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NYC lawsuit--very strange event
Judge Jack Weinstein forbids New York to call Mayor Bloomberg as a witness.
If the witness is willing to testify, a party wants to call him, and his testimony is relevant, it's pretty peculiar for a judge to bar it. I could see an argument that the subject of the testimony is irrelevant, but Weinstein says the city should call someone else to testify to it, so he can't see it as irrelevant. Maybe the Mayor didn't really want to testify, so Weinstein has been tipped to that. Or maybe it's just the judge running plaintiffs' case for them, as he has in the past. I heard from an attorney who'd defended on a gun lawsuit in this court, and at the end of plaintiff's case he moved for judgment as a matter of law, since they hadn't proven their claim. Weinstein said he agreed they hadn't proven it, but they could prove it if they were establish this, and that, and the other thing, and he would allow them to reopen their case to prove what he had just ruled would be sufficient!
Hat tip to reader Jack Anderson...
Comments
Weinstein doubles as the special master looking after gun shops who reached a deal with Bloomie, IIRC.
He is an anti-gun bigot who I believe to be figuring keeping Bloomie happy is going to pay off sometime, somehow.
Posted by: Harry Schell at May 23, 2008 05:43 PM
Weinstein is bent.
Posted by: straightarrow at May 24, 2008 02:23 AM
As you wrote "the city should call", I assume he was the city/plaintiff's witness.
Would it be more strange if Weinstein refused to call a defendant's witness?
As the whole operation seemed to have been orchestrated by Bloomberg (as opposed to by underlings where Bloomberg is just top guy); and as Bloomberg's deposition showed more cluelessness than you'd expect; I think that the defendant ought to call Bloomberg.
Posted by: JCR at May 24, 2008 04:25 PM
Is there a Judicial Fitness Commission in New Yawk?
Posted by: Rivrdog at May 25, 2008 08:27 AM
IIRC, Bloomberg was being called as a defense witness. Jay Wllace has posted the tarnscripts at http://www.bloombergfightbackfund.com
Posted by: James at May 27, 2008 07:38 AM