So let's hope the judge imposes PUNISHMENT on the Feds for withholding that evidence..
Originally Posted by garhkal
Just did. The U.S. Attorney's Office has a decision to make. Disclose the information or don't prosecute. If providing the information now "cures" any prejudice to the defendants then any further sanction may not be warranted, although a Federal judge has the power to award attorney fees and costs against a lawyer who violates rules and rights.
I suppose a determination will have to be as to the motivation or intent of the withholding of the information and it depends on the information as it relates to the crucial issues in the case. A factor can be the seriousness of the charges against the defendants AND how strong the Judge believes the case to be without the withheld information.
Originally Posted by LexusLover
No LL, declaring a mistrial is not punishment. Just procedural.
However, once a judge is hacked off, one itty bitty thing will cause punishment. Shame that the punishment is usually a slap on the wrist. IMO, prosecutors simply construct a careful script that somehow shows that their orchestrated "errors" are not intentional and were inadvertent.
Thus, and amusingly, Fed judges do wait for attys to really fuck up.
Contrastingly, local County and State judges have zero patience from page 1. The folks I work with have had a few attorneys disbarred with several handfuls sanctioned, and (you all will like this) slightly more than a handful of cops fired. Of course there's monetary settlements all around.
One thing that still bothers me to this day is that at Ruby Ridge, the gal was murdered by a sniper in cold blood. Even though her husband got a few mill settlement, not one leo went to jail for that. The County Sheriff could have very well ignored the feds and forced that issue.