The murder of 27-year-old semipro football player Odin Lloyd is no laughing matter, and James Sultan, one of Aaron Hernandez's defense attorney learned that the hard way in court.
Hernandez stands accused of orchestrating and executing the shooting death of Lloyd. He is a former member of the New England Patriots, and during the questioning of an officer Sultan made a joking reference to "Deflategate," a scandal involving the Patriots and deflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game.
Sultan asked a state trooper if he had any "training in football deflation devices," and was rebuked by Judge Susan E. Garsh for his jest.
On a more serious note, the jurors in the trial will be taking a tour of Hernandez's home, a key location in the Lloyd case. Citing the trial of former Buffalo Bills star O.J. Simpson, certain trophies and religious items will be covered up so that jurors might not be influenced by them.
Sultan has argued that "The trial is about the truth. This is the truth of his house." Prosecutor Patrick Bomberg said that the house now looks nothing like it did in 2013 when Hernandez was first being investigated, and that much of the religious paraphenelia had been added recently.
"It's not nearly the same as it appeared back in 2013," Bomberg said.
The prosecution noted that in Simpson's case, pictures of Simpson with his family were re-arranged and prominently displayed to portray the image of a wholesome family man, while a Bible was added to a table.
[ESPN]
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