MSU Mankato football coach Todd Hoffner was in a Blue Earth County courtroom yesterday afternoon, and his attorney, James Fleming was on fire.  Fleming questioned several of the prosecution's key witnesses and raised doubts about whether videos of Hoffner's children found on his work cell phone constituted child pornography. 
 
Attorney Jim Fleming questioned Blue Earth County Human Services child protection investigator Holly Barkeim, who testified that she viewed the videos and determined that by standards of state statutes there was no sexual abuse, a category that includes child pornography.

Prosecuting attorney Michael Hanson objected numerous times to Fleming's questions, but Judge Krista Jass overruled the objections and allowed answers to be given, only rarely allowing an objection to stop the answer to a question.

Fleming had petitioned Blue Earth County District Court Judge Jass to dismiss the charges against Hoffner, and Jass asked for written arguments to be submitted by Fleming by November 7, and for Prosecutor Michael Hanson to make a written response by November 14.  If Jass denies the dismissal, another hearing date will be set at that time. 

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