Patience is Hard.

Can we keep the faith during
this lull in the cases?

And RIP Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

September 23, 2020

Hello, Friends. The Vallow/Daybell case is in something of a lull right now. Things will pop again soon, as the hearings on the motions grow closer. I’ve written at length about the issues of the motions. Take a look at the posts in the archives.

Before I dive into case discussion, I want to comment quickly on the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Regardless of your political leanings, Justice Ginsberg was a towering figure in American jurisprudence. I was the beneficiary of Ginsberg’s hard work on behalf of women’s rights, as a woman who both became a lawyer and spent 20 years in the US military.

I've enjoyed many of the opportunities in my life because Justice Ginsberg cleared the trail before me. When Justice Ginsberg was admitted to Harvard Law in 1956, a professor complained that she and the other eight women in the class were taking places that should have gone to men. In 1989, just about half of my first-year law school classmates were women. For most of my career, women left the practice at much higher rates, and their career progressions were much slower, meaning that they weren’t always able to advance to higher-earning positions in firms.

When I was born in the mid-1950s, girls were nurses or mommies. Today, my 20-something daughter can’t fathom women not being able to do or be anything they want. I’m grateful for the trailblazers that made that possible. On a personal note, when I graduated from law school in May of 1992, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who still a judge on the DC Circuit Court then, and her husband, Martin Ginsberg, were the keynote speakers at my law school graduation. Their talk was funny, inspiring, and endearing, and it's one of my most precious memories.

Now, on to the Vallow/Daybell case. Don’t you wish you could read Rob Wood’s mind? I sure do because right now, there is simply nothing to do but wait, and speculate. I see many people on social media expressing distress that neither Lori nor Chad have been charged with more serious crimes. You aren’t wrong; the case is moving at an agonizingly slow pace. Many speculate that there may not be enough evidence to charge them. I’m still confident that more serious charges are coming. Rob Wood may be using the current charges to sift through the legal issues before bringing the more serious charges. It’s smart to wait and let the motions play out. Once the court decides on joinder and venue, I think you will see some movement.

I’m also still convinced that there is a broad strategy that involves Arizona charges for Charles Vallow’s death. I live near Chandler, Arizona, and I have observed the glacial speed at which local DAs make charging decisions. Even when cases appear very straight forward, it seems to take months from the time someone commits a crime until they are finally charged. I still think those charges are the leverage needed to force Lori to flip on Chad. See my newsletter titled "Who Could Be Turning?" for the analysis.

I am sure both Chad and Lori will name Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, as the person who killed the children. With the text to Tammy on the day, it appears Tylee’s body was disposed of, Chad is clearly implicated in the disposal of the bodies. The question will be whether he was also involved in the conspiracy to commit the murders.

The Vallow/Daybell cases are complicated, and the road to a conviction for both may not be direct. While I know many people feel outraged that Chad and Lori might escape charges for the murder of the children, I am sure prosecutors are working to secure the most severe punishment for the charges they can prove.