From: "ROBERT WEITZEL"
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 21:23:07 -0700
To: "Friends and Colleagues"
Subject: Fifth day

Thanks to everyone who came to the trial today! I really appreciate those of you (who live close enough) coming and supporting me. It means a lot!

Unfortunately for the poor jury, the state lawyers are still unprepared, confused, and disorganized, and it's pretty tedious to listen to them. Wally and Tara are doing a wonderful job, and are both making points that are immediately relevant, and others that will show their relevance when our experts testify next week.

The testimony today remained about the same, but came from some state "experts" this time.

Kathleen Kaufman, RN, added nothing to the state's case.

Michael Crookston, MD, calling himself an "addictionologist" but certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, told the jury that the doses of morphine given these dying patients should have been "much lower," and specified that to be "2mg." He was forced on cross-examination to agree that "expert" and "competent" physicians might disagree with him. Ultimately his whole testimony worked out to be that he "would do it differently."

Todd Grey, MD, of the Utah State Medical Examiner's office, opined that four of my patients died of "undetermined" causes. If that is the case, I don't know why I'm on trial for five counts, of criminal homicide...

Grey called the other death a "homicide" induced by "morphine intoxication". He was then forced to admit that any of a litany of other causes could have led to the death of this patient, most of them evident from his autopsy results. Grey comes off as very partisan. I wonder if that's because he owes his job to continued cooperation with the prosecutors across the state for whom he basically works. Don't want to bite the hand that feeds you, Todd.

One of the three hostile nurses called by the state started her testimony late this afternoon. Really not much from her yet, except for a statement that I would come in in the morning, see the patients, and then say, "OK, I'm going skiing for the day; call me if you need me." I fail to see the relevance. This is about manslaughter, right?

Tomorrow will mainly be about the three hostile nurses, and we doubt they'll fare well. At the last trial they made many, many factual errors that are now part of the record. We've had plenty of time to pull those together, and the nurses will be asked to explain their frequently disingenuous answers to prior questions put by the state and Mr. Stirba.

The jury seems to be getting it. I can only hope and trust that they have sense.

I am hopeful, but not confident. At the last trial we felt we were totally winning, but it really comes down to having the medically untrained jury understand this very complex material in the face of the sophistry of unprincipled prosecutors, the distortions from fact witnesses who have had their memories twisted by the state, hateful and under-educated ancillary staff, and mercenary "experts" willing to sell their medical credentials for money and in an attempt to protect their reputations after making hasty and prejudiced claims against the care I rendered, over issues that amount to nothing more than malpractice, if that.

Thanks for your continued support, all. I shall try to write again tomorrow.

Yours,

Robert Weitzel, MD