Heard and By the Numbers 

Posted: 5:34 pm Fri, November 20, 2009
By Daily Record Staff

“It’s almost as if she’s phoning in her order.”
Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Shelly Glenn, during closing arguments in Mayor Sheila Dixon’s criminal trial, on allegations that Dixon asked developer Patrick Turner to donate gift cards for needy children, and then kept them for herself. Dixon claimed in her defense that she thought cards were gifts for her.

“Is there a fundamental difference — and there isn’t — in my opinion, between a journalist in the back of the courtroom taking notes for a piece they’re going to write at lunchtime or taking notes for a piece that they’re writing on the fly?”
Lawyer Mark D. Rasch, who consults on privacy and technology issues, commenting on why tweeting should be permitted in court. After more than a week of tweets from the Dixon trial, Visiting Judge Dennis M. Sweeney on Thursday reminded those in court that no cell phones were to be used in the courtroom.

By the Numbers

179
Number of days that passed before prosecutors dismissed charges against Charles W. Huntley Jr. for alleged child sex abuse. A court held that prosecutors did not violate the 180-day speedy-trial rule when they re-indicted Huntley three weeks later on the same charges, but for different dates.

14,700
Number of taxpayers who voluntarily disclosed billions in offshore bank accounts under an IRS program that allows most to avoid prosecution as long as they pay what they owe. The high number of disclosures comes amid a U.S. crackdown on international tax evasion at Swiss bank UBS AG and other institutions.

$8.9 billion
Amount bankrupt mall operator General Growth Properties agreed to restructure in shopping mall mortgage loans. The deal would allow GGP to retain ownership of Harborplace & The Gallery, and could enable some 70 malls to exit bankruptcy before the end of this year.