Jailhouse Snitches. (Paul Gentile Smith): Orange Country California: Major courtroom battle over their use in the county is coming up (April 29): The Orange County Register, (Investigative Reporter Tony Saavedraa, reports that, "the Orange County district attorney’s office and a defense lawyer are set to clash this month over sweeping allegations that top prosecutors have for more than a decade hid evidence of law enforcement misconduct. Orange County Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders will be asking a San Diego County Superior Court judge to order a special hearing on whether a former high-level Orange County prosecutor — now a judge — withheld evidence in a murder case and covered up the county’s illegal use of jailhouse informants."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt opposes Sanders’ request for a hearing, saying the allegations are part of a personal vendetta by the defense attorney against the former prosecutor and have no bearing on the real issue, which is the retrial of Paul Gentile Smith. Smith is accused of killing his boyhood friend and marijuana dealer in Sunset Beach. Smith’s conviction was thrown out after revelations that ex-prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh failed to turn over evidence that might have been beneficial to the defense. Sanders now wants the charges dismissed entirely based on the argument that the actions of Baytieh and others constitute “outrageous government conduct.” Sanders and Hunt are scheduled to argue before Judge Daniel Goldstein on April 29 on whether the special hearing should be held."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: What do police, often jailhouse, informants have to do with forensic science? (I'm glad you asked). Investigative  Reporter Pamela Colloff give us  a clue when she writes - at the link below -  "I’ve wanted to write about jailhouse informants for a long time because they often appear in troubled cases in which the other evidence is weak." That's my experience as  will as a criminal lawyer and an observer of criminal justice. Given the reality that jurors - thanks to the CSI effect - are becoming more and more insistent on the need for there to be forensic evidence, it is becoming more and more common for police to rely on shady tactics such as use of police snitches, staging lineups, coercing, inducing, or creating false confessions out of thin air, procuring false eyewitness testimony or concealing exculpatory evidence. "

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

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STORY: "Misconduct allegations in OC murder prosecution center stage in San Diego courtroom,"  by Reporter Tony Saavedra, published by The Orange County Register, on April 15, 2024. (Tony Saavedra is an investigative reporter specializing in legal affairs for the Orange County Register. His work has been recognized by the National Headliner Club, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Orange County Press Club. His stories have led to the closure of a chain of badly-run group homes, the end of a state program that placed criminals in inappropriate public jobs and the creation of a civilian oversight office for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, among other things.)

SUB-HEADING: "‘The refusal to investigate obvious wrongdoing undermines any reasonable faith that all favorable evidence will be disclosed in this case,’ says a defense attorney."

"In a San Diego courtroom, the Orange County district attorney’s office and a defense lawyer are set to clash this month over sweeping allegations that top prosecutors have for more than a decade hid evidence of law enforcement misconduct.

Orange County Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders will be asking a San Diego County Superior Court judge to order a special hearing on whether a former high-level Orange County prosecutor — now a judge — withheld evidence in a murder case and covered up the county’s illegal use of jailhouse informants.

Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt opposes Sanders’ request for a hearing, saying the allegations are part of a personal vendetta by the defense attorney against the former prosecutor and have no bearing on the real issue, which is the retrial of Paul Gentile Smith. Smith is accused of killing his boyhood friend and marijuana dealer in Sunset Beach.

Smith’s conviction was thrown out after revelations that ex-prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh failed to turn over evidence that might have been beneficial to the defense. Sanders now wants the charges dismissed entirely based on the argument that the actions of Baytieh and others constitute “outrageous government conduct.”

Sanders and Hunt are scheduled to argue before Judge Daniel Goldstein on April 29 on whether the special hearing should be held. The Smith case was transferred to San Diego because Baytieh is a sitting judge in Orange County.

In his latest motion, Sanders accused Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer of failing to fully investigate accusations against Baytieh and failing to inform defense attorneys under the Brady notification system about law enforcement officers engaged in the illegal use of jailhouse informants.

Because of Spitzer’s alleged inaction, Sanders contends, Smith cannot get a fair trial.

“The refusal to investigate obvious wrongdoing undermines any reasonable faith that all favorable evidence will be disclosed in this case,” Sanders wrote in his motion.

Spitzer responded that he commissioned an independent probe on Baytieh’s conduct and terminated him as a result.

“It defies logic that I’m trying to protect Brahim when I fired him,” Spitzer said. “I’m happy to litigate any issues Mr. Sanders wants to raise in court.”

Spitzer added that he now must personally approve the use of jailhouse informants by his prosecutors, and no request has been made under his administration.

Spitzer took office in 2019 pledging to reform the agency after revelations that prosecutors and Orange County sheriff’s deputies were violating jail inmates’ civil rights by using a secret network of in-custody informants. Sanders launched a crusade to unmask the network, leading to a federal investigation that confirmed the illegal use of the informants.

Sanders now contends Spitzer is not following through with his promise of reform and is instead behaving like former District Attorney Tony Rackauckas in trying to protect Baytieh to save the murder case.

