[squeejs-bbg]

(miss) squeej // she/her // american :( // yapper // baby at law; lawyer/infant

Info links:

💋 Luigi’s site and defense fund

‼️ Jury nullification info 1 2 3

🍷 Prison reform resources 1 2 3

❣️ Explaination of US healthcare 1 2

📮 PopNYC also has some great related resources

About me/this blog:

Asks and inbox are always open!

I mostly just do wine induced legal or sociopolitical ramblings here, but I promise I’m still fun lol. I try to give thoughts on each filing, but I’m a busy lady so be patient with me :) I also accept any anons🫶🏼

I’m a civil and constitutional law girl, but I do my best to analyze filings/theories and answer questions fully, but I am not perfect and do not claim to be :) I have no problem with a good “I have no idea” and then doing the research. I encourage curiosity! I try to answer based on experience, knowledge, and research, and try to be as on point as possible.

In the same vein, I do not mind being wrong, corrected, or disagreed with. It’s how people learn! However, I will not tolerate nastiness or condescension to myself or others on this page. We’re all hear to learn and grow so play nice! I’m a total sweetheart and I expect the same in return! That being said, I block liberally lol🫶🏼

Free Luigi till it’s backwards

Dividers by @uzmacchiato and @thecutestgrotto

[pepgione-punk]

Luigi’s team reply to the feds regarding the jury questionnaire

[squeejs-bbg]

my only question about the 3 knuckleheads…what’s the best course of action? I’ve seen ppl saying a cease and desist order and/or restraining order should be issued but idk, would this be viewed as too reactive?

KNUCKLEHEADS😭everything I’ve learned about these people has been involuntary omg

Ehhhh it’s tough. I think the best route is to push the mayor to revoke the passes, but I think with trial coming up they’re just going to be more focused on prepping for that. I’m not even sure that Agnifilo Intrater does c&ds or restraining orders?? I think the c&d would be tougher (and probably not worth it) at this point since they’re claiming to be journalists and having their 1stA rights oppressed on their substacks with 9 reads and their twitter with 15 followers🙄.

I guess hypothetically they could ask the judge for a protective order generally regarding media entry for specific classes of press passes and have the argument be based on prejudice, but I don’t see them spending time on that and it would be a huge constitutional vs constitutional balancing test :/ I think it’s strongest to push to get the passes revoked and for the team to make a public statement distancing themselves from it again if something else came up.

Hopefully shame and embarrassment is enough moving forward, but clearly that’ll be an uphill battle😭😭😭

[squeejs-bbg]

This is the last I’ll speak on this issue unprompted, but this (below) is something that could ACTUALLY be a huge issue and they really shouldn’t fuckn do this… they’ll just add questions to exclude jurors who saw luigi support/fan accounts on social media and people who talked to table outside the courthouse, limiting his potentially favorable jury pool even more. (Also, that’s not what jury tampering means LMAO)

Also you don’t know who else is going through the voir dire process who you’re just handing out this information to. This is so brain dead🫩

[squeejs-bbg]

Sorry if this question is weird but do you think he likes college educated trilingual real curvy Latinas from Northern Mexico? ❤️💐 do you sense any interest here?

I won’t speak for Luigi but that’s certainly my type🌹

[squeejs-bbg]

my only question about the 3 knuckleheads…what’s the best course of action? I’ve seen ppl saying a cease and desist order and/or restraining order should be issued but idk, would this be viewed as too reactive?

KNUCKLEHEADS😭everything I’ve learned about these people has been involuntary omg

Ehhhh it’s tough. I think the best route is to push the mayor to revoke the passes, but I think with trial coming up they’re just going to be more focused on prepping for that. I’m not even sure that Agnifilo Intrater does c&ds or restraining orders?? I think the c&d would be tougher (and probably not worth it) at this point since they’re claiming to be journalists and having their 1stA rights oppressed on their substacks with 9 reads and their twitter with 15 followers🙄.

I guess hypothetically they could ask the judge for a protective order generally regarding media entry for specific classes of press passes and have the argument be based on prejudice, but I don’t see them spending time on that and it would be a huge constitutional vs constitutional balancing test :/ I think it’s strongest to push to get the passes revoked and for the team to make a public statement distancing themselves from it again if something else came up.

