Maurice Possley’s “16 prosecutors left misconduct rebukes off judicial bids” (Page 1, March 1) makes an allegation about me that is false. The article states that I committed misconduct by my failure to disclose a witness in a case involving a defendant who delivered heroin and cocaine to an undercover police officer. The truth is that I disclosed the identity of this witness. This fact is contained in the appellate court’s opinion.
This case was reversed by the appellate court because of an erroneous ruling by a distinguished and well-respected trial judge, not because of any misconduct on my part. The trial judge ruled on four occasions during the trial in 1987 that I did not have to produce this drug informant. I obeyed the rulings of the trial court. I tendered the name of the informant to defense counsel who, in fact, already knew his identity. Even though the trial judge ruled in my favor, I asked the police officers to bring the informant to court, but the informant refused to come. Defense counsel was given a two-month continuance to bring the informant to court but failed to do so. After a bench trial, the defendant was found guilty. Two years later in 1989, the appellate court disagreed with the trial judge’s ruling and reversed the defendant’s conviction for failure of the prosecution to produce the informant, not because of my “failure to disclose a witness.”
When I filled out my judicial application in 1998, I did not know that this case had been reversed. I ran a computer database check under my name at the time of my application and read every case where my name was mentioned. This case did not appear, as my name was not cited in the opinion. Even if I had known about this case at the time I submitted my judicial application, I do not believe the appellate court opinion can be interpreted as a comment on my conduct. The judicial application does not require an attorney to list every case that is reversed by the appellate court. My conduct did not cause this case to be reversed.
As a prosecutor, I am held to a high standard of fairness and I am expected to correctly state the facts when called upon to do so in court. Journalists should be held to the same standards of fairness and accuracy.
