Judge Ken Anderson: Innocence Project release provides link to the Court of Inquiry judge's findings - as well as more background on the Morton case; Must read. HL.

RELEASE: "Michael Morton's prosecutor will face criminal chaes for withholding evidence," publish by Innocence Project on April 19, 2013.

GIST: "The Judge ruled there was probable cause to believe Anderson violated three criminal laws by concealing evidence in the case and issued a warrant for his arrest. The decision to bring criminal charges against Anderson comes at the conclusion of a Court of Inquiry that was convened at the request of the Innocence Project, which uncovered evidence that Anderson failed to turn over evidence that could have prevented Morton’s wrongful conviction during its decade long legal battle to prove Morton’s innocence. The court made specific findings that Anderson knew of evidence supporting Morton’s innocence but intentionally failed to turn that evidence over to the defense.

The entire release can be found at:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/news/Blog.php

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.    

Judge Ken Anderson: The Houston Chronicle calls the arrest warrants issued against Michael Morton's former prosecutor "A big step toward justice in Texas" - and reminds us that prosecutors are also charged with "doing justice."

EDITORIAL: "A big step toward justice in Texas: Texas must mandate that prosecutors share mitigating evidence with the accused," published by the Houston Chronicle on April 19, 2013.

GIST: "In the wake of Michael Morton's exoneration after spending 25 years in jail, it has been emphasized that prosecutors aren't merely charged with locking up criminals - they're charged with doing justice. Now that state district Judge Louis Sturns has issued an arrest warrant for Judge Ken Anderson - the disgraced former Williamson County district attorney who prosecuted Morton - we get a sense that justice is being done. In a courtroom Friday packed with reporters, state senators and Michael Morton himself sitting front row, onlookers watched as a new era of criminal justice began in Texas - an era in which prosecutors are held responsible for their actions. Judge Sturns apologized to Morton on behalf of the state of Texas and the judiciary in Williamson County before finally getting to the heart of matter. Probable cause existed to find Anderson had committed the three charges against him: criminal contempt of court, tampering with physical evidence and tampering with government records. Anderson knew his obligations to the court during that now-infamous 1987 murder trial, but he refused to turn over evidence favorable to Morton and instead doomed the innocent man to life in prison for a crime he didn't commit. That life sentence was thankfully cut short in 2010 when, after years of pleading by Morton, DNA evidence tied the murder of Morton's wife to a known felon, Mark Norwood. One could argue that by suppressing evidence to convict Morton, Anderson is responsible for Norwood's murder of an Austin woman two years later. But this is not about Anderson; this is about justice........."

The entire editorial can be found at:

http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/A-big-step-toward-justice-in-Texas-4449212.php

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.    

Sent from my iPad

Donna Marie Davenport Fritsch; Grits for Breakfast; Field tests under scrutiny; When faulty field tests lead to false drug convictions;Why confirmation by a crime lab is so crucial; Grits for Breakfast.

POST: "Faulty field test led to false drug conviction; Court of criminal Appeals overturns," published by Grits for Breakfast, on April 17, 2013. (Followed by some very interesting comments);

GIST:  "She was falsely convicted based on an erroneous field test that was later contradicted by testing at a DPS crime lab. From the court's order: "At the time of Applicant's arrest, the substance seized from her vehicle field-tested positive for methamphetamine. After she pleaded guilty to this offense, the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory issued a report indicating that laboratory analysis of the evidence detected no controlled substance."......Makes one wonder about the validity of the "field test" used and how many other convictions have been obtained based on similar tests without confirmation by a crime lab."

The entire post can be found at:

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.ca/2013/04/faulty-field-test-led-to-false.html

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.   

Ken Anderson; Judge is ordered to be arrested for acts during the 1987 Michael Morton murder trial; Morton experiences "a real sense of vindication." Excellent video; Reporter Chick Lindell; (The Statesman).

STORY:"Ken Anderson ordered to be arrested for acts during the 1987 Michael Mortin murder trial," by reporter Chuck Lindell, published by  the Dtatesman on July 19, 2013.  (Story corrects earlier information that Anderson has already been booked into jail; he has not);

GIST:  "Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was ordered arrested and booked into jail for the “intentionally harmful act” of hiding favorable evidence to secure Michael Morton’s 1987 conviction for murder, the court of inquiry found. “This court cannot think of a more intentionally harmful act than a prosecutor’s conscious choice to hide mitigating evidence so as to create an uneven playing field for a defendant facing a murder charge and a life sentence,” District Judge Louis Sturns ruled. Sturns found probable cause to believe that Anderson broke two state laws and committed criminal contempt of court, then ordered Anderson to be arrested. Eric Nichols, Anderson’s lead lawyer, told Sturns that he will challenge the ruling with a writ of habeas corpus. Morton, sitting in the front row, teared up as Sturns read his findings from the bench.
“It was surprisingly emotional,” Morton said afterward. “It was a real sense of vindication. Here was agreement (of misconduct) from the state. I used to be a ward of the state. They owned me. So this is a special way of saying you were right and we were wrong.” Before issuing his findings, Sturns apologized to Morton on behalf of himself and the state’s judiciary."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/ken-anderson-court-of-inquiry-resumes/nXRLm/

Up-dated story: "Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was arrested and booked into jail and then released on bail Friday after a specially convened court found that he intentionally hid evidence to secure Michael Morton’s 1987 conviction for murder. In a blunt and scathing ruling, District Judge Louis Sturns said Anderson acted to defraud the trial court and Morton’s defense lawyers, resulting in an innocent man serving almost 25 years in prison......... Bail was set at $2,500 each for the three findings, said Rusty Hardin, who acted in the role of prosecutor in the court of inquiry. After being booked and photographed, Anderson walked out of the Williamson County Jail shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sturns’ ruling is the first step in a potential criminal case against Anderson, who was Williamson County’s celebrated law-and-order district attorney for 16 years before he became a district judge in 2002. His current term as judge will end in 2014. State law does not require him to step down as the case against him progresses. Anderson’s lawyer, Eric Nichols, told Sturns that he will file an appeal challenging the ruling, saying he believes the court of inquiry exceeded its authority, that the accusations against Anderson lacked merit and that Sturns mistakenly ruled that the statute of limitations did not apply to events that took place more than two decades ago. The next step in the case is likely to be a hearing on Anderson’s challenge.

 http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/ken-anderson-court-of-inquiry-resumes/nXRLm/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.    
 
Posted by Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com. 

Shelley Richter: She is to get a new trial in her "shaken baby" case - after being convicted of a lesser offence. News Tribune.

STORY: "Richter to get new trial in 'shaken baby'  case: Trial date to be set later,"  by reporter Bob Watson, published on April 18, 2013.

GIST:  "Shelley Richter will get a new trial. Five weeks ago, a Cole County jury found Richter guilty of endangering the welfare of a child, for the Aug. 19, 2010, accident in her home day care center that left a 7 month-old boy with serious head injuries. But the jury found Richter not guilty of the more serious charge, felony child abuse. Richter had argued that she dropped the boy as she was falling backwards, after tripping over a toddler who had walked behind her. Cole County Presiding Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce apologized to the baby’s family, that they will have to go through another trial. But, she said, Richter was entitled to the new trial because a November 2010 sheriff’s report of a new hotline call investigation never was provided to the prosecution or defense. “I do not understand how the sheriff’s office did not forward this report,” Joyce said."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.newstribune.com/news/2013/apr/18/richter-get-new-trial-shaken-baby-case-trial-date-/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.   

Judge Ken Anderson: Texas; Court of Inquiry into his handling of Michael Morton's prosecution in 1986/7 resumes Friday April 19, 2013 at 1.00 PM. Former prosecutor is accused of withholding exculpatory information; Ruling considered likely. The Statesman.

STORY: "Anderson court of inquiry to resume in Morton case," by reporter Chuck Lindell, published in the Statesman on April 18, 2013.

