Miriam found that these stories created pressures of their own. Prosecutors needed to assess whether earlier incidents were legally admissible and how much they genuinely informed the question of Nolan's intent during Morgan's stop. Evidence of a person's character was not automatically proof that he committed a new offense. The government filed carefully limited motions, while the defense argued that the previous complaints would unfairly prejudice the jury.
The judge, Harrison Caldwell, held a hearing on the disputed evidence. He was in his early sixties, quiet on the bench, and known for interrupting lawyers who described their conclusions without identifying the underlying record. Park argued that certain previous statements by Nolan were relevant because they closely resembled what he said during the McLaren stop. Keene countered that the cases had been closed without findings and that reopening them in front of a jury would invite punishment for unproven allegations.
Caldwell allowed some narrowly defined material and excluded other portions. He permitted the government to introduce evidence bearing directly on motive and knowledge under the applicable rules, but barred broad claims that Nolan must have committed the present offense merely because other people had complained. Both sides left with less than they wanted. Park considered that a healthy sign, because the result left the jury a focused case instead of a referendum on every traffic stop Nolan had made.
The technical evidence produced another dispute. Keene questioned whether the body-camera log was accurate enough to prove Nolan had intentionally disabled recording, arguing that the device clock might have been out of sync. Priya Shah responded with a report describing the clock calibration, activation history, and independent checks performed on the unit. A second examiner unaffiliated with the original analysis confirmed the critical user-action sequence.
The investigators also discovered that Nolan had created a short supplemental report while administrative restrictions were in effect. The report used a claim about Morgan moving aggressively toward the officer that was inconsistent with the available video. Nolan's defense said he was describing his perception during a stressful event, while prosecutors argued that the wording had been crafted to excuse the baton strike. Park decided to present the editing history and surrounding communications and let the jury weigh intent rather than pretending a computer log alone could read a mind.
Morgan spent much of this period learning the ordinary inconvenience of being a victim. She had to answer insurance questions about the McLaren, attend medical follow-up visits, preserve receipts, and explain to her employer why certain travel plans should be postponed. Her left shoulder improved more slowly than she had expected, and she sometimes felt a brief rush of panic when somebody raised a hand unexpectedly near her face. She continued counseling because, as she told Vivian, stopping after two appointments would be a strange way to pretend she took the advice seriously.