Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Kobe Bryant case wasn't the only legal proceeding of note this week. Kwame Brown has been charged with driving under the influence and went to court this week to begin jury selection for his trial. Mysteriously, a "slip of the tongue" by a state witness caused the judge to issue a mistrial. Brown may be re-tried next year.
The Brunswick Newsreported the development, citing solicitor Richard Taylor as saying the "inadvertent slip of the tongue" (is there any other kind?) came after a prosecutor's question. No further details were provided.
Why such a "slip" would cause a mistrial instead of a dismissal was not clear. How a witness could "slip" was not clear. Only two possibilities make sense. One is that the prosecutor's didn't have very good evidence and it was clear after the slip that the trial was a sham. In that case, Brown's attorneys should press for an immediate dismissal instead of a mere mistrial. The other is that the slip somehow contaminated the jury pool that had assembled for the third day on Wednesday.
But what could a person say to contaminate everybody in the room?
TEAM NOTES
Wizards center Etan Thomas will stop by to chat live with fans on Tuesday, September 7th at 3 pm. Got a question on your mind now?
You can shop at the Wizards team storewhere you can personalized jerseys with your name and number.
The Brunswick Newswrites: Kwame Brown went to court this week on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol. On Wednesday, a judge declared a mistrial."It was due to an inadvertent slip of the tongue by a witness for the state," said solicitor Richard Taylor. "It was after being asked a question by the prosecutor." Taylor said he didn't remember what the question was. Taylor said the case could go back to trial in a year... Brown, a forward for the NBA's Washington Wizards, was arrested last year and charged with driving under the influence.
John Packett ofThe Richmond Times-Dispatchwrites: The Washington Wizards have reached an agreement with the Siegel Center to hold the first stage of their training camp at Virginia Commonwealth University's primary athletic venue.Tommy Sheppard, director of basketball administration for the NBA team, met with Tim Lampe, director of the Siegel Center, yesterday to firm up final details. "They are coming," Lampe said. "We have agreed on the terms and put it all together. They are absolutely ecstatic about coming here. They were looking to get a little closer to home. They had no idea VCU had such great facilities." The Wizards held training camp at the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. last year and were at UNC Wilmington the three previous years.