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Judge will allow the name of the woman accusing Greitens of sexual misconduct to be referred to in court

By Brian Robbins & Ben Striker
 
St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on Wednesday afternoon ruled that the woman at the center of Governor Eric Greitens sexual misconduct case will have her full name be referred to during the trial, along with her ex-husband.
 
Greitens defense team successfully argued that if she was only referred to as a victim during the trial, the court could assume that she’s truthful and that misconduct truly took place.
 
Burlison also pointed out the woman never filed a police report following the alleged abuse which is claimed to take place in Greitens’ family home in 2015.
 
Thus far during the trial, the alleged victim has only been referred to by her initials, K.S., and her ex-husband as P.S.
 
In another motion filed by the prosecution, Burlison stood by his decision to strike three expert witnesses that the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office was going to use in the trial, which is set to begin next week.
 
Two of the three are electrical engineers, who according to the prosecution, would help clarify that K.S. heard the distinct shutter sound an iPhone makes while taking a picture.
 
In addition, the expert witnesses would also clarify to the court that when an iPhone takes a picture it’s technically already transmitted because it was transmitted from the camera to the phone’s storage.
 
Burlison said there was no need for these expert witnesses because it’s up to the jury to determine whether or not that’s technically a transmission of a photograph.
 
Burlison denied another prosecution motion, which asked the judge to strike any testimony relating to the $120,000 paid to Al Watkins, the lawyer for the ex-husband of Greitens’ accuser.
 
Chief Trial Assistant Robert Dierker argued that information about the money drop-offs would distract the jury, but Burlison disagreed and said jurors should consider the interests of every witness involved.
 
Burlison decided not to make a ruling on whether or not to allow the defense to call the prosecution’s former lead investigator, William Don Tisaby. Prosecutors are trying to bar him from the case altogether, but defense attorney Scott Rosenblum said he has “infected” the case and that the defense should be allowed to show that to the jury.
 
Tisaby invoked his Fifth Amendment right during a second deposition two weeks ago. He has been accused by the defense of withholding evidence and “molding witnesses.”
 
Lawyers from the defense and prosecution agreed only one person from each side would be allowed to question witnesses called to the stand during the trial. They also said jurors would not be allowed to hear evidence of any sort about the other investigations Greitens is facing.
 
Also on Wednesday, Burlison rejected media requests for audio recordings and sketch artists in the courtroom but said he would allow still photography for the first 10 minutes on the first day of the trial. He added that an overflow room with a TV monitor showing the courtroom proceedings would be available each day of the trial at the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court, located at 10 N Tucker Blvd.
 
In closing of what will likely be the last pretrial hearing, Burlison described how the jury selection process will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Monday.
 
According to the judge, 40 potential jurors will be taken into the courthouse Thursday morning and given a clipboard with various questions regarding the case, followed by an additional 40 potential candidates in the afternoon.
 
The trial is set to begin on Tuesday, May 15, and Burlison said he expects the entire case to last a week.
 
Greitens is accused of allegedly taking a picture of a bound and partially nude woman with whom he was having an affair with at the time and threatened to blackmail her if she made the affair public.