Fred Salaff writes 4/27/07: At 10:00 am sharp (rare for Latin America) our trial began. Since this was supposed to be only a preliminary trial to determine if a full trial was necessary the judge asked us if we wanted to do what is called a "fast track" all in one deal, so to speak. This means that we are willing to waive our right to the preliminary trial and go for the real thing. We elected to do this upon advice of our lawyer.
After entering our pleas of "innocent," The judge read the charges and the prosecutor made the case for the government. Observers said that the case, as presented, was extremely weak and relatively baseless. This half hour "presentation" was then followed by a dramatic and very strong defense by our lawyer, Dixsiana Lorena Acosta. We noted that she utilized and expanded on some of the excellent analytical work done previously by our first attorney, Eugenio Morice.
Observers in the courtroom told us that there should be no doubt as to the verdict. Since our judge has a reputation of immediately sentencing (right at the trial) those she finds guilty we feel certain the verdict will go our way. The judge said she needed a short time for her to render her decision. The law calls for a 24 hour maximum, but since this is Panama it could take up to a week.....or more.
It is interesting to note that the judge acknowledged and apologized for the bureaucratic delays for our trial and our lawyer made sure that she knew of our 7 months horrible incarceration while innocent.