GIST: "With his freedom and legacy stake, former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson returns to court Friday afternoon as the inquiry continues into his handling of Michael Morton’s prosecution in 1986-87. A ruling is considered likely. District Judge Louis Sturns, who is presiding over the court of inquiry, must determine whether there is reason to believe that Anderson violated state law by intentionally hiding favorable evidence from Morton and his trial lawyers. Such a ruling would require Sturns to issue a warrant for Anderson’s arrest, the first step toward a possible criminal trial. Sturns also must decide if Anderson should be held in contempt of court for allegedly lying to Morton’s trial judge. Such a finding could lead to jail time. Morton served almost 25 years in prison for the murder of his first wife, Christine, before he was exonerated in 2011.......... Courts of inquiry are rare and uniquely Texas proceedings that examine allegations of wrongdoing to determine if a state law has been broken. Such courts function somewhat like grand juries, which decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. The latest hearing begins at 1 p.m. in the same Georgetown courthouse where Anderson has served as a state district judge since 2002. He was appointed to the bench by Gov. Rick Perry after 16 years as Williamson County’s top prosecutor, where his tough-on-crime swagger meshed perfectly with the county’s law-and-order image. Morton’s 1987 trial was one of his earliest cases as district attorney. Lawyers involved in the court of inquiry declined to discuss what will take place at the hearing, and Sturns has not answered media inquiries since the Texas Supreme Court appointed him to lead the inquiry in early 2012. Sturns has had 10 weeks to wade through transcripts of more than 45 hours of testimony from February’s hearings, plus boxes of evidence from the trial and investigative files related to Christine Morton’s murder and hours of videotaped depositions by Anderson and others taken in 2011......... Rusty Hardin, a Houston lawyer acting in a role similar to a prosecutor, argued that the district attorney’s office under Anderson engaged in a “pattern and practice” of withholding favorable information from defense lawyers in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Hardin focused on two pieces of evidence that he said were never revealed to Morton’s trial lawyers: • A police report of a driver of a green van who appeared to have been watching the Morton home. • A transcript of a taped police interview in which Rita Kirkpatrick, the mother of murder victim Christine Morton, related a conversation she .had with the Mortons’ 3-year-old son Eric, who spoke of seeing a “monster” hurt his mother."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/anderson-court-of-inquiry-to-resume-in-morton-case/nXQnN/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.  

Sent from my iPad

Amanda Knox: New York Times story based on a copy of her book "Waiting to be heard," which is to be officially released on April 30, 2013. Story is headed: "In memoir, Amanda Knox takes case to court of public opinion," by Reporter Julie Bosman.

STORY:  "In memoir, Amanda Knox takes case to court of public opinion," by reporter Julie Bosman, published by the New York Times on April 18, 2013.

GIST: “Until now I have personally never contributed to any public discussion of the case or of what happened to me,” Ms. Knox, 25, wrote in an author’s note at the end of the book. “While I was incarcerated, my attention was focused on the trial and the day-to-day challenges of life in prison. Now that I am free, I’ve finally found myself in a position to respond to everyone’s questions. This memoir is about setting the record straight.”.........She pointed to the Italian prosecutors who she said willfully ignored and manipulated evidence while they clung to the theory that she and Mr. Sollecito were responsible for Ms. Kercher’s death. A conversation with her mother from prison was distorted to help place her at the scene of the crime and promptly leaked to a British newspaper, she writes. Prosecutors were just as adamant in making their case, presenting DNA and forensic evidence in court that they said proved her guilt. According to Ms. Knox’s account, the police interrogated her for hours and sporadically slapped her on the back of her head. Her requests to use the bathroom were denied. Eventually they goaded her into signing a statement that implicated herself and an innocent man, Patrick Lumumba, her boss at a bar where she worked. Confused and panicking after being taken to prison, Ms. Knox asked to make a phone call. “The guard looked at me like I’d asked for caviar and prosecco,” she wrote......... “First I showed not enough emotion; then I showed too much,” she wrote. “It’s as if any good will others had toward me was seeping out like a slow leak from a tire, without my even realizing it.” Later, a journal entry from that day, in which Ms. Knox wrote that she would “really like to say that I could kill for a pizza but it just doesn’t seem right,” would make her appear even more suspicious. In the book, she dismissed it as “gallows humor.” “The words in my journal were taken literally, and they damned me,” she wrote. “It was a situation I would find myself in again and again.”"

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/books/in-memoir-amanda-knox-testifies-in-public-court-of-approval.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. 

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.