Aug 14, 2008 2:55 pm US/Eastern
Addison Wants Phone Tapes Barred From N.H. Trial
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) ―
-
-
Michael Addison is charged with killing Officer Michael Briggs in October 2006.
CBS
-
-
Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs
CBS
The man accused of killing a Manchester police officer wants recordings of telephone calls he made from behind bars banned from his trial.
Lawyers defending Michael Addison said the state obtained about 90 hours of recorded telephone conversations Addison had with family and friends after being arrested in the death of Officer Michael Briggs in October 2006.
They argue that most of the conversations have nothing to do with the case -- they center on Addison's daily activities, his daughter, faith, sports and his reminiscing about prior family events, the defense wrote in a motion filed in Hillsborough County Superior Court on Wednesday.
The lawyers say other phone calls involving Addison's opinion of the state's judicial system would be prejudicial because they show Addison's cynicism for New Hampshire's justice system. His lawyers say some of the recorded statements could mislead the jury.
Those conversations include Addison's statements about "prior living situations and activities that may be considered prior bad acts," the defense said. Such statements would be "inadmissible character evidence," they said.
Addison, who grew up in an inner-city Boston neighborhood, also uses words and a manner of speech that could "trigger unconscious racial bias simply due to a lack of understanding and exposure to inner-city black communities," the defense argued.
The defense also said phone conversations between Addison and Antoine Bell-Rogers, a friend of Addison who was with him the night Addison allegedly shot Briggs, should not be admitted.
Bell-Rogers was not charged in connection with the officer's murder, but he was convicted in May of 13 armed felonies, several of which he committed with Addison in the days preceding Briggs' murder. Bell-Rogers currently is serving a 60 1/2 to 121-year state prison sentence.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments