Thursday, April 19, 2018

Andrew Ganz: San Francisco: White Elephant Case: Prosecutor faces disciplinary charge of concealing from defence "detailed and specific information and reasons" provided by a pathologist during a meeting as to why the theory of the manner of death was unsubstantiated - and that she would not list the death as a homicide, according to the charges....Prosecutor also accused of allowing pathologist to falsely testify during a preliminary hearing that she had not met with prosecutors.


Image result for "white elephant"

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. Think Michael West; Think Andrew Ganz?  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.  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;

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Prosecutors said Daniels had suffocated Brastow with a sock. Defense attorneys noted that Brastow had alcohol and drugs in her system and could have choked on her own vomit. Prosecutors defended their evidence disclosures in the case by arguing that that the defense already had the key information, albeit not in as much detail. A judge rejected that argument in an order in 2014, singling out Ganz for appearing to have a "prosecutorial attitude either incapable of or disinterested in maintaining the minimum ethical standards that all prosecutors are sworn to uphold." Still, Solano County Judge Daniel Healy declined to dismiss the case against Daniels."

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STORY: "State Bar: Prosecutor in murder case suppressed evidence," by Dudhin Thanawala, (Associated Press) published by The Tribune on April 16, 2018.


GIST: "A prosecutor is facing disciplinary charges of intentionally withholding evidence that could have helped a defendant in a murder case, the State Bar of California announced Monday. Andrew Ganz is now a prosecutor in San Francisco, but the charges stem from a case he handled while with the Solano County district attorney's office. "Mr. Ganz absolutely did not do the things the state bar claims that he did, and we look forward to proving that in court," said Al Giannini, an attorney for Ganz.  A spokesman for the San Francisco district attorney's office, Max Szabo, said the office was aware of the state bar's filing and would be monitoring developments. Disciplinary charges against prosecutors are rare. Misconduct can include using false evidence or making inflammatory statements. The National Registry for Exonerations says misconduct by prosecutors or other officials was a factor in more than half of the nearly 2,200 exonerations it has tracked since 1989. Less than 2 percent of prosecutor misconduct cases result in sanctions, and when they do, the sanctions are usually minor, according to the Center for Prosecutor Integrity. In California, courts found prosecutorial misconduct in 707 cases between 1997 and 2009, but only six of those prosecutors were disciplined by the State Bar, according to a 2010 study by the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara Law School. Ganz is accused of suppressing evidence during the prosecution of Michael Daniels, who was accused of killing his girlfriend, Jessica Brastow, in a Vallejo hotel room in 2012. A jury acquitted Daniels of murder in 2014. A Solano County pathologist gave prosecutors "detailed and specific information and reasons" during a meeting about why their theory of the manner of death was unsubstantiated and she would not list the death as a homicide, according to the charges. Ganz should have disclosed that information to the defense, but did not, and allowed the pathologist to falsely testify during a preliminary hearing that she had not met with prosecutors, the State Bar said. Ganz will be permitted to respond to the charges in writing. He faces discipline ranging from a reprimand to disbarment. Prosecutors said Daniels had suffocated Brastow with a sock. Defense attorneys noted that Brastow had alcohol and drugs in her system and could have choked on her own vomit. Prosecutors defended their evidence disclosures in the case by arguing that that the defense already had the key information, albeit not in as much detail. A judge rejected that argument in an order in 2014, singling out Ganz for appearing to have a "prosecutorial attitude either incapable of or disinterested in maintaining the minimum ethical standards that all prosecutors are sworn to uphold." Still, Solano County Judge Daniel Healy declined to dismiss the case against Daniels."

The entire story can be found at: 
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/state/california/article209028899.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."