Judge Ends 'Rockefeller' Name Game, Vows to Refer to Accused as 'Defendant'
Accused of trying to pass himself off as a member of the upper crust rather than a German immigrant, the defendant in a high-profile parental kidnapping case has been fighting for the right to be referred to as “Clark Rockefeller” at trial.
The prosecution contends he is in fact Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, and one of the charges against him is allegedly providing authorities with a false name, recounts the Boston Globe.
But a Massachusetts judge has found a relatively simple solution to the issue of how to refer to the accused. Although the two competing monikers will be used briefly at the outset of the trial, as the charges are read to the jury, Suffolk Superior Judge Frank Gaziano says he intends to refer to the defendant from that point forward as “the defendant,” the newspaper reports.
Jury selection is now under way.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “‘Crockefeller’ to Court: My Ex-Lawyer Said Too Much to the Media”
