The Evidence: Prosecution
11:58 a.m.
Dan Dedemeyer has taken the stand, he is a special agent for the FBI. Dedemeyer was one of the FBI agents called in after DEA met with Cooper. Dedemeyer says Cooper mentioned city council members he believed to be corrupt, one of those names was Ed Ford. Dedemeyer said Cooper was to be used to take down those who were corrupt and. August 28, 2006 was Cooper’s first audio meetings. August 39, 2006 Cooper was given $3000. Money was put into invoice about Ford’s back car payments. The next conversation was September.
Basically this witness is here only to enter the underciver recordings in to evidence.
LUNCH BREAK: Back at 1:50 p.m.
We Are Back:
2:20 p.m.
We started back late because the judge was busy with other matters.
The FBI agent, Dan Dedemeyer, is back on the stand. Dedemeyer says Ford was arrested November 30, 2006. This was after Joe Cooper asked Ed Ford to remove the head of the Board of Adjustment. The two men met in a parking lot, where Cooper was wearing a hidden recording device.
2:35 p.m.
The FBI gave Joe Cooper $10,000 to relocate shortly before the arrest of Ed Ford. Cooper told FBI agents he was scared for his safety. Another payment was later made to Cooper after he moved because he was unable to get a job.
Defense asks for sidebar.
2:39 p.m.
We’re back. Cooper was given an additional $2,000 and then another $4000 over two payments, the last in March of this year. Agent Dedemeyer says Cooper needed the money for living expenses and that Cooper was essential to this investigation.
We’re taking a brief recess for an unknown reason.
We’re Back For Cross Examination
3:09 p.m.
Agent Dedemeyer says at first Cooper was not interested in helping the feds.
Defense attorney Mike Scholl is trying to show the jury the FBI based it’s case on a man (Cooper) with a chered past who is on record as lying.
3:21 p.m.
Scholl is using a line of questioning in an effort to show the FBI agent is not that well informed in some areas of the case. Scholl is trying to get jurors to question the credibility of the witness and the case. Agent Dedemeyer confirms his agency would ask for leniency on Joe Cooper when he’s sentenced due to his help in the Ford case.
4:08 p.m.
Defense attorney Mike Scholl has been doing his best to make the FBI look like an agency that depends on thieves for information and didn’t work hard enough to verify information information on Ford before investigating him.
4:10 p.m.
During this questioing, Ford has been smirking often,
We are now looking at an overhead projector image of a receipt for the $10,000 given to Cooper (known as Cleansweep” so he could move away. Scholl is trying to say Cooper was more scared of the drug dealers he sold out rather than Ed Ford.
4:24 p.m.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge My Harrison is sitting behind me in court. Yesterday and today, US Attorney David Kustoff has popped in and out since yesterday.
The Evidence: Prosecution
11:22 a.m.
Keith Brown has been called to testify. Brown works with drug enforcement and is over the federal task force here in Memphis. Brown’s team was taking part in “Operation Clean Sweep” was targeting a major cocaine distribution team here in Memphis. It was during this operation a man was busted for drug trafficking. We’re told that man told agents they were behind on car payments to a man named Joe Cooper. Agents felt Cooper may be laundering drug money by leasing cars to drug dealers. The DEA gave the man $3500 to give to Cooper while being caught on camera.
Agents got an arrest warrant on Cooper in August, 2006. Cooper was arrested near Summer Avenue and I-240. Cooper was taken to a hotel room in order to interview him quietly. The hope was to not let people know he was in trouble in hopes he would spill the beans on someone else.
Cooper agreed to cooperate and said he was involved in public corruption. FBI was brought in when Cooper said he had political ties because that is more the jurisdiction of the FBI.
Cross Examination by Defense:
11:40 a.m.
The judge has instructed the jury to not take into consideration any testimony involving drugs because drugs do not play a role in this case.
Scholl is asking the agent whether he knows if Cooper ever forged names to get the car leases for the drug dealers. The agent says he does not know.
Redirect:
11:50 a.m.
After questions from the prosecutor, the DEA agent admits there was concern about the drug dealer that led them to Joe Cooper. Agent Brown said, “…we did everything we could to protect the integrity of their case.”
Scholl objects and that means a sidebar.
11:52 a.m.
We’re told the drug dealer was told his cooperation would have no impact on a pending murder case against him just the drug case.
