| SAN JOSE, CA JANUARY 15, 2009 Alan Lubke - www.ojlubke.com Two days after the jury in the case of People v. Binkley in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, CA, found Sargent McGregor Binkley "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" , the defendant Sargent Binkley came into the courtroom in a dark green jump suit handcuffed with his hands in front. The bailiff unlocked the handcuffs as soon as Sargent sat down. Defense proposed that Sargent Binkley be released into his (Chuck Smith's) custody. Smith had procured an ankle bracelet from the Sheriff's Department with GPS monitoring as an added layer of security. Smith attested to Binkley's exemplary performance at the Jericho House, his being negative in all drug tests from two counties, and his continued bail from San Mateo County with appropriate checks from Redwood City staff, as well as continued checks by staff from Santa Clara County. The DA argued that CA Penal Code requires that persons found guilty of certain crimes including armed robbery are to "confined in a state hospital or other facility" for at least 180 days. DA Medved didn't bring a copy of the code to read so Judge Condron loaned Medved her copy. After the reading of Penal Code Section 1601, Condron seemed surprised to know about that portion of the law and asked an interogative question "you mean I have no discretion in this matter"? Accepting the law as read by Medved, Condron conceded that she must comply. Further she said that since one of the court appointed doctors, Dr. Seaman, had stated that Binkley still suffered from PTSD and schizophrenia AND that "the jury had obviously used Dr. Seaman's testimony in coming to their verdict", she was prepared to rule. (See last paragraph) Defense attorney Smith then introduced another matter by saying that the DA had not turned over a report from her own Crime Lab investigator regarding findings on photos of alleged use of a gun in the robbery. Judge Condron asked Smith when he had requested the report. "Early this week, Monday," said Smith. Condron then asked Medved if she had received the request. "Yes" said Medved. Judge Condron then ordered the report to be turned over to the defense within 24 hours. This reporter's observation (limited by my substandard hearing) is that defense said they needed the report of the Crime Lab technician, to determine whether they would pursue a nullification of the guilty verdict in the guilt phase of the trial due to prosecutorial misconduct. Judge Condron asked Chuck Smith if he had previously confronted Medved with the possibility of pursuing such an action. "No" was the answer from Smith followed by silence from the DA. Sargent Binkley will continue to be held over in Santa Clara County until his next appearance which will be 9:00 a.m., Thursday, February 5th. At that time, Judge Condron is expected to have more specifics as to the defendant's disposition. |