truthseeker
New Member
During a long drawn out (19 months) criminal court proceeding where the defendants requested to see the original affidavit and search warrant, the State continued to lie about having these documents and to this day have failed to produce them. It was a continuous song and dance about "They are on somebody's desk somewhere, The clerk already took them back across the street and she's gone to lunch, I don't have time to go get them now, and on and on. At one point an alleged copy of the original from the file of the officer in charge of the investigation was faxed over to our attorney but it was not signed by a judge. Finally the State agreed to a hearing where (and I quote the D.A. present in the courtroom that day)" either we produce the original affidavit and we win and you take the plea offer, or if we don't produce the affidavit then you win and you walk."
The day of the hearing (which never happened,) the D.A. pulled all deals off the table, left us with no option but to go to trial and did not produce the affidavit. She did however present our attorney with copies of what were supposed to be the originals. When compared to the earlier faxed version, there were obvious differences in the documents. Also the signature of the judge on the copy of the "original" search warrant she provided did not match the signature of the judge on the copy of the search warrant left at the location where the search occurred. It was obviously altered or forged in an attempt to cover their ___.
As the ethics of a State prosecutor should be impeccable, and the justice system depends on their following the legal guidelines set forth, I find this behavior appalling and totally unacceptable. There are other incidents along the same line that occurred as well such as not allowing the defense attorney to view the seized property, etc. (It just never was a convenient time) making us quite suspicious that the seized evidence has already been sold or disposed of.
We also were placed in a position where one defendant would be forced into taking a plea they were not in agreement with at all because if they didn't it would have a direct negative effect on the lives of four other people, three of which were completely innocent of the charges.
No local attorney is willing to expose the D.A.'s office in regards to the altered documents. Where does one go (other than the State Bar) to submit this information for investigation?
What state or federal office would look into this matter? As all this has had a direct effect on the outcome of the case and the State Bar does not get involved with cases, only behavior of the attorney themselves, to what gov. agency would I turn? This is not the first allegation of corruption in this office but no one has been willing to open this Pandora's box, but I am.
I would appreciate any advice.
The day of the hearing (which never happened,) the D.A. pulled all deals off the table, left us with no option but to go to trial and did not produce the affidavit. She did however present our attorney with copies of what were supposed to be the originals. When compared to the earlier faxed version, there were obvious differences in the documents. Also the signature of the judge on the copy of the "original" search warrant she provided did not match the signature of the judge on the copy of the search warrant left at the location where the search occurred. It was obviously altered or forged in an attempt to cover their ___.
As the ethics of a State prosecutor should be impeccable, and the justice system depends on their following the legal guidelines set forth, I find this behavior appalling and totally unacceptable. There are other incidents along the same line that occurred as well such as not allowing the defense attorney to view the seized property, etc. (It just never was a convenient time) making us quite suspicious that the seized evidence has already been sold or disposed of.
We also were placed in a position where one defendant would be forced into taking a plea they were not in agreement with at all because if they didn't it would have a direct negative effect on the lives of four other people, three of which were completely innocent of the charges.
No local attorney is willing to expose the D.A.'s office in regards to the altered documents. Where does one go (other than the State Bar) to submit this information for investigation?
What state or federal office would look into this matter? As all this has had a direct effect on the outcome of the case and the State Bar does not get involved with cases, only behavior of the attorney themselves, to what gov. agency would I turn? This is not the first allegation of corruption in this office but no one has been willing to open this Pandora's box, but I am.
I would appreciate any advice.