Opening Statements-Defense
Defense attorney Michael Scholl is now addressing the jury.
Scholl says Joe Cooper is an evil man who will do anything from, “going to federal jail again, again.”
It’s clear from his first minute of speaking, Scholl will portray Ford as a victim who was swindled by a crook working with the feds to reduce his sentence.
Scholl is now talking about Ed Ford and his wife Myrna and how Joe Cooper came up against the two which are, “a might force.” Scholl says Myrna Ford will testify for her husband.
Scholl says Ed Ford is a licensed embalmer who goes from funeral home to funeral home and Myrna keeps track of him. Scholl says Cooper had to use Myrna to track down Ed Ford.
Scholl says there are two Joe Coopers, one is the “good ole boy.” Scholl says the other Joe Cooper is a “liar and a crook.”
School says Ford needed a “Cadillac or smaller car to use to transport the bodies of babies, a baby buggy.”
Ford went to Cooper, whom he considered a friend. Scholl says Cooper found out Ford’s credit wasn’t good, unknown to Ford, Cooper forged Rusty Hyneman’s signature on leasing documents.”
Scholl: “Joe Cooper is a liar.”
10:48 a.m.
Sidebar
10:52 a.m.
We’re back and School is saying Cooper was setting Ford up, that he never came to Ford only about changing votes but instead mixed it in with other small talk.
Scholl says Cooper constantly was chasing down Ford, to the point of annoying employees at the funeral home. Scholl says Cooper lied about going to the hospital to get Ford to meet with him one last time.
“Nowhere will you ever hear Mr. Cooper saying, ‘here’s money for your vote.”
11:00 a.m.
Here’s the breakdown: Scholl says Cooper helped secure a loan for Ford then used that loan to make it look like Ford was taking bribes when in reality the two were never connected.
11:01 a.m.
Scholl is done and we are on a ten minute break.
When we return, evidence will begin being presented.
Opening Statements-Prosecution
After giving the jury their instructions, the judge has now begun opening statements. Because they have the burden of proof, the prosecutors are starting.
Jurors are being told by prosecutor Larry Laurenzi that a drug dealer who was busted in North Memphis led them to Joe Cooper, a former politician and as we’re told, “jack of all trades.” Cooper was said to be selling and/or leasing cars to known drug dealers using drug money. When Cooper was busted he offered to help the FBI. The prosecutor says Cooper told the FBI there were council members whose votes could be bought. Cooper named Ricky Peete and Edmund Ford. Cooper said in return for cash, Ford would push through items Cooper was behind. We’re told Cooper has been convicted in a federal court before and is awaiting sentencing on the car and drug charges. Rusty Hyneman’s name was just brought up. Hynemnan is a local developer with ties to Cooper and Ford. Click HERE to read more about that.
We’re told that on an undercover tape, we will hear the names of the city council members Ford says he can get to vote in favor of changing the sign ordinace.
10:24 a.m.
The prosecutor says Cooper met Ford at Ford’s mortuary where Cooper handed Ford a letter about late payments on Ford’s Cadillac. Cooper suggests Ford needs to make a payment when Ford takes the letter and sets it next to some papers about a sign ordinance Cooper wants changed. At the end of the meeting, Ford takes $3000 set down by Cooper. Ford suggests Cooper talk to E.C. Jones while he will deal with other people.
10:33 a.m.
Another meeting at the mortuary between Ford and Cooper. Cooper now wants Ford to help repeal an ordiance against billboards. Ford is said to brag about being able to change votes on the other ordinance because Cooper, “was so good to everyone.” Cooper takes out $2000 and Ford takes the cash while saying, “I’ll get on it.”
November 30, 2007 is the day Ford was arrested after the two met in Cooper’s car. Cooper is said to request Ford help get rid of the chairman of a local board. Ford is said to say, I’ll get on it” while taking $2000 from Cooper.
Larry Laurenzi suggests Ford was taking the payments so he could buy the building he was leasing for his mortuary.
Sara Hall’s names is now being brought up. Hall was the city attorney, she is now the attorney for Memphis International Airport. It’s not clear why her name is being brought up.
10:37 a.m.
Lorenzi, “Listen to the testimoney, review evidence and most importantly use your common sense. If you do this, I suggest you’ll find Edmund Ford is guilty of each and every count in the indictments.”
