Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Insight from Someone Who Was There

Much has been made by Pat Lykos and Dick DeGuerin about the videotape of Kelly Siegler speaking to a group of law students, lately. Today, I received an e-mail regarding a letter sent by the Professor at South Texas who had invited Kelly to speak in his class. Read it, and decide for yourself:

In recent weeks, prosecutor Kelly Siegler has been questioned about comments made several years ago to students in my trial practice course at South TexasCollege of Law. Ms. Siegler has responded fully to those questions. Though I have no desire to inject myself into the politics of the current race, I do feel an obligation to provide a couple of balancing facts within my knowledge that may help set the recordstraight.
Kelly Siegler has given freely of her time to speak to my classes over a number of years. As a bona fide courtroom warrior, she had always provided real-world insights into the workings of the adversary system of justice. I utilize transcripts of her trial performances as teaching models for law students and practicing lawyers.
Ms. Siegler has a standing invitation to address my classes on the subject of criminal trial advocacy.

Professor Ray Moses

My understanding is that a copy of this letter was sent to the Houston Chronicle, although I doubt they would publish it.

2 comments:

Michael said...

So what's the insight? The original point, I believe, was that she taught students to "make the jurors afraid"? (If I'm wrong about this, please advise.) This response doesn't contradict that point, nor support it. I infer the writer agrees with Ms. Siegler since she is welcome to return to his classes, but I have no idea why he thinks it's okay.

Murray Newman said...

Well Michael,
I don't want to speak for Professor Moses or overstate anything, but what I read (between the lines) was that there was nothing so bad or unethical about Kelly's speech that he would have any concerns about her coming and speaking to his class again. He also seems to indicate a personal feeling that some of the statements were taken out of context or blown out of proportion.
That's just my take on it, and I'm a big Kelly fan, so take it with a grain of salt (if you must!).

Episode Seven: The Voters Awaken - A One Act -Sci-Fi Play

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