Judge denies acquittal motion in Pulse case

ORLANDO, Fla. — The judge in the Noor Salman trial denied her attorneys’ request to throw out the charges against her Friday.

Salman’s defense will be back in court Monday to try to convince jurors that she did not help her husband, Pulse shooter Omar Mateen, as he prepared for the attack.

Salman and the jurors were not in court Friday — jurors have Fridays off from the case, and Salman waived her right to appear for the day’s legal arguments. She is charged with aiding and abetting Mateen’s providing material support to a foreign terror organization, the Islamic State group, and with obstructing justice.

Motions for a judgment of acquittal are common in criminal cases, put on by defense attorneys after the government rests its case to argue prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to prove the charges.

As the hearing began, U.S. District Judge Paul Byron noted that he is required to view the evidence in a “light most favorable to the government.”

“It’s not for me to play juror at this moment or to make judgments I personally might make,” he said.

When jurors deliberate, they will be able to decide whether to find the evidence they heard from FBI investigators and other witnesses credible. But for this hearing, Byron said, he is required to presume that the evidence the government presented is true and err on the side of sending the case to the jury.

Byron and attorneys also went through jury instructions, which tell jurors what the relevant laws are and what they have to consider when deliberating.