Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Back in action: On-going: White elephant case? Andrew Ganz: State Bar judge says San Francisco prosecutor was "grossly negligent" for failure to turn over critical evidence - not disclosing a meeting with a pathologist and statements made at that meeting -in a 2012 murder case, The San Francisco Chronicle reports..."The charges stem from the Vallejo murder case against Michael Daniels, who was accused of killing his girlfriend in August 2012. Ganz and detectives met with the forensic pathologist in the case, who told them she could not rule the death a homicide. But Ganz never revealed the meeting to Daniels’ public defender, even though the pathologist later testified that the death “was most likely a homicide.” “In this case, the court finds that (Ganz) was grossly negligent in not disclosing to the defense the Jan. 10, 2013 meeting, and more importantly, the statements that were made at the meeting,” McElroy wrote in her decision. “Once (Ganz) saw that Dr. Hogan left the details from the meeting out of her report, (he) should have made the disclosure himself or had someone on the prosecution team memorialize the detail from the meeting.”



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.  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; http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Andrew Ganz was found culpable of suppression of exculpatory evidence, misrepresentation to defense counsel, failure to comply with California law and violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights after a weeks-long trial that began Aug. 22. State Bar Court Judge Pat McElroy released her findings Tuesday and recommended that Ganz, 40, be suspended for 90 days and placed on probation for two years. The state Supreme Court must app McElroy did not find Ganz culpable on two additional charges, including intentionally suppressing exculpatory evidence."

----------------------------------------------------------

STORY: "State Bar judge says SF prosecutor should be suspended for misconduct," by reporter Evan Sernoffsky,  published by The San Francisco Chronicle on November 1, 2018. (Evan Sernoffsky is a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle specializing in criminal justice, crime and breaking news.)


GIST: "A top San Francisco homicide prosecutor was “grossly negligent” and should be suspended for failing to turn over critical evidence in a 2012 murder case he tried while working for the Solano County district attorney’s office, a State Bar Court judge ruled.  Andrew Ganz was found culpable of suppression of exculpatory evidence, misrepresentation to defense counsel, failure to comply with California law and violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights after a weeks-long trial that began Aug. 22. State Bar Court Judge Pat McElroy released her findings Tuesday and recommended that Ganz, 40, be suspended for 90 days and placed on probation for two years. The state Supreme Court must app McElroy did not find Ganz culpable on two additional charges, including intentionally suppressing exculpatory evidence.  The charges stem from the Vallejo murder case against Michael Daniels, who was accused of killing his girlfriend in August 2012. Ganz and detectives met with the forensic pathologist in the case, who told them she could not rule the death a homicide. But Ganz never revealed the meeting to Daniels’ public defender, even though the pathologist later testified that the death “was most likely a homicide.” “In this case, the court finds that (Ganz) was grossly negligent in not disclosing to the defense the Jan. 10, 2013 meeting, and more importantly, the statements that were made at the meeting,” McElroy wrote in her decision. “Once (Ganz) saw that Dr. Hogan left the details from the meeting out of her report, (he) should have made the disclosure himself or had someone on the prosecution team memorialize the detail from the meeting.” The San Francisco district attorney’s office said it could not comment on the case because it is a personnel matter, and officials declined to say if Ganz will continue to work for the office after the Supreme Court makes a decision on the judge’s recommendation. Ganz has not been prosecuting cases since the State Bar charges were filed in April. His attorney, Al Giannini, said that while his client’s career “has been terribly, if not irreparably, damaged by the case,” he was still “very relieved by the result.”
Posted by at