Hopefully shame and embarrassment is enough moving forward, but clearly that’ll be an uphill battle😭😭😭

[squeejs-bbg]

hi ms squeej, do you know if luigi would have had access to carro's decision before he walked into the courtroom? sounds like his lawyers did, but do you think they had a chance to tell him beforehand?

Hiii!!

I don’t think Luigi has any access to his own court updates, especially when in transit. The decision here came out about 10 minutes before Luigi entered the courtroom (while he was in the holding cell), and his lawyers went into the holding cell right before he entered. They probably briefly filled him in on the implications of the decision, and then I would guess that they had a short conference after to discuss strategy moving forward.

For most typical case updates, inmates are left in limbo. They either have certified copies from the court mailed to the facility and then distributed (which can take days/weeks) or the court will scan it to the prison which can then be sent to the inmates tablet/personal kiosk or similar system (depending on facility). I would guess that for high end defense attorneys, they try to go to the prison or call expidently to deliver any news, but this is probably super rare. I hate how absolutely cut off the accused are before ever being found guilty, even being cut off from updates on their own fate :/

[squeejs-bbg]

ALERT: I sent the ask in yesterday about why the notebook wasn't suppressed even though it was discovered at McDonald's, you can disregard and delete that ask. I see it was because the notebook wasn't rifled through and examined till they reached the police station. I would've thought since they removed it from his backpack as part of the illegal, warrantless search, it'd be sufficient grounds for suppression. According to Carro though, it's not.

My new question is this something that can be appealed? I know he cited that case re: the envelope, but is it really an apples-to-apples comparison though? Does this have to do with a closed container type of argument?

Hiiii I actually was really excited to answer your previous ask!! I think they both raise very interesting legal questions since search and seizure is such a razor thin area of law, as we saw with this case😅

When I heard the opinion last week, one of my first thoughts was “how is the phone excluded, but not the journal, if neither were opened in McDonalds?”

I looked into it and essentially, it comes down to what was “seized” at the McDonalds. His phone and the chip were seized and bagged (by legal standards) on the scene at McDonalds, while the backpack and the journal were essentially left “in tact” and not searched (by legal standard🙄these laywers abt to piss me off)(myself included like why are we like this). Basically, the magazine and phone and chip were discovered, searched, seized, and “logged” before the McDonalds search was halted, meaning they were legally discovered during the unconstitutional search.

As for appeals, I think it is definitely ripe for appeal. I think any mixed-bag “split the baby” decision is going to leave room for appeal. An all or nothing may have been fore frustrating, but these decisions often just invite more room for argument. Also, keep in mind that any search/seizure issue does NOT usually make it so far, and is almost never successful. Because this was partially accepted and partially denied, I think this case has room to make to the max of the appeals process solely based on the 4thA issues. But that’s just my opinion🤷🏼‍♀️keep in mind, if Luigi is found guilty, they can’t appeal and say “but he wasn’t!” Because the jury is the finder of fact and any COA will default to the jury opinion. However, appeals are sough when the trial contained legal defects in which error was preserved, such as evidentiary issues, procedural issues, and unaddressed prejudice. I see a long road ahead😅

[squeejs-bbg]

https://www.tumblr.com/squeejs-bbg/817011021157974016/on-a-more-positive-note-i-heard-on-the-livestream?source=share

I’ve been bamboozled! You posted this on the day of his hearing…I been waiting on you to post your thoughts re: the expert witnesses “tomorrow”, and today is the 23rd. 🥴🫩

Anonnnn I’m so sorry :( I just posted it!!! Special for you since I saw your ask🫶🏼💋

[squeejs-bbg]

EXPERTS

Guys I’m so sorry!!! I got so swept up in work and personal life shit but here is my post on some expert opinion thoughts. Anon I see you and I apologize! Stay with me here…

Experts are a particularly complex or just picky area of law. Typically, each side will present expert testimony (which is EXTREMELY expensive, btw… if you wanna make bank just become a testifying expert in something). But usually each side is able to present an expert of their choosing (which are paid by their client and whom they can usually privately confer with AKA coach lol) who will testify to issues that are outside of the areas of expertise for lawyers. Experts must pass the Daubert or Frye standards. The standard in most states is the newer Daubert test, but New York uses the Frye standard, requiring that the expert’s method of evaluating or testing their conclusion is of “general acceptance” in their scientific/professional community. It’s a lower standard than Daubert.

