Lawyers for David Kernell rested the defense's case Monday without calling the defendant to the stand to testify. The son of a Democrat Tennessee state legislator is charged with four felony counts, including identity theft and mail fraud for breaking into former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's private Yahoo! e-mail account in 2008 and posting her messages, contact lists and private telephone numbers of her friends and family members on the Web:
Federal prosecutors allege Kernell, 22, was trying to derail Palin's campaign as the GOP vice presidential running mate to Arizona Sen. John McCain when he accessed the account.It appears that young Kernell didn't want to have to face cross-examination by the prosecutors for the details of his harmless little "college prank."
Kernell had the weekend to consider whether to testify after prosecutors rested their case Friday. The lead witness Friday in the U.S. District Court case was Palin herself, who said Kernell's alleged crimes had disrupted her life and the lives of her family.
[...]
Defense attorney Wade Davies argues what Kernell did was a college prank.
Update: Both sides have presented their closing arguments, and the case will go to the jury Tuesday.
- JP
I think his attorneys made this decision - to keep him off the stand - after he made those public snarky comments about Bristol Palin "not being his type". He clearly can't control his hate for the Palins and his attorneys are worried the prosecution will bait him into making arrogant, partisan and hateful statements during his cross examination. This would destroy their defence that this was simply a college prank and that he is remorseful over it. It could also adversely influence the judge into giving him a harsher sentence if convicted.
ReplyDeleteI think the only hope they have now is that there is at least one Palin hater on the jury who will ignore the evidence and engage in jury nullification by refusing to vote guilty and result in a hung jury and mis-trial.