More judicial system abuse

Yet another lesson in not trusting the government. A court clerk helps a wrongly convicted man properly apply for a DNA test to overturn a rape conviction.

The man is exonerated and released.

Days later the clerk is fired. It is enough to make your blood boil:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3759185.html

More background here:

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/28...dge-fires.html

Clearly, the judge and/or prosecutors did NOT like being proved wrong.
Jewish Lawyer's Avatar
Ok, but he did get first jailed for two unrelated robbery convictions, and served time for those, and his guilt is not disputed in those crimes.
Looks like she violated policies and procedures. I can tell you from personal experience, court clerks are prohibited from discussing cases or offering legal advice to indigent defendants. Standard stuff.
CJ7's Avatar
  • CJ7
  • 08-15-2013, 03:37 PM
Ok, but he did get first jailed for two unrelated robbery convictions, and served time for those, and his guilt is not disputed in those crimes. Originally Posted by Jewish Lawyer

if you know as much about law as you do sentence structure I'd suggest you stay out of a courtroom
lostincypress's Avatar
The petitioner was rejected twice on technicalities in his request. Why would the court not supply a template for DNA testing that avoids repeated "attempts". She retrieved a successful petition for the petitioner to use and request was then granted. Ms. Snyder was terminated for violating workplace rules. Rest easy.....the judge is an ordained minister in the Community of Christ. I have seen this described as a violation of ethical rules and a cardinal sin by members of the legal profession. Ethics, cardinal sin, legal profession..........priceless. How many prosecutors and judges have been terminated for unethical conduct? Why are prosecutors granted prosecutorial immunity in almost all cases regardless of their misconduct? Ms. Snyder was morally right but ethically wrong.
Looks like she violated policies and procedures. I can tell you from personal experience, court clerks are prohibited from discussing cases or offering legal advice to indigent defendants. Standard stuff. Originally Posted by timpage
True.

But I think their characterization of what she did as legal advice as a stretch. That is the fig leaf they are using to cover their payback.

Like LostinCypress said above, all she did was give them a correct template to follow after they twice failed to follow the correct technical procedure.

The judge should have helped them fix it themselves the first time.

In fact, I think that every state should be putting money aside to perform mandatory DNA tests on all inmates convicted in old rape cases. I have no doubt that there are many hundreds if not thousands of inmates who could be exonerated by DNA evidence.