Momeni defense team in Bob Lee murder trial chastised by San Francisco judge for not properly filing motions
The judge presiding over the trial of Nima Momeni -- the man accused in the fatal stabbing of tech executive Bob Lee -- reprimanded Momeni's defense team for failing to follow court rules during an emergency hearing Thursday morning at San Francisco's Hall of Justice.
Momeni is accued of fatally stabbing Lee on a darkened street in San Francisco's East Cut neighborhood during the early morning hours of April 4, 2023. Momeni's attorneys plan to argue self defense in the case for their client.
CBS News Bay Area reporter Lauren Toms confirmed that Judge Alexandra Robert Gordon addressed the issue during the emergency hearing, telling Momeni's attorneys that the court had no record of their defense motions in what Judge Gordon referred to as the court's "C-Track system" where they would show up on the public docket.
Toms confirmed the judge told the defense team that, while she had been directly emailed documentation regarding the motions, those courtesy copies did not constitute an official filing of the motions in court.
According to online reports, the court instructed Momeni's defense team to properly file all of the required documents by 12 p.m. Thursday. When the defense asked to for an extended window of time until 2:30 p.m., the judge rejected the request, noting that she had emailed the attorneys regarding the issue Wednesday afternoon and received no response.
Momeni, who appeared at the hearing in person while his attorneys attended via teleconferencing, started to apologize for the oversight, but was assured by the judge that the issue was strictly with his legal team.
The first pre-trial hearing in the Momeni case happened Wednesday with the defendant -- clad in an orange jumpsuit -- and his team of five lawyers present in the courtroom along with prosecutors. Momeni's mother was also present, as were three members of Bob Lee's family, including his ex-wife Krista and father.
The pre-trial hearing was the first of what was expected to be several hearings that would determine the ground rules for the trial. Both the defense and the prosecution submitted a number of rules they want the judge to consider, with both sides arguing their case.
The defense submitted at least four motions that were litigated privately so the potential jury pool in San Francisco would not be tainted.
Three motions were heard publicly in court. The first addressed what time period of drug use -- days, weeks, or months -- by both the stabbing victim Bob Lee and the defendant Momeni would be allowed to be referenced during trial.
On this point, the defense wanted to be able to bring up Lee's drug use in the weeks before his death, while the prosecution wanted a shorter time period for relevance. This would also apply to the time period for Momeni's drug use. The judge said she would rule on that point behind closed doors.
A second point discussed was whether Lee's "Crazy Bob" moniker -- a nickname that he used as the name of his blog as well as his Twitter handle. The prosecution argued against the use of the name, saying it could prejudice the jury. The defense said the name was relevant to his character.
There was also the question of how the knife used in the deadly stabbing can be mentioned during the trial. The defense called for limits to mentioning the knife -- a Joseph Joseph paring knife that matches the brand found in the apartment of Khazar Momeni, the defendant's sister. The defense cited speculation in its request, while the prosecution argued that mention of the knife was relevant. In this case, the judge denied the defense motion and agreed it was relevant.
The next scheduled pre-trial hearing is set for Monday, Sept. 23.