Tomorrow is the next big day in the Vetrano-Lewis murder case --- as everybody will have their say on how to go forward

Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise has ordered all sides involved in the prosecution of Chanel Lewis for the murder of Karina Vetrano to appear in his courtroom in Queens tomorrow to discuss how the case will proceed

There has been little  >>> NEWS <<<  in the case since Judge Aloise, in a very controversial ruling (one of very many in the case),  declared a mistrial on November 20, 2018.....   What was reported at the time suggested that the trial judge rushed to his ruling upon the defense motion without giving the jury what is called an "Allen Charge"  ---  urging the jury to renew deliberations and to cooperate in order to reach a verdict based upon the evidence presented to them.  However, it was only later reported that the Queens County prosecutor, a very senior ADA in the Office of the Queens DA  >>> DID NOT OPPOSE <<<   the defense motion for a mistrial

THAT LEAVES A RATHER OBVIOUS QUESTION GOING FORWARD  ---  WHY DID THE PROSECUTION DECIDE TO THROW IN ITS CARDS AFTER CHANEL LEWIS' DEFENSE  TEAM IN ESSENCE SAID  >>> IT LOOKS LIKE THE GAME IS UP <<< 

RIGHT NOW,  IT'S UP TO JUDGE ALOISE TO SEE WHEN AND IF HE'LL RE-DEAL THE CARDS IN THIS CASE

The following is a typical report after jury deliberations were abruptly terminated in the Vetrano-Lewis murder trial in the Queens courtroom of Justice Michael Aloise, JSC,  on November 20th 2018:
"....  A judge declared a mistrial late Tuesday in the murder trial of Chanel Lewis, the man accused of killing Queens jogger Karina Vetrano in 2016....   Following a day and a half of deliberations, the jury sent a note to the judge saying it was hopelessly deadlocked and had exhausted all thoughts and opinions....   The victim’s family was stunned, with the judge announcing the hung jury to a near-silent courtroom. Several were in tears as they were escorted out....  Lewis, 22, is accused of killing the 30-year-old Vetrano while she was jogging in Spring Creek Park near her family’s home in Howard Beach. If found guilty, he faces up to life in prison. His attorney says the declaration goes to show the evidence presented was far from a slam dunk....  [various details about the history of the case and what was presented at the trial]....   Prosecutors say they’ll move to retry the case following the judge’s decision. Lewis will remain in jail as the case is adjourned until January 22nd, when the two sides will reconvene and figure out how to proceed"
(See  "Judge Declares Mistrial In Queens Jogger Karina Vetrano’s Murder Case"  by Jessica Layton & CBS Staff Writers,  11/20/18,  CBS2/ WYLI1055/ CBS News NY [https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/11/20/chanel-lewis-karina-vetrano-mistrial/]).

TWO WEEKS LATER,  THE NY TIMES PAINTED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PICTURE THAN ALMOST ALL OF THE PRIOR REPORTS

Here's some of what the New York Times said a couple of weeks after the declaration of a mistrial by Justice Aloise:

"....  The Queens district attorney’s office believed its case against Chanel Lewis was airtight. Prosecutors had a videotape of Mr. Lewis confessing to the murder of 30-year-old Karina Vetrano two years ago as she jogged through a Queens park. Police had also found his DNA on her body.  But after a two-week trial last month, the unexpected happened: The jury remained hopelessly deadlocked after only two days of deliberations. The judge quickly declared a mistrial. Prosecutors did not object....   Usually, a videotaped admission of guilt coupled with DNA evidence almost guarantees a conviction. But the Vetrano case demonstrated that jurors are starting to doubt such evidence....   Over the last 20 years, several cases involving false confessions have surfaced, and DNA evidence, while seemingly convincing, has not always persuaded jurors who have concerns about police integrity. The skepticism is higher in minority communities where relationships with law enforcement have been strained, legal experts said...."  (See  "The Murder Case Seemed Solid. Here’s Why Jurors Would Not Convict"  by Jan Ransom,  12/5/18,  New York Times/ New York  [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/nyregion/queens-jogger-trial.html]).

MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, THE PROSECUTION/ PERSECUTION OF CHANEL LEWIS HINGES ON RACE

Perhaps, an even more important bit of the report by Timesperson Jan Ransom was a segment in  her article where she detailed her investigations into how the jury had become "hopelessly deadlocked"  ---  "....   Several jurors agreed with the defense’s argument that Mr. Lewis’s confession might have been coerced and that DNA evidence could have been contaminated, according to one juror, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of harassment....  The juror’s account could not be independently confirmed, but it meshed with what transpired in court and with evidence the jury reviewed during deliberations. Two other jurors declined to comment, while several more did not respond to requests for an interview....   The juror said all panel members agreed early on that prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Lewis, 22, had sexually assaulted Ms. Vetrano, but the jury remained split about whether Mr. Lewis was guilty of murder....   Seven members wanted to convict him, according to the juror, including all four white members of the panel, a Hispanic woman, an Asian man and a black man....   The five people who had doubts about his guilt were of black, Hispanic and Indian descent.  Some jurors were troubled by how Mr. Lewis, who is black, became a suspect in the first place, the juror said. He was arrested on what amounted to a hunch from a police lieutenant, who, months before the murder, had seen him “acting suspiciously” as he wandered through Howard Beach, a mostly white neighborhood where the murder happened...."