If you remember, at the last pre-sentencing hearing in the Danny Masterson criminal case, his attorney Shawn Holley, calling in on Webex, expressed some surprise that substantive matters were being discussed. If she'd known that, she said, she and her co-counsel would have been in the courtroom.
So today was a bit of a makeup date that allowed all four attorneys to be in the courtroom again: Prosecutors Reinhold Mueller and Ariel Anson, and defense attorneys Philip Cohen and Shawn Holley.
We had a correspondent in the courtroom, but unfortunately, we did not get a report on Cohen's attire.
Masterson himself was not present, but two matters were discussed before Judge Charlaine Olmedo.
First, they tackled the issue of whether the third count against Masterson would be dismissed with or without prejudice.
Masterson was convicted after his second trial on May 31 of two counts of forcible rape and faces 30 years to life in prison. The jury could not reach a verdict on the third count, and prosecutors have decided not to refile it for a new trial at this time.
However, the DA's office does want to hold open the possibility that at some future date the third count could be refiled if conditions change, and so they want it dismissed now "without prejudice."
Cohen argued today to have it dismissed "with" prejudice so that it could never be refiled again. He raised some of the same arguments he made back in January about how it would be pointless to try Masterson again, and that in the interests of justice, with no evidence coming forward, that Masterson has a right to a final resolution.
Mueller reacted to Cohen's claim that there had been little difference in retrying Masterson, which of course had a major result of a conviction on two counts the second time around.
He also cited issues that might come up on appeal which could change the situation in ways they can't predict now, and so he wanted to hold open the possibility of filing the third count again some day.
Judge Olmedo cited case law, saying that it seemed pretty obvious the legislature's intent was that crimes be prosecuted if evidence exists, but balancing that with a defendant's rights. So, she said, it seemed premature to close off the possibility of a refiling when matters could change in the future.
She did point out, however, that the defense itself has the right to revisit that situation at a later date as well.
They then moved to the second matter, a motion filed by the defense to delay Masterson's sentencing again.
After he was convicted on May 31, the defense had asked for an August 4 hearing for filing motions, but then later asked for the sentencing itself to happen on that date. They then asked for a delay, and Judge Olmedo pushed it back to September 7.
Now, the defense had filed a motion saying that it needed more time to put together a motion for a new trial, as well as for Masterson's appeals lawyers to prepare their work, and so they wanted to push back the sentencing.
Prosecutor Mueller opposed the delay, saying the victims should get their chance to give their statements in court on September 7. (Judge Olmedo had earlier ruled that all three Jane Doe victims will get to speak, even with only two convictions.)
Shawn Holley proposed splitting the sentencing so that the victims' statements might be heard first, and then the motions by attorneys later.
But Judge Olmedo held firm, saying that sentencing will take place September 7 at 8:30 am in her courtroom.
She did allow the two sides more time to get in their next filings, saying she only needed them by September 5 to give her two days to prepare.
So, the September 7 date seems firmer than ever.
And we want to thank our correspondent for giving us this view of the proceedings.
Want to help?
You can support the Underground Bunker with a Paypal contribution to bunkerfund@tonyortega.org, an account administered by the Bunker’s attorney, Scott Pilutik. And by request, this is our Venmo link, and for Zelle, please use (tonyo94 AT gmail).
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
Here’s the link for today’s post at tonyortega.org
And whatever you do, subscribe to this Substack so you get our breaking stories and daily features right to your email inbox every morning.
Paid subscribers get access to two special podcast series every week…
Up the Bridge: A weekly journey through Scientology’s actual “technology”
Group Therapy: Our round table of rowdy regulars on the week’s news
Thank you Underground Bunker special correspondent!
YAY!!! Judge Olmedo!!!