QUOTE OF THE DAY: Attorney Michele Godsey Berry represented Smith at his trial and again on the federal appeal. Writs of habeas corpus are rarely granted, but Godsey Berry said she had confidence in the case and believed Smith had been wrongfully convicted. “We had an incredibly strong, bullet-proof case,” Godsey Berry said. “The admission that needs to happen now is they got the wrong guy to begin with.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Smith’s Ford Expedition was used in the robbery of the cell phone store, but he said he had loaned it to a man he knew named Charles Allen. Allen testified against Smith at trial. A separate eyewitness also picked Smith out a lineup and testified. "I had no knowledge that it was going to happen,” Smith said. “I had no knowledge that it happened until watching the actual news feed of it.” The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Timothy Black ruled notes from a DNA analyst, who examined a wig and sunglasses used as a disguise in the robbery, were not turned over to Smith’s attorney before trial, which violated his rights. The analyst’s report and testimony showed Allen’s DNA was on the wig. But the notes detailed the exact quantity of Allen’s DNA that was found on the wig and a lack of Smith’s DNA on the same items. Ruehlman had said at the end of the trial it was possible Smith had worn the wig and not left DNA on it. The failure to turn over the notes was deemed a Brady violation by the federal courts."
---------------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Why was Smith’s release delayed at a time like this? (Really good question. Was it sheer mean nastiness? Defiance? Indifference? Pretty disgusting, if not inhumane. HL) Magistrate Judge Michael Merz initially recommended that Smith be granted a writ of habeas corpus and conditional release, meaning Smith could remain in jail and prosecutors would have six months to retry him. However, in adopting the recommendation, Black wrote Smith should be released immediately because the world was now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith has high blood pressure and was considered a critical care inmate at Toledo Correctional Institution. Smith said he didn’t feel safe at TCI where others had been diagnosed with the virus. “You know, you’re hearing this stuff with social distancing and things. You have to do proper hand washing and sanitizer and things like that, and you’re in an environment where that’s not realistic,” Smith said of the conditions in the prison. Black’s decision was issued sometime after 6 p.m on Thursday, April 9. Court records show the next day, April 10, prosecutors filed a document in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas requesting a warrant be issued for the return of Christopher Smith from TCI “for Plea or Trial.” The same day, Judge Jody Luebbers signed an order authorizing Toledo Correctional Institution to turn over custody of Smith to deputies in Hamilton County so he could stand trial. Smith was booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center sometime after 2 a.m. on April 11. He was not released until 9 p.m. on April 14 after Ruehlman and Black both ordered Smith’s immediate release. It’s still not clear why Smith was not released by the prison immediately. Ruehlman told Local 12 News, “I never signed an order to bring him back. I did sign the order releasing him. I don’t know where the sheriff got an order to bring him back. He should have been released.""
-----------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Federal judge grants man's release from prison amid pandemic, no decision on retrial, by Reporter Angenette Levy, published by Local 12 on April 17, 2020."
GIST: "A federal judge has granted the release of a man who spent nearly 13 years in prison for an armed robbery he says he didn’t commit. However, Christopher Smith’s immediate release because of the COVID-19 pandemic was delayed by a matter of days because of an issue that remains unclear.
--------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Why was Smith’s release delayed at a time like this? (Really good question. Was it sheer mean nastiness? Defiance? Indifference? Pretty disgusting, if not inhumane. HL) Magistrate Judge Michael Merz initially recommended that Smith be granted a writ of habeas corpus and conditional release, meaning Smith could remain in jail and prosecutors would have six months to retry him. However, in adopting the recommendation, Black wrote Smith should be released immediately because the world was now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith has high blood pressure and was considered a critical care inmate at Toledo Correctional Institution. Smith said he didn’t feel safe at TCI where others had been diagnosed with the virus. “You know, you’re hearing this stuff with social distancing and things. You have to do proper hand washing and sanitizer and things like that, and you’re in an environment where that’s not realistic,” Smith said of the conditions in the prison. Black’s decision was issued sometime after 6 p.m on Thursday, April 9. Court records show the next day, April 10, prosecutors filed a document in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas requesting a warrant be issued for the return of Christopher Smith from TCI “for Plea or Trial.” The same day, Judge Jody Luebbers signed an order authorizing Toledo Correctional Institution to turn over custody of Smith to deputies in Hamilton County so he could stand trial. Smith was booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center sometime after 2 a.m. on April 11. He was not released until 9 p.m. on April 14 after Ruehlman and Black both ordered Smith’s immediate release. It’s still not clear why Smith was not released by the prison immediately. Ruehlman told Local 12 News, “I never signed an order to bring him back. I did sign the order releasing him. I don’t know where the sheriff got an order to bring him back. He should have been released.""
-----------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Federal judge grants man's release from prison amid pandemic, no decision on retrial, by Reporter Angenette Levy, published by Local 12 on April 17, 2020."
GIST: "A federal judge has granted the release of a man who spent nearly 13 years in prison for an armed robbery he says he didn’t commit. However, Christopher Smith’s immediate release because of the COVID-19 pandemic was delayed by a matter of days because of an issue that remains unclear.
Christopher Smith, 39, was convicted of aggravated robbery, robbery and having a weapon under disability during a bench trial in front of Judge Robert Ruehlman in 2008. Smith had a prior conviction for robbery. The case involved the robbery of a cell phone store on Glenway Avenue on October 17, 2007 for which Smith was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Smith’s Ford Expedition was used in the robbery of the cell phone store, but he said he had loaned it to a man he knew named Charles Allen. Allen testified against Smith at trial. A separate eyewitness also picked Smith out a lineup and testified.
