Photo: Det. Georgina Valentine (l), Nixzaliz Santiago (r) (This is a copy of a blog that I wrote during Cesar Rodriguez's trial on the day that Detective Georgina Valentine took the stand during Nixzmary Brown's step father's trial. My notes for Cesar's trial are not all that detailed like the notes that I kept for Nixzaliz Santiago's trial. Detective Georgina Valentine was the detective who translated Nixzaliz Santiago's statements from Spanish into English. For a more detailed account of Valentine's actions during Nixzaliz Santiago's trial, click HERE)
By: Dovesblood
In addition to ACS caseworker Vanessa Rhoden, retired detective, Georgina Valentin also took the stand. Valentin is a Latina woman, looks 40ish, and resides out of state. She's the detective who took Nixzaliz Santiago's statement and translated it into English. Right before she took the stand, defense attorney, Jeff Schwartz, petioned the court to declare Valentin a hostile witness so he could have some leeway with her in questioning. The judge denied his petition, stating that just because she's a police officer doesn't make her hostile.
When she got on the stand, Schwartz made her admit that she refused to talk to him beforehand, saying he would have to find out what her testimony would be only after she took the stand. She did admit to speaking and cooperating with the prosecution.
Schwartz grilled her about if she had knowledge about the "reid technique" of interrogation and if she ever used it. When she said she's not familiar with that name and asked Schwartz to describe what it was, he told her to just answer the question. She kept saying she couldn't answer it because she didn't know what it was. Schwartz finally said the reid technique involves using deceit and trickery upon a suspect, and asked her if she ever did that. She never answered.
All throughout her testimony, she continually made faces at Schwartz when he asked her questions as if to let the jury know she's not on his side.
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