Here are how experts will be interesting in Luigi’s case and the different experts that may come up:

Psychological experts: if defense tries to take the insanity route (which is still possible; I’m not saying he is or isn’t mentally unwell - I’m just saying it’s a strategical option), each side will present an expert to testify to his sanity. There are several different insanity standards that I won’t delve into, but NY state uses the M’Naughten rule, requiring that the defendant was so mentally unwell that they could not appreciate (1) the nature and consequence of their conduct, OR (2) that such conduct was wrong. The prosecution’s side for the NY state case will need to prove that Luigi was aware that his conduct was wrong/had consequences (likely including his journal writings) while the defense’s side will need to prove that he did not understand the nature of the consequence or that the conduct was wrong. It will come down to his state of mind at the time of the shooting. As long as the psychological evaluation method is “generally accepted”, the judge will allow the expert testimony. This would be an interesting battle, if it comes up. (Note: using the insanity defense requires that the defense admits that Luigi did the shooting - I have no idea if they’ll go there, but it’s still an option)

Ballistics: THIS IS THE INTERESTING ONE TO ME!! So ghost guns or privately made firearms (PMF) are very very new as to legal regulation. We only just started getting federal legal precedent as to how to regulate the legal standards around manufacturing PMFs, and we are far away from standards regarding testimony around them. PMFs are made to be intracable, or “ghost”! Expert testimony around ghost gun ballistics is an area of law that pretty much doesn’t exist. The defense is going to heavily scrutinize any expert testimony regarding ballistics matching because the standards just can’t be met at this time as to being “generally accepted” in the profession. NY specifically has laws that allow expert testimony regarding digital files used to make ghost guns, but nothing regarding the actual ballistics match. Almost every single significant ghost gun case to date has ended in settlement, so I anticipate a huge fight here regarding matching ballistics.

3D printing/manufacturing experts: I could see there being experts in this field regarding how the gun was made or that it was made by Luigi. However, this might be a fact that the defense can stipulate or save an expert on. I think it’s possible that it’ll come up!

Crime scene/survailance experts: because Luigi doesn’t shoot BT and then wave at the camera and say “hi I’m luigi”, it’ll probably be argued that the man in the footage isn’t him or can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be him. These types of experts will basically evaluate the CCTV footage or crime scene evidence and testify as to the likelihood that the person who did the shooting could be the defendant (or could not be). The defense will likely present an expert that casts doubt on this to persuade the jury on their certainty. This could be huge for the prosecution not meeting the standard for conviction if the ballistics are also thrown out.

Like I said, it’s a very convoluted and messy area of law (and a very expensive testimony for each expert..) but it will be very interesting to see how it unravels in Luigi’s case. Let me know your thoughts/findings!

[huzzahluigi]

https://www.tumblr.com/huzzahluigi/817264687202828288/there-was-definitely-tension-between-the-team-and?source=share

Can I be honest in my thoughts? I think they have lied to him a lot and he's woken up to it. Probably wanted to keep his spirits up and he believed they would get it all suppressed and he would be fine.

Hmm i don't think so, he's an adult who's paying for their service they're not going to sugar coded for him. I'm sure he's well aware of what to expect. Also, Karen said "it's what we expected" it seems like they discussed it already. Perhaps that's why Lu looked mad/sad/annoyed in court.

Sofia trying to keep up with her belly 🥰😅

[feralgayghost]

friendly reminder that luigi could sue karen if she did not properly address, prepare, and advise him. i don’t think karen would ever lie to luigi because she has an ethical obligation to protect him. he literally pays her to do that.

on the whole, attorneys never lie to their clients because that directly hurts the attorney. they want to win. lying to your clients and making them not trust you, doesn’t help you win.

luigi was probably annoyed. who wouldn’t be? the judge made a decision that he didn’t like. i would be annoyed too!

please don’t paint a false narrative on luigi or karen. <3 there’s too much of that going around already.

[lavenderishhaze]

100% agree - I don’t understand why people insist on painting Luigi - a grown man who is also an Ivy League graduate - as some kind of child that Karen (unethically!!) would have to lie to??

Karen and her team are extremely experienced and Luigi is highly intelligent - I think they have a very direct communication and that Luigi is very much involved in - and aware of - the work they are doing for him.

[squeejs-bbg]

Interesting political/legal news that made me think of Luigi’s case..