“I had no knowledge that it was going to happen,” Smith said. “I had no knowledge that it happened until watching the actual news feed of it.”
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Timothy Black ruled notes from a DNA analyst, who examined a wig and sunglasses used as a disguise in the robbery, were not turned over to Smith’s attorney before trial, which violated his rights. The analyst’s report and testimony showed Allen’s DNA was on the wig. But the notes detailed the exact quantity of Allen’s DNA that was found on the wig and a lack of Smith’s DNA on the same items.The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Timothy Black ruled notes from a DNA analyst, who examined a wig and sunglasses used as a disguise in the robbery, were not turned over to Smith’s attorney before trial, which violated his rights. The analyst’s report and testimony showed Allen’s DNA was on the wig. But the notes detailed the exact quantity of Allen’s DNA that was found on the wig and a lack of Smith’s DNA on the same items. had said at the end of the trial it was possible Smith had worn the wig and not left DNA on it.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Timothy Black ruled notes from a DNA analyst, who examined a wig and sunglasses used as a disguise in the robbery, were not turned over to Smith’s attorney before trial, which violated his rights. The analyst’s report and testimony showed Allen’s DNA was on the wig. But the notes detailed the exact quantity of Allen’s DNA that was found on the wig and a lack of Smith’s DNA on the same items.
Ruehlman had said at the end of the trial it was possible Smith had worn the wig and not left DNA on it.The failure to turn over the notes was deemed a Brady violation by the federal courts. Brady violations come from the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland which determined a violation of a defendant’s rights occurs when evidence favorable to that person is not disclosed and “there is a reasonable possibility that had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.”
“I’m innocent. Hopefully, one day, both sides can come to that agreement, but until that time, I’m going to convey my innocence and we’re going to continue to prove it,” Smith said Thursday morning.
Attorney Michele Godsey Berry represented Smith at his trial and again on the federal appeal. Writs of habeas corpus are rarely granted, but Godsey Berry said she had confidence in the case and believed Smith had been wrongfully convicted.
“We had an incredibly strong, bullet-proof case,” Godsey Berry said. “The admission that needs to happen now is they got the wrong guy to begin with.”
The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office handled Smith’s prosecution in 2008. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office represented the state when Smith’s appeal went to federal court in 2012. Black’s decision noted that prosecutors could retry Smith. A spokesperson for the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office said a decision on a retrial has yet to be made.
“We’re going to get the case assigned to a judge and have a bond hearing and pretrial. We will review the case and explore all of our options before proceeding,” Julie Wilson said.
Why was Smith’s release delayed?
Magistrate Judge Michael Merz initially recommended that Smith be granted a writ of habeas corpus and conditional release, meaning Smith could remain in jail and prosecutors would have six months to retry him.
However, in adopting the recommendation, Black wrote Smith should be released immediately because the world was now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith has high blood pressure and was considered a critical care inmate at Toledo Correctional Institution. Smith said he didn’t feel safe at TCI where others had been diagnosed with the virus.
“You know, you’re hearing this stuff with social distancing and things. You have to do proper hand washing and sanitizer and things like that, and you’re in an environment where that’s not realistic,” Smith said of the conditions in the prison.
Black’s decision was issued sometime after 6 p.m on Thursday, April 9. Court records show the next day, April 10, prosecutors filed a document in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas requesting a warrant be issued for the return of Christopher Smith from TCI “for Plea or Trial.”
The same day, Judge Jody Luebbers signed an order authorizing Toledo Correctional Institution to turn over custody of Smith to deputies in Hamilton County so he could stand trial.
Smith was booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center sometime after 2 a.m. on April 11. He was not released until 9 p.m. on April 14 after Ruehlman and Black both ordered Smith’s immediate release.
It’s still not clear why Smith was not released by the prison immediately. Ruehlman told Local 12 News, “I never signed an order to bring him back. I did sign the order releasing him. I don’t know where the sheriff got an order to bring him back. He should have been released.”
Dave Daugherty, a spokesperson for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, told Local 12 News, “At no time did Sheriff Jim Neil refuse to release Christopher Smith. The dispute of Mr. Smith’s release was between a federal judge, Toledo Correctional and the Hamilton County Judges. Upon receipt of both Federal and State orders, Mr. Smith was immediately released on April 14, 2020 the day we received the orders.”
JoEllen Smith, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Corrections, said, “Wardens do not have legal authority to issue a hold. ToCI did not contact Hamilton County jail to ask that Smith be held.”
Steve Irwin, a spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, declined comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
Black has ordered all involved to preserve documents related to Smith’s ongoing detention. Smith’s attorney has filed a motion asking that a retrial be barred.
“The state’s misconduct in violating the writ on April 9 is without question. It’s been blatant. It’s been repeated,” Godsey Berry said.
Meanwhile, Smith said he spent time with his 19-year-old son Wednesday and his 6-month-old grandson. He also enjoyed his first dinner outside of prison walls: a steak and a baked potato. He ate both with a fork and knife instead of the usual spork allowed in prisons. Thursday morning while talking to Local 12, he said he missed seeing trees.
“It seems like the sun doesn’t shine in the prison yard, but you just have so much open space. What you don’t see are trees. You just see fences and brick and just a concrete structure,” Smith said.
While he awaits a decision on whether prosecutors will retry him, Smith said he would like to become an advocate some day for others who are incarcerated.
“I’m very optimistic. There’s been times I’ve been discouraged. I think that happens to a lot of us,” Smith said.
A new judge has not been assigned to the case and a court date has yet to be set. Local 12 will continue to follow the story."
The entire story can be read at:http://local12.com/news/local/federal-judge-grants-mans-release-from-prison-amid-pandemic-no-decision-on-retrial-cincinnati
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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
------------------------------------------------------------------
