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Yesterday on the previous page, aricat mentioned the Minneapolis Star Tribune article about how an attorney for BNSF was paying for witnesses.  I thought it was very strange, both in the way it was written, and in the way it analyzed the ethics and legality of paying for witnesses.  It struck me as an advocacy piece intended to poison the atmosphere against BNSF.  However, I have to wonder about the appearance of paying witnesses, no matter whether it is legal or not.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Today, a second article appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune revealing that yesterday, District Judge Ellen Mass denied the motion for a new trial by BNSF, apparently because the payment for witnesses “did not pass the smell test,” as the judge put it.  The first article could not conclude whether paying for witnesses was legal or not, and today, in the second article, we learn that apparently the judge does not even know the answer to that question, instead relying on a “smell test.” <o:p></o:p> But, to me, the strangest thing revealed in both of the articles, but particularly in the first article is the nature of the testimony that would have been provided by the paid witnesses.  I can’t tell whether it is just sloppy writing or weak legal theory.  Look at page 2 and 3 of the first article.  What the witnesses would have told the court is detailed in some of the most confusing, disconnected, and pointless construction that I have ever seen.  The last five paragraphs of page 3 are just bizarre.  <o:p></o:p> Here is the link to the first article: <o:p></o:p> <A href="http://www.startribune.com/local/north/49132697.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EkP7K_V_GD7EaPc:iLP8iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU">http://www.startribune.com/local/north/49132697.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EkP7K_V_GD7EaPc:iLP8iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU</A> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Here is the link to the second article:   <A href="http://www.startribune.com/local/north/49284527.html?page=1&c=y">http://www.startribune.com/local/north/49284527.html?page=1&c=y</A>
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