Judge denies new trial in Fong Lee case
A judge has rejected a request by the family of Fong Lee for a new trial.
The family sued the Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Lee in 2006. They believed Lee was unarmed and officer Jason Andersen used excessive force. But last month a jury ruled in Andersen's favor.
Family lawyers based their request for a new trial partially on Judge Paul Magnuson's stern reprimands of one of the family lawyers. Magnuson chastised lawyer Michael Padden after he showed a picture of Lee's bloody corpse on video screens in the courtroom. The picture had not been entered into evidence, and Padden gave little warning before presenting it.
The lawyers say Magnuson's scolding created a climate of intimidation.
But Magnuson's ruling accuses Lee family lawyers of making blunders, missteps and mistakes, in his words, "the likes of which this Court has never seen before."
The family can still appeal.
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