Bench Trial Means Success for Robert Wone Defendants

Having written a previous article about "Who Murdered Robert Wone?," I had anticipated a jury trial. I was surprised yesterday to read that the three men accusing of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence had waived their right to a jury trial. The legal alternative for the accused is a bench trial, that is, a trial in which the judge is the ultimate determiner of guilt regarding the charges. If the defendants are found guilty of the conspiracy, obstruction, or tampering charges levied against Victor Zaborsky, Dylan Ward, and Joseph Price, the judge could impose a maximum sentence of 38 years.

No one has ever faced a murder charge in the 2006 murder of Radio Free Asia attorney Robert Wone. Police and prosecutors have decided to charge on the only evidence they believed they could prove-conspiracy, obstruction, and tampering. The crime scene is reported to have been meticulously cleaned and the murder victim placed carefully in the guest bedroom with the object of making it appear Wone was murdered by an intruder.

Police believe that the knife used to stab Robert Wone came from the kitchen of the house where he was murdered. The outward appearance of the murder scene may have been staged in a way that might suggest Wone was murdered by an intruder, but not to the experienced eyes of veteran homicide detectives. The D.C. Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, which investigates cases involving gays, found no sign of forced entry, and it appears that nothing was stolen from the victim or from the house where the three men lived.

The relationship between the three men can delicately be described as unorthodox. Zaborsky and Price were permanent partners, and the third man, Ward, functioned as a pinch-hitting sexual partner.

The police found a variety of sex paraphernalia which, defense attorneys feared, might prejudice a jury of twelve. Certainly, it would be hard for the defense to find sympathetic jurors, even in the gay community. It would be difficult for jurors to look at the circumstances of the case without having one's vision clouded by the bizarre sexual practices at the Dupont Circle house. Much of the blog buzz about the Robert Wone murder does come from gay Americans, and much of it is disapproving and thought to reflect badly on the community at large.

Robert Wone was murdered, and police are not the only ones who believe the three former occupants of the Swann Street home are not providing information they have which would solve the murder. One might say but, yes, the sexual practices of the three co-habitants are not on trial. That is true. But it is also true that this is not a murder trial, as neither Price, nor Ward, nor Zaborsky are being charged with murder. Since it is not a murder trial, and since the man are being charged with obstruction and evidence tampering, the paraphernalia and machinery of sexual stimulation might well become part of the trial.

According to the Washington Post, the prosecution did not protest the bench trial. But are reduced prosecution costs and time savings enough reason to agree with a bench trial, or does the prosecution believe that it will succeed as well under these circumstances as it might with a jury? That is curious in itself. I don't quite understand exactly why the prosecution seems so anxious to dispose of the case. The defense position, however, is transparent.

There is also the issue of Judge Lynn Liebovitz, who presides over the case. Liebowitz told defense attorneys that she had seen prosecution material which might eventually be ruled inadmissible. Defense attorneys told Judge Liebovitz that they were comfortable in her judgments. One may expect that defense attorneys thoroughly explored that issue before waiving the jury trial. Certainly, the defense expects a better outcome from the bench trial process than it would receive from a jury.

Among the reasons the case has attracted widespread attention are the fact that murder victim Robert Wone was a married attorney. Many non-legal discussions tend to focus upon whether Wone was gay, straight, or bisexual. He had been recently hired by Radio Free Asia, and lived in Virginia with his wife, who has declined to speak publicly about her husband's murder.

Also in the legal profession was defendant, Victor Zaborsky who had been employed by the firm of Arent Fox. Zaborsky worked in the area of intellectual property, until being let go by the firm in the wake of the murder investigation.

There are interesting and various speculations on the nature of bench trials vs. jury trials. One interesting discussion of the prospects for each type of trial can be read in a Google legal blog called Seeking for Justice. Opinions expressed at that blog come mainly from lawyers, who believe that bench trials favor the defendants when they are likely to be found guilty by both. The general thinking is that experienced judges will impose lighter sentences, but certainly this is a simplification. The specific facts of each case and even the characters and witnesses involved are other important factors in choosing between jury and bench trials, as are the individual judges, and the locations where the trial is to take place.

We can conclude, however, that the Robert Wone murder case is already a success for high profile defense attorneys like Bernie Grimm, often a guest on Court TV or Tru TV, as it is now called. At least one of the men, and perhaps all three, could be facing murder charges, except that they have been steadfastly unified in their refusal to cooperate with police. Consequently, the police have not been able to charge for murder, and are now not likely to get any of the defendants to "flip." A more protracted trial, with the pressures of a jury and a painstaking exploration of each bit of evidence, might have compelled one or more of the defendants to testify for the prosecution in exchange for court leniency.

Expect that the professional background of Judge Lynn Liebovitz has been thoroughly researched beyond her extensive curriculum vitae. Expect also that Judge Liebovitz will find the men guilty of obstruction and tampering with evidence, and perhaps other charges, but not for murder. Will complete justice be done for Robert Wone? Not unless one of the victims, or all of them, suddenly become filled with an unlikely and miraculous remorse.