By: Dovesblood
October 16th.2008 was the second day of jury deliberations in the murder trial of Nixzmary Brown's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago.
People were just sitting in the courtroom chatting with each other, waiting around for the jury to come back with a verdict.
Judge Patricia DiMango was wearing a black lingerie-like top with spaghetti straps and black bell bottom pants. Lead D.A., Ama Dwimoh (ja-mo) was wearing a black dress with a gray plaid jacket. Asst. D.A., Anthea Bruffee, was wearing a white top. I didn't write whether she was wearing pants or a skirt (sorry) but it was black. Asst. D.A., Linda Weinman, was wearing a midnight blue skirt suit. Defense lawyer, Sammy Sanchez, was wearing a black suit. Defense lawyer, Kathleen M. Mullin was wearing a black skirt suit. The defense's appellate lawyer, Beverly Van Ness was wearing a purple top with a gray skirt. Nixzaliz's mother, Maria Gonzalez and her spokesperson Awilda Cordero were there. Gonzalez was wearing a beige cardigan, a black and white leopard shirt underneath and a headband.
During Cesar's closing arguments, there was this melato black female lawyer who was there in the audience. She was acting in a lowlife manner, carrying on and laughing loudly in the room. She wouldn't shut up the whole time. Anyway, she showed up today and was talking to one on Dwimoh's assistants. Not surprisingly, she was again carrying on and laughing loud and literally doubling over with laughter. That happened a couple of times. I know that court is not officially in session and everyone is just waiting around for the jury to come back but that room is still technically the place where a murder trial for a child is going on. Some sort of respect should be shown and this woman was carrying on like a lowlife.
Moving on, there was a reporter putting on her blush in the room.
When they brought Nixzaliz out, she was wearing a brown shirt, navy blue jeans with designs on the back pockets and her hair was in a bun enclosed in a brown, knitted bun holder.
Judge DiMango announces to the room that there are two notes from the jury. In the first note, the jury wanted to know when the A.C.S. workers went to the school, all the dates that A.C.S. visited the house, Nixzmary's medical records from birth up until age 7, (?) pictures, and they wanted the medical records that say where the blunt impact on the head occurs.
According to my notes, DiMango told the jury that the ACS workers went to the school on Nov.1st. 2005. The actual date that the ACS workers visited the school was Dec.1st. not Nov.1st. If my notes are correct, then that means that THE JUDGE GAVE THE JURY WRONG INFORMATION TO DELIBERATE ON! If my notes are NOT correct, then I apologize to Judge DiMango for writing this. The only way to know for sure would be to look at the official court reporters transcript to see what the judge actually said. That's something I don't have access to. I should point out that nobody in the room objected when the judge said it. I didn't even realize that there was a discrepancy until right now as I'm looking at my notes and typing this. If it is true that she gave them the wrong information, the defense will probably use that as a basis for appeal.
DiMango also told the jury all of the dates that the ACS workers visited the home: Dec.1st 2005 (when Nixzmary showed up at school with the gash to her eye), Dec.8th- no access, Dec. 9th.- they called and there was no answer, Dec. 21st. - they called and the phone was not in order, Dec.23rd.- visited with no access, Jan. 1st- visited with no access, Jan.11th.- they visited and Nixzmary was found dead.
DiMango gave them the medical records. (in reference to where Nixzmary was hit on the head, it was on the right hand side of her head)
Then DiMango read the second note from the jury. They were requesting the testimony of ACS worker, Vanessa Rhoden (who saw Nixzmary at the school and went to her house and was shown by Nixzaliz, the fetus in the jar)
At this point the sargent in the room tells two reporters to put away their newspapers and to stop putting on make-up.
DiMango then said to the jury, "We sent you all of the photos of the apartment. We have two photos taken that depict items in the apartement. Do you have what you need?" The jury responded, yes.
