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Joran Van Der Sloot's Confession Attorney Denies His Claims

In a setback for Joran Van der Sloot, Luz Marina Romero Chinchay, the mysterious attorney who appeared with him when he gave his confession, has surfaced after being sued by his current attorney (background on lawsuit here.)

In an interview to CNN's "In Session," she insists Joran retained her, promising payment from his mother, and that his confession was voluntary.

She also maintains Joran and she conversed in "perfect Spanish," and questions his truthfulness:

She also questioned the truthfulness of van der Sloot. For instance, when he signed some documents after talking to his mother, Romero noticed that he signed very differently than what he signed on the police statement, she said.

"I told him, 'you signed differently' and he winked his eye and made a silence signal with his hands," Romero said.

She denies she was working with the authorities, but doesn't say who arranged for her to meet Joran in the first place.

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  • Display: Sort:
    her claims don't make much sense, (none / 0) (#2)
    by cpinva on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 03:52:32 AM EST
    "I told him, 'you signed differently' and he winked his eye and made a silence signal with his hands," Romero said.

    he "signed differently"? what the heck is that supposed to mean?

    he felt uncomfortable, with all the other people in the room, but then signed a confession, after they'd all left and returned. what, he suddenly got all comfy, after (purportedly) engaging the lady as his legal counsel?

    should be interesting to see the movie version of this.

    maybe it means he (none / 0) (#4)
    by ding7777 on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 07:54:59 AM EST
    deliberately "faked" his signature to imply coercion

    Parent
    The way I read it (none / 0) (#7)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 08:23:43 AM EST
    she's saying he said he felt uncomfortable discussing with her his legal representation with other people in the room, which seems perfectly reasonable, no?

    Parent
    Does the lawyer-client confidentiality (none / 0) (#3)
    by ding7777 on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 07:51:42 AM EST
    cease if the client sues the lawyer?

    attorney-client privilege (none / 0) (#5)
    by lc on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 08:09:36 AM EST
    The privilege would have to cease.  The attorney needs to be able to defend him/herself.

    Parent
    On the media? Kind of shameful. (none / 0) (#10)
    by oculus on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 02:51:48 PM EST
    Clarification on "In Session" (none / 0) (#6)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 08:21:11 AM EST
    For anybody who might be looking for the program, it's not CNN or CNN Headline per se, but a large block of time on a channel called truTV, which I believe is what Court TV has morphed into.  CNN headline people from time to time refer to it to it as a "sister network," and Jean Casarez is an "In Session" correspondent.

    "In Sesssion" is Now at CNN and HNN (none / 0) (#9)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 01:36:01 PM EST
    Turner Broadcasting owns CNN and Tru TV.

    "in Session" and Tru TV were both affiliated with CNN, then In Session daytime at (Tru TV) shut down and moved to CNN and Headline News.

    We are excited about our new home at CNN.com and look forward to your suggestions and ideas as we continue to develop this new venture

    Turner Announcement:

    Production of truTV's IN SESSION trial coverage will shift from New York to HLN in Atlanta, effective Nov. 16, to leverage the unrivaled production capabilities and infrastructure of the CNN organization, which includes HLN. This move will result in some position elimination in New York and position growth in Atlanta, which we are currently addressing. There will be no interruption to IN SESSION's programming schedule.

    Also: "Tru TV is part of Turner Entertainment Networks, which is a unit of Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System. Turner Broadcasting is owned by Time Warner."

    Parent

    It's owned by and produced out of CNN (none / 0) (#11)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 03:58:58 PM EST
    but it's not on CNN or CNN Headline channels is my point.  truTV has its own channel, and the programming block called "In Session" is the bulk of their daytime schedule, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

    Parent
    Seems to me, he signed papers (none / 0) (#8)
    by Untold Story on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 11:20:38 AM EST
    then spoke with his mother - believe it is the phone conversation she was told by Joran, the investigators were barbaric.  Then, after speaking with his mother, he signs but not as he usual signature!

    Guess if one found themselves in a situation that couldn't be won physically, the only thing left would be to sign (as you were made to do) but with a different signature.  

    He may have been lead to believe this creature planted by the authorities in the role of his representative - was, in fact, a private attorney hired by his mother.  Yeah, one would give a wink, thinking the person (attorney) would understand why the signature was different, that she would be able to fight that for him as a witness to the circumstances under which he was being forced to sign.

    Aloha Untold Story, How are ya? (none / 0) (#13)
    by AlohaMade on Wed Jul 21, 2010 at 03:28:33 AM EST
    Chinchay said that after she and Joran talked (the others were not present) He then talked to his Mother, and she told him not to sign anything. Chinchay said it was too late.

    Now I am not sure what he had alredy signed, maybe inventory documents of Items seized? Obviously he hadn't yet signed the confession, because I am pretty sure Joran talked to his Mother sometime between his private meeting with Chinchay, and the confession. Or so I believe after reading the article. I am curious to know if the interview room was being recorded, and or, two way mirror, or Taped?

    Parent

    Aloha all! Question Jeralyn (none / 0) (#12)
    by AlohaMade on Wed Jul 21, 2010 at 03:12:39 AM EST
    ALso, Chinchay said that they conversed in Spanish fluently with out any problems. My understanding is that Chinchay was explaining his rights to him, and she stated that his due process was infact upheld. What I am having trouble with is that Chinchay said, that Van der Sloot and her had a verbal agreement, for her representing him at that moment.

    Jeralyn, Do you know if a verbal contract is binding according to Peruvian Law, also, at the begining of his confession, Joran did say that his Lawyer is present...would that coroborate the verbal agreement?