Actual Innocence--Practical Advice: Don't Get Arrested In Texas

The Bad Lawyer does not give legal advice, but here's a tip (one that should be obvious to anyone who follows crime and law blogs): do not get arrested in Texas.  Actual innocence will not save you as once again we see from this Associated Press account:

Through a sign-language interpreter at the Dallas County Jail, Stephen Brodie (pic)cops to all sorts of crimes save the one that put him behind bars for 10 years: sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl. He insists he is innocent, and there's support for his claim.

A fingerprint at the crime scene matches another man convicted in the sexual assault of a child. Brodie's confession came during 18 hours of questioning and included admissions to fictitious crimes made up by investigators to test his credibility. Also, Brodie is deaf and doesn't speak clearly, but police didn't use an interpreter for about half of their interviews.

'I want people to know that I'm not a bad person,' said Brodie, 38, straining to be understood as he signed and spoke in a recent interview. 'I want to be a law-abiding citizen.'

He soon may get the chance. The Dallas County District Attorney's office has a unit that focuses on possible exoneration cases, and it is investigating whether Brodie is innocent. His new attorney, Michelle Moore, is a public defender known for helping to free the wrongly convicted. She acknowledged she is close to finishing key documents seeking his release.

'If they find me not guilty and I'm exonerated,' said Brodie, 'I'm getting out of Texas.'"
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Good plan! 

By the way, major hat tip to the KC Crime Blog for both the story and the observation about the wisdom of being arrested in Texas.

Innocence

My February 2 post on Chicago priest Father Przybylo continues to draw posts, the most recent comment was from an anonymous Catholic who suggeted that sinces it's LENT we should withdraw "judgment" of Father Przybylo and contmeplate whether there might be a false allegation.  I responded to the comment, and I won't repeat the remark I left there, if you're interested click on the link.

However I did note that this Blawg has repeatedly highlighted situations where people have not only been falsely accused of crimes, they have been convicted, incarcerated and in at least one instance executed in Texas, (see the posts relating to Cameron Todd Willingham.) 

A friend of mine is or rather I should was a school teacher here in OurTwon,a nd he was accused of "kidnapping and rape," and after endless delays and continuances, his case wen tot trial last week.  I knew "Ryan" because like me he's a veteran and like me he went to school on the GI Bill and worked his ass off while he got his degree.  During the several years prior to his indictment he earned a fantastic reputaton and was a rising star.  More charismatic, than good looking; I knew that he would attract attention from the girls, and before he obtained his teaching certificate we actually talked about the necessity of "maintaining boundaries."  When he was removed and accused, I was devastated.  I can only imagine the horror he felt; my efforts to reach him were unavailing as he disappeared off the radar.

Shortly before Ryan's trial my daughter's friend, "Sally," received a subpoena to testify for the prosecution. Sally retained the Blonde Super Lawyer to represent her, because as Sally reported to the BSL, she didn't have any information; and Ryan had always been appropriate with her even though Sally liked to talk to him after school.  When the prosecutor heard from the BSL, he decided he didn't need Sally's testimony afterall.  Last week Ryan went to trial and he was acquitted of all charges.  Ryan was actually innocent. 

Can Ryan revive his moribund teaching career?  Probably not.  It's hard for schools to reinstate even "falsely accused" former teachers in light of potential liability.  I pray my friend Ryan can make peace with this awful experience and find something deeply satisfying in life. 

In this world, all things are possible.  Do false allegations get made, get prosecuted, result in conviction, end up in incarceration?  Yep.

Wrongful Imprsionment, On False Allegations, Lawyer with Bad Hat

Remember the case of the construction worker who  was falsely accused of gang rape and then exonerated when the accuser came forward to recant?  You can read the original account at the link, The woman, Bunny Pequero (pic with her lawyer who's weearing a stupid hat) was sentenced Tuesday to up to three years behind bars, herself, saying she was "riven with remorse for sending an innocent man to prison."

According to the Associated Press report, "Biurny Peguero, 27, pleaded guilty in December to perjury, admitting she made up the September 2005 incident that unjustly put construction worker William McCaffrey in jail and prison for nearly four years. A judge overturned his rape conviction in December, with new DNA evidence also playing a role.  'I question myself every day as to how I could have done this,' Peguero told a Manhattan state court judge.

Peguero originally said McCaffrey was the ringleader among three men who raped her at knifepoint after luring her into their car. She met them after a night out at a Manhattan nightclub with female friends."

This was a particularly strange case because there was no reason for the accusation, and the consequence to Mr. McCaffery was awful.

Texas Lawmen

The Dallas Morning News website has this absolutely baroque tale of two small town lawmen who have been carrying on a feud over many years that has devolved, into charges of child porn, sex parties, and accusations that one of the lawmen was promoting prostitution with kids.  There have been arrests, and unexplained dismissals of criminal charges.  The two officers:   Michael Meissner and John Hoskins are characterized as "nomadic officers" since both have long careers with short stintss in multiple small towns and agencies. 

I am going to quote the well-written article by John Nielsen of the Dallas Morning News to give you a flavor of what's going on--but, I urge you to read the entire piece, it's puts me in mind of some Texas noir novels I've read in the past: 

"The lengthy arrest warrant for former small-town police chief Michael Meissner included a string of graphic text messages he was accused of sending to teenage boys, trying to lure them to sex parties. Television news crews flocked to the jailhouse to catch a glimpse of Meissner in handcuffs.

Yet a week after his September arrest, Meissner, 39, then the police chief of Little River-Academy, a small community south of Waco, walked out of the Dallas County Jail a free man.

The seven charges against him were erased, and his $1.5 million bail was dismissed.

Prosecutors in Dallas and Tarrant counties won't say why Meissner won't be tried on charges of promotion of prostitution, possession and promotion of child pornography and sexual performance of a child.

The dismissals baffled the investigating officer, John Hoskins, who said he uncovered the seedy texts during another investigation while working as an unpaid reserve officer for the city of Combine in Kaufman County, near the Dallas County line.

Meissner, who lives in Dallas, denies the charges and denies sending the text messages. He said the allegations are trumped up by Hoskins, an officer Meissner says has been out to get him for years. "I think ... [authorities] knew the charges were bogus; they knew about this guy and this vendetta," Meissner said.

While it remains unclear why prosecutors won't pursue a case against Meissner, documents reveal a bitterness between the two officers that began four years ago.

The rivalry is a convoluted tale of salacious allegations mixed with small-town politics. It pits Meissner, a peace officer who has worked for 18 agencies in 20 years, against Hoskins, an equally nomadic officer.

The two worked side by side in 2006 when Meissner was police chief and Hoskins was his officer in the East Texas town of Caney City. While there, Hoskins investigated a charge that his boss viewed pornography with a minor at the police station on a city-owned computer, according to a police report. The charge, like others against Meissner, was dropped.

Hoskins said his latest investigation isn't about settling a feud"

The article goes on to say, that another former police chief, Steve Allen of Combine, Texas supports Hoskins allegations against Meissner saying in the article that the charges aren't made up because they consist of text messages that actually came from Meissner and he, Chief Allen inspected the evidence. 

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You might ask yourself why does the Bad Lawyer finds this story remarkable, apart from the fact that it is strange in and of itself? 

When I began to go after the Catholic church, I dealt with a tremendous amount of disbelief and an outright incredulity by friends, family, and colleagues.  The church, its attorneys, and judges with agendas preyed on this incredulity to do injustice to victims fo clergy sex abuse. This morning, in fact we talked about the notion and danger of "false allegations," (so rare as to be remarkable and noteworthy when false allegations are demonstrated) which I've explored at some length here at Bad Lawyer, but something is very wrong in East Texas.  Either a serial predator with a badge is walking around, or a harasser with a badge is running wild.  Which is it?  We will keep our Bad Lawyer eyes trained on developments.

Exonerated Gynecologsit

According to the London, Daily Mail, Bibi Giles accused her gynecologist Dr. Angus Thompson of intentional giving her two "knee buckling" orgasms.  Mrs. Giles filed a civil claim in Worcester County, England.  The trial on the matter was set to conclude, Thursday when another doctor who had previously treated Mrs. Giles came forward and revealed that he too had been subject to sexual advances by Mrs. Giles.   Dr. Thompson was exonerated, and the wealthy Giles couple agreed to pay 30,000 pounds to Dr. Thomspon for his attorney fees.   

"Perry Mason-like revelations" rarely happen in court, because of "discovery" rules.  In virtually all jurisdictions (locations) rules of civil procedure govern the initiation, service of papers on persons, investigation, and preparation as well as dismissal and judgments in lawsuits.  These local Rules of Civil Procedure are modeled after the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP).  The section of the rules called "discovery" is intended to assist the lawyers and litigants prepare their cases, narrow the issues, and eliminate surprise.  Discovery is not a replacement for investigating the "good faith" basis for a lawsuit which the lawyer "certifies" by his or her signature when they file lawsuits and other pleadings (papers) with the court.  Nonetheless, the rules of discovery permit written questions and answers upon the parties (interrogatories), exchange of documents, computer files, pictures, recordings, videos, and depostions.  The idea is that by conducting discovery the parties can figure out in advance if the case should go to trial, be settled or dismissed.

Discovery presents many opportunities for good lawyers;  and, discovery can be used as an oppressive battering ram by assholes.   But situations like the one involving Mrs. Giles rarely occur, because the design of our system is such that these sorts of revelations which do happen all the time, happen before the matter goes to trial.

Wrongful Imprisonment-False Allegations-Part 2

I take seriously the suggestion that I mischaracterize a case that I take from the news to Blawg about, here, which is why I link to the stories that resonate for me.  It is true that reporting about legal matters often lacks the dimension of comprehension and that claims are made in news stories that upon greater scrutiny do not bear up.  So the other day I wrote about Robert Doyle based on a report from Alabama Online.  According to the news account Doyle who had been convicted of molesting his own daughters stemming from allegations arising out of a divorce was exonerated shortly before his death from congestive heart failure.  A reader commented that this was inaccurate and that Doyle in fact was a molester--I offered to correct the post if she would provide me with a source.  She has not responded.

I confess that it is my natural bias to believe allegations of sexual abuse even though I know that false allegations do happen.  When I encounter a case of false allegations I try to publicize it;  and, here is a sad case out of New York.   A construction worker was sent the prison for the violent rape at knife point of a 22 year old womand, that did not happen.  The conviction of construction worker William McCaffrey was thrown out following DNZ evidence that cleared him of the crime and more importantly a confession by Biurny Peguero that she perjured herself in a bid to win sympathy from girlfiriends she was trying to impress.  McCaffrey spent several years in prison on a twenty year sentence for the kidnapping and rape he did not commit.  Ms. Peguero is facing 7 years on the guilty plea for perjury. 

Congratulations to Innocence Project and NYC lawyer, Glenn A. Garber for persistence and outstanding lawyering. 

See:  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,579928,00.html

Wrongful Imprisonment-False Claims of Sexual Abuse

Here, at Bad Lawyer Blawg I have often commented on the claims of false allegations of child sexual abuse and one might conclude from my comments that I don't believe that false allegations happen.  Wrong.  Based on my experience, false allegations of any crime, are not uncommon, including rape and child molestation.

Years ago I had someone I respect connected with social services tell me that a certain agency's experience was that most allegations of child sex abuse arising in divorce disputes were unreliable, while, most allegations, not involving domestic relations proceedings were reliable.  The statistics seem to support this general rule, I've never been comfortable throwing around statistical data for rhetorical purposes--but, I think the overall observation by my friend, the social science expert is true.

Experientially, I can attest to representing many children of child sex molesters/monsters in which there was overwhelming evidence of the crimes committed by the parent.  Likewise, there are many situations that I reviewed that I was declined to pursue because the only evidence of the molestation was the estranged spouse's suspicion that something occurred.   There are situations that I reviewed where I suspected that something did happen but the custodial parent was herself, so "borderline" that proceeding with the Mom as the adult guardian representative of the child-victim would be certain disaster--in which case the only step was to refer the matter to children protective services agencies.

When I think about the monsters that my colleagues and I did go after and did catch, I still get chills.  I don't think it is too strong a word to describe the childhood of these children as individual holocausts.  Horror shows of terror and physical injury that go on for years and in many cases that I encountered, generations.

So when you read about someone genuinely falsely accused, prosecuted, and incarcerated I feel a similar outrage.  Other than death, is there anything worse than to be a victim of this rape?  Certainly being falsely accused of being the perpetrator of a sex crime against children, being prosecuted and jailed for years--is a horror in itself.  So we have the story from Alabama Online, this morning of the surviving spouse's lawsuit seeking compensation following the wrongful imprisonment of her late husband, Robert Doyle.  Let me quote Alabama Online:  "Robert Doyle was making about $49,000 a year as a salesman for an insurance company in Montgomery before his ex-wife accused him of sexually abusing the two girls. In 1992, a Montgomery jury convicted him of abusing the two, ages 7 and 9, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison."  

Get this, the prosecutor in the case resulting in the wrongful imprisonment of Robert Doyle--is now a Montgomery County, Alabama,  Judge.  Judge Graddick (who also served a term as Alabama's Attorney General) was the ex-wife's divorce attorney in a bitterly contested divorce action.  So here we have an attorney who represented a woman in a case against her husband, then he becomes the prosecutor and prosecutes the ex-husband on false allegations stemming from the divorce and resulting in the wrongful imprisonment of the ex-husband.  Conflicts of interest, appearance of impropriety?  Your turn, Judge Graddick!

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/12/wrongful_imprisonment_leads_to.html

and;

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20091207/NEWS/912079993/1007?Title=Wrongful-imprisonment-in-Ala-leads-to-2M-claim

Your Pastor Did What?!

Pastor Keith Pettis is accused of statutory rape of a 12 year old female parishioner.

He may or may not be guilty, but this we know, his church "vows to support him," according to the Charlotte Observer.  According to the Observer, the girl, now 14 lives in another N.C. town, claims the abuse began in August 2006 and continued until March of this year.  The Gaston County, North Carolina prosecutor has indicted the pastor.


The pastor's church held a rally for their spiritual leader on Tuesday.  Michelle Brown, one of the pastor's parishioners is quoted as saying "I believe in his innocence, . . . I don't believe that he did this."

I got news for Ms. Brown and her fellow parishioners, get ready to be disappointed.  At this Blawg, I"ve talked about my work with victims of clergy abuse, I deposed the Auxiliary Bishop in charge of investigating clergy sex abuse claims for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops focusing at one point on the issue of "false allegations" against priests.  Bishop, A. James Quinn, the point man for the Catholic Church in America was no shrinking violet--he is a canon and civil lawyer.  Quinn had been quoted in the press as threatening retaliation against lawyers and persons making false accusations against priests.   So, how many cases of false charges had he encountered, . . . none.

There was a particularly vile priest who had molested many boys in his parish over decades--when I leveled charges against him he aggressively fought the allegations.  Father's parish held support rallies, I was threatened, my house was vandalized.  He was guilty.  After a canonical trial, he was defrocked.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/topstories/story/1086250.html