DiMango then informed the jury that Donna, the court reporter would read them back the testimony of the ACS worker, Vanessa Rhoden. When Donna got up from her chair to approach DiMango's bench to talk to her, jurors 2 and 3, Nancy Caleb and Jaleda Yates, two young black females, started laughing. These two are very unprofessional and have been seen laughing in the jury box on more than one occassion. After Donna, the court reporter finished reading the jury Rhoden's testimony, they leave.
The Judge DiMango announced that court would be in recess for a little while. Afterwards, she put on a long leopard jacket. Some female reporters, upon seeing the jacket, were acting catty and snotty about the jacket. DiMango, because she dresses nice, intimidates alot of the women in the room. If they were secure with their own selves, they wouldn't be so intimidated by her.
One of the spectators in the room, this little old black lady named Lena, who goes to all of the high profile cases, was talking about the time she went to the Gotti trial.
Lead D.A., Ama Dwimoh, was talking to reporters.
At 1:00 pm, Judge DiMango comes back into the room (wearing her leopard jacket) and hands the sargent a photo that he then takes out of the room. DiMango told the audience that the jury had asked for a colored copy of the brain that was in the text book. Here's what that means: one of the defense's exhibits was an illustrated photo that they got from a medical textbook, depicting what a subdural hematoma looks like. (subdural hematoma is bleeding on the brain- what Nixzmary died from)
Then Judge DiMango announced that they'll be in recess for lunch and resume at 2:15 pm.
At 2:35, everyone was let back into the room. Again people were just waiting around for the jury to come back with a verdict. People chatted with each other, read newspapers. The sketch artists were putting finishing touches on their sketches. I was reading a book, and doing some other stuff.
The defense counsel, Kathleen Mullin, walked over to the first row, on the right hand side of the room, where the defense's appellate lawyer, Beverly Van Ness was sitting. "Want a gum"?, asked Mullin. She had a pack of blue Orbit gum. Van Ness took a gum. "Want a gum"? "Want a gum"?, Mullin asked Sanchez and the Spanish translator, Jeanette. Both said yes so Mullin handed out gums to them. I was thinking, "I want a gum, too!" When Sanchez popped the gum in his mouth, for a second it was dangling out of his mouth. The four of them were over there eating their gum.
Another note came in from the jury. They wanted counts 1-4 read back. Those are Murder 2, Manslaughter 1, Manslaughter 2 and Criminally Negligent Homicide.
When the jury was brought in, Judge DiMango asked them if they also wanted the charge for accessorial liability, meaning: "acting in concert" read back to them. They said, NO.
When the jury answered, no, that they didn't want "acting in concert" read back to them, I knew in that instant that they found Nixzaliz guilty of one of the higher homicide charges and not criminally negligent homicide. As soon as they said, no, I knew her fate was sealed. Here's why: all of the charges require that in order to find Nixzaliz guilty that she had to have had the same state of mind as Cesar. She had to have been "acting in concert" with him. Cesar's state of mind that night was to beat Nixzmary - that was his state of mind. Nixzaliz tried to stop him twice and tried to help Nixzmary by warming her up in the tub, dressing her in a sweatsuit, wrapping her in blankets and lying her next to a heater to warm up. That's a different state of mind than Cesar. I knew that the odds of ALL the jury members agreeing so quickly that Nixzaliz did NOT have the same state of mind as Cesar were, next to nothing. If they didn't want the read back of acting in concert, then I assumed that they already made up their minds that she WAS acting in concert and they'd convict on a higher count.
After the judge read them back the law for the first four charges (Murder, Manslaughter 1, Manslaughter 2 and Criminally Negligent Homicide) and the jury left, they took Nixzaliz back out of the room. Everytime there's a note from the jury and the judge has to give them something, they bring Nixzaliz out. Afterwards, when the jury leaves, she's taken out of the room.
Court was now in recess again.
People were just in the room talking and waiting for the jury to come back with a verdict. The lead D.A., Ama Dwimoh, was just outside of the courtroom in the foyer area. Immediately after you leave the courtroom and go through the exit door, there's a foyer area (don't know what else to call it) then there's the main doors that lead you out into the hallway. Dwimoh was in the foyer area with a large group of reporters, explaining to them the difference between the homicide counts. She was talking to them out there for a long time.
