After Ross Mirkarimi's lawyer made an attempt to exclude Eliana Lopez's videotaped statements from the evidence yesterday, the district attorney's office filed a response this afternoon to ensure the crucial evidence remains in play. As part of the motion, the DA's office released stills from the 45-second video showing Mrs. Lopez displaying a large bruise on her arm while wiping tears from her face.

The defense's statement yesterday hoped to toss out the footage on the grounds that the her statements in the video must have been premeditated because of the time between the alleged incident on December 31st and when the footage was taken by her neighbor Ivory Madison the next day. To that, the District Attorney's office responded: "Although roughly 18 hours passed between the event and the statements to Madison, the victim was clearly still under the stress of the traumatic and stressful events from the day before.” Judging by the dramatic still photos, that seems like an accurate statement to us.

For his part, Mirkarimi quietly slipped in and out of court on Friday. As Bay City News reports via CBS 5, the newly elected Sheriff "made a swift departure from the corridor through a back exit in the Hall of Justice" after this morning's court session. This afternoon, he returned via a separate entrance in order to avoid the flock of paparazzi that have swooped in on this story.

Meanwhile, Mirkarimi did get one small win in the case: his attorney Lidia Stiglich moved to have the case put before a different judge this morning, claiming Judge Susan Breall, who formerly specialized in crimes against women when she was an attorney with the DA's office, would not be impartial in this case. The case has now been assigned to Judge Garrett Wong, but due to the restraining order Breall issued a few weeks back Mirkarimi has been exiled from his home on Webster street. In the meantime, Mirkarimi has been staying with friends, including former Mayor Art Agnos.

Previously: All Ross Mirkarimi coverage on SFist.
[BCN/CBS5]