BACKGROUND: "Eleven retired Missouri judges, including a former state supreme court justice, contend a St. Louis judge wrongly denied a hearing for a man convicted of murder even though the prosecutor has concluded he is innocent and was framed by local police and prosecutors. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed before the state Supreme Court this week, the retired judges joined a growing chorus of support including 45 elected prosecutors, legal scholars, criminal defense attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union who support the effort by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner to overturn the conviction of Lamar Johnson. Last July, Gardner filed a motion for a new trial in Johnson’s case after her conviction integrity unit re-investigated the 25-year-old murder investigation into the death of Marcus Boyd. The review found that in 1994 and 1995 police fabricated evidence that linked Johnson to the crime. And during Johnson’s trial, the motion for a new trial states, prosecutors failed to disclose the extensive criminal history of a jailhouse informant and more than $4,000 in payments to the only known living eyewitness to the shooting. But Missouri 22nd Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Hogan never considered the merits of the motion. Instead, Hogan appointed the Missouri attorney general’s office to also represent the state in the matter, questioning Gardner’s authority to even ask that the case be reopened. That set off a clash between the two prosecutorial agencies, and the attorney general’s office sought to dismiss the motion for a new trial. Hogan ultimately declared she had no authority to consider the motion. On appeal, the appellate court upheld Hogan’s ruling, but the court transferred the case to the Missouri Supreme Court for further review. In its opinion, the appellate court cited the fundamental questions about the criminal justice system the case raised, including the appropriate role of a prosecutor in correcting wrongful convictions. Johnson, who has served more than 25 years of a lifetime prison term with no opportunity for parole, remains incarcerated. The friend-of-the-court brief submitted this week by the retired judges noted that prosecutor’s obligations include “taking appropriate action when the prosecutor obtains evidence—even after a conviction is final—that casts doubt on the conviction.”
From Injustice Watch story by reporter Emily Hoerner.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:"Through 2018, Conviction Integrity Units across the country had been responsible for producing 344 exonerations nationwide, according to a brief submitted to the Supreme Court that was signed by 45 prosecutors throughout the country. “A loss in this case could also send a message to those who are trying to undermine the work of elected prosecutors nationally who are looking to increase accountability,” said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution. “And it could embolden those who are trying to push back on these reform-minded leaders.”
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The Supreme Court’s decision has the ability to render powerless the newly established Conviction Integrity Units, which investigate possible wrongful convictions, in Gardner’s and St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s offices.
GIST: "Do elected prosecutors in Missouri have the power to investigate wrongful convictions and ask for a new trial when they feel a person is innocent?
That is the question that attorneys for St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and MIssouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt debated before the Missouri Supreme Court today (April 14.)
The question revolves around the case of Lamar Johnson. Gardner believes he is innocent of a 1994 murder for which her office convicted him and has asked for a new trial. Schmitt has argued all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court that Gardner does not have the authority to bring new evidence before a court in an old conviction, though Johnson has other options for seeking relief.
The Supreme Court’s decision has the ability to render powerless the newly established Conviction Integrity Units, which investigate possible wrongful convictions, in Gardner’s and St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s offices.
The Supreme Court’s decision has the ability to render powerless the newly established Conviction Integrity Units, which investigate possible wrongful convictions, in Gardner’s and St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s offices.
“What is the circuit attorney’s obligation in seeking to undo a wrongful conviction?” said attorney Daniel Harawa, arguing on behalf of the circuit attorney. “An elected prosecutor must have the ability to present the evidence that she has found credible.”
Harawa, an assistant professor of Practice and director of the Appellate Clinic at the Washington University School of Law, explained that Gardner’s Conviction Integrity Unit conducted a yearlong investigation in the Johnson case, and Gardner must have the ability to present this evidence to a court.
“All we are asking for is a court to hear this evidence,” he said.
The attorney general’s representative argued that Gardner could investigate wrongful convictions, but then she would have to turn over the evidence to the people sitting in prison and their lawyers for them to present it in court themselves. Gardner could be a “witness” in their plea for innocence, according to the AG’s rep.
The oral arguments were conducted remotely, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judges did not introduce themselves before speaking. One Supreme Court judge said, “That’s not a very efficient mechanism. We are much more likely to reach the truth of the matter if the prosecutor is the party that can raise the issues to the court.”
The judges asked the AG’s rep. several times what mechanism prosecutors have to bring forth new evidence to be reviewed in a court. He replied that there is no current mechanism to do that.
Twenty-four years ago, Johnson was convicted of murdering Marcus Boyd on October 30, 1994, though evidence shows that Johnson was at a friend’s house and would not have been able to commit the crime.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As Harawa pointed out, the eyewitness evidence – since recanted – was about a masked gunman seen only briefly at night.
Twenty-four years ago, Johnson was convicted of murdering Marcus Boyd on October 30, 1994, though evidence shows that Johnson was at a friend’s house and would not have been able to commit the crime.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As Harawa pointed out, the eyewitness evidence – since recanted – was about a masked gunman seen only briefly at night.
In July, Gardner’s prosecutors asked Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan to set aside Johnson’s 1995 murder conviction. Gardner’s team alleges that former prosecutors and police fabricated evidence to get the conviction of an innocent man.
Hogan brought in Schmitt to represent the state, which is what voters elected Gardner to do.
Through 2018, Conviction Integrity Units across the country had been responsible for producing 344 exonerations nationwide, according to a brief submitted to the Supreme Court that was signed by 45 prosecutors throughout the country.
“A loss in this case could also send a message to those who are trying to undermine the work of elected prosecutors nationally who are looking to increase accountability,” said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution. “And it could embolden those who are trying to push back on these reform-minded leaders.”
The brief argues that nationally Conviction Integrity Units have grown into a “recognized benchmark” for local prosecution offices, and they are now “well-settled vehicles” for reviewing and seeking to overturn convictions when there is evidence of actual innocence or misconduct by prosecutors or law enforcement. By the end of 2018, such units operated in 44 jurisdictions across the country, including in many of amici’s own cities and counties.
“Although prosecutors serve as legal representatives of the state,” the brief states, “they are not one-dimensional advocates charged with obtaining convictions and resisting the reversal of a wrongful conviction at all costs.""
The entire story can be read at:
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;
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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;
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