Confirmed: Lisa Marie Presley, Marty Singer on witness list in Danny Masterson trial

[Hollywood fixer Marty Singer and Lisa Marie Presley]

Jury selection continued yesterday as we served our second day as pool reporter in the Danny Masterson rape trial.

Once again the day started out with very few people in the courtroom to allow a large number of potential jurors to come in. So for much of the day we were the only member of the media, and sitting next to us was Danny Masterson’s friend.

Tuesday Danny had brought along actor Chris Wadhams. This time it was music producer Mike Schuppan, and we think it’s interesting because Schuppan is married to actress and second-generation Scientologist Chelsea Alden.

You might remember that when Danny made his initial appearance in court in September 2020, the court was then under strict Covid protocols which severely limited the number of people who could be in a courtroom, but Danny brought such a large entourage with him it caused some problems for the deputies. Well, Chelsea Alden was among that entourage that day.

We can hardly wait to see who he brings with him today.

Anyway, we have heard from some of you that you enjoy all of the little details about what’s been going on in the courtroom (in part because no one else is providing them), so we thought what the heck, we’ll just provide you a copy of the pool notes that we gave to the other reporters covering the trial.

But first, we want to talk about the really big news of Day Two, and that’s the witness list, which was read out loud by Judge Olmedo in order for the potential jurors to raise their hands if they had any kind of personal connection with any of the witnesses. (None did.)

On Tuesday, Judge Olmedo had said that she would mix in the prosecution and defense witness lists so that when she read it aloud the jurors would not know which list each witness came from. However, we have confirmed that a few of the names definitely came from the prosecution team. Also, Philip Cohen, Danny’s defense attorney had said in court that the defense list was “extremely short,” and with emphasis, implying that it was only a few names out of the long list.

For us, of course, certain names hit like a ton of bricks.

“Lisa Marie Presley,” Judge Olmedo said, confirming the story we had broken the week before, that the prosecution had notified the defense team that they were putting her on the list. In that story we described Lisa Marie’s dramatic journey out of Scientology in 2014. We are still not certain exactly what Lisa Marie will be testifying about in this trial, but we have absolutely no doubt that it’s the prosecution calling her.

“Marty Singer,” she added. Oh boy. We have explained to you before how intriguing it is that one of Hollywood’s most legendary fixers, entertainment lawyer Marty Singer, will be asked to testify. The prosecutor, Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller, had revealed in a pretrial hearing that Singer was called in to testify at a grand jury that was investigating Masterson, and that one thing he was asked about was the 2004 agreement that alleged victim Jane Doe 1 said she felt pressured into signing by Singer and by Scientology. We expect that’s what he’s going to be asked out.

As for the Scientology spy we spotted in the hallway Tuesday morning, yes, he was also on the witness list. We’re still holding back his name for now. But soon enough he’ll be asked to testify, and we did confirm with the court yesterday morning that he was brought into the courtroom in order for the judge to inform him that he was a prosecution witness and would be on call throughout the trial. Again, we have heard from a key witness who says the spy tried to intimidate him on behalf of Scientology, and if that’s what the man is going to testify to, well we think that’s huge.

Two more names from the witness list we want to tell you about, and we do not know at this time whether they were put there by the prosecution or the defense. They are Jenni Weinman, Danny Masterson’s publicist, and Brie Shaffer, his assistant.

Weinman gained some notoriety when journalist Yashar Ali published an audio recording of her in 2017 saying to one of the alleged victims that a woman can’t be raped by a man she’s in a relationship with.

Shaffer we have written about several times. She is a Scientologist and she’s married to Scientologist actor Michael Peña. We have raised questions about suspicious land swaps between Masterson and Shaffer that occurred right at the time of the 2004 agreement with Jane Doe 1.

We’re very interested to find out whether it was the prosecution or defense who have added Weinman and Shaffer to the witness list. We’ll see if we can find out more about that today.

We won’t be on pool reporter duty today, that will be handled by another journalist we know. However, we’ll be at court and when some more room opens up, we’ll join her in the media section. We’ll get to hear the witness list again and that will give us a chance to see if we missed any names yesterday. (The clerk told us he was arranging something with the communications office when we asked for a physical copy of the list yesterday, so we’ll also check on that.)

So here, first, is our video report from yesterday afternoon that went out for our supporters. Then the pool notes. And then a second story with a small update in the Tampa trafficking lawsuit.

Pool notes, Day 2:

Danny Masterson, Philip Cohen and Karen L. Goldstein are joined by a new member of the defense team. A paralegal by the name of Narine. Did not catch the spelling of her last name. Ariel Anson and Reinhold Mueller for the People.

While we wait for the second batch of potential jurors to assemble in the hall, Judge Olmedo asks the attorneys to look through yesterday's juror questionnaires. Ms. Goldstein and Ms. Anson go over some individual questionnaires together.

Judge Olmedo indicates that she has already selected a number of the jurors to excuse for hardship cases. The two sides agreed with her.