A Spanish reporter was in the courtroom sleeping.
At 4:15 pm, they brought Nixzaliz back out.
DiMango, who was wearing her leopard jacket, puts back on her judge's robe. The note said that the jury wants only the ELEMENTS of the first four charges read back to them.
If you've read my previous blog called, The Jury Charges ,you'll know what each of the elements are. The "elements" are what the prosecution is required to prove, in order to convict on a certain charge. For ex. murder has it's own definition. In order to convict the person of murder, 4 elements (or things) need to be proven. Each count has it's definition and a certain amount of things (elements) the D.A.'s need to prove to convict the person of the crime.
After DiMango finished reading the jury the elements for the first four counts against Nixzaliz, the jury told her they need to go back to the jury room and write another note to give her.(DiMango didn't want them saying what else they wanted out loud) It's 4:30 pm. They leave and go back to the jury room to write their note to give to the judge.
The jury then came back into the courtroom with their note. This time they wanted the DEFINITIONS of the first 4 charges. (what is Murder? what is manslaughter 1 ? etc)
When the jury was asking for all of these readbacks and definitions, not just today but yesterday as well, people in the room were saying that they've never seen a jury ask for so much to be read back. The people were basically implying that the jury is a bunch of dummies who can't remember anything. More than one person expressed shock that the jury kept asking for all of these read backs.
After DiMango finished reading them the definitions of the charges, she asked them to nod their heads if it was OK. Juror# 4, Stephan Debino, black male school teacher, says, "NO", outloud, meaning he wasn't satisfied with the read back.
The jury again leaves to go back into the jury room to write another note to give to the judge.
When they come back into the courtroom, a female guard hands the clerk the note. It's 4:45pm. The note says that they want to know what the difference is between Murder 2 and Manslaughter 2. DiMango told them that Muder has a greater degree of recklessness and depraved indifference to human life.
After the jury leaves the room, all the attorneys were conferencing at the bench. Then Asst. D.A., Linda Weinman, bursts out laughing hysterically.
The defense lawyers, Sammy Sanchez, Kathleen Mullin and Beverly Van Ness were huddled together talking in the back of the room. They were standing up. Van Ness started laughing.
Again, people in the room were just chatting and doing whatever, waiting for the jury to come back with a verdict. The lead D.A., Ama Dwimoh, comes over to the first row (center section) and starts talking to the 1010 Wins reporter, Juliet Papa, about child abuse cases her office handles. The NY1 reporter, Jeanine Ramirez was in the second row listening.
At 5:30 pm, Nixzaliz was brought back into the room. DiMango brings the jury back in and asks them if they want to stay or go home for the day. She said she'll send them back out and they must bring back a note letting her know what they want to do.
At this point, there are four sargents in the room. If the court thinks the jury is close to a verdict, the number of guards in the room goes up. Especially for a high profile case.
The jury comes back in the room with their note. DiMango said that the note says that they want to go home for the day.
The 1010 Wins reporter was going on about the judge's dress saying, she doesn't feel that it's appropriate and that it's a cocktail party dress. Some of the other reporters were arguing with her that there was nothing wrong with the dress. Ironically, DiMango actually walked over to the first row to chat with some of the reporters and this 1010 Wins woman was also chatting with her when 2 minutes ago, she was talking about her!! The cattiness in that room amongst female reporters was unbelievable!
Awilda Cordero, Nixzmary's grandmothers's spokesperson, came in wearing a black and white herringbone coat and was talking to the Telemundo reporter. He's this older man in his 60's. Don't know his name.
One of the spectators in the room, this black woman named Jamila with blonde hair, who made a dvd depicting candlelight vigils and people gathered at Nixzmary's apartment after she died, was talking to the channel 2 reporter, Pablo Guzman. She was telling him her own story of child abuse. Previously, she had handed out the dvd she made of the candlelight vigil to the El Diario reporter also.
Not to long after the jury was released everyone left court. Out in the halls there were about 9 or 10 television cameras mounted onto tripods.
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