Pellicano trial gets going

Opening arguments seemed to cover the basics, with prosecutor Kevin Lally alleging that the private eye was the architect of a criminal enterprise in which clients "would pay a premium fee to discredit, and in some cases destroy, their adversaries." Pellicano, acting as his own attorney, claimed he recorded and encrypted his own calls only as a way to create a referencing system. "His presumption was that these conversations would be made available to no one but him," Pellicano told the panel (he was asked to refer to himself in the third person). Here's more from Allison Hope Weiner, who is reporting for the Huffington Post:

Mr. Pellicano spoke last and had a difficult time remembering to refer to himself in the third person. After being admonished by the Judge, he laughingly admitted that he'd gone over referring to himself in the third person all last night and yet, he'd still forgotten. Once he was off and running, Mr. Pellicano told the jury about his secretive nature and his unwillingness to share information with anyone -- which was probably his attempt to protect the other defendants who are charged with conspiracy and wiretapping.