The Charges and Verdicts
(Weaver was sentenced to 18 months in prison and
fined $10,000.)
CHARGE
|
DEFENDANTS CHARGED
|
POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT
|
JURY VERDICT
|
First
Degree
Murder
|
Weaver
and Harris
|
Life
imprisonment
|
Not
Guilty
|
Assaulting
and Resisting
Federal Officers
|
Weaver
and Harris |
10
years
|
Not
Guilty |
Conspiracy
to Provoke a Violent Confrontation
|
Weaver
and Harris |
5 years
|
Not
Guilty |
Making
Illegal Firearms
|
Weaver
|
5 years
|
Not
Guilty |
Failure
to Appear in Court
|
Weaver |
5 years
|
Guilty |
Committing
Crimes While on Pretrial Release
|
Weaver |
10
years
|
Guilty |
Using
A Firearm to Commit a Violent Crime
|
Weaver |
5 years
|
Not
Guilty |
Harboring
a Fugitive
|
Harris
|
5 years
|
Not
Guilty |
Defense Strategy: Selected Points
Gerry Spence, lead
attorney for Randy Weaver
|
David Nevin, lead
attorney for Kevin Harris
|
1. Take the offensive. Change public perceptions by
releasing to the press statements framing the case as about freedom of
expression and freedom of religious beliefs. Draft a statement
for Weaver expressing his hope and belief that he will get a fair
trial, and suggesting that the real crime at Ruby Ridge was the murder
of his wife and child.
2. Be pleased when a grand jury hands down a broad conspiracy
indictment that will allow the defense to introduce evidence its own
evidence of Randy Weaver's beliefs and further the goal of turning the
case into one about freedom of religion.
3. Be even more pleased when discovery documents show
contradictions in what marshals heard or saw at the time of the
shoot-out and reveal that the FBI changed its normal rules of
engagement at Ruby Ridge.
4. Find a way to explain Harris's killing of Bill Degan as a
response to shots being fired at his friend, Sammy Weaver.
5. Suggest that the first shot of the day killed the dog,
Striker, setting off Sammy and causing the whole tragic chain of
events. Moreover, try to show that the marshals entered the
property that day intending
to kill the dog.
6. Use your opening statement for Weaver to show the jury you
like and respect Weaver. Paint Weaver as a misunderstood
independent thinker who mainly wanted to be left alone. Suggest
that the whole unfortunate series of events started with a misguided
effort to entrap Weaver on a firearms charges. Remind the jury
that Weaver lost his only son and his wife on Ruby Ridge that
August. Let the jury see your emotions. Be real.
7. When marshals testify, raise questions about why they carried heavy
machine guns that day. Make a marshal put on his camouflage
clothing, his net mask, his pack, his machine gun, and have him stand
in front of the jury, so they can understand how such a sight might
have created fear in Kevin Harris. Raise questions about the real
reason the dog was shot.
8. Raise questions about the credibility of the testimony of
undercover agent Fadeley by getting him to testify that his government
pay depended in part on securing a conviction of Weaver.
9. Try to trivialize the threatening nature of Vicki's letters to
government officials by joking about some of the overblown or
off-the-wall language the letters contain.
10. Whenever possible, secure testimony suggesting the Weavers, despite
their strong beliefs, were decent people.
11. Expose the rules of engagement presumably in force at Ruby
Ridge and try to get the jury incensed about the lack of respect for
life that the revised rules arguably reflects.
12. Get the sniper Horiuchi to admit he intended to kill Randy
Weaver and Kevin Harris. Get him to admit that he was aware of
the possibility that someone--a mother or child--could have been behind
the door when he fired his fatal shot. Make the jury contemplate
the horror inside the cabin that must have followed Vicki's killing.
13. Whenever possible, suggest inconsistencies between the
finding of ballistics and forensic experts and the earlier testimony of
marshals.
14. In the end, present your case through the prosecution's own
witnesses. Don't put Sara on the stand (too honest and likely to
shock the jury with her admissions) or Randy Weaver (too many skeletons
in closet of extremist beliefs and intransigent actions).
15. In the closing argument for Harris, stress that he shot out
of self-defense and out of a desire to protect Sammy.
16. In the closing argument for Weaver, tell the jury this is an
important case and that they should send a message to the government
that it should be more respectful of life and take every precaution to
avoid its loss. Portray government agents, not Weaver, as the
real murderers. Remind the jury of the heavy price Randy has
already paid. And, mostly, "be real"--let the jury see how much
you care about what happens to your client.
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