Ruling on motion to exclude calls from Romero’s cell phone withheld

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho is withholding until the trial ruling on defendant Joseph N. Crisostomo’s request to exclude from trial the records of phone calls from the cell phone number of murdered bartender Emerita Romero.
In his order issued on Monday, Camacho said he will hear arguments on the admissibility of this spreadsheet of call detail records and/or testimony about the contents of the spreadsheet when, if ever, it is offered into evidence by the government during trial.

Camacho said he withholds ruling until that time.

James Calderwood, IT&E manager for network services, prepared the spreadsheet of calsl from Romero’s cell phone number. The spreadsheet will tell what phone numbers Romero called and who called her and the time and dates of such calls.

Last month, Camacho declared Calderwood as custodian of record so he can testify on phone records.

Last March 7, attorney Janet H. King, counsel for Crisostomo, filed a motion to exclude from trial the spreadsheet of call detail records compiled by Calderwood.

The Office of the Attorney General replied that the motion was filed after the deadline for pretrial motions set by the court in its Oct. 4, 2013, pretrial scheduling order.

OAG argued that because King did not provide any reason for the delayed filing of the motion, it should be summarily denied.

King then filed a declaration, explaining the timing of the motion. She stated that the motion, is, in essence, a challenge to the admissibility of an expected exhibit, and as such, the deadline for its filing is March 20, 2014 and not Dec. 2, 2013.

The deadline for raising objections to exhibits is March 20, 2014 while Dec. 2, 2013 was the deadline for filing pretrial motions.

In his order, Camacho said he agrees with King’s assessment and thus, considers defendant’s motion, not as a motion in limine, but as notice that Crisostomo intends to object to the admissibility of the spreadsheet.

Motion in limine refers to a request made before the start of a trial asking that the judge rule that certain evidence may, or may not, be introduced to the jury in a trial.

Crisostomo faces charges of kidnapping and killing Romero, whose body was found in the former La Fiesta Mall in San Roque on Feb. 7, 2012. The trial will start on April 7, 2014.