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November 16th, 2011

Prosecutorial Misconduct is a Big, Big Problem in Texas – Here Are Just a Few Examples

Call them prosecutors, district attorneys, attorneys general, or state attorneys: attorneys representing the government in criminal cases have a different role than compiling a winning trial record, or at least that’s what we all assume. These lawyers are in it not for money or for power, but for justice, right? No. Recently, it’s become all too obvious that this is not the truth.

The truth is that prosecutorial misconduct is a big, big problem.

It’s a huge problem here in Texas, and as we’ve learned this week in the Ray Gricar / Penn State scandal, it’s also a big problem in other parts of the country. (To read my post on Gricar’s failure to prosecute, go here).

This week, the Dallas Morning News published an editorial that we should all read and consider. Entitled “Editorial: How to curb rogue prosecutors,” four recent examples are given, where prosecutors closed their eyes and ears to justice and instead, messed with evidence — evidence that has now cleared convicted individuals, evidence that the state held even though that evidence might help the defense.

The four examples?

Michael Morton (read our earlier post here on Morton’s case). Here, the district attorney held back evidence that pointed to another person as being the one who killed Morton’s wife as Morton was convicted and served 25 years in a Texas prison before legal battles succeeded in getting his release.

Anthony Graves, who served 18 years in a Texas prison – part of that on Texas Death Row – after the prosecutor jerked around with witness testimony to get Graves convicted for killing 6 people. Graves was exonerated and freed last fall. This summer, Graves finally won his fight for restitution and received $1.4 million from the State of Texas.

Dale Lincoln Duke spent 14 years in a Texas prison after the prosecutor saw fit to hold back evidence which supported Duke’s defense against child abuse charges. On November 4, 2011, a Dallas County Judge declared Duke innocent of all charges and Duke is eligible for $2 million in restitution.

Chelsea Richardson served time on Texas Death Row only to get the death penalty taken off the table (she’s still going to serve a life sentence) when appellate fights revealed that the prosecution did not share mitigating evidence with the defense that another defendant was the mastermind in the plot to kill the parents of Richardson’s boyfriend.

Think this is all? Not by a long shot.

Consider the pending case of Hank Skinner (read the details in our earlier post). Skinner is fighting for DNA testing of evidence that the prosecutors never saw fit to test which Skinner maintains will prove his innocence. Skinner was set to be executed by the State of Texas last week, but Skinner was granted another stay — to argue for DNA testing, it still hasn’t happened yet.

Delma Banks had to go all the way to the United States Supreme Court before it was confirmed that prosecutors had suppressed evidence in her case (along with lots of other bad things) and she was freed. Read about her case here.

Former Texas District Attorney Stephanie McFarland got caught withholding evidence TWICE before things changed (read the details here).

Yolanda Madden spent four years in jail before it was confirmed that the prosecutor withheld evidence in her case: seems that it took a federal judge to grant Madden’s freedom. Read the details here.

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. However, it does serve to demonstrate that district attorneys need to be viewed in a different light today – by criminal defense attorneys, by judges, by juries, by the public.

Take the time to count the years that people listed above wrongfully spent in jail, think about if that was your loved one: things must change, and until they do, prosecutors should not be assumed to be working solely in the pursuit of justice. Because all too often, they’re not.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 11:48 am

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Labels: Crime News, DA Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights

November 11th, 2011

Suspicious Ray Gricar Actions as D.A. Investigating Penn State Child Abuse Makes Me Think Gricar Is Alive and Well, and the FBI Does Too

Ray Gricar is a name that most people recognize now, as the Penn State scandal just keeps getting bigger. It’s Ray Gricar’s story that I want to discuss, but first things first.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

Right now, this Pennsylvania DA is talked about like he’s dead, maybe a good guy who got assassinated; assistant football coach Mike McQueary still has a job at Penn State; Penn State Head Football Coach Joe Paterno (“JoPa”) just got fired; and former defense coordinator Jerry Sandusky is facing child sex-abuse charges.

Tomorrow, lots of people will be watching what all this will mean when the Penn State Nittany Lions go up against Nebraska. It’s going to be televised starting at noon EST on ESPN.

Seems there’s a move to get everyone to wear white to the game as a show of support for JoPa, who only lost his job after a growing public outcry. How many will be wearing white at the game? You gotta wonder.

Mike McQueary Put on Admin Leave Today for His Safety

Today, we know that Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary has been placed on administrative leave – not for wrongdoing, though, but for his safety. Seems McQuery’s getting death threats. Shocking, right? Shocking that some folk may be very, very angry that the guy who witnessed a boy being sexually abused in a shower and then ran home to daddy rather than help that kid should be allowed to be on the field tomorrow.

What is all this about child abuse? Read the Grand Jury testimony here. McQueary is the graduate student testifying regarding Victim 2. We’ll also be very interested in Victim 6 testimony, but that’s in a bit.

Penn State University Apparently Still Doesn’t Get It – Or Do They?

Safety for McQueary. Couple this with today’s latest news release from the Penn State powers that be, and you gotta wonder when these guys are going to snap. Kids were hurt – and today’s statement from the Penn State Board of Trustees? Get this, from their release:

We call upon all members of the University community to rededicate ourselves to ensuring the integrity of our institution.

Wo Nellie. Their integrity? Penn State’s reputation? Really????

Here’s My Opinion On Ray Gricar- the Criminal Defense Lawyer Perspective

I want to explain the implications of what I’ve been reading about Pennsylvania prosecutor Ray Gricar — the district attorney that has been missing since 2005. Here’s what I’m thinking, from my perspective as a Board Certified criminal defense attorney practicing criminal law for many years in Texas.

1. Ray Gricar is no hero.

Ray Gricar was present for that Grand Jury and he’s hearing all that testimony. Go read the Victim 6 testimony. In it, Sandusky gave a confession, a CONFESSION.

Sandusky states to Victim 6′s mother — as overheard by State College Police Department Detective Ralph Ralston and University Police Detective Ronald Shreffler — that his genitals “maybe” touched the kid’s naked body as he, also naked, hugged the boy in the shower. Sandusky to the mother: “I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won’t get it from you. I wish I could die.”

Jerry Sandusky knew what he had done to those boys was wrong. He said so. This testimony is absolute proof of guilt. Any wet behind the ears DA could have gotten a conviction with this evidence.

Ray Gricar wasn’t a newbie prosecutor. Ray Gricar had this testimony, along with everything else you can read in that Grand Jury transcript, and he didn’t file a thing.

All this jabber about Gricar being his own man and going after justice, not being political: that is a bunch of hooey. Read the six victim transcript. It’s blatantly obvious Gricar is no hero here.

2. Ray Gricar Intentionally Didn’t Pursue This Prosecution

Media reports have DA Ray Gricar involved in the Sandusky child abuse investigation with Gricar having Jerry Sandusky setup by police in one victim’s house, where he spoke with the boy’s mother while the cops listened to the conversation. As reported to the Grand Jury, Jerry Sandusky admitted in the presence of a police officer that he, in fact, showered with the child victim, which would corroborate the sexual abuse allegation. He also admitted that what he did was wrong.

So, cops have the evidence and they take it back to the DA. Think about Law and Order on TV: the cop part of the show is done, and now the story flips to the attorney part.

Well, here District Attorney Ray Gricar declined to prosecute Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky for a lack of evidence. Gricar is telling people that he doesn’t have enough to go forward.

Look, I’m an experienced criminal defense attorney: usually having a prosecutor say words like this is music to my ears. Not here. This is very, very strange based on my experience. Read that transcript again: Gricar doesn’t have enough evidence? Bull.

3. Gricar Disappears in 2005 – So Where is He?

Next thing you know, District Attorney Ray Gricar has disappeared from the face of the earth. No body has ever been found. From the NCAA site, we know that his car was found abandoned 50 miles away from his home; his laptop, wallet, and keys were missing; and there was a search on the home computer, “how to wreck a hard drive.”

His personal computer – a laptop that Gricar was supposed to return to the District Attorney’s Office as he was about to retire – was found in a local river, but its hard drive was long gone. Guts of that laptop had been apparently removed.

In my opinion, it seems like Gricar deep-sixed the sex investigation to protect Penn State, and has since disappeared. But that doesn’t mean he’s dead.

FBI Reports Ray Gricar is Missing, Not Dead

If you visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation site, you will find what the federal government thinks about this case. Pennsylvania district attorney Ray Gricar is listed as MISSING. He’s known to have not one but two alias: Ray Gray and Ray Lange.

Ray Gricar even has his own Wanted poster (pdf downloadable here).

4. Meanwhile, Police Close the Case on Gricar – After Checking With Psychics

Now, what about the local police up near Penn State? What have they done to find Ray Gricar? Well, we know one thing: they’ve checked leads given to them by psychics and shockingly, that didn’t get them anywhere.

Watch this YouTube video, complete with spooky psychics and law enforcement interviews on a case gone cold.

Apparently, this was enough for the local powers that be: a local county judge declared Ray Gricar to be presumed dead in July 2011 at the request of his daughter. (The FBI Missing Persons list remains current.)

5. In My Opinion, Ray Gricar Is Alive and Well and We All Need to “Amber Alert” Him

The FBI has Gricar as missing. The New York Times is reporting on how lots of other folk think he’s still alive and kicking. I do, too.

I think we all need to be on the lookout for Ray Gricar or Ray Lange or Ray Gray … because this is the worst case of prosecutorial misconduct I’ve seen. Justice served? The injustice of this entire Penn State scandal angers and sickens me, and Ray Gricar’s job was to fight for those boys. From what we have as facts right now, we know he didn’t do it.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 11:18 pm

34 Comments
Labels: Crime News, DA Watch, Media Watch

November 9th, 2011

Texas Prosecutors Come Under Increased Scrunity in Texas: Hank Skinner Stay Within Weeks of Michael Morton Release

Hank Skinner is still alive today thanks to a last minute stay granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals – and it’s still open for debate whether or not his requests will be granted for DNA evidence to be tested. (For details on Hank Skinner’s case, check out our earlier posts here and here.)

Read the November 7, 2011 Order and Opinion of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in the Hank Skinner case online here.

However, as Hank Skinner’s story continues to be followed by the international media there is a new slant on the story that is gaining lots of ground: the actions and attitudes of the Texas prosecutors in the Hank Skinner case.

This is especially interesting, given the recent reporting on prosecutorial misconduct in the Michael Morton case. It was only a few weeks ago that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued its opinion in Morton’s case, freeing Michael Morton as an innocent man wrongfully convicted of his wife’s murder after serving many, many years on Texas Death Row.

DNA evidence freed Morton — evidence that the Texas prosecutors in that case didn’t want to pursue, didn’t want to use, didn’t want to be considered on appeal. Hank Skinner is fighting a similar fight to Morton’s quest for justice; Skinner’s case, however, appears to be even stronger in its own way than Morton’s arguments.

That’s because in Hank Skinner’s case, a Texas prosecutor (Gray County District Attorney John Mann) did have crime scene evidence tested for DNA only to find that:

Hank Skinner was at the crime scene (Skinner doesn’t dispute he was there, just that he was too intoxicated to do anything)
Hair from an unknown person was found in one victim’s hand (DNA shows it’s not Hank Skinner’s hair)
Blood on a cassette recorder at the scene is from an unknown person (not the victims nor Hank Skinner)
Blood on gauze found on the sidewalk in a blood trail, also from an unknown person (not the victims nor Hank Skinner)

After the Gray County District Attorney got this DNA evidence back from his crime lab, what did he do? He stopped testing evidence. That’s right.

Which means the Texas prosecutor did not test:

two knives found at the scene with blood on them, known to have been used in the murders
vaginal swabs taken from one victim, found with her pants halfway off her body
a windbreaker found at the crime scene within 24 inches of a victim’s body, covered in blood and sweat – a jacket known to be similar to one worn by this victim’s uncle — who had been stalking her shortly before the murders

It gets worse. After that District Attorney lost re-election, the new District Attorney reviewed the crime reports on the DNA tests that had been done and told Skinner’s attorneys about them — but coupled that with his position that there would be no more DNA testing without the court forcing the prosecution to do so.

That’s right: he knew about the windbreaker, the knives, and the swab — and he refused to test them.

So what’s with the prosecutors in the State of Texas?

Why would a Texas district attorney do this, aren’t they supposed to be representing the State of Texas in the pursuit of justice? Good question.

Right now, we’ve got law school professors giving their opinions on why these prosecutors would do stuff like this to CNN and we’ve got leaders of the Innocence Project giving their take on things in the media, like Chicago’s David Protess at the Huffington Post.

Lots of talk and discussion over something that doesn’t seem that hard to see: Texas prosecutors look to be more interested in victory in the courtroom than in justice being served. Not big news to criminal defense bar in Texas, but it seems to be shocking to most of the American Public.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 5:33 pm

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Labels: Court Opinions, DA Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights

October 26th, 2011

Texas DA Reported to Trade Cash for Freedom or Light Sentences. Lotsa Cash.

Texas District Attorney Lynda Kaye Russell, the head prosecutor for Shelby County, Texas, apparently is in big, big trouble if a news report from the Associated Press, which is being picked up all over the country, is accurate.

Where’s Shelby County? It’s near the Texas – Louisiana border (you may recognize the area as Center, Texas), closer as the crow flies to Shreveport than Dallas, and as Shelby County District Attorney, Linda Kaye Russell is in charge of prosecuting all crimes within its jurisdictional limits.

Not exactly a place that you would think would be a hot bed of drug crimes, right? Put the word “Texas” with money laundering and drug trafficking and most people think the border of Texas with Mexico, not Texas with the Bayou State.

Well, surprise.

According to this new, hot story from the AP, the Shelby County District Attorney was responsible for a jurisdiction with established drug running campaigns — a veritable hot bed of drug-related crime.

Instead of fiercing fighting against all this criminal activity, according the Associated Press, Ms. Russell was allegedly making deals with the evildoers. Money deals.

The story goes that the Texas DA was trading cash for letting them go or offering cushy sentences, profiting by close to a million bucks (reports are $800,000+) within a twelve month period.

August 2010: Russell Took the Fifth to Questions About Highway Piracy

Interestingly, search around for DA Russell and you’ll find that suspicions of her involvement with “highway piracy” have been around for awhile. Over a year ago, there was a news story out of Beaumont’s local ABC affiliate that Shelby County DA Lynda K. Russell was deposed in a civil lawsuit back in August 2010 and DA Russell chose to assert the rights accorded her by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution for many, many of the questions posed to her during the deposition.

That’s right: DA Russell took the Fifth in the deposition. In fact, she took the Fifth to 100s of questions asked of her. Hundreds. So many, that one attorney present during the questioning called the question-and-answer session “mind-numbing.”

So, looks like a civil lawsuit brought by some folk who got pulled over long ago in Shelby County, Texas, has turned into a big criminal investigation — and now, we’re all going to learn a lot more about the activities of Linda Kaye Russell and her Office of the District Attorney of Shelby County, Texas. Stay tuned.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 6:00 pm

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Labels: DA Watch, Media Watch

October 12th, 2011

Prosecutorial Misconduct Spotlighted in Michael Morton Case as Texas High Court Releases Innocent Man

This morning, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued its opinion in the Michael Morton case, where the Innocence Project (among others) have been working hard to overturn Morton’s 1987 conviction (and life sentence) for murdering his wife.

Read the full text of the CCA’s opinion, hot off the presses, here.

For background on the travesty of justice involved in the conviction of Michael Morton, read our August 2011 post “Innocence Project Finds Another Innocent Man Convicted of Murder in Texas but Loses Fight to Boot Prosecutor for Bias.” where we have been monitoring the efforts to remove the Williamson County District Attorney from the case.

DNA Tests Prove Michael Morton Did Not Kill His Wife

In its opinion, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals finds as a fact that Morton is innocent, accepting the DNA testing into its deliberations which had shown that another individual, not Morton, committed the crime. Morton’s conviction has been vacated.

What Did the Prosecutor Hide?

Investigations have been ongoing into the actions (or lack thereof) by the prosecutor in this case because there is reason to believe that evidence which would prove that Morton was innocent was withheld by the district attorney’s office of Williamson County.

The evidence withheld includes: (1) the eyewitness account of Morton’s young son, who said that the killer was not his father; (2) the victim’s Visa card found later at a store in San Antonio; (3) a cashed check, made out to the victim, with an apparent forged endorsement on the back where it was cashed almost two weeks after the homicide; and (4) the bandanna found at the crime scene with DNA evidence on it (which has been the basis of the vacated conviction).

What Happens to Michael Morton Now? He’s Free and He’s Gonna Get Paid

Michael Morton has been walking free since October 3, 2011 (when an earlier hearing allowed his release pending today’s ruling) and now, under the laws of the State of Texas, he will be entitled to receive $80,000/year of wrongful imprisonment as well as $2,000,000 in an annuity that earns 5% interest.

And before anyone gets excited about that cash, think about it: this man has served a huge part of his life behind bars, with most folk believing that he had killed his own wife. Does anyone really think that this moola really fixes all that — that this man wouldn’t prefer to erase all this rather than have that cash now? These payments don’t excuse or weaken the wrong of prosecutorial misconduct.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 4:32 pm

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Labels: Court Opinions, DA Watch

August 31st, 2011

Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten Still Facing Felony Bribery Charges – But the FBI Investigation May Point Fingers at Her Prosecutors, Stay Tuned

Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten’s predicament — being indicted on 6 counts of bribery while presiding over a Collin County judicial bench — was something that we first discussed last October, when Judge Wooten’s attorneys were arguing this was all politically motivated hogwash while the prosecutor, then District Attorney John Roach, claimed his offices were merely seeking after justice. (For details, check out “Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten Indicted for Bribery, Suspended With Pay.”)

Judge Suzanne Wooten Is Still Officially Presiding Over Her District Court Bench While Suspended With Pay

Judge Wooten is still officially presiding over the 380th Judicial District Court of Collin County, Texas; however, she is still on suspension by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct so the Honorable Suzanne Wooten has had others covering her work on the bench while she remains at home with pay — and according to the homework done by John Pitchford of the Collin County Observer in checking public salary records, Judge Wooten has been getting $12,000 /month since October 2010 without taking the bench once.

That’s a pretty long paid vacation, right? Meanwhile, things are getting more and more interesting as her trial was moved and moved again, and now Judge Wooten may not see a trial until sometime next year.

Judge Suzanne Wooten Faces Two More Charges – and a newly released FBI Report

The felony trial of Suzanne Wooten was set to begin on August 20th in front of a visiting judge from the Tyler bench, Judge Kerry Russell; however, that trial date fizzled and it’s predicted there won’t be another solid trial date until after the new year. Why?

The indictment has been amended — it’s grown with 2 additional charges — and there’s new evidence to deal with: on the eve of this August trial, the special prosecutors (two Texas Assistant Attorneys General, the special prosecutors that John Roach had asked be appointed to the case, Harry White and Brian Chandler) have finally introduced a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI has prepared a preliminary 48-page report concerning Judge Wooten’s activities and it was conducted because Judge Wooten complained to the FBI about political shenanigans back in April 2010. (As described in our earlier post, Wooten is arguing witch hunt, pointing to John Roach’s four different grand jury proceedings against her since her record-breaking election as a Republican back in 2008.)

According to media reports, Judge Wooten’s attorney has charged that the FBI’s report refers to Wooten as ”the victim,” and names members of the Collin County District Attorney’s Office as FBI investigation targets, including the special prosecutors appointed on John Roach’s request, Assistant AGs Harry White and Brian Chandler. (No wonder some question why that report took so long to get turned over in discovery.)

District Attorney John Roach Has Been Replaced – And His Replacement Wants to Toss This Hot Potato To A NEW Prosecutor Pronto

Meanwhile, over at the District Attorney’s office, things have changed. John Roach isn’t the Top Dog anymore. Now, Greg Willis is the District Attorney for Collin County, Texas — and yesterday, this new District Attorney filed a motion that is making the news: he’s requesting the criminal court judge remove the special prosecutors that John Roach had asked be appointed to the case, Assistant Texas Attorneys General Harry White and Brian Chandler, and that Judge Wooten’s case be prosecuted by someone totally new.

A copy of District Attorney Greg Willis’ motion can be read in its entirety here. From his motion:

“The citizens of Collin County deserve to have an impartial and disinterested attorney appointed by this Court to assess and determine how this prosecution should move forward. To that end, the undersigned District Attorney, also requests permission to recuse himself and requests that this Court appoint an impartial and disinterested attorney pro tem. …

“This matter has been mired in politics, speculation, and allegations of conflicts of interest since its inception. Regardless of the existence of actual conflicts of interest, this prosecution is cloaked in the appearance of impropriety and should not continue on its present course.”

“A prosecutor should be independent, unbiased, without conflicts of interest, and not witnesses to any of the concerns presented to the grand jury.”

“In view of his decision to voluntarily recuse himself, the District Attorney further moves the court to appoint an impartial and disinterested attorney pro tem pursuant Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.07. …

“The citizens of Collin County must trust in the integrity of countywide elections, and also in the integrity of those who investigate and prosecute allegations of public corruption in the same manner. The proximity of the Texas Attorney General ‘s Office and that of the former Collin County Criminal District Attorney to the allegations which are at the heart of the indictment, and to the related federal investigations into the same, have placed that trust in jeopardy.”

Last fall, we wrote this was a High Noon face-off between John Roach and Suzanne Wooten and that things would get a lot bigger before the end of it all. Key to our prediction, the fact that a big bunch of criminal defense attorneys gave Judge Wooten a standing ovation when she took the bench: again, criminal defense attorneys practicing daily in a local courthouse usually know what’s going down and that act of unity tells us all something.

It’s still going to get bigger. We’ll keep you posted.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 4:08 pm

2 Comments
Labels: DA Watch, Judge Watch

August 24th, 2011

Innocence Project Finds Another Innocent Man Convicted of Murder in Texas but Loses Fight to Boot Prosecutor for Bias

For the past 24 years, a man named Michael Morton has sat in a Texas prison cell after being arrested, tried, and convicted of his wife Christine’s homicide. According to the Innocence Project, Mr. Morton was wrongfully convicted, he is innocent of murdering his wife, and the prosecution shouldn’t be trusted to do the right thing now because they are biased and have already hidden eyewitness evidence that would clear the man.

Innocence Project Loses Hearing Before Trial Court Judge

Williamson District Court Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield will allow District Attorney John Bradley to remain on convicted murderer Michael Morton’s case – even though the Innocence Project doesn’t believe that prosecutor Bradley can be trusted to give Mr. Morton a fair trial. The Innocence Project filed a lawsuit on this very issue over in Williamson County, asserting that DA John Bradley is biased in the case and should not be allowed to represent the State of Texas in a matter where new evidence has been found that may well prove that Michael Morton is innocent of the crime for which he has been convicted.

The Innocence Project contends that the prosecutor, who was also the former chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, is biased – arguing in a hearing before Judge Stubblefield earlier this week that Bradley is responsible for the calculated and intentional suppression of evidence that could clear Morton.

What’s the New Evidence That the Innocence Project Argues Clears Michael Morton?

It seems there is a bandanna which may free Mr. Morton. The Innocence Project argues that DNA evidence found on this bandanna exonerates Christine Morton’s husband as her killer.

The bandanna was found at the crime scene and it’s been setting in evidence for almost a quarter century. Today, scientists can distinquish between Christine Morton’s DNA – left with her hair, skin, blood, and sweat on the cloth, and that of another human’s DNA, which they believe to be her killer’s DNA.

The tests have already been done. The Texas Department of Public Safety has run these new DNA test results through the convicted-offender DNA database, which contains DNA data from across the country. It has already been confirmed that the DNA on that bandanna found at the crime scene does not match Mr. Morton: it’s a match for a man with a 3-state criminal record who has been arrested in California (and California authorities have double checked, confirming it’s their guy whose DNA is on that cloth found at the crime scene).

The Innocence Project wants to tie that new DNA evidence with a statement given by the Mortons’ young son Eric at the time of their investigation. Seems the 3 1/2 year old boy witnessed the murder and said his daddy was not home at the time of his mother’s death; instead, a “monster” was there, “hitting mommy.”

It’s a Matter of the Prosecution Concealing Evidence – Again.

The Innocence Project wanted John Bradley off the case and a Special Prosecutor appointed because they consider him biased then and now. They contend he cannot be fair in the Morton case because the son’s statement was not provided to the defense during the trial – that’s right, it was concealed from defense attorneys — and because Bradley has tried to thwart the DNA testing of the bandanna.

However, since John Bradley wasn’t the lead prosecutor on the case back then, it seems that the trial judge is going to let him stay on the case. The Innocence Project lost that battle this week.

One can only hope that the Innocence Project wins the war of getting this innocent man exonerated – and soon.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 5:04 pm

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Labels: DA Watch

July 13th, 2011

Veteran Texas D.A. Busted for Intoxication So He Quits 26 Year Job

On the job 26 years and one day, it’s all over. Seems that Jim Kopp, who had been an assistant district attorney down in the Bexar County District Attorney’s office (serving the San Antonio area) since 1985, quit a couple of weeks ago after he spent some time in the Bandera County Jail, not as a prosecutor but as a criminal.

Mr. Kopp was busted by a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden while he was boating with pals out on Medina Lake. The Game Warden told the media that he pulled over Kopp’s boat to do a routine water safety check – but after he started his safety check, he noticed that Jim Kopp was acting, well, drunk. Bad sign: there were empty beer cans in the boat.

So, the Game Warden did some field sobriety tests and lo and behold, the Ass’t D.A. is being escorted back to the Hoosegow and charged with the Class B misdemeanor of boating with intoxicated.

After spending time in the local jail, the veteran prosecutor bonded out and then went to work back in San Antonio where promptly turned in his resignation.

Who knows what Jim Kopp is going to do now — but he’s left a job that he started back when Ronald Reagan was president; Madonna started her first concert tour; and Coca-Cola introduced “New Coke.”

That’s a long time to be working in the same office and now, in the span of 48 hours and some brewskis, it’s all over.

Oh, and by the way, back in 1985 according to InformationPlease:

US GDP (1998 dollars): $4,180.70 billion
Federal spending: $946.39 billion
Federal debt: $1817.5 billion
Median Household Income (current dollars): $23,618
Consumer Price Index: 107.6
Unemployment: 7.2%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20 ($0.22 as of 2/17/1985)

Interesting to think that Jim Kopp was not only a former chief of criminal trials for the San Antonio District Attorney; at the time of his resignation, Kopp was in charge of putting together databases for the DWI Task Force.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 4:12 pm

1 Comment
Labels: DA Watch

May 11th, 2011

Who Will Bring Texas Prosecutor James Elliott to Justice In the Delma Banks Case? He’s Retrying a 30 Yr Old Death Penalty Case Despite US Supreme Ct Rebuke

In 2004, Texas Death Row inmate Delma Banks’ case came before the United States Supreme Court, where the Highest Court in the Land found that prosecutors had done very bad things — they had suppressed evidence, they had hidden their own mistakes, etc. — and because of this, Banks’ case was overturned. Read the U.S. Supreme Court opinion here, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The Texas Tribune quoted UT Law professor Robert C. Owen (and Banks’ co-appellate counsel) as saying that “… just about every kind of thing the prosecution could do that was improper….” was done in this case.

You’d think that the Bowie County district attorney’s office might be a little, well, chagrined about this. Embarrassed. You’d think that maybe they would treat the case a bit differently once it came back to their desk, right?

Wrong. The same prosecutor that manned that helm 30 years ago in this notorious prosecution is going back to court, seeking the death penalty against Delma Banks again. AGAIN.

James Elliott is on a mission, according to the Tribune, to go after Banks until Banks “ …gets what he deserves.”

