1. reply to the comment below on what you find interesting and what you agree with.

For this week's discussion board, I decided to focus on the trial of Kim Potter. For some context, Kim Potter is a former police officer who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright. Kim Potter apparently mistook her handgun for her taser and she fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison. This week in class we focused on trial. It's important to note that while criminal defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial, criminal defendants may waive their right to be present during their trial if they exhibit disruptive behavior. Throughout the trial, I observed that Kim Potter maintained respect throughout which did not result in her right to be present during her trial being waived. This week we also learned about prison clothing. It is unconstitutional for the state to compel defendants to stand trial in prison clothing. The use of visible shackles during trial is also prohibited. I observed that Kim Potter was dressed in regular clothing meaning that the defendant probably objected to being tried in prison clothing. In the case of Estelle v. Williams, the defendant Williams was unable to post bond, meaning he had to remain in custody while awaiting his trial. Williams asked for civilian clothes for his trial and was denied this request. It was later revealed that forcing Williams to stand trial in prison clothing was unfair. Due to this case, it is now unconstitutional for defendants to be compelled to stand trial in prison clothing. Another observation that I made was that Kim Potter was not visibly shackled, this is in accordance with Deck v. Missouri, 554 U.S. 622 (2005). Kim Potter's trial was highly publicized. There was an immediate outrage and uproar all over social media when the incident first occurred. Many argued that it was impossible for Kim Potter to confuse her handgun for her taser. Due to the trial's publicity, it is essential for the judge to take affirmative steps to reduce any prejudice caused by the extensive pretrial publicity. In this case, the judge made sure to take affirmative action and made sure that the jurors knew not to let any outside influences influence their decision-making. The judge made sure to be clear and concise with all of her instructions. This was unlike the case of Sheppard v. Maxwell. The trial was also highly publicized and the defendant felt as though he was denied a fair trial due to the prejudice jurors had caused by pretrial publicity. Another thing that I noticed in the Kim Potter trial was that the jury consisted of 12 jurors which we have learned is the standard number of jurors required for trials. The trial was extensive. The first testimony was given by a juror who outlined the responsibilities of police officers. They commit themselves to public service and are accountable to the communities that they serve. Their duty is to protect the sanctity of life and Kim Potter failed to do so. She failed to serve and protect her community when she killed Daunte Wright. Her oath was to protect life, not take life.

2. reply to the comment below on what you find interesting and what you agree with.

The trial that I chose from the PBS Newshour is the case of Elijah's Mcclain's death. Elijah McClain was an African American man who was 23 years old who died in 2019 after being forcefully restrained by police officers in Aurora, Colorado. McClain was a massage therapist that was walking home from a convenience store in Aurora on August 24, 2019. He was stopped by the police after a 911 caller described Mr. McClain as "sketchy." He was waving his arms, dancing, and wearing a mask, in which his mother described him as anemic which he often did to stay warm. In an 18-minute confrontation with the police, they place him in a carotid chokehold. He then lost consciousness due to the chokehold. He was placed in handcuffs and was laying on the ground and Mr. McClain vomited and pleaded for his life, indicating he couldn't breathe according to the prosecutors that the police body camera captured from the footage. The paramedic arrived 20 minutes later and injected him with ketamine, a sedative that caused him to suffer a heart attack and brain damage. He died six days later. In 2021, a state grand jury indicted two paramedics and three officers for his death. The trial lasted for three weeks with a verdict by jury that found only Randy Roedema who was 41 years old guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Mr. McClain's mother, Shennen McClain adamant that all five men should've been convicted because in her eyes no one did their job that night, which she indicated "They worked as a team to murder my son." In 2021, the Aurora Police department called the charges an overreaction that damaged the police department saying, "Our officers did nothing wrong." Mr. McClain's death stood out from other violence cases due to the fact that he was not suspected of committing any crimes. Mr. Rosenblatt another officer was fired in 2020 due to the fact that he receives photos from other Aurora police officer reacting to the chokehold that was used on Mr. McClain and made fun of it. This case of the death of Mr. McClain applies to our learning this week because in our lecture slides it mentions having a public and press attend a criminal trial serves a purpose to bring about healing and closure in a community shocked by horrendous crimes in which this trial took about three weeks to be solved with a verdict that allows it to have a public and press to attend this criminal trial of the death of Mr. McClain. Court proceedings are open to the public which allows that the proceedings are conducted fairly and discourage perjury. This was very sad to out hear those officers and paramedic had done to the man in which many thought similar to the death of Mr. Floyd due to the forcible restraint from the officers. Such cases like this happen all over the world in different police departments that we haven't been aware of.