@meghannmcuniff: In a civil trial over a fatal Los Angeles police shooting, lawyer Nick Rowley began his examination of an officer on Thursday by again asking about the amount of time he spent preparing for his testimony. Rowley on Wednesday questioned Officer Michael Mazur about the amount of time he spent meeting with his lawyers, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Frank Tavelman halted the questioning. Rowley discussed the issue with Tavelman Thursday before the jury arrived, and Tavelman said asking about what Mazur "reviewed or did to prepare for his testimony" is "perfectly fine." "But the way it was being presented, and perhaps it was just the order in which it was being presented, causes me concerns," the judge said. (Unfortunately the cameraman was not recording this discussion so I can't share a clip.) Rowley approached the issue again by asking Mazur not about his meetings with lawyers but about the time spent "preparing to be cross-examined." "I would venture to say about six weeks over the last four, three or four years, sir," Mazur answered. After court, Rowley commented on my Instagram clip of Tavelman halting his original line of questioning. “I had a discussion w the Judge this morning and after hearing me out he allowed me to go into this very subject!!! Officer Mazur testified that he spent a total of six weeks preparing to be cross examined by me! [In] almost 200 trials and 25 years of practice, I have never heard of a witness being prepared for 6 weeks,” he wrote. He said in another comment, “Judge Tavelman is actually a very good and fair Judge. We are happy to be in front of him. He intervenes with the defense also. He’s just doing his job and is always willing to reconsider his rulings. He has been right 90+ percent of the time with his rulings and I do not believe he is bias against us." I know I have seen other judges stop questions about meetings with lawyers. A lot of judges allow the questions, but others like Tavelman believe it unfairly casts the lawyers as acting nefariously and that the questions should focus on general trial preparation. The trial resumes on Tuesday. I'll share more highlights this weekend, and you can find longer videos on my YouTube channel and Facebook page, including of Mazur's testimony and Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr.'s testimony. #law #police #attorney #judge

Meghann Cuniff

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Friday 17 April 2026 15:55:10 GMT