CHARLESTON, SC – The defense team in the Michael Slager case filed two motions Tuesday.
According to the motion to exclude or limit video, the defense believes the video is “unreliable, technically inadequate, limited in scope, and extremely unrepresentative of the issue.”
The defense wrote the video is “highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and factually deficient.”
Andy Savage wrote the video is of poor quality and fails to show “significant acts” leading up to the fatal shooting. Savage assets the video is inadmissible under Rule 403, SCRE.
Savage wrote the video was filmed from 137 feet away and at an angle from which the fight preceding the shooting wasn’t captured.
He asserts the video is shot from the perspective of a bystander instead of the former police officer’s.
Further, if the video is shown in court, Savage asked the court to prohibit it from being shown in slow motion because it would suggest “greater purpose or intent”.
In a second motion, the defense wants to sequester witnesses and asks the judge to instruct them not to communicate with other witnesses or third parties about the trial until their testimony, including potential recall,is complete.
The defense also wants court to include prohibitions to jurors from reading, viewing, or listening to media or social media accounts of the trial.
