Judge Delucchi: Definitely Not a good Judge of Character

For months I have been defending Judge Delucchi to my fellow Scott-supporters as being fair and open-minded, intelligent and reasonable.  I no longer hold that opinion.

The change began last evening, when I was informed by a credible source that Delucchi never seriously considered the Motion for a new Trial.  When he received the motion from Geragos, he "literally took the document, fanned a corner with his thumb for a second and said 'in all seriousness, motion denied'."  This is outrageous.  Why does the process even allow for such motions if judges are simply going to dismiss them out of hand? 

I still hoped, however, that he would do the right thing, but as I sat in that courtroom this morning, and saw how much effort was being made to accommodate the Rocha family, and listened to the Judge when he first took the Bench mention about the sentencing that would occur, I knew Scott was going to get death.  Why he even bothered to hear oral arguments about the Motion is a mystery to me, it was as though he was required by some law to do so, as a technicality.

But the biggest disappointment came in the reason he gave for discounting the new evidence.  He said that, even if it could be considered new evidence it wasn't credible because it contradicted the time Karen Servas found McKenzie and put him in the back yard.  Delucchi reasoned, if Servas found McKenzie at 10:18, and the Medina burglary occurred after 10:30, then Todd could not have encountered Laci.

Is it really possible that Judge Delucchi totally discounted potentially exonerating evidence because it disagreed with Karen Servas' timeline? I am still in shock that Delucchi would even consider such an excuse, much less make it his primary one.  Is this the intelligence level and reasoning capabilities of our Judges? 

By rejecting the new evidence based on Servas' time, he ascribes infallibility to a single witness who first said she was sure it was 10:30 because she looked at her clock, and who then changed her time to 10:18 based on nothing more than a timed store receipt.  This same witness later in the day thought she left her house at 5:05 p.m. only to discover that it was actually 4:05 p.m -- and her original time, too, was based on looking at her clock.  To ascribe infallibility to Karen Servas is the height of foolishness.

To ascribe infallibility to a timed store receipt is equally foolish.  Has Judge Delucchi never known a cash register to be off in its time?  Has he never known electronic equipment to incorrectly record the time?  Has he never known a clock to gain time, or to lose time?

If he hadn't yet had that personal experience, he should have at least become aware of the possibility with evidence presented in Court.  I'm speaking of the timed receipts for the purchase of the private mailbox at Mailboxes, Etc.  The cash register receipt is timed at 9:26:54, but the credit card receipt is timed at 9:20:43.  If electronics are never wrong, if clocks never err, then we are to assume that Mailboxes charged Scott's credit card 6 minutes before he made the purchase.  Click to enlarge.

Judge Delucchi further errs in judgment by absolutely denying any other possibilities for McKenzie being out with his leash on.  I am utterly amazed at his lack of willingness to see other alternative explanations.  I can see two very good ones.  First, Laci prepared McKenzie for the walk and then had to go back into the house for some reason.  The gate was left open enough by Scott to allow McKenzie to get out.  He romped around a little, then returned home to sit in the street and wait for Laci.  Servas, the very witness that Delucchi assigns so much infallibility, testified that she had seen McKenzie out numerous times.  The only difference in this sighting was that he had his leash on.  But, Servas is not a very observant person, since twice she said she looked at her clock and twice she had to correct the time.

Second, Laci may have started the walk with McKenzie and he got away from her.  Sharon Rocha testified that McKenzie walked you, you didn't walk McKenzie.  Being 7 1/2 months pregnant, she couldn't very well chase him down.  Her only choice was to return home and wait for McKenzie to do the same.

I am genuinely surprised and very disappointed that a man of Judge Delucchi's age and supposed intelligence cannot envision alternative scenarios to explain why McKenzie was out with his leash on.

Someday, God willing, the person(s) responsible for Laci's death will be identified, Scott will be fully exonerated, and Judge Delucchi will be exposed for the fool that he is.