With that, the prosecutions opening statements are done.
Edmund Ford’s children now enter the courtroom.
Day One Of The Trial
9:38 a.m.
Now that we have 12 jurors and one alternate we are ready to begin.
The jurors will soon enter the courtroom and be briefed by judge Mays on their duties.
The judge hopes to hand the jury the case by Wednesday afternoon.
We Have A Jury
We now have a jury in the Ed Ford case. Now we are moving on to selecting an alternate. When the judge announced that last part there was an audible sound of displeasure among the crowd, including the reporters 
Some of you like to know the make up of the jury, we have five men and seven women.
Another One Bites The Dust
Two more potential jurors have been called to the jury box.
One juror, an older lady has been dismissed right of the bat because she is extremely hard of hearing.
This situation created some light hearted, not mean spirited, moments between the judge and the potential juror.
Getting Closer…
Judge Mays has dismissed four potential jurors which means we have eight jurors and the questioning will continue.
Still Going
I know there are gaps in my entries but this is going verrrrry sloooowly. The judge keeps taking potential jurors to the side with prosecutors and attorneys and asking them questions. Each person takes 7 to 20 minutes at least.
One potential juror three rows ahead of me is using a laptop computer and appears to be on the internet. I’m surprised they allow that with a juror since they could be reading up on the case or reading a real time blog.
After Lunch
Lunch is over and we’ve had seven jurors leave the potential pool including the juror who said he’d made up his mind about politicians in Memphis.
New numbers for potential jurors are being called and soon they too will be questioned.
It’s A Slow Process
We had a break then my battery died, those are the reasons for the gap in posts.
This is a painfully slow process. At this time, judge Mays is taking each of the 12 potential jurors aside with counsel and prosecutors and asking them questions which we cannot hear. It’s possible these 12 will end up on the final jury but usually either side has at least one or two people they don’t like.
Voi Dire- The Questions
One potential juror says she read an article in the paper this morning about Edmund Ford but doesn’t believe it will influence her vote.
A man says he’s heard media reports about Ford. When asked if it affected his opinion he said, “I pretty much have my mind made up about politicians in Memphis.” That comment resulted in a small chuckle in the courtroom. Judge Mays is asking what that means and explaining about opinions. The potential juror says he could ignore his pre-conceived notions if there is not enough proof. The man’s speech pattern gives you the feeling he could care less where he was, he seems ambivalent about the situation. I’m not sure he’ll be around long.
Two more potential jurors say they heard the trial was starting.
Questions:
The judge is asking what characteristics make for a good juror.
Honesty is the first answer.
Being a good listener.
The Charges Against Ford Are Read
Allegations against Edmund H. Ford:
From August, 2006 to October, 2006 defendant Edmund H Ford, in exchange for his support of real estate development and a billboard project on I-40, did acccept cash payments.
Cooper gave Ford $3000 in cash to make payments on a car Ford was driving and was behind payments on. The two then discussed the billboard project, after Ford said Cooper’s billboard project was a go, he took the cash.
The two then met later and Ford was again given $1900 for his support of a billboard project. Ford said he would get some votes changed or make someone “walk out” during the vote.
Ford later attended a zoning meeting and supported the billboard project then voted in favor of the project when it came before the city council and it passed 9-2.
The First Round
Twelve potential jurors have been put in the jury box. Each will be asked questions to decide whether they would make a good jury. There was a slight delay Ford and his attorney stepped out of the courtroom.
The judge is now, in his words, giving the jury pool a civics lesson. Judge Mays is explaining the difference between a civil suit and a criminal case.
The judge explains that in a criminal case, the government has the burden of guilt beyond reasonable doubt while in a civil case jurors have more freedom in their decision making.
Larry Lorenzi is introduced as a prosecutor for the government.
Mike Scholl and Donna Murray are working for Mr. Ford.
the potential jurors
The potential jurors are filling the courtroom as I type. There’s definitely a mix in ages, races and backgrounds. Some are dressed up in shirts and ties or pantsuits. Others look like they just got done working in the yard. One woman is carrying a book about Princess Diana.
Edmund Ford has entered the courtroom and is sitting beside his attorney Mike Scholl.
Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. is telling the jury pool what will happen and what will happen if they are chosen.
Judge Mays said he believes the trial will last three or four days and the jury will not be sequestered.
