Participated as defense counsel in Day 9 discussions of final jury instructions, proposed changes, and verdict forms.
DefenseDefense team (Magbanua)
Kristen Kawass
Defense attorney for Katherine Magbanua, appearing at the jury-instruction conferences in both the 2019 Garcia–Magbanua trial and the 2022 Magbanua retrial.
147 lines·4 proceedings·2 trials
About
Kristen Kawass served as defense counsel for Katherine Magbanua, focusing on the instructions and procedures that would guide the jury. In the 2019 joint trial, she objected to a principal-liability instruction, sought removal of the independent-act instruction, requested special circumstantial-evidence and witness-immunity language, and asked that voluntary-intoxication language apply only to Sigfredo Garcia. The 2019 jury deadlocked on all charges against Magbanua, and Judge Hankinson declared a mistrial.
At Magbanua's 2022 retrial, she again pressed for standard principal-liability language, opposed lesser-included homicide instructions, and sought changes involving independent acts and witness credibility. The court revised the principal-liability language, removed the independent-act instruction, and added the requested credibility factor, while retaining the lesser-included offenses. During deliberations, Kawass also argued that jurors could hear Exhibit 116 without the judge or counsel present, but the court kept the playback in open court. The retrial jury found Magbanua guilty on all three counts.
Trial Record (4)
Kristen Kawass led the defense's jury-instruction arguments at Katherine Magbanua's 2022 retrial, seeking standard principal-liability wording and limits on lesser-included offenses. During deliberations, she argued that jurors could hear Exhibit 116 without the judge or counsel present; the court kept the playback in open court.
Day 7
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