Sanders wrote that the D.A.’s office is now engaged in an office-wide effort to do “damage control” in the Smith prosecution.

Baytieh was fired from his top job in the district attorney’s office in February 2022 for not turning over the evidence. Baytieh’s supporters contend he was actually fired for whistleblowing on racially charged statements made by Spitzer in an unrelated double-murder case.

Sanders alleges Baytieh failed to disclose evidence that multiple informants were used in getting incriminating statements from Smith instead of the single informant disclosed to the defense. He added that more than a dozen other pieces of evidence that might have been helpful to Smith’s defense also were withheld.

Sanders has claimed that Baytieh, in his top position at the D.A.’s office, denied the existence of the informant network for years to keep anyone from finding out about his own misuse of the snitches.

He also alleged Baytieh did not include in the required Brady notifications the deputies who aided him in the illegal use of informants. Those deputies went on to participate in nearly 100 other cases in which defense attorneys were unaware of their alleged exploits and unable to use that information to question their credibility, Sanders said. Almost all of those cases ended in convictions.

After his firing, Baytieh was elected to the Orange County bench with substantial backing from other judges.

If granted the special hearing, Sanders could subpoena Baytieh to testify.

In the past, Sanders has used the evidentiary hearing process to unmask the surreptitious use of jailhouse informants, leading to one of the largest criminal justice scandals in the nation. By the time the dust settled, Sanders had gotten the district attorney’s office removed from the case against mass killer Scott Dekraai, who fatally shot eight people at a beauty salon in Seal Beach.

Because of the misconduct, Dekraai was given multiple life terms in prison instead of the death sentence.

Sanders now represents Smith, who was convicted in 2010 of stabbing Robert Haugen 18 times and torching his body in Sunset Beach. That conviction was dismissed because sheriff’s deputies indicated they would refuse to testify about allegations they had illegally used the informants.

In previous motions, Sanders said three informants were used by the prosecution and sheriff’s officials to engage Smith in a day room at the Orange County jail. Only one of the informants was disclosed to the defense, with no hint that it was an organized operation with two other informants.

In a recorded interview, one of the informants laid out the illegal plan to get Smith to incriminate himself. Although Sheriff Don Barnes has said the CD recording was properly booked into evidence by deputies, Baytieh did not turn it over to the defense.

Baytieh did not return a telephone message seeking comment Friday. A spokesman for the court has said judges are not allowed to speak to reporters on cases."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/04/14/misconduct-allegations-in-oc-murder-prosecution-center-stage-in-san-diego-courtroom/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:

David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801

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Excited Delirium: (A philosophical and ethical analysis): George Floyd: McGill University researchers examine the George Floyd case in a recently released paper headed, "Making up monsters, redirecting blame: An examination of excited delirium."…"While much debate has centered on the diagnosis's medical validity, the findings in this philosophical and ethical analysis delve into its tangible societal impacts, highlighting the urgent need for re-evaluation by medical practitioners and the criminal justice system. In the U.S., excited delirium is involved in about 10 per cent of deaths in police custody. But a major shift is underway, as California recently became the first state to legislate a ban on the syndrome as a cause of death, while Colorado removed the term from police training. In Canada, four provinces no longer accept excited delirium as a cause of death."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The diagnosis of excited delirium is widely contested, but continues to circulate within emergency medicine, on coroner’s reports, and in police training. Our examination shows how racial stereotypes, conflicts of interest, convenient causal stories, and slippery logic all underlie the continued use of the term.” says Phoebe Friesen, one of the study’s authors and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy at McGill University."

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RELEASE:  "Divisive diagnosis raised in George Floyd case under scrutiny." by McGill University, published on April 18, 2024.

SUB-HEADING: ‘Excited delirium’ perpetuates racial stereotypes, justifies police brutality, McGill University study finds.'

GIST:  "A movement to discredit a controversial medical diagnosis is being bolstered by a new study out of McGill University. Excited delirium describes a state of agitation, aggression, and distress and has become a common defense to counter charges of police brutality. In the case of George Floyd, the syndrome was initially used as a legal defense for the Minneapolis police officer charged in his death.

In “Making up monsters, redirecting blame: An examination of excited delirium” the researchers present compelling evidence that excited delirium exploits racial stereotypes, encourages excessive use of force, and deflects responsibility for sudden deaths away from law enforcement. Essentially, the diagnosis creates a new category of people, often characterized by ‘superhuman’ strength and an immunity to pain. Those diagnosed tend to be Black men, Indigenous people, individuals with mental illness, those who use drugs, and other marginalized groups. 

While much debate has centered on the diagnosis's medical validity, the findings in this philosophical and ethical analysis delve into its tangible societal impacts, highlighting the urgent need for re-evaluation by medical practitioners and the criminal justice system. In the U.S., excited delirium is involved in about 10 per cent of deaths in police custody. But a major shift is underway, as California recently became the first state to legislate a ban on the syndrome as a cause of death, while Colorado removed the term from police training. In Canada, four provinces no longer accept excited delirium as a cause of death.

