Danny Masterson attorney crosses Jane Doe 1 while avoiding the ‘Scientology elephant’

 
Yesterday was another busy one for us at the Danny Masterson trial as we watched defense attorney Philip Cohen cross-examine alleged rape victim Jane Doe 1.

In our video after yesterday’s session, we told our subscribers some of our thoughts about Cohen’s performance (and we’ve included the video below). But we had an additional thought about it we wanted to add this morning.

And that’s this: After more than a day of cross-examination, Philip Cohen has yet to use the word “Scientology.”

Given how hard he tried to get the word out of the trial altogether, we suppose that shouldn’t be surprising.

He’s also not made an issue of how much time passed between Jane Doe 1’s initial report to the LAPD in June 2004 and the investigation’s resurrection in 2016. He said that this wasn’t going to be a focus of his defense of Masterson. Instead he’s been focused entirely on the statements that Jane Doe 1 gave to the LAPD and to Deputy DA Mueller over time.

As we mentioned on the video, we’re hearing some doubts from observers in the courtroom that this has been very effective. And we also noticed in the comments yesterday that it was a little bewildering the way he jumped back and forth between 2003 and 2016 and 2004 and 2017, etcetera.

And yes, at one point we looked over while he was formulating one of those questions, and only a couple of the jurors seemed to be looking at him. Well, their opinion is the only one that matters, but we won’t hear what that is for quite a while, so let’s just sit tight.

A question that has come up, and this was something we were discussing with other reporters yesterday, was about the order of witnesses. We don’t know what Deputy DAs Mueller and Anson have in store for us, but we’re curious about a basic concept: Will they follow Jane Doe 1 with other witnesses relevant to her allegations before moving on to the next alleged victim? Or start with the three victims first?

In the preliminary hearing, the order of witnesses was Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 3, and then Jane Doe 2. We suspect that they will keep that same order for the trial. But our question is, after Jane Doe 1 is done testifying, will they immediately move to Jane Doe 3, or will they first put on witnesses related to Jane Doe 1’s allegations, such as Lisa Marie Presley and Marty Singer? Or will they have all three victims testify first and then move to Lisa Marie and Singer and Jordan Ladd and Cedric Bixler-Zavala and the rest?

We don’t know, and we’d be interested to hear from our legal contributors what they think.

Also, speaking of chatting with other reporters, it’s been a real pleasure to meet the other journalists assigned to this case. They have told us some kind things about the Bunker, and they are intensely interested in Scientology and how it relates to this case. They are pros and care about getting the story, but they’re also very pleasant people and we’ve had a very good time getting to know them.

One of them is Dominic Patten of Deadline, who has done terrific coverage of this story. And yesterday, he noticed that in the parallel civil case, Bixler v. Scientology, the church has made a new filing saying that it plans to enter new motions on the docket as the next hearing approaches on Tuesday.

We just wanted to add a note in order to clear up what might be a slight misconception about the current situation in the lawsuit which seems to be circulating on places like YouTube. The civil case has been on hold, but Scientology has been on record as opposing a stay in the lawsuit because the criminal case was going on. Scientology did want a stay, but only because it was petitioning the US Supreme Court, not because Danny was being prosecuted in criminal court. It was the plaintiffs who were asking for a stay while the criminal case was going on and Scientology actually opposed it. And now that its petition has been denied by the Supremes, Scientology is apparently raring to get the civil case going again. (However, they know that Danny doesn’t want any discovery going on while he’s on trial, so Scientology is all right with that part being on hold.)

Anyway, we’ll try to keep an eye on any new motions being filed over there, but we do admit it’s a bit tougher now that we’re kind of busy with the trial.

Also, speaking of other journalists, as we noted in one of our updates yesterday, we were finally convinced by Marjorie Hernandez of the New York Post that one of the members of the Masterson family section is, in fact, Mackenzie Phillips, the sister of Danny Masterson’s wife, Bijou Phillips. We hadn’t seen her in a while and we didn’t recognize her at first. But yes, she’s there, along with her sister. Danny’s siblings Christopher, Alanna, and Jordan were there again yesterday, but Bijou’s brother-in-law Billy Baldwin did not make another appearance this time.

And we want to thank Shorpy for suggesting something we should have done a while ago, and that’s to give you a visual of the court layout…

1. Judge Olmedo
2. Jane Doe 1
3. Court reporter
4. Court clerk
5. Bailiff
6. Danny Masterson
7. Philip Cohen
8. Karen Goldstein
9. Ariel Anson
10. Reinhold Mueller
11. The Masterson Clan
12. Your Proprietor
13. Jeffrey Augustine
14. Various reporters across the back row.

We hope that helps you visualize things as we go in for another foray. And here’s yesterday afternoon’s video, which was sent out to Substack subscribers…

 
Today’s session is starting late, at 10 am Pacific (1 pm Eastern, 6 pm in London) so Judge Olmedo can deal with another case, and she’s letting us out early today, at 3 pm, so we’ll be sending fewer reports as a result. But we will have another video at the end of the day here at the Substack.

 
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Technology Cocktail

“Christianity owned the minds of men for two thousand years, while the saber of Genghis Khan cowed men and territory for less than eighty years. Christianity failed only when MEST, entering in, caused Christian to fight Christian and won again only when its basic ethic and ideal were restored. When all sides in World War I were conquering in the name of God so much MEST entered in that the hot flame of Christianity died down so low that in many countries a new idea, Communism, completely supplanted it despite the fact that Communism is probably much less theta than early Christianity.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951

 
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as trial begins and Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven

— The Underground Bunker Podcast on YouTube

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper

 
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Source Code

“Before we developed a good port PRO [Public Relations Officer] actions and good local area PRO actions, were very often in trouble. We were in trouble in the most remarkable ways. But it wasn’t really Scientologists that got us into trouble. The biggest amount of trouble that happened in Spain was a commercial licensed engineer who turned homo and was that way with hired Spanish hands who then went to the police and complained about this English engineer. And he was dismissed and the whole thing was handled. But it still sits in the office of information in Spain. See? Not as a handled situation but that there’s something, you know? And they’re having a lot of trouble lately with hippies. They aren’t counting the communists that they’ve got in their midst — Minister of Defense, Minister of Shipping, Franco’s first adjutant, second aide, Chamberlain — they aren’t counting these guys, they’ve gotta get these hippies. You see it has no political sense at all. If you knocked off every hippie in Spain you would not have strengthened its political position a minute.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 21, 1969

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“GEOFF BARNES is to assign himself a suitable condition for negligence while QM resulting in the injury of VIXIE. The gangway was off its slide board showing negligence as QM, the spring lines of the vessel slack and untended showing neglect of duty and the accident was not logged by him. The surges of the ship unrestrained by lines caused the gangway which had no board under it to trip on the railroad track on upend while Vixie was coming aboard, throwing her to the deck, seriously spraining her leg. Geoff Barnes beginning at midnight is to stand the next 24 hours of gangway duty without relief and starrate the QM pack within 10 days. He is transferred to the deck force where, he can become more experienced.” — The Commodore, October 21, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“All the promises of people on this planet are vapor. Except LRH. After millions or trillions of years of being lied to, he’s the one guy who ever told me the truth. You think I’m not gonna follow that guy? Ha! If I was ever going to be loyal to anyone, it’d be Ron.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1998: The St. Petersburg Times published an article this week on David Miscavige, the leader of Scientology. “When David Miscavige recounts his rise to power in the Church of Scientology — a journey that began when he quit high school at age 16 — it is mostly a story of war. War against renegade Scientologists. War against Scientology’s critics. War against its one-time arch enemy, the IRS. But Scientology’s 38-year-old leader insists he is a determined peace-maker as well. After years spent well outside the public’s radar screen, Miscavige says he plans to step forward now and take a central role in trying to end differences with those who still oppose Scientology, the self-improvement ‘technology’ devised by the late L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950s.”

Random Howdy

“Do you really think a guy who texts ‘YSCOHB’ to people has the self awareness to realize that Kirstie is making his business look bad?”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial began October 11 in Los Angeles.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

 
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SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] How Scientology broke my spirit with its insidious methods of thought reform
[TWO years ago] SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Aussies bow to Tommy Davis, but he can’t kill ‘dirt file’ story
[THREE years ago] David Miscavige at Scientology’s IAS event: What he claims, and what’s really going on
[FOUR years ago] Scientology and hurricanes: Providing storms of comic relief in one disaster after another
[FIVE years ago] KID CORPS: Scientology’s internal documents lay out its disturbing ideas about children
[SIX years ago] TOM CRUISE PENTHOUSE IN SCIENTOLOGY’S SPIRITUAL MECCA? WE HAVE THE PLANS
[SEVEN years ago] Laura DeCrescenzo answers Scientology ‘religion’ gambit on eve of key hearing
[EIGHT years ago] Vance Woodward files motion to reconsider his dismissed lawsuit against Scientology
[NINE years ago] The Flaw In Scientology’s Religious Outrage Theory: A Man Named Steven Gregory Sloat
[TEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Let’s Put Scientology Kids to Work!
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology and Forced Abortions: Testimony of an Enforcer

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 21, 2022 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast