PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I will be following the aftermath of the Oklahoma (former) Judge Timothy Henderson debacle closely as it deals with an issue that has been raised on this Blog from time to time; How does the state respond when confronted with a visceral attack on the integrity of its judicial process that could effect many convictions resulting from trial and guilty pleas? Does it look away from them, minimize them, pretend they don't exist, and allow injustices to fester, as is the case in South Australia, where the government has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to deal with the wreckage to individuals and to its criminal justice system left behind by its former Chief Forensic Pathologist Colin Manock who has been known to senior government officials, bureaucrats and lawyers to be both unqualified and incompetent. Or, as it should, does it protect its criminal justice system, as Oklahoma appears to be doing in the aftermath of the former Judge Timothy Henderson saga - including the agreeing to a new trial for a man convicted of first degree murder because of the constitutional and due process violations inherent in his unknowingly being tried by a judge who has been having a sexual relationship with his prosecutor?
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: KFOR: (Reporter Ashley Moss: Judge's sex scandal could impact hundreds of Oklahoma County Convictions.")
"Judicial fallout continues, following a sex scandal involving an Oklahoma City judge and an assistant district attorney spanning years was revealed. In March 2021, Oklahoma County District Judge Timothy Henderson resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct from female attorneys. Most recently, an Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday threw out a first-degree murder conviction because of the sexual relationship between the judge and a prosecutor in the case. Many other cases could see a similar result, and attorney Robert Gifford said the misconduct now casts doubt on hundreds of other cases because of potential constitutional rights violations, or due process. “It calls into question the integrity of not only every single jury trial, but every time someone pled guilty and got sentenced, did they receive an appropriate sentence or did the judge give them a more excessive sentence just because the prosecutor he was having a sexual relationship with asked for something more severe,” said Gifford. Gifford’s client Aaron Thomas Brock was sentenced to 35 years in prison for robbing a southwest Oklahoma City motel at knife point in 2015. After news of the relationship between the judge and the prosecutor was revealed, Brock asked for a new trial. “Did somebody receive all the rights that they were entitled to? Were they able to go through the process and receive fair treatment? He [Brock] did not receive a fair trial [and] he did not receive a fair sentence,” Gifford added. The case was reassigned to a judge in Canadian County for a post-conviction review. “The judge out of Canadian County found that due process had been violated, that the appearance of the sexual relationship between the prosecutor and the judge could not stand and reversed the conviction and set up for a new trial,” he added.
View the judge’s order granting post-conviction relief for Aaron Thomas Brock here
“They actually made a recommendation for an appropriate sentence that he should [have] received the first time,” he continued. “He ended up getting close to time served, but it took him seven-and-a-half years to get there. ”Brock could be just one of hundreds asking for a second look. In an email Friday, Oklahoma County’s District Attorney’s office said they’ve notified other individuals whose cases were heard before Judge Henderson between 2016 and his retirement, and said they plan to review applications for post-conviction relief as they come in. But time could be ticking for anyone convicted by Henderson to file for new trials due to a recent law change by the state legislature, putting a one-year time limit on applications. “If somebody doesn’t act within a certain amount of time, they lose the opportunity to raise the issue,” Gifford said. “And, not just [for] the trial itself, but also if someone wanted to plead guilty, did they receive a fair sentence or did they get bullied around? It leaves a stain on the courthouse if somebody doesn’t try to clean it up. So there’s a lot of cases out there that may never get addressed,” added Gifford...."
https://kfor.com/news/local/judges-sex-scandal-could-impact-hundreds-of-oklahoma-county-convictions/
-------------------------------------------------------------
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Regarding Hashagan's case, Munda said that Henderson allowed prejudicial evidence that poisoned the jury against his client from the beginning. When asked if a fair trial was ever possible given the circumstances, Munda asserted, "Absolutely not... from the very beginning of this trial, it was clear that Judge Henderson and the prosecutors were essentially on the same side."
---------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "'The judge was sleeping with one of the prosecutors': Attorney reacts after client's conviction reversal over 'potential for bias,' by Reporter Tom Ferguson, published by KOKH (FOX 25), on July 14, 2024.
PHOTO CAPTION: An attorney says that Henderson allowed prejudicial evidence that poisoned the jury against his client from the beginning.
GIST: "OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — On Thursday, the Oklahoma Criminal Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Robert Leon Hashagen III due to a sexual relationship between the presiding judge and a prosecutor on the case.
The judge, Timothy Henderson, actually resigned from his position in Mar. 2021 after three female attorneys came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
Benjamin Munda, who represented Hashagen, is welcoming the news of the reversal.
The court voted 3-2 to reverse the conviction more than a year after the appeal came forward.
Hashagen received a sentence for life in prison for a first degree murder charge in 2021.
Even during the trial, Munda asserted that he noticed irregularities in the judge's decisions.
"At the time, we wondered, me and my co-counsel Clay Curtis, wondered why... we were being treated so unfairly. Afterwards, when we knew that the judge was sleeping with one of the prosecutors, we were able to put two and two together," Munda noted.
He argued that, "This case calls into question every case that he presided over with either of the two prosecutors that... he's alleged to have had a secret sexual relationship with... which could be a great number of cases."
Henderson also oversaw the case of Daniel Holtzclaw, a former Oklahoma City police officer sentenced to life in prison for rape and sexual offenses against women while on the job.
Regarding Hashagan's case, Munda said that Henderson allowed prejudicial evidence that poisoned the jury against his client from the beginning.
When asked if a fair trial was ever possible given the circumstances, Munda asserted, "Absolutely not... from the very beginning of this trial, it was clear that Judge Henderson and the prosecutors were essentially on the same side."
Judge David Lewis, who sits on the appeals court, argued in his dissent on the reversal that the relationship between the judge and prosecutor ended two year before the trial — so the conviction should have stood.
He did, however, fault the two for failing to uphold ethical standards of conduct.
According to Munda, Hashagen's custody will now move from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to the Oklahoma County Detention Center. Then, if a plea deal can't be reached, he will get a new trial.
The criminal appeals court's decision dealt only with the circumstances of the trial, and had nothing to do with Hashagen's guilt of innocence, according to Munda."
The entire story can be read at:
