Bob Lee murder trial: Judge admonishes Momeni defense team for failure to follow court rules
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The judge in the high profile Bob Lee murder trial blasted defense attorneys this week for not properly filing documents, in essence keeping them from the public and journalists. ABC7 News I-Team Reporter Melanie Woodrow questioned attorneys and court staff about the issue, and the next day there was an unscheduled hearing.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys met Wednesday at San Francisco Superior Court for a hearing to make arguments about what evidence they say should be allowed or excluded in the Bob Lee murder trial. Nima Momeni is accused of stabbing and killing the tech executive in April of last year.
Several of those motions were heard in private. The judge cleared the courtroom after both sides agreed the discussion could taint a potential jury pool.
Prosecutors had filed their motions with the clerk's office, but defense attorneys did not, instead saying they had emailed them to the judge and prosecutors.
"Yeah, we emailed them into the parties and the judge in a timely fashion," Momeni's defense attorney, Tony Brass told the I-Team on Wednesday.
David Snyder is executive director of the First Amendment Coalition.
"It's a violation of the first amendment to exclude the public and the press," said Snyder.
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"How about the filings? Why aren't your filings at the clerks office," asked I-Team reporter Melanie Woodrow.
"We filed them," said Momeni's defense attorney, Saam Zangeneh.
"Did you file with the clerk's office?" asked Woodrow.
Zangeneh's response was inaudible.
"Were they filed today," Woodrow continued.
"No," said Zangeneh.
"Do you know the date off hand," Woodrow asked.
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"I don't. I'm sorry," said Zangeneh.
Snyder says there are reasons records can be filed under seal, but that didn't happen here.
"What it appears happened here, is that the lawyers just did an end run around all of that and simply didn't file the papers in a public place and if that's what happened - it's deeply troubling," said Snyder.
In addition to asking Momeni's defense attorneys about the missing filings on Wednesday, the I-Team asked the court public information officer, the clerk's office supervisor and the courtroom manager.
The following day an unscheduled hearing was held where the judge blasted Momeni's defense attorneys for not following court rules and filing their documents on the public docket.
The I-Team obtained the court transcript in which the judge ordered the defense to file by noon that day.
"I was going to ask you what happened but, to be perfectly honest, I'm not interested in the answer," said the judge.
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She later said, "This won't happen again. Follow the rules. If you don't, that puts us into a universe that I don't want to be in and I'm sure you don't want to be in, so just do things the right way."
Attorney Tony Brass told the judge he was responsible.
Momeni's Florida-based defense attorney Saam Zangeneh told the judge "We were under the impression these were filed... I apologize. This is unacceptable, this is not how we practice."
"This is a federal constitutional issue, it's a first amendment issue and depriving the public of access to records that are filed in court is a violation whether you're in Florida or in California," said Snyder.
The documents ultimately filed publicly Thursday include the defense's trial brief, Motions in Limine and Response to the People's Motions in Limine.
"Delayed access is denied access," said Snyder.
The defense's trial brief or memorandum asserts Momeni acted in self defense. The other documents outline what evidence Momeni's attorneys want excluded from the trial.
TIMELINE: Events leading up to fatal SF stabbing of Bob Lee shown in court documents
This includes:
In open court Wednesday, the judge denied the defense's motion to exclude circumstantial evidence about where the knife came from. It's not clear how or if the judge ruled on the motions that were discussed in private.
The I-Team reached out to Momeni's defense attorneys by email and phone Friday for their response. We have not yet heard back. According to the transcript from the hearing, defense attorney Saam Zangeneh asked the court to seal this portion of the transcript. The Judge told him he could file a written motion explaining why he meets the legal criteria. It doesn't appear that was filed before the I-Team obtained the transcript.
Momeni is back in court on Monday.
Take a look at more stories by the ABC7 News I-Team.
