A jury has been selected in the trial of Antwan Odom, charged with first-degree assault, a Class B violent felony, following an altercation with Ray Leach on Aug. 4, 2018, and attorneys will present their opening arguments to the jury late tomorrow morning (Tuesday).
Frank Housh, representing Odom, indicated during a brief conversation this afternoon, that he intends to make at least some of his defense of Odom about the character of Leach.
Odom and Leach were teammates at Batavia High School in football and basketball, and the alleged assault took place just before football practices were set to begin for the 2018 season. That was Leach's senior season in which he set state records as a running back and helped lead the Blue Devils to a state championship game.
In May, Housh first indicated he intended to try and impune Leach's character, telling reporters outside of court that Leach was the aggressor and had a reputation, known to his client, for being an aggressive person.
At a hearing that day, Housh had said he intended to file a motion to bring up evidence that questioned Leach's character. Throughout pretrial motions, he held open the possibility of filing such a motion. He never filed the motion. Today he said he didn't file the motion because it isn't necessary. He can raise that defense, he said, without a specific motion and ruling from Judge Charles Zambito.
"It goes to the reasonableness of my client's defense," Housh said.
The justification defense was apparently on District Attorney Lawrence Friedman's mind during jury selection today.
During one panel interview, he asked prospective jurors if they could set aside any personal beliefs about what might constitute justification and follow the legal explanation as proscribed by New York law that Zambito will provide them during jury instructions. All of the potential jurors on that panel said they could follow the law.
Race was on the minds of both attorneys, as well. Both Friedman and Housh asked jurors if they could come to an impartial decision involving a case where the defendant is black. When Friedman asked the question one woman said she was raised in a racist household and she didn't believe she could be impartial.
Housh emphasized the point again and told the jurors that the women did the right thing, and showed courage by speaking up.
"It's OK to say if you feel that way," Housh said. "I need to know so my client gets a fair trial."
At that point, an older man in the back row raised his hand and said he had also been raised in a racist household and perhaps that would influence his thinking.
None of the potential jurors at that point were black.
Housh also wanted to know if any potential jurors had any strong feelings about marijuana use and none did.
Court documents that became public in August 2018 indicate that Odom accused Leach of stealing marijuana.
That apparently led to an argument. Leach allegedly received at least 10 cuts from a small knife, some of which required surgery. He missed some practice time but was ready to play by the season opener.
The trial is expected to begin tomorrow sometime between 10:30 and 11 a.m.
