation he needed to be doing for this trial.

The deputy informed us a few minutes ago it will be "a hardcore half hour." The most immediate business for the court once in session will be does Tory Lanez have more witnesses i.e. is he going to testify? Judge Herriford will ask him directly if he's testifying.

General thinking in the gallery is that Tory Lanez will not testify, but anything could happen. Judge Herriford is going to emphasize to him that the decision is his to make. It's not his lawyer's decision, it's Tory's decision, though he can of course take his lawyer's advice.

I said hi to Tory’s father as he arrived this morning following our photo shoot yesterday, and he has an important clarification for the masses: “She’s my wife, not my girlfriend.”

It's official: Tory Lanez will not be testifying. He confirmed to Judge Herriford that he knows it's his decision, and his decision is to not testify. Herriford then read aloud jury instructions, and closings will allegedly begin at 1:30 p.m.

Judge Herriford took the bench at 11:15 am and, with the jury not in, said his understanding from Tory's lawyer George Mgdesyan is that Tory won't be testifying.

Calling him "Mr. Peterson", the judge asked Tory Lanez directly if he knows he has the absolute right to testify.
"Yes, your honor," Tory said.
Herriford asked Tory if he's consider his decision and Tory answered, "I have, your honor."

Judge Herriford then confirmed with Tory that he's not testifying. I didn't catch Tory's full answer, but he clearly confirmed with Herriford it is his decision not to take the stand.

I was in there in Judge Herriford read the instructions but didn't take many notes. In federal court, I would be able to pull up the instructions, and all drafts, and post them for the world to see, but @LASuperiorCourt refuses to let the public see the documents in this case.

Court resumes at 1:30. The sheriff's deputy warned that the 16 available public seats will of course be quite coveted, so anyone wanting one needs to plan accordingly and get here before 1:30. Badged journalists have set seats though.

To be clear, in the video above, I was quoting a reply I saw on here when I referenced "African Twitter." I saw this reply saying Tory's stepmother is from Kenya.

https://twitter.com/LenValyrian/status/1605372575290654721?s=20&t=UmwrAaBNXpbCrZX764badA

Some background reading while we wait for closings to begin. Here is yesterday's #ToryLanez trial thread, all in one place. bit.ly/3WDQK5c

I was in court yesterday when Judge Herriford went over the exhibits with prosecutors and Lanez's attorneys. Prosecutors have approximately 47 items. Lanez has a handful. Maybe four? A photo of Kelsey Harris and some Instagram posts. Prosecutors have much more than that.

The first few exhibits are a map of the shooting location, photos of spent shell casings, an acrylic nail found in the street, a photo of Tory Lanez after his arrest, a photo of blood stains in the street, photos of the broken chain and pendant found in the street.

All of this evidence will be with the jurors as they deliberate. They'll have a CD of police body camera footage from LAPD pulling over the Escalade at gunpoint and ordering everyone out. There's audio of a 911 call. Home security footage with audio of the gunshots.

There's also a photo of the handgun that fired the five rounds in evidence, and there's a photo of blood inside the Escalade, as well as a suitcase that was in there. There are photos of Tory and Kelsey and Tory's driver Jaquan Smith at the police station.

There's a CD with footage from the police stop and the aftermath. There's a recording of Tory's jail call to Kelsey in which he apologies and says he was so drunk (He never mentions a shooting or a gun. His lawyer says he was apologizing for sleeping with both Kelsey and Meg.)

There are videos of Meg on the ground after the police stop, her stumbling with her hands up at their direction, and of her in an ambulance. There are photos of Meg's injured feet, and there are the apologetic texts Tory sent her later that day.

There are the texts Kelsey sent Meg's security Justin Edison shortly after the shooting that said, "Help" "Tory shot meg" "911." (Obviously Edison never testified.)

X-rays of Megan Thee Stallion's injured feet with bullet fragments visible also are in evidence, as is the hospital report about her surgery. A few more items, too, but that's the gist of prosecutors' evidence against Tory Lanez.

FWIW, several people agree that the deputy in charge of regulating the gallery today is really the nicest one of them all. He's very nice to us when he tells us all this stuff. It's just the entire process coupled with the crazy amount of downtime for the jury that offends me.

We are on a 15-minute break after Deputy DA Alexander Bott gave his closing argument. He began and ended with what he said this case is all about: Megan Pete, aka Megan Thee Stallion. Jurors saw a PowerPoint slide with a photo of Meg and a quote from her testimony last week.

