The day is over
Well, what an afternoon. Today we saw basically one witness - Roy McNeil, except for Rachael LeClair, which if you read the previous blog, her time on the stand was extremely brief.
Anyway, today was dominated by McNeil. He's testifying in a mini-hearing about cadaver dogs. The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether or not testimony about cadaver dog searches is suitable for the jurors to hear. Bellas tried to reveal McNeil, from Buncombe County, is an expert and confirm his and his dog's findings concerning the Anderson case. McNeil told Bellas about his 10 to 12 years experience with search dogs. He mentioned seminars and classes around the region and several certificates of that training were submitted as evidence. During cross-examination, Campbell questioned McNeil's expertise. Looking through the certificates, McNeil confirmed some in the stack were duplicates. McNeil testified that some of the courses he took did not directly pertain to cadaver dog training. Campbell entered as evidence a spiral notebook. That notebook was McNeil's memories of cases he and his dogs worked on, since records had been destroyed during a large rain storm. McNeil confirmed that those records in that spiral notebook might not be 100 percent accurate. McNeil testified he did not have records of where he obtained human tissues to train his dog with. He even said he kept samples in a refrigerator so they would preserve for when he needed training materials (uhhh gross). McNeil said he was not part of a national certified organization nor were his dogs national certified. He said he was part of a volunteer group.
During a May meeting with the defense, McNeil said Kolby (one of his cadaver dogs) sometimes drank beer. McNeil confirmed that in court today, actually confirming that the two liked to share a cold one. (That sounds like alcohol abuse to me, not to mention it can't be good for the dog's liver if alcohol isn't good for humans.) McNeil also testified that sometimes, on occasion, moonshine is shared at training seminars, even auctioned off. Moonshine? Wow. Flashback to prohibition.
The day concluded at 5:05 with McNeil being excused from the stand. Now remember, some or half or maybe even all of what was said today might not be heard by the jurors. We did not get that decision from Judge Cayer today. In fact, there was no indication of what will happen in court tomorrow. The jurors were instructed to be back at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, but it appears the defense has at least three folks to testify concerning the cadaver dog issue, and I'm not sure if the defense has any more witnesses. I guess we'll find out in the morning. Check back in around 11.
Anyway, today was dominated by McNeil. He's testifying in a mini-hearing about cadaver dogs. The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether or not testimony about cadaver dog searches is suitable for the jurors to hear. Bellas tried to reveal McNeil, from Buncombe County, is an expert and confirm his and his dog's findings concerning the Anderson case. McNeil told Bellas about his 10 to 12 years experience with search dogs. He mentioned seminars and classes around the region and several certificates of that training were submitted as evidence. During cross-examination, Campbell questioned McNeil's expertise. Looking through the certificates, McNeil confirmed some in the stack were duplicates. McNeil testified that some of the courses he took did not directly pertain to cadaver dog training. Campbell entered as evidence a spiral notebook. That notebook was McNeil's memories of cases he and his dogs worked on, since records had been destroyed during a large rain storm. McNeil confirmed that those records in that spiral notebook might not be 100 percent accurate. McNeil testified he did not have records of where he obtained human tissues to train his dog with. He even said he kept samples in a refrigerator so they would preserve for when he needed training materials (uhhh gross). McNeil said he was not part of a national certified organization nor were his dogs national certified. He said he was part of a volunteer group.
During a May meeting with the defense, McNeil said Kolby (one of his cadaver dogs) sometimes drank beer. McNeil confirmed that in court today, actually confirming that the two liked to share a cold one. (That sounds like alcohol abuse to me, not to mention it can't be good for the dog's liver if alcohol isn't good for humans.) McNeil also testified that sometimes, on occasion, moonshine is shared at training seminars, even auctioned off. Moonshine? Wow. Flashback to prohibition.
The day concluded at 5:05 with McNeil being excused from the stand. Now remember, some or half or maybe even all of what was said today might not be heard by the jurors. We did not get that decision from Judge Cayer today. In fact, there was no indication of what will happen in court tomorrow. The jurors were instructed to be back at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, but it appears the defense has at least three folks to testify concerning the cadaver dog issue, and I'm not sure if the defense has any more witnesses. I guess we'll find out in the morning. Check back in around 11.
posted by THE HICKORY DAILY RECORD at at
5:13 PM
3 Comments:
The dog drinks beer? And moonshine? Records were lost in a rainstorm? No certification?
Stop this farce!
This is what the prosecution has as evidence to conclude Mr. Anderson is guilty?
This is juris-prudence?
What country do we live in?
Sounds like Allison may have a thing for Mr. Anderson......
I agree with you in_my_opinion. The country we live in is America... and Emily's family is entitled to hear any and everything. It may seem stupid to you Allison, but YOU are still alive and capable of defending YOUR rights!
Post a Comment
<< Home