5th Avenue and 34th Street was not a good place to be this morning. 8 people shot, the shooter and at least one other are dead.

The New York Post says the cause was a dispute between coworkers.

Mark O'Mara announced today on GZLegalCase he is shuttering the Facebook page the legal team created in April. In part, it's served its purpose. In other respects, the discussion in comments on the FB page have been a hindrance.

One of our published goals is Discouraging Speculation, and Facebook, by its nature, does not help us with this goal. Every post made on Facebook becomes an open thread where anyone on the site can comment, and comments inevitably lead to conversations about evidence and speculation about guilt or innocence. This type of conversation is a natural part of discourse, and there are plenty of places on the Internet where it is appropriate for this to happen, but it need not happen on a page hosted by the defense.

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New Zealand High Court Judge Winkelmann delivered a solid win to Kim Dotcom and his Megaupload codefendants late yesterday. Judge Winkelmann upheld District Court Judge David Harvey's order directing the U.S. to disclose evidence to the defense for use at the extradition hearing.

Kim Dotcom's extradition has become less certain after a judgment which will see the FBI having to prove it has the evidence to back up its charges - and a finding the legal document asking he be sent for trial in the United States did not comply with the law.

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Mark O'Mara has posted the Petition for Writ of Prohibition and all Appendices filed in the 5th Circuit DCA on the GZlegalcase website. The index as to what is in the Appendices is here. The Petition for Writ of Prohibition (concerning the recusal of Judge Kenneth Lester) is here.

The Appendices have transcripts of the April 20, April 27, June 1 and June 29 hearings. They also have transcripts of Investigator Singleton and Serion's interview of Zimmerman the night of the shooting and Investigator Serino's telephone call with George on 3/25/12. There's also a transcript of witness 6 ("John")'s interview with FDLE on March 20, 2012. He is the witness who saw the struggle between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin and says Trayvon was on top and Zimmerman was struggling to get up. [More...]

Bump and Update: Mark O'Mara said at a press conference today he will appeal Judge Kenneth Lester's denial of his recusal motion. When asked about his announcement last week his client will file a Stand Your Ground motion, he said:

He told reporters today that he believes the facts of the case show his client didn't have any option to retreat rather than shoot.

"I think the facts suggest in this case that what probably happened was that my client was reacting to having his nose broken" while lying on his back being pummeled, O'Mara said.

I agree. But he had no duty to retreat under Stand Your Ground. If O'Mara is discussing a "duty to retreat", I would think he's not talking Stand Your Ground, but traditional self-defense. (I didn't hear the press conference, but the media is reporting he said he's not proceeding under SYG but self-defense, and intends to argue it at a pre-trial hearing.) Earlier post below:[More...]

Link.

Converse civilly please.

Update (TL): I wrote the following last night forgot to post it: [More...]

John Campbell of Campbell Live at TV3 News in New Zealand aired this 10 minute segment last night with footage from the Kim Dotcom raid played in court and live clips of Kim Dotcom's testimony describing his arrest and mistreatment.

CCTV footage showed two helicopters landing in quick succession at the sprawling home, formerly known as the Chrisco mansion, north of Auckland, in January. Five armed men exited each helicopter and then three vans and a car quickly arrived disgorging more armed men, some with dogs.

One New Zealand police officer said he had questioned the threat assessment at the time as being "over the top" for a fraud case, according to a document introduced in hearings this week.[More...]

Bump and Update: Here is the plea agreement. His life sentences will be consecutive and he waived his right to appeal.

Live updates from the Arizona Republic on the Jared Loughner competency hearing.

Dr. Christina Pietz, a Bureau of Prisons forensic psychologist, is testifying. She said Loughner has a factual, rational understanding of the role of jury, judge, prosecutors, judicial proceedings. He is now able to orient time and place, he no longer hears voices or other auditory stimuli.

Loughner asked for a job at the prison. He works two jobs. He stamps return addresses on envelopes and rolls towels,tee shirts and underwear for inmates. Pietz said he loves both jobs.

He understands prison is now his life and he will never get out. Pietz says with medication, he would not be a danger to others in the general population, but he could be at risk of being harmed by other inmates.

Loughner is present in court, and has been very still. His mother is also present. Defense attorney Judy Clarke had no questions when Dr. Pietz finished her testimony.

U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns has issued this order in the Jared Loughner case:

A hearing on the defendant’s competency is scheduled for Tuesday, August 7 at 11:00 a.m. in Tucson. This Order confirms that hearing will go forward. If the Court finds the defendant competent, his counsel has requested a follow-on change of plea hearing.

Accordingly, assuming the Court finds the defendant competent, it will also consider whether
to accept the defendant’s proffered pleas at the August 7 hearing.

Our earlier post on the plea deal is here.

Kim Dotcom today released his new children's song, "Precious."

Update: Kim Dotcom testified today. He said he was punched and kicked during the raid. (For a recap of the raid, go here.) The police gave this version at the time. Photos of the mansion and panic room are here.

As to legal news, Kim Dotcom will be at the High Court in New Zealand today, where Judge Winklemann, who in June declared the raid on the Dotcom Mansion illegal and based on invalid search warrants, will be holding a continued judicial review hearing on the raid and the U.S. failure to turn over material seized during it to Kim DotCom and his codefendants.

The hearing, at the High Court in Auckland, is a continuation of a judicial review of an earlier ruling that the US government has to grant Dotcom and his co-accused access to the evidence it holds against them.

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Jared Loughner is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to charges resulting from his 2011 Tuscon shooting spree, in which former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others were injured, and federal Judge John Roll and and others were killed. (Charges detailed here, the Superseding Indictment is here.) The unofficial reports, which have not been confirmed by the prosecution, defense or court, but are now being confirmed by every major media outlet (New York Times here), state that Loughner will plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. I would expect the agreement to be a global one, that includes a representation that the state of Arizona will either not prosecute Loughner in state court, or at least, that it won't seek the death penalty.

Whether Loughner will make it through a guilty plea advisement remains to be seen. If the deal goes through, and I doubt his defense lawyers would sign on if they didn't think he could make it through the hearing, this will be another huge accomplishment for defense lawyer Judy Clarke, already a true master at how to save a life. More...]

Judge Kenneth Lester has denied George Zimmerman's motion that he recuse himself from the case.

In an order entered today, Judge Lester stated Zimmerman's motion was "legally insufficient." He did not explain why. The rule on judicial disqualifications is here.

Details of Zimmerman's motion to recuse are here. As I opined then:

Put yourself in Zimmerman's shoes: The issue is how he feels, and whether his feelings are reasonable. Would you, if you were George Zimmerman, fear not getting a fair trial before Judge Lester?

I believe Zimmerman can request a writ of prohibition preventing the case from going forward while the appeals court reviews the issue.