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June 15, 2011

Colorado District Attorney Has Exposure for Overstepping Her Power and Authority

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A Weld County Colorado prosecutor will face a civil lawsuit for money damages as a result of abusing her power in the prosecution of a college student for publishing a column know as the "Howling Pig".

Deputy District Attorney Susan Knox violated Thomas Mink's constitutional rights in 2003 when the DA approved a search warrant Minks Greeley, Colorado home where Mink lived with his mother.

"Ms. Knox violated Mr. Finks' Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures," said well known and respected Judge Lewis Babcock in his 11 page opinion.

Mink, an English major at the University of Northern Colorado, published the newsletter and website in one of the finest traditions of the First Amendment. Mink's crime? poking fun at a college finance professor.

In his dismissal opinion, Judge Babcock said that Prosecutor's do NOT have unbridled power to intrude on dismissing Knox's claim that her status as a government official meant she was not liable,

Babcock ruled that 'because Mink's activities were satire and protected by the First Amendment, Knox could not have reasonably believed the articles in Mink's publication stated actual facts about Peake (the professor and target of the satire), and she could not have believed that a crime was committed.'

The court limited the DA's power to a good faith exercise of that authority.

H. Michael's Take

This ruling will send shock waves throughout Colorado and the nation. I was a DA for 13 years - and time and again, I witnessed prosecutors lose touch with the kind of power they wield.

Every suspect was a "dirtbag," ever defendant was a liar, every person charged with a crime needed to be punished for their actions no matter what the mitigation or the reasons for their actions.

It became clear to me that the "cloud" of authority DA's carry around them often distorts their thinking and their perception.

This ruling should send a message to them that complete blanket immunity is no longer the case for their actions - they will be held accountable for their decisions.

It is a good thing for the powerful to know there is a limit to their power. HMS

Posted by H. Michael Steinberg | | Email This Post

August 6, 2010

The Shame of Winning at All Costs

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Colorado detective charged with perjury

DENVER -- Fort Collins Police Lt. James Broderick, the lead detective in the Tim Masters murder investigation, was on Wednesday indicted by the Larimer County Grand Jury on eight counts of first-degree perjury, The Denver Post reports.

Broderick is accused of concealing evidence that would have helped Masters at his 1998 trial, at which he was found guilty of the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick. The conviction was overturned in 2008 when DNA evidence pointed to other suspects.

Weld County DA Ken Buck is handling the case against Broderick in his role as special prosecutor for Larimer County

Weld County DA Ken Buck is handling the case against Broderick in his role as special prosecutor for Larimer County.

Tim Masters was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted for murder - after spending nine years in prison, he has been exonerated by DNA evidence and the detective from his case - Lt. Jim Broderick - is being prosecuted for perjury:

Masters, who served nine years of a life sentence after his 1998 arrest in Peggy Hettrick's murder, has said he hopes Fort Collins and Larimer County will finally acknowledge that he was railroaded.

The city and county have paid Masters a combined $10 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit related to the conviction, but they painted the payouts as business decisions rather than reparations.

"I am anxious to see if the leadership in Fort Collins will finally publicly admit my incarceration was a mistake or if they will continue this charade that their people did nothing wrong," Masters said in a statement provided by his attorneys. . . .

. . . Among the charges in the indictment are that Broderick intentionally lied about an FBI profile used to support Masters' arrest, shoeprints found at the crime scene, a fellow investigator's crime scene observations and his own degree of participation in the case.

The prosecutors that put Tim in prison have since been rewarded by being elected as judges - Jolene Blair and Terry Gilmore.

Although the city and county have paid out $10 million, they still admit no wrongdoing.

H. Michael's Take:

It should come as no surprise that a police officer would lie to obtain a win. Those of us on the inside of the system -- myself as a former career DA (prosecutor) and the entire defense bar, understand the mindset of "winning at all costs" along with the pressures on young prosecutors to earn their stripes. This case is the tip of an enormous iceberg whose size and depth will most likely never be wholly revealed.

What the case does, however, is highlight deficiencies in the criminal justice system that lead - every day- to injustice. My compliments to my old friend David Lane.. a true champion of due process ..

Here is the Colorado Law on the crime of perjury:

Perjury in the first degree consists of making a materially false statement under oath in the course of an official proceeding. While perjury in the second degree involves a false statement, it does not involve an official proceeding. False swearing is a catch-all for any materially false statement that does not fall under perjury in the first degree or perjury in the second degree. Perjury during official proceedings is most commonly associated with the sworn testimony of a witness in court.

Perjury in the first degree is a Class 4 felony, perjury in the second degree is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and false swearing is a Class 1 petty offense H

Posted by H. Michael Steinberg | | Email This Post

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