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REMINDER: Live online seminar: Shaken Baby Syndrome to be examined on Wednesday, October 2d, in the shadow of Robert Roberson's execution scheduled for October 17:
ACCESS THIS LIVE ONLINE SEMINAR AT THE LINK BELOW:
October 2, 2024.
10-11 AM EDT (From April to October, Eastern Daylight Time is observed in most of Ontario, Quebec and parts of Nunavut. From October to April, Eastern Standard Time is in effect.)]
https://www.cato.org/events/shaken-baby-syndrome-examining-evidence-shadow-execution
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Moreover, the following factors, viewed in the totality, suggest the appearance of a lack of impartiality, a statutory basis for recusal: the opaque process whereby Judge Evans—who presided over Mr. Roberson’s previous habeas proceeding and recommended that he be denied a new trial—was assigned to this matter even before any case was pending; the deep personal relationships Judge Evans has with numerous individuals who have been involved in Mr. Roberson’s case over the years, including an attorney (now judge) who originally prosecuted the case, the judge who terminated Mr. Roberson’s parental rights, and the current Anderson County District Attorney who opposed habeas relief and sought the pending execution date; and arbitrary rulings in Mr. Roberson’s previous habeas proceeding and in a markedly similar “Shaken Baby” case involving many of the same people, to which Judge Evans was also purportedly assigned, after her retirement, when she had no authority to act as a judicial officer."
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POST: "Robert Roberson’s Attorneys File Motion to Remove Judge from Case and Vacate Execution," published by The Innocence Project, on September 25, 2024.
SUB-HEADING: "The attorneys cite the invalid assignment of retired judge Deborah Oakes Evans to his case and circumstances that create an appearance that she is biased."
VIDEO: NYT Opinion video: He Didn’t Kill His Child, But He’s About to Be Executed Anyway
GIST: "Citing the invalid assignment of retired judge Deborah Oakes Evans to his case and circumstances that create an appearance that she is biased, attorneys for Robert Roberson filed a motion today asking the Presiding Judge for the region to remove Judge Evans and vacate the unlawful execution warrant and all related orders.
Judge Evans issued an execution warrant and set Mr. Roberson’s execution date for October 17, 2024, without permitting a hearing. Yet new medical and scientific evidence proves his young daughter, Nikki, died from illness, accident, and medical error, not a homicide.
The Motion to Vacate Unlawful Execution Warrant and All Related Orders and to Recuse Judge Deborah Oakes Evans, available here states:
“Mr. Roberson is an indigent, disabled father, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2018. He has maintained his innocence since first being wrongly accused of causing his daughter Nikki’s death in 2002 based on a “Shaken Baby Syndrome” diagnosis. He has been fighting to be heard from Texas’s death row since 2003. This case is truly a matter of life and death—with a pending execution date of October 17, 2024. That date was set by Judge Evans, a retired judge sitting by assignment, without first permitting Mr. Roberson a hearing. See EX1-EX3. Thereafter, Judge Evans again denied Mr. Roberson a hearing on his Motion to Withdraw Execution Date even after he provided support for the fact that hearings on such motions are routine and that such motions are generally granted under the circumstances that were presented to her. See EX4-EX7.
Now it has come to light that Judge Evans failed to follow the required statutory procedure for a retired judge to become eligible to accept assignments to preside over cases in lieu of elected judges. Because this is a jurisdictional issue that cannot be remedied retroactively, all actions that Judge Evans has taken in this matter are null and void. She cannot and should not serve as the presiding judge.
Moreover, the following factors, viewed in the totality, suggest the appearance of a lack of impartiality, a statutory basis for recusal:
- the opaque process whereby Judge Evans—who presided over Mr. Roberson’s previous habeas proceeding and recommended that he be denied a new trial—was assigned to this matter even before any case was pending
- the deep personal relationships Judge Evans has with numerous individuals who have been involved in Mr. Roberson’s case over the years, including an attorney (now judge) who originally prosecuted the case, the judge who terminated Mr. Roberson’s parental rights, and the current Anderson County District Attorney who opposed habeas relief and sought the pending execution date; and
- arbitrary rulings in Mr. Roberson’s previous habeas proceeding and in a markedly similar “Shaken Baby” case involving many of the same people, to which Judge Evans was also purportedly assigned, after her retirement, when she had no authority to act as a judicial officer.
The totality of the circumstances, including the seriousness of this case, require prompt reassignment to an impartial judge who can vacate the unlawfully entered execution warrant and related orders, which Judge Evans signed absent lawful authority.” (Motion at pp. 2-3)
Mr. Roberson’s clemency petition is pending before Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and has generated overwhelming support, including from a bipartisan group of 86 Texas legislators. A press release about the widespread support and the clemency petition can be accessed here
An overview of Mr. Roberson’s innocence case is here."
The entire post can be read at:
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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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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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;
