District Attorney’s Display at Trial
Re “Lawyer Admits to Jury Merriman Is Guilty of 2nd-Degree Murder,” Feb. 9.
The Ventura County district attorney’s projection onto the courtroom wall of the larger-than-life image of the defendant, Justin Merriman, with the caption “People v. Merriman” superimposed on the defendant’s face during rebuttal to defense’s closing argument, is reminiscent of a light show at halftime.
What next--a strobe light dangled in front of the defense table?
This glitzy display is symptomatic of the decline of respect for the court as a venerable institution in which reason and law are preeminent. Worse, it exemplifies the incursion of tackiness into a proceeding in which the prosecution is seeking the death penalty.
SUZANNE GORENFELD
Ventura
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