"f I would have known that coming out and speaking my truth would come with people agreeing with me being shot, if I would known, I would have started to lose my confidence" and started to feel like damn, maybe I should be dead - Meg's testimony displayed for jury.

Deputy DA Bott told the jury that, "after more than two years of this torture" for Megan Thee Stallion, it's finally time to hold Tory Lanez "accountable for his crimes."

"I want everybody to really think back to last Tuesday. That's when Meg testified," Bott said.

Bott said Megan had her guard up when she began testifying in the morning, but after the lunch break, "those walls came down."
"I think everybody in this courtroom felt something that day," Bott said.

"This is the critical question in this case: Was Meg telling the truth that afternoon?" Bott asked. "I think everybody in this courtroom knows the answer to that question."

Bott displayed more testimony quotes from Meg and said, "If you believe Megan and what she said last Tuesday, this case is over. We're done. If you believe Megan, that's enough."

Incredibly but also predictably, closing arguments did not finish today. Tory's lawyer George Mgdesyan was still arguing when Judge Herriford ended court for the day. He'll finish in the morning, then prosecutors can give a rebuttal. Then jury will deliberate.

Mgdesyan focused a lot on reasonable doubt in the beginning. "It's not my job to prove innocence. It's the people's job to prove their case."
Everyone is leaving courthouse now. I'll share more ASAP.

The scene as Tory Lanez left the courthouse a few moments ago. Judge Herriford asked the jury to report by 9:45 am, so hopefully that means things will be underway by 11 am or so. 🤞

There was a light moment for Tory Lanez today during his lawyer’s closing - Mgdesyan referenced his height, saying he’s “what, 5-foot-2” and “I don’t even know if he can get over the door to shoot.”
Lanez laughed for a bit over that one.

My gallery seat this afternoon gave me a view of the six jurors who are seated on the right side of the jury box when they’re facing the well of the court, and each is a woman who seemed to have quite a stony expression as Mgdesyan spoke. They didn’t appear to think he was funny.

Regarding Mgdeysan’s argument, he said prosecutors; case is “full of holes, speculation.” He displayed the instruction about reasonable doubt and the instruction that says if jurors think a witness is lying in key testimony, they should consider disregarding all testimony.

Mgdeysan was talking about Megan Thee Stallion, calling her by her legal name “Megan Pete” or “Ms. Pete,” and he prefaced his argument with a proclamation: “This is an unfortunate case. Somebody got shot. Megan Pete got shot.”
Mgdeysan said he doesn’t deny she was shot.

But Mgdesyan urged jurors to also consider what "my client" as he always calls Tory Lanez has been through the last two years.
"My client is being falsely accused," Mgdesyan told the jury. "Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case."

Mgdesyan asked why Megan lied for two years about having a sexual relationship with Lanez, and why she lied to Gayle King on TV about it.

"How do you believe anything Megan Pete says, ladies and gentlemen? And keep in mind reasonable doubt," Mgdesyan said.

Mgdesyan questioned Megan's testimony that she wasn't bothered that Tory was in the pool with Kylie Jenner.

"Do you really believe that Megan Pete wasn't upset that my client was in the pool with Kylie? Do you really believe that?" Mgdesyan asked the jury.

Sketch artist Mona Edwards was in the courtroom today for closing arguments. instagram.com/p/CmdAC7jLNBH/…

Mgdesyan said Tory Lanez was simply trying to stop the fight between Kelsey and Megan, and "Ms. Pete was drunk. Ms. Pete was acting aggressive."
He also questioned why Tory hasn't been charged with assault if prosecutors really think Tory assaulted Kelsey.

Mgdesyan went over how Sean Kelly testified he saw two women fighting, and again cited Megan's unquestionable victimhood - "Again, she's a victim. She got shot!" - before questioning Meg's testimony that she has suffered over the last two years because of this.

Mgdesyan cited Megan's Grammys and said she's been "#1 on Billboard" but somehow she wants the jury to believe "it's been so bad for her."
"You know who it's been bad for? That man right there," Mgdesyan said, pointing at Tory Lanez as he sat at the defense table.

I'm going to sign off for now because Judge David Herriford's holiday time trial schedule, making what should have been a 3-5 day trial stretch over two weeks, is a little tiring, but I should have included Kelsey's September interview in the evidence list above.

Thread broke, continues here:

https://twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1605757314199261184