re: Cardell Hayes attorney requests NOPD not handle investigation

Wow is right, especially if these are all different witnesses and have been interviewed. This case is going to get crazy.

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The update provided by Fuller? Thanks.

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frick the witnesses right?

I witnessed him making a statement saying " a former police officer climbed out of that impala" right by the jury entrance to Tulane and Broad.

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Just walk into court and start representing his client? That's not how it works.

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Yes it is. I saw it on Law & Order.

What witnesses? I'm all about hearing from he witnesses, but that's not a statement from witnesses. It's a statement from Fuller. You know, the guy who also said his client was on the phone with 911.

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Expect Cannizzaro to deputize a big time former lawyer/judge to counter him.

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Just walk into court and start representing his client? That's not how it works.

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I didn't say that. What I said was he needs to spend LESS time in front of those cameras and more time thinking about his clients case. He is making some pretty bold statements that he will have trouble backing down from later for it being this early in the investigation. There is a time and place for courthouse steps statements but not this early.

Now is the time for the good open ended: "My client is 100% innocent and we will be providing information as to the true facts later. Right now, I am focused on representing his interests and overseeing his defense. Thank you."

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Three people who live in the area said they heard the chain reaction when Hayes’ Hummer rammed into the back of the Mercedes, which in turn hit the Impala, according to police. They also saw pieces of a volatile argument on the street or its bloody aftermath. All three said they saw a man without a shirt who appeared to play a central role in the altercation. That wasn’t Smith, according to one witness who said the man he saw slumped in the Mercedes with an arm over the steering wheel was fully clothed. Two witnesses, who refused to be identified, said the shirtless man had charged the big man standing by the Hummer — their description matching the 28-year-old, 300-pound Hayes. The man without a shirt was acting “ridiculous,” one witness said. Two witnesses said a woman struggled to hold the shirtless man back from going toward the Hummer. There were several big men there, the witnesses said. One of them — Hayes’ close friend Kevin O’Neal, according to his attorney — stepped out of the Hummer’s passenger seat. The witnesses said they could not see well enough to know whether he held a gun. The two witnesses who saw the scuffle said that shortly after the shooting, the big man near the Hummer who matched the description of Hayes slammed his open palms on the hood of the car and placed a gun on the windshield. Another witness said he heard the shots — first two, then several more — and walked over to see a man without a shirt marching up Camp Street, near the tip of a narrow triangle at Felicity Street, paces from the shooting scene. He was very agitated, the witness said, as if wanting to leave. The witness said he then turned down Sophie Wright Place toward Magazine Street to find Racquel Smith laying on the sidewalk alone, with parked cars between her and the shooting scene. Squad cars were just arriving. She appeared to be in shock, the witness said, adding that he didn’t see the shirtless man leave the scene. “We have reason to believe it was someone other than Smith who removed his shirt. He was part of Smiths’ group,” said Jay Daniels, another attorney for Hayes. “He and Smith approached our client’s vehicle, and we believe Cardell wasn’t the aggressor.”

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What. The. frick.

He's talking to the guy sitting in the car with Hayes and Hayes. My point is that you are believing someone who has already made a statement that his client was on the phone with 911, which seems to be untrue. This has no more weight than what the Smith's attorney said, which completely contradicts this.

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I didn't say that. What I said was he needs to spend LESS time in front of those cameras and more time thinking about his clients case.

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Exactly what you said.

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He needs to quit pandering to the cameras and get into court and represent his client

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I don't see anything wrong with what he's doing. He's defending his client. If some of the stuff he says doesn't pan out, so what?

ETA:

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Now is the time for the good open ended: "My client is 100% innocent and we will be providing information as to the true facts later. Right now, I am focused on representing his interests and overseeing his defense. Thank you."

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Advice for a criminal defense attorney from a... what do you do?

His client killed a New Orleans legend. He's trying to create doubt in the public's mind from the get-go as to what happened that night. The best place to do that is in the media. Sitting back and not saying anything isn't the best strategy, IMO.