Dismissed DUIs in Colorado Underscore Need to Investigate Lead Police Officer's Credibility
Recently in Mesa County Colorado on the Western slope of Colorado, the District Attorney's office was forced to dismiss eight criminal cases in light of credibility questions surrounding a former Colorado State Trooper.
Because of the impact of the lead officer's testimony in a DUI caae, the District Attorney's officer is reviewing hundreds more cases that are expected to be dropped in the coming weeks.
The tropper - Donald Moseman, stepped down from the State Troopers Office in December after a departmental investigation.
The cases that have been dismissed are all drunk driving misdemeanor cases that had Moseman as the sole witness for the prosecution but additional cases in additional areas are also subject to the same scrutin .
The result of this action has led to a demand by Colorado Defense Lawyers in the area to turn over the contents of Moseman's internal affairs investigation, and it is expected that a judge will compel the department to turn over those records so that the judge could perform a private review to determine if there was material in that file that is relevant to these cases
This kind of material is called Brady Material and is considered directly exculpatory or potentially exculpatory evidence therefore the District Attorney is required by Colorado Law to turn over material bearing on the credibility of their primary witness.
The Grand Junction Sentinel reproted that:
"A letter dated Dec. 5 that was sent to Hautzinger by State Patrol Major Barry Bratt said an internal investigation found Moseman "displayed bias" in cases involving drivers suspected of being impaired by drugs or alcohol. The letter said Moseman submitted reports that "were a combination of reports from prior arrests and the current arrest, resulting in reports which contained wrong or conflicting information." "
