The pre-trial drama surrounding Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi continues as a judge has ruled that testimony from ex-girlfriend Christina Flores who was seeing Mirkarimi right up until the point that he took a trip to Brazil in 2008 during which he got Eliana Lopez pregnant will be allowed in this domestic abuse case. Flores' account of similarly being grabbed by the arm and bruised during an argument with Mirkarimi "shows a propensity" to violence, and she will be allowed to testify.
Flores' story was revealed to the media yesterday, and in one incident she cited finding another woman's underwear in Mirkarimi's home as being the cause for an argument. Flores says she was trying to leave his apartment when Mirkarimi grabbed her by the arm and left a bruise. She also recounted three other incidents of verbal abuse.
Mirkarimi's attorney Lidia Stiglich, meanwhile, argues that Flores is just out for vengence, and has email evidence showing Flores' desire to expose private things about Mirkarimi to hurt him politically. Prosecutors and Flores say that Flores has only stepped forward to aid another woman she feels has been bullied by Mirkarimi.
Stiglich is also trying to get the case moved to another county, citing a biased jury pool and inflammatory media coverage, and that is likely to delay the trial which was set to begin this week.
ALSO, Eliana Lopez's attorney has filed an appeal to reverse Judge Garrett Wong's decision to allow the videotaped evidence shot on New Year's Day, citing and this is kind of a stretch attorney-client privilege. This is the first we're hearing of this, but allegedly neighbor Ivory Madison, who shot the video, was acting as an attorney for Lopez, according to Lopez? Or Lopez now alleges that she believed Madison to be a licensed attorney, when in fact she finished law school but never passed the bar. We'll see if that flies.