“The diagnosis of excited delirium is widely contested, but continues to circulate within emergency medicine, on coroner’s reports, and in police training. Our examination shows how racial stereotypes, conflicts of interest, convenient causal stories, and slippery logic all underlie the continued use of the term.” says Phoebe Friesen, one of the study’s authors and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy at McGill University.

About the study

“Making up Monsters, Redirecting Blame: An Examination of Excited Delirium” by Arjun Byju and Phoebe Friesen was published in Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology."

The entire release can be read at:

https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/divisive-diagnosis-raised-george-floyd-case-under-scrutiny-356852

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:

David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801

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Scott Peterson: California: Prosecutors say his request for new DNA tests is unnecessary,, ABC7 San Francisco (Reporter Dann Noyes) reports.. "A major development in Scott Peterson's fight for a new trial, 20 years after he was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son The LA Innocence Project asked for new DNA testing, but now, the people are firing back. The original prosecutors in the case argue there is no need for new DNA testing, that Scott Peterson's lies about his role in Laci's death make it unnecessary."

PUBLISHER'S  NOTE: WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S  APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?") 

https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2018/06/kevin-cooper-2-california-application.html

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Still,  (Legal analyst) Steven Clark believes that chances are, the judge will order new DNA testing. "The fact that the court is having these hearings is very significant," he says. "And it, I think, says a lot that the Innocence project got involved in this case. In the first place, they believe there's a good faith reason to at least go back and look at this evidence to make sure that the jury got this right." The hearing on the DNA issue is at the end of May. That should give us a good indication whether Peterson's attempt for a new trial has a chance."

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STORY: "Scott Peterson: Prosecutors say convicted killer's request for new DNA tests is unnecessary", by Dan Noyes, published by ABC7 San Francisco,  on April 24, 2024. (Dan Noyes is the chief investigative reporter for the ABC7 News I-Team in San Francisco. He has received many industry awards, including 15 Emmys.)

GIST:  "Prosecutors in a motion filed on Monday said convicted killer Scott Peterson's request for new DNA tests is unnecessary.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A major development in Scott Peterson's fight for a new trial, 20 years after he was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The LA Innocence Project asked for new DNA testing, but now, the people are firing back. The original prosecutors in the case argue there is no need for new DNA testing, that Scott Peterson's lies about his role in Laci's death make it unnecessary.

Prosecutors from Stanislaus County, who actually got Scott Peterson his murder conviction in 2004, argued in this motion filed Monday that there is no need for additional DNA testing - Peterson filed a motion and had DNA testing done in 2013, and again in 2019. "That was equally fruitless," wrote the prosecutors.

Legal analyst Steven Clark tells the I-Team, "I think what the prosecution is saying here to the public and to the court is, we got this right. Scott Peterson did have a fair trial, and nothing that can be done now is going to change the outcome of what that jury decided, because the evidence was so overwhelming as to his guilt."

TIMELINE: How the Laci Peterson case unfolded

The prosecution spent much of 337-page court filing outlining how Peterson repeatedly lied about his involvement in the death of Laci and their unborn child, Conner, and how those lies outweigh the need for any additional DNA testing.

Clark adds, "The prosecution has taken some hits during these hearings, suggesting that they hid the ball from the defense team during discovery, and what they're saying here is, look at all of this evidence that was brought forward at the trial. There is no reasonable explanation for any other killer than Scott Peterson."

The document describes how a friend, who didn't know he was married, set Peterson up with Amber Frey. And when that friend learned Peterson was married, she threatened to expose him. The next day, according to prosecutors, Peterson bought the boat and began planning the murder. The document also shows a pair of pliers found on the boat with a hair consistent with Laci's.

RELATED: Former investigator says key evidence wasn't properly investigated in Scott Peterson case

The bodies of Laci and Conner were found in San Francisco Bay months later, after a strong April storm.

The filing also says that before his arrest, Peterson played a cat-and-mouse game with law enforcement changing his appearance. At the time of his arrest, he had $15,000 in cash, other people's ID's and credit cards, multiple cell phones and outdoor equipment.

Still, Steven Clark believes that chances are, the judge will order new DNA testing. "The fact that the court is having these hearings is very significant," he says. "And it, I think, says a lot that the Innocence project got involved in this case. In the first place, they believe there's a good faith reason to at least go back and look at this evidence to make sure that the jury got this right."

The hearing on the DNA issue is at the end of May. That should give us a good indication whether Peterson's attempt for a new trial has a chance. The prosecutors also argue that Laci's family deserves the right to have the case over. They say this new push by Peterson is harassment."

The entire story can be read at: 

https://abc7news.com/scott-peterson-prosecutors-say-convicted-killer-request-for-new-dna-tests-is-unnecessary/14723363/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

---------------------------------------------------------------

FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

—————————————————————————————————

FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

————————————————————————————

YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:

David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801

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