Moving to Disqualify

Next Monday, no surprise to anyone, Mr. Banks’ motion to disqualify Jim Elliott will be heard before District Judge Nathan E. White – along with the rest of the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office. Bias. Conflict of Interest. You follow the gist of things.

Seems like it will be an easy call for the court. After all, the record will show (remember, you’ve got records that include a United States Supreme Court opinion here) that among other things:

there was no physical evidence linking Banks to the crime of killing Whitehead
there were no witnesses to the killing
Banks was black and 21 years old at the time of the killing
Whitehead was white
Banks had no criminal record
Witnesses who saw Banks and Whitehead together that night said they were fine, no ill will
it was an all-white jury that convicted Banks
it was an all-white jury that sentenced Banks to death

And, importantly, the record will show that 20 years after the trial, a federal district court judge forced the Bowie County, Texas, records to be opened and there it was found that:

one of the two prosecution witnesses relied upon to prove their case had had his testimony rehearsed and coached – a lot; and
the other prosecution witness had been a police informant with a record of being shifty who was paid $200 for his part in the case.

We join with Grits for Breakfast, asking why prosecutors are not disciplined by the State Bar or otherwise sanctioned when an appellate court finds prosecutorial misconduct.

On Monday, the well-respected Texas blogger Scott Henson at Grits for Breakfast published a post worth reading, entitled, “ Why aren’t prosecutors held accountable when appellate courts find knowing misconduct?.”

Looking at the Banks’ case as well as the analogous Anthony Graves case, Mr. Henson actually conducted a poll of his readers to find what they thought about disciplining district attorneys who do bad things during the prosecution of a criminal matter, particularly one where they are asking for the penalty of death.

Results? An overwhelming number think that there should not be a shield of immunity here.

However, right now, the only bad thing that may happen to Texas prosecutor James Elliott is that he may be disqualified from the case on Monday. Is justice served?

Posted by Michael Lowe at 8:33 am

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Labels: Court Opinions, DA Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights

March 16th, 2011

Texas DA Pleads Guilty to Felonies: Will Serve Jail Time, Pay Fine – and Return $2.16 Million He Took

The big news this month down in Alice, Texas (which lies between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, if you’re wondering) is not that former Brooks County and Jim Wells County district attorney Joe Frank Garza has made a deal with prosecutors rather than face trial on a number of felony charges. No, the big news is that Mr. Garza will be returning $2,160,000.00 he took out of the asset forfeiture funds.

That’s right: Joe Frank Garza, 64, is giving the money back. Over two million smackeroos.

You’ll recall from earlier posts that Mr. Garza got himself indicted for taking money that was piling up in the asset forfeiture funds held in the two counties for which he served as head prosecutor. Back then, however, Joe Frank Garza was confident that he had done nothing wrong — that Texas law allowed him, as district attorney, to do as he saw fit with the monies that found their way into the county forfeiture accounts.

Specifically, from our earlier posting, Mr. Garza had taken over $4 million out of this account, spent primarily in bonuses to three secretaries:

The media is reporting these tallies (the audit/investigation is ongoing, this information comes from data provided by Garza to the Attorney General’s office) from 2000 – 2007 (excluding 2002) where Garza spent $4.2 million:

1.$2.1 million was spent on “salary supplements”, and while Garza had a staff of 15 who did get bonus pay, Barrera (and the county commissioner heading up the investigation) are reporting that most of this total went to just three people, three secretaries who worked for Garza.
2.$267,449 on travel.
3.$581,000 in operating expenses.
4.$19,987 on equipment.
5.$154,213 on supplies.

On May 6, 2011, he appear at a sentencing hearing now that he’s made his plea deal with the Texas Attorney General. There, Joe Garza will be asked to fork over his license to practice law in the State of Texas, along with paying a $10,000 monetary fine. Then, per the deal, he will spend 6 months as a guest of the Jim Wells County Jail and when he is released – say in November, in time to be home for the holidays – he will be on probation until 2021.

Oh, and at that $2.16 million repayment will be taken care of during that May sentencing hearing, too.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 4:27 pm