In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become
increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer,
unadulterated, willful misconduct in the criminal justice system -
much of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,
pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others. Think Annie
Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith;
Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. I have therefore decided to run this image of a
white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw
our reader's attention to what I see as a major problem in all too
many criminal justice system's - my own included. We should not be blind to the potential of nefarious practices to seep into forensic matters from the collection or failure to collect evidence at the crime season to the pathologists testimony in court. They are pervasive. Harold Levy;
Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be
independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is
a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing
these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful
convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved
deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;
http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/
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STORY: "South Orange; O.C. grand jury gets 2 lawyers to help investigate jailhouse informant misuse, by reporters Jordan Graham and Tony Saavedra, published by The Orange County Register, on November 28, 2016.
SUB-HEADING: "The Orange County grand jury on Tuesday received $400,000 to
continue a previously-unknown probe into police and prosecutor's
improper use of jailhouse informants, using the money to pay two
high-profile lawyers handpicked by the California Attorney General's
Office as special investigators in the inquiry."
GIST: "County supervisors voted Tuesday to provide the Orange County
grand jury with $400,000 to pay for two lawyers who will serve as
special investigators in a probe into the alleged misuse of jailhouse
informants by local sheriff’s deputies and prosecutors. The lawyers -- attorney Fred Woocher, an election law expert and
former special counsel to the California Attorney General, and Andrea
Ordin, a former U.S. attorney and sitting member of the Los Angeles City
Ethics Commission -- were handpicked by the Attorney General. They will
aid the grand jury’s civil investigation, which hadn’t been publicly
disclosed prior to Tuesday. In their roles, the investigators will assess whether policies and
practices of the District Attorney’s Office and sheriff’s department are
illegal and to determine how effective District Attorney Tony
Rackauckas has been in implementing recommendations his handpicked
investigatory committee issued in December. That report said a lack of
supervision and training in his office had fostered a “win-at-all-cost”
mentality among some prosecutors. The Attorney General’s office said it is rare for grand juries to
request special investigative assistance. .........The office declined to comment
on the criteria it considers when deciding whether to grant or deny
those requests. For years the County’s justice system has been rocked by
what has come to be known as the “snitch scandal,”
in which the district attorney’s office and sheriff’s department stand
accused of improperly using jail informants and the withholding of
evidence beneficial to the defense. The clandestine informant program
was discovered by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders while
representing mass murderer Scott Dekraai and convicted killer Daniel
Wozniak. The fallout has caused at least six high-profile criminal cases
to be altered or overturned Over the past 1 1/2 years, the California Attorney General’s Office
has been investigating Orange County’s court system and accusations by a
judge that two deputies testified dishonestly. The Attorney General simultaneously has defended the District
Attorney’s office in a state appeals court, arguing it should not be
removed from the case of Seal Beach mass murderer Scott Dekraai over
concerns that false testimony may have violated his right to a fair
trial.
That appeal that was shot down Tuesday, upholding Judge Thomas M. Goethals’ decision to remove the District Attorney from the case."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/attorney-736337-grand-jury.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the
Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my
previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put
considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith
and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic
pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses
on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please
send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest
to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy;
Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
