I've
been following Amanda Knox's case for years. (I even took students to
one of the courtrooms in Florence.) The lesser-known charges were
criminal defamation of police (overturned) but years ago she was
convicted of that crime when she mentioned a bartender as a possible suspect.
Recently, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that her confession was
coerced so she just went back to court to clear that – a decade ago, she
was sentenced to 3 years (but got time served since she was in jail for
4 years) and then left the country. The lower court just ruled against
her. (There will be an appeal.)
In Internet Law, we go over some country laws of criminal libel.
Side Note: A colleague of mine did DNA forensic work on the homicide charge.
May 2024: A
promising court ruling in February but NY Governor Hochul vetoed a bill in 2023 which would've been a pathway to an Actual Innocence hearing.
Unclear what the next steps are.
The
New York State Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a decision by a
lower appeals court that barred Jesse Friedman from gaining access to
his case files, nearly 30 years after the former Great Neck resident’s
guilty plea in a child sex abuse scandal. Click here to continue reading
Challenging wrongful convictions – A2878-A/S7548. Quote from above link: Sponsored
by Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry and Myrie, this bill would have made
it easier for someone wrongfully convicted of a crime to have that
conviction overturned, even if that person pleaded guilty [From Perry: Jesse Friedman entered into a plea deal for a more lenient sentence, believing at the time he couldn't get a fair trial], by removing
procedural barriers to having new evidence heard by the court. In a veto
memo, Hochul said that she supports the intent of overturning wrongful
convictions and noted that she has approved numerous criminal justice
reforms since taking office as well as existing avenues for
post-conviction relief. But she said this bill is overly broad and would
“create an unjustifiable risk of flooding the courts with frivolous
claims.”
2022 News: update on "Establishes the actual innocence justice act"
2021-2022 Legislative Session: NY State Assembly Bill A98A - Passed the Assembly but ran out of time to pass the Senate. Likely re-introduced in 2022-2023
2018 Bad News:The
NY Court of Appeals case of People v. Tiger, held 5-2 that there is no
"actual innocence" cause of action for someone who has pled guilty,
effectively ending Friedman's 440.10 motion (in the absence of
legislation).
From the Dissenting Opinion by Judge Wilson, joined by Judge Rivera:
"Ms. Tiger [caregiver for "profoundly disabled ten-year-old girl"] is neither
the first nor last innocent person to plead guilty. Ms. Tiger's case
(based on facts as she summarizes them, without the benefit of an
evidentiary hearing) provides a compelling example. In brief, confronted
by Child Protective Services with horrifying photographs of the child's
skin blistering, she was: without the assistance of counsel; denied the
accompaniment of a representative of her employer who attempted to
attend; accused of "having boiled water and thrown it" on the child; and
told she was responsible for the skin grafts the child was then
undergoing. Ms. Tiger [*11] knew the bathwater was not
inappropriately hot, but nevertheless concluded she must have been
responsible. Faced with seven years in prison, she pleaded guilty after
her lawyer told her she could not afford to hire an expert and a guilty
plea could result in a suspended sentence. What
she did not then know was that the child was taking medication that
likely caused the blistering. Based on the sequence of events leading up
to the child's injuries, and her meeting with the CPS interviewer who
all but insisted that Ms. Tiger burned the child terribly, it is not
hard to imagine that a compassionate and attentive caregiver — which
other evidence in the record shows she was — could begin to believe that
she somehow made a mistake and was to blame."
2017 Bad News Fixed in 2024: The NY Court of Appeals ruled, as
to whether the DA must turn over every piece of evidence connected to
this case, in preparation for an eventual "Actual Innocence" hearing in
the Friedman case:
It's up to the
trial court to determine whether some witnesses expressly were
guaranteed confidentiality by prosecutors — or the circumstances of the
case are such that confidentiality "can be reasonably inferred" — and
their identifying information and statements can therefore be kept
secret. Source: Newsday
Sponsored
by Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry and Myrie, this bill would have made
it easier for someone wrongfully convicted of a crime to have that
conviction overturned, even if that person pleaded guilty, by removing
procedural barriers to having new evidence heard by the court. In a veto
memo, Hochul said that she supports the intent of overturning wrongful
convictions and noted that she has approved numerous criminal justice
reforms since taking office as well as existing avenues for
post-conviction relief. But she said this bill is overly broad and would
“create an unjustifiable risk of flooding the courts with frivolous
claims.”
Calvin Johnson was wrongly convicted of a crime and was fortunate that the Georgia Innocence Project assisted in securing his freedom. I posted this comment on Facebook to Greg Hampikian, a DNA expert and guest speaker in my class over the years. Greg helped prove Mr. Johnson's innocence, and the two wrote a book together about the experience.
Posted on Greg's Facebook Page: Very sad to hear about Calvin's passing. He was an inspiring, hopeful, and forgiving person, and the two of you were a dynamic duo in writing Exit to Freedom. I remember when we brought our science and law classes to hear him speak at Clayton State in the late 1990s. You went up to him afterward to say something. That may have been the beginning of your friendship with him? My thoughts are with Calvin and supporting innocence projects in Georgia and across the country. Perry
Very interesting article in GSU's Research magazine on the law school's Center for Access to Justice.
I am currently writing a book on teaching with a few chapters dealing with access to civil justice. I define civil justice as leveling the playing field for the little guy.
Click here to read about GSU's Center for Access to Justice and its Alternative Spring Break Progam for law students.
This was a death penalty appeal from several years ago. It gained international attention and some of my students protested at the Georgia Capitol when the Governor denied clemency in 2011. By a 4-3 vote, the Georgia Supreme Court denied Mr. Davis a new trial, though seven of nine adverse witnesses recanted their testimony and another witness was a suspect in the crime. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that decision.
We have noted that recantations by trial witnesses are inherently suspect, because there is almost always more reason to credit trial testimony over later recantations. However, it is unwise and unnecessary to make a categorical rule that recantations may never be considered in support of an extraordinary motion for new trial. The majority cites case law stating that recantations may be considered only if the recanting witness's trial testimony is shown to be the “purest fabrication.” To the extent that this phrase cautions that trial testimony should not be lightly disregarded, it has obvious merit. However, it should not be corrupted into a categorical rule that new evidence in the form of recanted testimony can never be considered, no matter how trustworthy it might appear. If recantation testimony, either alone or supported by other evidence, shows convincingly that prior trial testimony was false, it simply defies all logic and morality to hold that it must be disregarded categorically.
We do this exercise on the first day of Consumer Law & Advocacy...
Introduction to Civil Justice
Civil Justice - I define this as leveling the playing field for the little guy in civil disputes.
I wrote the following paragraph on an actual case. Please read before class: I came across a story from July 2005 about West Virginia’s Marsh Fork Elementary School, which is situated 400 yards below a 2.8 billion gallon coal waste dam. 400 yards? 2.8 billion gallons?? With the kids breathing coal dust and chemicals from the coal silo which sits 150 feet away. The only reason this is making any news is that the grandfather of one of the elementary school kids sat on the West Virginia Capitol steps and refused to leave until the governor addressed these rather serious concerns. The guy was just a little curious why the Department of Environmental Protection approved a permit for an additional coal silo adjacent to the school. He was just wondering why in a school of 200 students, three kids and four teachers had died of cancer. And with 240 significant safety violations since 1991, why nothing was being done, like building another school. Away from the madness. 2.8 billion gallons. 2.8 billion. School’s not out. School’s gone!
What would you do? Assume that you do not have the resources to move. (Reflect on the parallels with New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina, also in 2005). Break up into teams of three and discuss. Then we will re-group for a class discussion on this case and current cases in the news – e.g., