))
The Reporter's Notebook, Ep. 25: Christopher Smelser
Manage episode 334753998 series 3304705
内容由Damien Willis提供。所有播客内容（包括剧集、图形和播客描述）均由 Damien Willis 或其播客平台合作伙伴直接上传和提供。如果您认为有人在未经您许可的情况下使用您的受版权保护的作品，您可以按照此处概述的流程进行操作https://zh.player.fm/legal。
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the second-degree murder case against former Las Cruces Police Department officer Christopher Smelser. The case against Smelser, who stood accused of killing Antonio Valenzuela on Feb. 29, 2020, by placing him in what’s known as a vascular neck restraint, came to an abrupt end Thursday morning — the fourth day of the trial. That’s when 3rd Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers granted the defense team’s motion for a “directed verdict,” essentially finding that the state had not met its burden of proof — and that a reasonable jury could not see it any other way.
The ruling came the morning after the state rested its case, having put 17 witnesses on the stand. And, with that, the charge was dismissed and Smelser walked out of the courthouse a free man.
The directed verdict is something defense attorneys ask for in nearly every jury trial; however, they’re almost never granted — at least in recent local memory.
We’ll talk to reporter Justin Garcia, who covers public safety, cops and courts for the Las Cruces Sun-News about the directed verdict heard around the state.
85集单集
分享
