SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A federal judge on Thursday said she would allow police body camera footage to be used as evidence during the upcoming federal trial of David DePape.
Authorities accuse DePape, 43, of breaking into the Pelosi residence through a window and assaulting 83-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull.
DePape later told police he broke into the residence looking for Paul Pelosi’s wife Nancy, a Democratic representative and the former House Speaker. The footage in question captures the attack.
DePape appeared in court Thursday wearing an orange jumpsuit, his long hair tied into a bun. His public defender, Angela Chuang, asked U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, a Biden appointee, to bar the body camera footage from jurors during trial.
The footage shows the police arriving at the Pelosi residence and finding Pelosi in a struggle with DePape. The footage is roughly three minutes long and captures the moment that DePape is accused of attacking Pelosi with the hammer.
Chuang argued that the evidence was graphic and prejudicial and should be excluded.
“It is prejudicial, but that’s the nature of what happened,” Corley said. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Corley explained that prosecutors must meet a “pretty heavy burden” to convict DePape of the attack, and thus the footage should be allowed.
“They’re entitled to put in all their evidence,” Corley added.
Prosecutor Helen Gilbert said the footage shows the amount of force that was used on Pelosi and is necessary to show any potential jury how violent the attack was.
“Paul Pelosi is on the ground in his own blood,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said she would try to limit how graphic the footage is.
Still, she said, “we do have to prove that the hammer is a dangerous weapon" to the jury.
In the footage, "you’re seeing officers trying to stop the blood flow,” Gilbert told the court. The footage also shows Pelosi struggling to breathe.
Chuang argued that the extent of the injuries did not matter and did not need to be shown to jurors. But Corley pushed back, saying the footage "gives the jury an indication of the amount of the force that was used."
With her objection overruled, Chuang pivoted, arguing that the government should not be able to use still photos taken at the crime scene or the hospital if they are also going to show the police body camera footage.
“It’s overkill. The government shouldn’t be able to pile on the same prejudicial images” once they’ve already been introduced once, she argued. But Gilbert, the prosecutor, said that the still photos show injuries to Pelosi’s hand that are not present in any other footage and thus should also be shown.
Separately, Chuang also asked for the entirety of DePape’s interview with police after his arrest to be included during trial.
“I think the way the government has chopped it up takes it out of context,” she said. She asked Corley to order prosecutors to show the interview in its entirety.
Chuang took particular issue with a segment of the prosecutors’ video where a sergeant asked DePape about his mental state and if he takes any medications. Chuang said these are not typical questions asked of any suspect in detention.
“Without the full information that prompted that question, it seems to come out of nowhere,” Chuang said. She argued that it could confuse potential jurors as to DePape’s mental state.
Once again, Corley pushed back on her. “I don’t think it comes out of nowhere if you read some of the government’s excerpts,” the judge said.
Jury selection is on November 6, and the trial starts November 9. It’s expected to last one week.
At the hearing on Thursday, Corley announced she will not allow any questioning of potential jurors’ political beliefs in questionnaires before jury selection — including questions on if they voted for Nancy Pelosi.
“How someone is registered to vote doesn’t really tell you anything,” Corley said. Screening jurors based on their political views “would be destructive to the administration of justice” and would create unfair media attention on the jurors.
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