Goldstein goes over some in particular that they had an issue with. The concern the defense has, she explains, is that if potential jurors are asked about Scientology in the group, they may say something in front of the others, such as a documentary they might have watched.

Judge Olmedo: Do you plan to ask in a group, have you ever seen Leah Remini's ‘Scientology and the Aftermath?’ We're not going to go to sidebar every time someone says something about Scientology.

They go on the record. Judge Olmedo explains that 225 total potential jurors have been called. 75 were called yesterday, not all showed up. And among those who did fill out the questionnaire, some couldn't sit on the jury for various reasons. They may have been victims of sex crimes. Or an employer won't pay while they're there. Or another answer. She lists off juror numbers of those who were no-shows or who have the hardship issues. Both sides agree to excuse them.

They go off the record. Judge Olmedo says the defense had asked about identifying Masterson a little more to the potential jurors. Judge Olmedo said she came up with this language: "Mr. Masterson is an actor and some of you may have seen him in television shows over the years."

Goldstein said the defense was requesting private voir dire for six potential jurors who said on their questionnaire that they had done some research or had some exposure to Scientology but they weren't specific about it.

She said that "certain bells can't be unrung" if they are talked about in front of the others. She refers to "inflammatory" documentaries featuring ex-Scientologists.

If a juror talks about such a documentary, it may taint the others, Goldstein says. So they're asking for a limited number of jurors to express privately what they meant by what they said in the questionnaire.

Judge Olmedo: Denied. She refers to case law. Something can be negative and not inflammatory. I don't think the mention of a TV show by an ex-Scientologist is going to render people so prejudicial they can't sit on a jury. Just because they are aware of such a show doesn't mean they will automatically find a Scientologist guilty.

As an analogy, she talks about the attitudes toward the police that jurors come to court with, and that it doesn't disqualify them.

She stresses again that she will give the admonition about not talking to anyone and not to consult the Internet. The fact that they may hear that there are shows out there by ex-Scientologists at this point would be a violation of their oath. And we know our jurors follow their jury instructions.

She then tells them what she plans to do at the 1:30 pm session with the first set of potential jurors. She says she is going to tell them that the trial is likely to last through November 18, even though she believes it will wrap up “much sooner” than that.

Monday she will begin by going over some basics of constitutional law, and then turn them over to the lawyers.

Danny is wearing a grey suit today. He sits for a while in the audience with his friend Mike Schuppan, a music producer.

Goldstein brings up Juror 89, who in his questionnaire referred to Scientology as a "cult." And she was also the victim of date rape in 2008. But she said she could be fair.

“The use of the word cult belies that. It is not a neutral word,” Goldstein said. "There will be Scientology evidence. Mr. Masterson is a Scientologist. So a juror who believes Scientology is a cult will not be a fair juror."

Judge Olmedo: We'll deal with it at voir dire.

After a short break, the potential jurors were brought into the room and it then pretty much followed the same lines as the day before. Judge Olmedo welcomed them, admonished them about not talking about the case to anyone. She asked the parties to introduce themselves.

Again, Philip Cohen introduced himself, Ms. Goldstein, the paralegal, and the accused, Mr. Masterson.

"Morning, everyone," Masterson said, same as the day before.

"MORNING," came back the jurors, as a group.

The judge asked them to fill out their questionnaires and to be honest and complete, and then they filed out to the hallway.

The judge then referred to having a break before the afternoon group comes in.

Judge Olmedo: "Maybe I've been a government employee too long, but I think the food in the cafeteria downstairs is really good."

"I love the Chinese chicken salad," Cohen said.

Danny Masterson then had a question for the judge. What if I'm walking down the hall and someone says hello. It's just automatic for me to say hi back.

Judge Olmedo: When the group comes back in the afternoon, I will tell them I've told you that you aren't supposed to say anything so they know you're not being rude.

Masterson: I'm afraid it's, it's an automatic thing. 'How are you doing?' And if I do say something, should I say something about it?

Judge Olmedo: Inform your lawyers.

Judge Olmedo let them know that the next case in her courtroom after Masterson will be the Malibu Creek Killer.

Long break at lunch.

The jurors (group one, from yesterday morning) file back in.

Judge Olmedo introduces them again to the parties. She then gives them the additional information about Masterson that they had agreed on: "Some of you may have seen him on television, in case you have some familiarity with him."

She then gives them basic information about no cellphones in court at all. Do not do any independent research. Don't watch anything, read anything. Do not use the Internet or social media to look up information about this case.

You may see lawyers or Mr. Masterson in the hallway. They are to have no contact with you. And you are to have no contact with them. So if you say good morning and they say nothing, they are not being rude.

She tells them more basic info about making sure they let them know about upcoming time obligations, etc.

Then Judge Olmedo gave an interesting speech.

I think this is the largest criminal courts building in the country. Sixty courtrooms in this building. For all of you here for jury service, you're going to be on your way soon enough, whether you sit on a jury or you are excused. But for people who come to these courtrooms — someone accused, a victim, a witness, a lawyer — to those people there's nothing more important than what is going on in this room. They look to the jurors for justice. Please treat this process with the seriousness that it deserves. I know there are 'how to get off jury duty' websites, and those things don't work in my courtroom. If there's a reason you can't be on jury duty, please be as honest as you can be. Because like I said there's nothing more important to the people here than an impartial jury.

