Howard murder trial off to a contentious start
Deputy District John Lewin pretty much only does long, complex cases - many of them having gone cold for years, if not decades. They include the murder cases against a former TRW engineer who killed his wife in Torrance over child support payments, a man who killed a prostitute in his Redondo Beach apartment and whose body was never found and a former fast food restaurant worker convicted last year for the decades-old murder of a colleague at the KFC where they worked in Torrance.
Lewin almost always accompanies his openings (and closings) with a Power Point presentation that includes photographs, text, audio excerpts, maps and animation. Thursday's presentation at the beginning of Erwin Howard's murder trial was a pretty typical detailed, 2 1/2-hour Lewin opening.
Not everyone appreciated it. Not a fan was Howard's defense attorney, Andrew Flier. Flier is a veteran of the high-profile cases. A former prosecutor and the son of 2nd District Appellate Court Justice Madeleine Flier, Flier thought Lewin's approach was way overboard and did nothing but prejudice the jury and supply it with misinformation. He said he lodged his objections with Judge Bob Bowers Jr., but refrained from making more than the two objections he made in front of the jury to not be the "smoking parrot." No, I'm not sure what that means.
Anyway, it seemed like Bowers grew cautious toward the end of the presentation, and called the attorneys to sidebar several times. The last time was just before Lewin's trademark climactic ending that shows how the case fits together like a puzzle, with all the pieces flying on to the screen to form one, big photograph of the defendant. It's pretty brilliant. But this jury didn't get to see it - Bowers cut Lewin off, and cut him short.
The full report from Thursday's proceedings, including courtroom photographs, are now available here.
Previously:
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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Nice courtroom photographs in the article. I thought photographs weren't allowed in courtrooms during trials, which is why we usually see chalk drawings. Are there some exceptions?
State courts leave it up to the individual judge to make the final decision. We have to submit paperwork and sometimes the judge will have a hearing, sometimes they'll outright deny us and sometimes, as in this case, they approve our request without discussion. Thanks for reading and for your question!