by TChris

Even new prosecutors quickly learn the basic rules, making it difficult to understand why a seasoned prosecutor would have told the jury in Keith Beaulieu’s trial that he "wouldn't have put these people on the stand if they weren't telling the truth." Lawyers can’t vouch for the credibility of witnesses, and the result of Connecticut prosecutor Mark Hurley’s misconduct is a new trial for Bealieu.

At Bealieu’s bond hearing, however, Hurley asked the court to increase Beaulieu’s bail from the $50,000 that had been set prior to the first trial to $500,000. Prosecutors aren’t supposed to be vindictive after their misbehavior leads to a reversal. Did Hurley engage in misconduct again? Hurley claimed higher bail was justified because a kidnapping charge was added to Bealieu’s case after his first bond hearing, but $50,000 proved to be adequate to secure Bealieu’s appearance on the same kidnapping charge at his first trial.

"That's vindictive," [defense attorney John] Williams said of the prosecutor's high bond request. "We all know he's [Hurley] the reason the conviction was reversed."

Hurley objected to the comment and said Williams was making things personal. "I'm not going to make this personal," Hurley said in court. "I'm taking the high road."

Asking for excessive bail after getting caught breaking the rules hardly seems like “the high road.” Fortunately for Bealieu, the judge set bail at $75,000, permitting Bealieu to leave prison (for the first time in three years) while he awaits his new trial.

by TChris

Unbelievable:

Denver Manager of Safety Alvin LaCabe announced Friday he is suspending the officer involved in the deadly shooting of Frank Lobato for 90 days without pay. LaCabe said the use of deadly force by Officer Ranjan Ford was not reasonable.

Ford shot and killed Lobato in his bed on July 11, 2004 because he thought Lobato was wielding a gun. It turned out to be a soda can.

Update (TL): My opinion on this is at 5280.

posted by Last Night in Little Rock

The District of Columbia arrested a deaf, mute homeless man and detained him in mental institutions for two years, mistakenly believing he was mentally ill. He wasn't. The City yesterday has settled with him for $1M plus attorney's fees.

Some of you might remember the arrest and handcuffing of a twelve year old girl for eating "a single french fry" on a Metrorail platform in violation of the "zero tolerance" no-food policy. Stupid, yes; unconstitutional, no. According to Circuit Judge, Supreme Court Justice to be, John Roberts:

by Last Night in Little Rock

In a post last month about the LAPD SWAT Team shooting a man holding his toddler, one that generated vitriolic comments from both sides, the autopsy results are out this week: police killed the girl, blowing her brains out according to CNN.com and the LA Times.

Both articles note that the toddler had a small amount of cocaine in her system, either ingested from touching the coke her father had on his desk or from her mother's milk.

Eleven officers fired 100 rounds at the man who first fired on them and then fired 40 rounds.

It is still hard for me to imagine that he could use a toddler as a human shield and not be killed himself. I've tried several murder cases where the ME testified that a shot to the cerebral cortex produces instant death and collapse with no pain felt by the person shot.

by TChris

Jim Sensenbrenner is one of the most arrogant members of Congress, as demonstrated by his continuing belief that he knows more about the appropriate sentence to impose in drug cases than the judges who make those decisions. His attempts to impose mandatory minimum sentences on judges are bad enough, but when can't get his way legislatively, he tries to interfere with judicial decisions. Sensenbrenner must have been absent from his Constitutional Law class they day his professor explained the concept of separation of powers.

Sensenbrenner sent a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals "demanding the court overturn a decision affirming a 97-month prison term for Lissett Rivera and impose a 120-month term." His antics provoked a complaint to the Office of Lawyer Regulation. The complaint alleges that Sensenbrenner communicated with a judge about a pending case without sharing the communication with all parties in the case.

Sensenbrenner's letter was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, which prosecuted the case, but was not sent to Steve Shobat, the drug courier's attorney.

Sensenbrenner's Wisconsin law license is in "inactive" status -- a designation that allows him to avoid continuing legal education requirements so long as he doesn't practice law. It's doubtful that the Office of Lawyer Regulation will do more than issue a private caution to Sensenbrenner, and just as unlikely that the House ethics committee will take serious action on a similar complaint. Still, it's good to see that Sensenbrenner's arrogant stunt hasn't escaped notice.

by TChris

More than 60 people gathered in Utica to talk about police insensitivity and racism following the police shooting of a black resident.

The Rev. Fred Daley, pastor of St. Francis De Sales, said city police and the district attorney's office -- which investigated Washington's shooting -- don't have credibility because of "a history of racism ... (in) the power structure."

Muhammed said "there was gross insensitivity" by police toward the Washington family. He said police would not tell the family the status of the investigation and the family was not even allowed to see Walter Washington's body. "Insensitivity opens the door to injustice," he said. "I want it investigated."

Residents questioned whether the district attorney's office engaged in a meaningful investigation before pronouncing the officer blameless.

by TChris

Larry Hargrove, a retired Chicago police sergeant, was convicted today on federal charges that included racketeering conspiracy and robbery, as well as drug and gun crimes. This was Hargrove's second trial; the first ended with a hung jury. Two defendants who rolled over on Hargrove are awaiting sentencing.

During Hargrove's trial, they testified that between 1993 and 1999, the group pulled as many as 35 ripoffs of drug dealers in cars, houses and motels, taking money and narcotics.

A fourth defendant "dropped out of sight shortly before his trial and remains a fugitive."

by TChris

A Michigan judge is facing discipline for an apparent anger management problem. Detroit Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams made the mistake of parking in a spot reserved for judges at the courthouse. Judge David Bradfield "cursed at him and told him to remove his car." Adams says he was authorized to park in the spot.

As Adams got out of his car and entered the courthouse, Bradfield grabbed his shoulder and shouted that the deputy mayor was "street" and from "the hood," according to the complaint. The judge "repeatedly poked his finger into Deputy Mayor Adams' chest while he was shouting at him," the complaint states.

This isn't the first time Judge Bradfield lost his cool in a parking dispute.

An informant recants...

A paid informant who figured prominently in police and FBI investigations into the killing of rap star Notorious B.I.G., and who accused rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight and a rogue police officer of orchestrating the murder, has admitted that his information was "all hearsay." The informant, questioned under oath in a civil lawsuit, also admitted that his identification of the alleged gunman was fraudulent. He described himself as a paranoid schizophrenic who has been hospitalized for the disorder.

The case is classified as unsolved, but who will repair the damage to these three?

When we last checked in with Texas Panhandle District Attorney Rick Roach, elected following a get-tough-on drugs campaign, he had pleaded guilty in federal court to a being a drug addict in possession of a firearm in exchange for the dismissal of several more firearms and cocaine and methamphetamine charges. Among the sordid details:

Alleged illegal drug use, pornography on a work computer, 2 pounds of missing methamphetamine, and a syringe found floating in a staff-only courthouse toilet - all of that and more came forth Tuesday as part of the developing case against 31st District Attorney Rick Roach of Pampa.

Today he was sentenced to five years in prison. He still faces state drug charges, and 10 to 99 years or life on those charges.

by TChris

The crime lab in Harris County, Texas is so pathetic that Houston's Chief of Police called for a moratorium on Harris County executions if the convictions were based on the lab's analysis of forensic evidence. It has been clear for some time that the lab's scientists lacked adequate training and supervision. (More TalkLeft coverage here and here.)

An independent investigator revealed today that the problem extended beyond incompetence.

[I]nitial examination of data from the lab has uncovered a practice called "drylabbing," which is considered the most egregious form of misconduct in a forensic lab.

At least four times, lab analysts fabricated data from tests that were never conducted. The practice may have been widespread, as the lab analysts worked largely unsupervised for six years.

by TChris

Most prosecutors, most of the time, play by the rules. And then there are prosecutors like this one.