I married my polar opposite in every way. We’ve been married 25 years. I'm a Bruin and my husband is a Trojan. He’s an intensely private person. She's the opposite, she likes to talk to strangers.

Nothing embarrasses me, I'm completely fine with talking to people, Judge Olmedo says.

Why do I bring this up? Because I'm going to be talking to all of you in a minute. And I know people want to keep things private. Others are happy to talk about their private life in public. So we have a sidebar. If you want a sidebar, want to say nothing in public, ask for sidebar. I'll take all the sidebars after the afternoon recess.

Some of you are wondering about charges and length of the case. But first I do need to explain some basics of criminal law. How many of you watch crime shows that deal with courts? How many have heard of presumption of innocence? Proof beyond a reasonable doubt?

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved by the People until beyond a reasonable doubt. How do people prove it? By putting witnesses on the stand and introducing documents or other evidence. Then the jury has to decide whether to believe that evidence.

Mr. Masterson is charged with three counts of 261(A)(2).

1. 2003, forcible rape, Jane Doe 1.

2. 2003, forcible rape, Jane Doe 2.

3. 2001, forcible rape, Jane Doe 3.

Some enhancements we will discuss later.

How does the presumption of innocence work in this context? If I asked you right now how you would vote on this case, the only answer you can give right now is not guilty. Why? Because he is presumed innocent until the People proves its case. The fact that a person has been arrested is not evidence of guilt.

Let me read the potential witness list.

This does not mean everyone is going to be called. If you know anyone on this list, then make sure you let us know that when it's your turn.

After reading the list, Judge Olmedo proceeded to canvass each potential juror, asking them about the previous encounters with the courts. And if they had said something about Scientology on the questionnaire, she asked about that. Many had indicated they had heard of Scientology but had no real specific information about it.

One juror mentioned that she had watched Leah's series. About five years ago while it was on A&E. She says she can still be impartial.

One juror says he has a problem with three cases in one. He doesn't like it. He admits he can’t be impartial when a person is accused of raping three different women. He was later excused.

One juror says she read Dianetics many years ago.

One juror mentioned the South Park episode. “That was a like 15 years ago though.”

Judge Olmedo asked the jurors to return on Monday afternoon and then held sidebars with the few who had asked for it. Each of them was excused.

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Plaintiffs a step closer to serving David Miscavige in Tampa

Neil Glazer, the attorney for the former Sea Org workers suing Scientology for labor trafficking in a Tampa federal court, informed Judge Thomas Barber this week that the Florida Secretary of State has been served with the court summons Judge Barber agreed to in order to accomplish substitute service on Scientology leader David Miscavige.

Once again, Glazer laid out all the efforts they have made to serve the lawsuit on Miscavige, who, it turned out, was doing his best to keep himself off the grid…

The investigator conducted surveillance and pre-surveillance using proprietary comprehensive databases and Open-Source Intelligence research. The pre-surveillance returned similar results to the Westlaw and Lexis reports. Namely, the investigator found no driver’s license information, no professional affiliations, no professional licenses, no bankruptcy records, no liens, no current property deeds, no past property deeds, no evictions, no current vehicle information, no UCC filings, no U.S. corporate affiliation, no aircraft records, no pilot license, no hunting permits, and no weapon permits. Consistent with the Westlaw and Lexis reports, the investigator found that Miscavige was most recently associated with the address 6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90028 from August 1, 1993 to June 24, 2022.

But that Hollywood address was not really where Miscavige was living. (It’s a business building that houses the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition on the ground floor and, on the top floor, the offices of the Religious Technology Center.)

After months of work with investigators, Glazer says they are convinced that Miscavige actually lives at the Hacienda Gardens in Clearwater, Florida.

We’ve told you about the Hacienda Gardens before, it’s a sprawling but rather middling apartment complex that doesn’t look like much from the outside, but Marc Headley and others told us that a double-size apartment had been carved out with special amenities for Miscavige. Glazer included this fun detail in his filing for the judge:

Miscavige’s residence is located on the north side of the property and was renovated specifically for him. Miscavige has been observed exiting the Keene Avenue gate of this property in a Cadillac, accompanied by what appeared to have been security in separate vehicles, and driving across town into what appeared to be a loading dock entrance in the Flag Building at 215 N. Ft. Harrison Avenue.

Imagine that, PIs watching Dave go from home to work.

Anyway, the filing indicates that there is now just one final step to make Miscavige an official defendant in the lawsuit…

When Plaintiffs receive the final return receipts from the U.S.P.S. (or obtain additional information as to their status), Counsel will file them (or the additional information) in a supplement to this Declaration. At that time, Plaintiffs will move for an order deeming Defendant Miscavige to be on notice and declaring him served, because it is evident that Miscavige is concealing his address and intentionally evading service.

We can hardly wait!

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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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