For those who haven't seen it, if you're a regular Grits reader and are interested in the topics this blog covers, I encourage reading the TDCAA forum purely for its entertainment value, as evidenced by the quotes pulled out by the Watchdog. (Their site appears to be inexplicably down, hopefully not in order to expunge years of dialogue as a result of the Watchdog's post!) A lot of interesting discussions happen at the TDCAA user forum on subjects I don't see addressed anywhere else, for good and sometimes for ill. One caveat: Before ever quoting the forum, as the Watchdog did, always get a screen shot or cut and paste the string into a separate document. Mr. Bradley in particular, but other forum participants, too, have been known to change or delete comments when they were cited in the media.
The primary battle for Williamson County DA this year is shaping up to be a real hoot!
See related Grits posts:
- As predicted: State bar dismisses grievance against John Bradley from Morton case
- Justice and Prosecutorial Misconduct
- Triumph or Tragedy? Drawing meaning from the Michael Morton exoneration
- Roundup: Coverage of prosecutorial misconduct in the Michael Morton case
- Holding judges accountable for past misconduct: William Adams and Ken Anderson
- Roundup of Williamson County prosecutorial misconduct fiasco
- On the road to Damascus: The conversion of John Bradley
- Editorials: Weak state bar has failed in oversight role on prosecutor misconduct
- Bradley, Anderson engaged in 'heated discussion' after Michael Morton exoneration
- CYA meetings helped prosecutors, investigator prep for critical depositions
- Nuther Brady violation from Williamson DA's office
- Current, former prosecutors in Williamson, Harris Counties forced to testify about alleged misconduct
- Pushback by prosecutors prevent exposure of 25-year old secrets in Morton case
- Stare bar will investigate prosecutor misconduct in Michael Morton case
- Unable to squelch prosecutor misconduct allegations, John Bradley passes them off to AG
- John Bradley tries to short-circuit investigation into prosecutor misconduct in Michael Morton case
- John Bradley facing local, national criticism now that Michael Morton formally exonerated
- State Bar should sanction prosecutor from Michael Morton case but almost certainly won't
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10 comments:
I was wondering, GFB, does the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association have a user forum viewable by the public on their website?
Not that I know of, 9:29. Of course, they're not all government employees.
Here are two additional post made by John Bradley, which give you some idea of how far he is willing to go to hide cases like Michael Morton's. The below topic of discussion was, "Records retention & habeas"
JB Member posted 10-20-07
A better solution would be to impose a time limit on filing a writ of habeas corpus. Why should we continue waiting 10 and 15 years for a defendant to file a writ? Rarely is the wait justified, except by the defendant's boredom and denial of parole. We have a time limit for a capital writ, so why not get one for noncapital writs?
For serious felonies (sentences of 20 years or more and no appeal), I am considering having the court reporter always prepare a transcript of the plea and sentencing. That gets put in the file to await the writ, which is nearly inevitable.
The only other records that are usually needed to reply to a writ are the plea papers, which have usually been preserved by being digitized and archived. We can download those from our county database. Add an affidavit from the defense lawyer (if he is still alive) and we are usually done.
JB Member posted 10-23-07
I can't think of a single local example of how the retention schedule hurt a case. The only case in which loss of records created a problem was one in which the defendant, while his case was in trial, fled. Decades later, the court reporter destroyed her notes. Upon arrest and sentencing, the defendant gave notice of appeal. Case law suggests that defendant loses, even though the court reporter should have held on to the notes until conclusion of the case. Defendant failed to ask that the notes be preserved.
Most of the time, loss of records hurts the defendant, not the State.
Seems to me that since they are a tax payer supported entity that it is illegal for them to remove comments or to alter them.
Isn't the defense lawyers association tax payer funded?
Thank you for the coverage on this topic. I appreciate having all the links here to read the various articles.
Another source of amusement about the TDCAA site is that they used to offer a book by one A.P. Merillat, an investigator for the prosecution unit that specializes in prison crimes, on the topic of future dangerousness in capital sentencing. Horribly badly written and hysterical in tone, it was full of anecdotal material and had little real substance. Erroneous testimony from Merillat resulted in the reversal of a Bexar County capital case, and concerns were being raised about the accuracy of his anecdotes about prison violence, and the TDCAA seems to have now pulled any reference to the book from the site. Presumably he is no longer viewed as a "true gift to the TDCAA and prosecutors", as he was described in the foreword to the book.
Uh, has anyone read that (lengthy) response by Anderson? It sure seems to knock some holes in the IP's theory of what happened, and backs it up with some pretty interesting information I had not yet seen reported (like the fact that her check cashed after her death wasn't forged at all but actually deposited into the couple's own account, and that Morton's trial lawyers actually knew about the boy's ID of the real killer).
Interesting stuff--curious to hear what others think after reading it.
I scanned the posts from the Wilco blog, and can only say that much of what Bradley says qualifies as obscenity of the worst type. As for his Brady discussion- and the analysis changing after a plea-he may have a point, but this only highlights a defense attorney's duty prior to determining if a plea or trial is appropriate- let me elaborate- around a year ago in New Braunfels, two heros were both charged with a dope crime- one plead, the other picked a jury- during trial,on cross, the state's tox expert discovered a misplaced decimal point; the plea was to a 2nd, while the amount was SJF wt. in reality- this is not courthouse rumor- Dib Waldrip, a district ct judge in NB, blogged on Evidence Prof about the case, and I was in the courthouse when charges were dismissed in the trial- as for the plea? too bad, so sad - Brady, in my opinion, is simply Crawford in different guise; except when the D insists on it, entering a plea without discovery borders on the unethical- and there are many prosecutors who are more than happy to assist you in the act - John Bradley's analysis is, infortunately, taught by him and other high profile prosecutors to prosecutors far and wide- he encourages any ADAs he hires to run for office and spread this poison even further- WILCO did a good thing releasing that blog info; as for Anonymous's question at 9:29, read the concurring opinion in U S v Wade as to the duty of a defense attorney; a Prosecutor's duty, in contrast, is to seek justice- the majesty and power of the State apparatus against a citizen accused imposes different duties on adverse parties
That poor man!! I hope Texas has to pay him a settlement for being locked up!!! Thank God for DNA evidence - otherwise, this man would still be in prison!
Doreen Boxer - Criminal Defense Lawyer
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