INDIANAPOLIS - Tuesday's opening arguments of the McKinney v. Duplain civil trial, which focuses on the shooting death of a Ball State University student, couldn't have been more dissimilar, both in content and presentation.
Geoffrey Fieger, representing the family of Michael McKinney, was dynamic in his approach and tried to make an emotional plea to the jury.
Bradley Williams, representing Robert Duplain, focused on what the facts should be and honed in on the exact time of the incident - trying to pull jurors into considering only the morning of Nov. 8, 2003.
As the judge told the jury prior to opening arguments, McKinney entered Muncie resident Jane Poole's backyard, attempted entrance to her house and was shot and killed by Duplain.
The plaintiffs are asking for $275 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Fieger's opening remark was bold and blatant: the jury was there to assess the "unconstitutional, illegal actions of Robert Duplain."
He went on to paint a picture of Michael McKinney as 21-year-old college student who was still a child - Lisa and Tim McKinney's child. As he explained this, he showed the jury photos of Michael McKinney and the whole family. On Nov. 8, 2003, this child's rights were violated and Duplain committed a severe violation of trust when he shot Michael McKinney "execution-style," Fieger asserted in his arguments. He promised the jury that expert testimony would prove that Michael McKinney was shot twice in the back from a short distance and then once in the chest and once in the face from six to 12 inches away.
Fieger explained that only 29 seconds elapsed between Duplain leaving his car to the backyard and shooting Michael McKinney. Duplain did not take his time and prepare himself for what could be in the backyard, and he did not use skills he learned in training as he approached and entered the yard, Fieger said.
Fieger also pointed out discrepancies between Duplain's original reports and the testimony he gave in a sworn deposition prior to trial.
Williams said he "wondered if we were talking about the same case" as he listened to Fieger's opening arguments.
Williams disputed many of Fieger's claims and simply dismissed several. Williams explained that seven people would tell the jury what happened that night - seven people who were there and lived through it: Jane Poole, Donna Winters (Poole's neighbor to the east), Nancy and Michael Ellis (Poole's neighbors to the west) and BSUPD officers David Bell, Eric Perkins and Matt Gaither.
Williams then presented three areas of what he called fact to the jury.
Jane Poole was terrified when she called 911, he said. She didn't know McKinney's plans or what he'd been doing that night.
The Muncie Police Department dispatcher sent out the call under the assumption that there was an emergency at Poole's home. After losing contact with the caller, MPD asked Ball State police to respond because they were closer to Poole's home, Williams told jurors.
He also told them Robert Duplain was not alone. He was part of a team. Duplain believed Poole was in serious danger and was coming to her immediate aid. All four UPD officers will testify they had their guns drawn at the scene, he said.
This case is not about what the experts have to say; it's about ten seconds in Jane Poole's backyard, Williams told the jury.
"Two young men met under tragic circumstances" for the first time that morning, he said.
And because of that, Williams said the jury should do three things: judge Duplain based on the evidence - not what the experts suggest, judge him by what was known at the time of the incident and judge him based on what a reasonable officer would have done at that time, knowing what Duplain knew.
The second day of the trial begins at 9 a.m. Fieger plans to call to the stand friends of McKinney, as well as pathology and forensic experts.
THE UNDISPUTED FACTS
The judge told the jury that Ball State student Michael McKinney entered the backyard of Jane Poole's home in the early hours of Nov. 8, 2003. He then began trying to enter the home through Poole's sliding glass door, pounding when he found it to be locked. Poole called Delaware County 911, reporting a bald white man banging at her back door. Poole then hung up the phone and called her neighbors. Robert Duplain, who had been a Ball State University Police Department officer for seven months, responded to the call to Poole's home, along with several other UPD and Muncie Police Department officers. Duplain entered the backyard alone, found McKinney and shot him four times.
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