So Donald Trump frivolously sued the IRS for $10b for leaking a single one of his tax returns from 2019. He settled with the IRS to drop the claim in exchange for a formal apology from the IRS and an agreement that the IRS will set up a $1.8b “anti-weaponization” fund for people to apply to get monetary compensation for being victims of lawfare, which is essentially the weaponization of the legal system. So, this is a settlement that Trump reached with the Deparment of Justice, which he controls. Legal experts are heavily critiquing the merits of the original claim as well as the legitimacy of this settlement agreement and fund set up. It is probably one of the biggest lawsuit scams that we’ll ever see.

The way that this will functionally work is that people can apply to be compensated for having been “victimized” by the legal system and they can be awarded formal apologies or monetary compensation. The deputy attorney general came out and said, “The use of government power to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any Administration,” When describing who may be awarded this relief, Donald Trump mentioned many of his allies who were arrested for election tampering as well as January 6th arrestees. Meanwhile, as we all know, the legal system disproportionately targets the poor, minorities, and the politically misaligned from those in power. We’ve been seeing it in Luigi’s case at the hand of the Trump administration since day 1.

Essentially, this will function as a way for Trump’s allies (and possibly his family) to be awarded money from the government that Donald Trump himself sued for because they were doing something ILLEGAL. It’s a gross misappropriation of public funds and it is going directly back into the administrations pockets. Meanwhile, nothing has been done under this administration to afford relief to those being truly bullied and abused by the system. What a fucking clown show.

[squeejs-bbg]

“I found a perfect niche area of civil litigation that I love and it’s very personally fulfilling for me (and lucrative lol)“

Hi! Has Debbie T from GSG been right in front of us this whole time? ☺️👋

LMAOOO I wish!!! I love our diva Debbie T though😚💋

[squeejs-bbg]

Did you ever consider doing prosecutorial or criminal defense work as a job?

Ahhh I knew this question would come😅short answer is yes, I was open to it when I started law school. The long answer is that I very quickly realized that you can’t “win” if you work in criminal law, no matter what side you’re on, if you want to be emotionally invested in your work. If you’re a defense attorney, you can sometimes help break systemic cycles that the criminal justice system implements and help innocent accused, but you also spend a lot of time defending people who aren’t great and positions you don’t agree with. As a prosecutor, you can have the sense of “aiding in justice”, but you also help perpetuate the toxic issues with the system (and you work for the government👎🏼). However, I do have degrees in political science and criminal sociology and I had a focus on constitional law in law school, so I’m fairly well versed on the criminal law issues!

I am a person who is very emotionally invested in what they do and I never wanted to sell my soul to the bar association. So I decided to stay away from criminal law! I found a perfect niche area of civil litigation that I love and it’s very personally fulfilling for me (and lucrative lol) :)

BUT shoutout to all the crim baddies out there because it’s such an important job on both sides and we definitely need empathetic and smart people in that field!! It’s a special talent to be able to separate your work from everything else, and that is not a talent I possess lol

[squeejs-bbg]

trust me i’m really glad that any evidence got suppressed at all bc i really wasn’t expecting it to, but it just sucks that the notebook and gun are still going to be used at trial bc they’re literally the most important pieces of evidence 😔

I totally get it. I know it’s disappointing. It was mostly expected, but it still sucks. Especially considering how obvious it was that the rest of the search was paused because they anticipated finding more evidence…

It’s funny how the intent and mindset of a criminal defendant is so heavily scrutinized and literally one of the most important issues in a criminal conviction, but the intent and mindset of an arresting officer is almost never examined. Funny how that works🤷🏼‍♀️🫩

[squeejs-bbg]

Do you go to his hearings?

I have answered this before, but no I do not! I follow a lot of the live reporting, the court watching records, and I am an attorney so I can pretty quickly decipher the language or orders for the hearings. I try my best to update on tumblr as if I was there since no one live reports here, but most of my mutuals are faster than me anyways which I love lol🫶🏼

[squeejs-bbg]

ok so now the trials are actually going to be different from each other 🤔

So far everything will be different for all three LOL literally all different charges, all different legal standards, AND all different evidence. That’s why you usually only get prosecuted once like this is so silly atp🫩

[squeejs-bbg]

On a more positive note, I heard on the livestream that experts were mentioned at the bench before the audio was cut off. I have a lot of thoughts about the expert witnesses for this case and I’m super curious how it’ll shake out! I’ll post more of my thoughts tomorrow about this because I have a bunch!