PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The NT Independent has also previously revealed that the DPP had advised detectives not to use Professor Alpert or Snr Sgt (sic) Andrew Barram as use-of-force experts due to perceived conflicts of interest and inexperience, but the pair were engaged anyway, with Sgt Barram becoming the NT Police’s star use-of-force witness at the murder trial, despite working closely with Sgt Newell on the taskforce to charge Mr Rolfe. The complaint against Sgt Newell also raised concerns about his involvement with other expert witnesses used in the case against Mr Rolfe. Sgt Newell contacted two doctors for opinions on whether the scissors used by Kumanjayi Walker on the night he stabbed Mr Rolfe in the shoulder could cause serious harm. When both of those doctors expressed opinions that they could cause lethal harm, they were not disclosed to Mr Rolfe’s legal team. “While it was said that that failure to disclose the opinion of Dr [Paul] Botterill was an oversight on [be]half of the DPP, Detective Newell knew of its existence,” the complaint stated. Sgt Newell sought out another opinion from chief forensic pathologist Dr Marianne Tiemensma during the investigation. Records show Dr Tiemensma told Sgt Newell that it would be inappropriate for her to provide an opinion on the scissors because she had conducted the autopsy of Mr Walker, which she suggested could raise a perception of bias. She recommended he find a clinical forensic expert. Nevertheless, she testified at the murder trial that the scissors could not cause serious injury, which was discounted by the two other doctors and a test simulation by a textile expert that showed the actual scissors Mr Walker used could cut through porkbelly and thus cause serious harm to a human, which was also not immediately disclosed to the defence team. “It is also difficult to reconcile what may have eventuated had those supplementary opinions of Dr Botterill and Dr [Keith] Towsey not been disclosed to Constable Rolfe’s legal team before the conclusion of the trial,” the complaint stated."
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POST: NETWORKED KNOWLEDGE: MEDIA REPORT: (An 'NT Independent' report raising important issues as integrity of 'expert' reports - and 'experts'. Posted on the Networked Knowledge website, on June 17, 2023. (Thanks to Networked Knowledge - a valuable compendium of all sorts of information and analysis relating to miscarriages of justice around the globe. Dig into its web site at:
GIST: "On 17 June 2023 Christopher Walsh of 'NT Independent' reported Senior detective accused of ‘perverting the course of justice’ in Zach Rolfe investigation [Failure to disclose issues]
A senior NT Police detective has been accused of “criminal conduct”, including withholding and manipulating evidence, while in a key role in the Zach Rolfe murder charge investigation, a formal complaint filed with the acting Police Commissioner alleges.
The complaint was sent by Mr Rolfe’s lawyers yesterday, alleging that Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne Newell – who now leads the police’s Special References Unit – may have engaged in “criminal conduct, such as, for example, perverting the course of justice” for his actions while investigating Mr Rolfe for murder in the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker.
The complaint called for acting Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to initiate an independent investigation into the matter or refer it to another body for investigation. “At the very least, serious disciplinary action may be warranted,” the complaint stated. “At this stage, of course, any outcome will depend upon a comprehensive and independent investigation being undertaken.”
The allegations come seven weeks after former commissioner Jamie Chalker “retired” from the role after reaching an undisclosed taxpayer-funded settlement with the NT Government following his botched sacking.
The complaint, seen by the NT Independent, includes excerpts of court transcripts from the murder trial, as well as emails and other internal police material, that it says is evidence that Sgt Newell withheld evidence from the defence team and at other times manipulated expert evidence.
The NT Independent first reported that a draft version of the police coronial investigation into the Rolfe matter found Sgt Newell had “edited” the expert independent use-of-force report by US criminologist Geoffrey Alpert to better suit the prosecution’s case, which was later used in Zach Rolfe’s committal hearing to secure the murder trial.
It was also discovered that Professor Alpert had not been given all the evidence before providing his report that cost taxpayers nearly $100,000, that was not used at trial. “It goes without saying that an expert report is supposed to be compiled independent from any preconceived views or partiality,” the complaint said. “It seems that might not have been the case in this matter.”
The NT Independent has also previously revealed that the DPP had advised detectives not to use Professor Alpert or Snr Sgt Andrew Barram as use-of-force experts due to perceived conflicts of interest and inexperience, but the pair were engaged anyway, with Sgt Barram becoming the NT Police’s star use-of-force witness at the murder trial, despite working closely with Sgt Newell on the taskforce to charge Mr Rolfe.
The complaint against Sgt Newell also raised concerns about his involvement with other expert witnesses used in the case against Mr Rolfe.
Sgt Newell contacted two doctors for opinions on whether the scissors used by Kumanjayi Walker on the night he stabbed Mr Rolfe in the shoulder could cause serious harm. When both of those doctors expressed opinions that they could cause lethal harm, they were not disclosed to Mr Rolfe’s legal team.
“While it was said that that failure to disclose the opinion of Dr [Paul] Botterill was an oversight on [be]half of the DPP, Detective Newell knew of its existence,” the complaint stated.
Sgt Newell sought out another opinion from chief forensic pathologist Dr Marianne Tiemensma during the investigation. Records show Dr Tiemensma told Sgt Newell that it would be inappropriate for her to provide an opinion on the scissors because she had conducted the autopsy of Mr Walker, which she suggested could raise a perception of bias. She recommended he find a clinical forensic expert.
Nevertheless, she testified at the murder trial that the scissors could not cause serious injury, which was discounted by the two other doctors and a test simulation by a textile expert that showed the actual scissors Mr Walker used could cut through porkbelly and thus cause serious harm to a human, which was also not immediately disclosed to the defence team.
“It is also difficult to reconcile what may have eventuated had those supplementary opinions of Dr Botterill and Dr [Keith] Towsey not been disclosed to Constable Rolfe’s legal team before the conclusion of the trial,” the complaint stated.
The complaint also referenced the suppression of the Pollock/Proctor coronial draft reports that the NT Police hid from the defence team at discovery and allegedly attempted to bury before the defence was tipped off about their existence.
The documents were later released under court order, with Justice Dean Mildren stating that the “failure to provide” the documents to the defence team and possibly the DPP “may have caused the trial to miscarry”.
“Worse, if the documents are never revealed, it may be that an innocent person has been wrongly convicted,” he wrote in his decision.
Mr Rolfe’s lawyers said in the complaint that their client had “considered whether the appropriate course is to refer this matter to ICAC” but that Mr Rolfe wanted the NT Police to “properly investigate his concerns, having regard to the resignation of the previous Commissioner of Police [Jamie Chalker]”.
The complaint argued that Mr Rolfe should not have been charged with murder and that the charge was the result of bias against him. “...When one looks to the context of this case and its investigation, it gives the impression of an attempt to gather evidence to fit the prosecution case,” the complaint said.
“These matters are cause for significant concern. Not the least of which is the concern held by our client whose life was altered in an irreparable way at the age of 28 when he was charged with murder. “In our view, he should never have been charged at all. The investigative conduct at best leaves a lot to be desired, and at worst, it was flawed and biased from the start.”
Acting Commissioner Michael Murphy did not return a request for comment on the complaint and whether the NT Police would investigate it or refer it to another body for investigation. Sgt Newell also did not respond to questions yesterday.
The letter to Mr Murphy also stated that Mr Rolfe was appealing his dismissal from the NT Police and seeking reinstatement."
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The entire story can be read at:
The NT Independent article can be read at:
https://ntindependent.com.au/senior-detective-accused-of-perverting-the-course-of-justice-in- zach-rolfe-investigation
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
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