by:
Tim Brown
On Monday, reports of prosecutor misconduct emerged in the
Bundy Ranch trials, but you probably didn't hear that in the mainstream media nor much of the alternative media.
I had been on vacation and was very limited in what I was able to
write on during that time, but having come back, I've seen some of the
reports, mainly from Shari Dovale at
Redoubt News,
who has been keeping the public informed, along with a few others of
what is taking place in Nevada at what has been deemed "The Trial of the
Century.
First, let me allow
Terry Noonkester
to update you on the misconduct aspect in the case by the prosecution
and we'll move on to whether this may result in the end of the trial.
Prosecutorial misconduct has affected the USA v Cliven Bundy trials in
Las Vegas in regards to pretrial detention, convictions, plea
agreements, and sentencing. Just within the first few weeks of the Tier I
group trial, there is evidence that the prosecution has used false
information to keep the defendants incarcerated. Other evidence proves
the Bundy’s and militia leaders did not make false statements to incite
the protest, possibly eliminating at least one of the criminal charges.
Due to the serious affect of the
mishandling of evidence by the prosecution, the defense attorney’s continued to make motions for a mistrial and dismissal of the case.
The
prosecutions misrepresentation’s and
withholding of evidence may have started by influencing the grand jury
to indict on a total of sixteen charges. Misrepresentation at the grand
jury level could possibly void the basis of even plea agreements
accepted by some Bundy Ranch Protest defendants. If a criminal charge
is proven to be based on false government claims, can the government
continue to enforce that charge in a plea agreement? According to
contract law, an agreement based on false information is not binding nor
enforceable.
There has also been extreme pressure applied to the defendants to
accept plea agreements. Historically, prosecutors across the country
gained leverage when bargaining with defendants after the passage of the
Bail Reform Acts of 1964 and 1984. These acts allowed federal judges
to deny bail to defendants when they were indicted for noncapital cases.
The USA v Bundy case was defined by the court as a ‘complex case’
giving the prosecution up to five years to complete the trials and still
conform with the speedy trial requirements. Pre-trial detention of
such great duration fosters desperation in the defendants, causing many
to buckle under the pressure when a plea bargain is offered.
Noonkester then listed those in the Bundy shakedown who have accepted
plea bargains, many of which have families and believed they were
facing such a corrupt system that their chances of having a fair trial
in light of facing most, if not all, of their life in prison seemed
reasonable. Others were convicted, but their convictions should be
called into question considering the obvious suppression of evidence by
the prosecution that came out in the latest trial.
Noonkester comments, "As the third trial proceeds, more is revealed
about government overreach and prosecutorial misconduct. Greg
Burleson’s and Todd Engel’s convictions must be questioned in light of
all the evidence withheld in their trial. Plea deals need to be
reevaluated to make sure that these men haven’t pled guilty to a
criminal charge that will later found to be fabricated by the
government."
"The author and member of Ammon Bundy’s defense team, Roger Roots,
describes the condition of the federal criminal justice system aptly in
his book “
The Conviction Factory, The Collapse of America’s Criminal Courts,” Noonkester added. "Ammon Bundy’s attorney, Morgan Philpot, and his team are relying on donations at
AmmonBundyDefense.com."
So, is this impacting the trial? Has it merely brought it to a
standstill or are we about to see a mistrial declared or possibility a
dropping of the charges?
Shari Dovale
reported on Monday that Judge Gloria Navarro said, "The jury won’t be called back before [December 20th], if they are needed.”
If needed? Aren't they a part of the very court that is weighing the
evidence here? Perhaps the government's leniency in the matter of
releasing the defendants in the case during trial is only a sign of
what's to come in hopes that they can make all this go away quietly
because they know they have wasted millions of dollars, violated the
rights of the people and lied to the American public about what was all
going on.
However, Dovale
reported:
Judge Navarro discussed in open court the numerous violations made
by the prosecution and the agents of the BLM and FBI in relation to this case.
Multiple Brady violations topped the list, with many exculpatory
items not being turned over to the defense teams. Items such as the
Threat Assessment reports, names of potential witnesses, reports from
the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reprimanding the BLM for not
enforcing the court orders for years, and many more.
There are at least seven
Brady violations the
judge referred to in court today. Additionally, there were violations
of evidence not being turned over in a timely manner, which are referred
to as ‘Giglio’ violations, pointing to the court decisions of
Giglio v. United States .
After the jury was sent home, the courtroom was cleared of spectators
so the principle players could immediately go into another of the now
infamous super-secret sealed hearings.
This court trial has become known for their overuse of the sealed
hearing rules. A majority of the evidence has been sealed from the
public view, bringing questions as to why the government is hiding so
much information from the citizens. Our Constitution guarantees public
trials, yet the government does not hold themselves accountable to the
US Constitution, as
their representative so testified.
So, as it stands now, it would appear the government is in the hot
seat, but keep in mind that the government is acting as both plaintiff
and prosecutor with a judge rooster guarding the hen house, but how long
will they be able to maintain the charade here, or are they actually
waking up to the fact that there was no crime actually committed here
except on the government's behalf?
Time will tell. Until December 20...