Talk:Robert Keeton

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[edit] Stub classification

I have classified this article as a stub due to its level of detail and organisation. Capitalistroadster 06:58, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Nice start. I happen to have been researching the U.S. v. LaRouche trials, and have many press clippings. Keeton had other big cases, but that one may have been the largest and highest-profile. The 12 or more defense lawyers made over 400 pretrial motions, and Keeton seems to have given many of them lengthy consideration. The trial became bogged down in searches of files from high government officials and agencies, and months went by without hearing any testimony, then more weeks of hearing just a few hours each day. The jury called it quits about five months after they'd been impanelled when they were told it might last another six months. One of the defendants had his case severed, which involved an important 1st Amendment precedent. IIRC, the Boston Globe later referred to the big case as a "courtroom extravaganza". I think we can cover the Keeton-related parts in a short paragraph. It shoudn't be too long, given the overall length of the article. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 22:19, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't think we'd want to quote this directly, but it's a comment on Keeton's judicial style:

• Appointed to the bench by President Carter in 1978, Keeton is regarded as a smart judge who issues thoughtful opinions and bends over backward to hear both sides of an argument, no matter how trivial or tangential, according to Boston criminal-defense attorney Harvey Silverglate. "Keeton errs on patiently listening to arguments he could dismiss," said Silverglate, with the result that "trials in front of him do take too long."

• [Nov 21, 1988 LAROUCHE ATTORNEYS BOTHERED BY ANTICIPATION OF 'SPEEDY' TRIAL Caryle Murphy. Richmond Times - Dispatch. Richmond, Va.: Nov 21, 1988. pg. 19]

I'm sure there's a nicer way of saying that. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 22:35, 5 August 2007 (UTC)