Fingernail dispute debuts before jury

Cross-examination of Det. Mark Lillienfeld continues this morning, but the next witnesses set to appear should be more dramatic. Two former defense team members, investigator Stan White and lawyer Sara Caplan, will tell of seeing star defense witness Henry Lee pick up a fingernail-sized object at the crime scene. Last month Judge Fidler ruled that Lee found such an item but broke evidence rules by not sharing it with prosecutors. The item is said by prosecutors to be a piece of Lana Clarkson's acrylic nail blown off by the bullet that killed her. They claim the nail fragment could prove her hands were in front of her face when she was shot, and she thus could not have shot herself. White and Caplan had testified in a hearing without the jury present. Now, the panel will get their first taste of a controversy that hits at the heart of the defense -- their case is girded by a scientific argument that bloodstains on Spector's clothes prove he was too far from Clarkson to have shot her. Lee has denied he found anything like the fingernail, but the dispute has shaken the forensic scientist's storied reputation.

Comments

[jumpinjak]

looks like the defense is trying to get a mistrial and start over again by attempting to turn it into a circus by raising side issues and hoping the judge makes a mistake.

[tarbubble]

one thing is missing from all of the "missing white object" stories. if the prosecution claims it was a broken acrylic fingernail, then wouldn't it be fairly easy to look at pictures of Lana Clarkson's hands and see if she's missing a fingernail tip? was this addressed in court and just didn't make it into the Times stories?

[Shag]

Caplan should be held in contempt, if she refused to testify. The judge would not have even allowed this to go forward if it weren't for she and the investigator, who said they saw Lee pickup an item. LAPD has to be on of the worst depts. in the world. Why in the hell was anyone (including the defense team) allowed to roam around the house unguarded?
Dr. Lee is nothing but a hack, who goes to the highest bidder, defense, or prosecution.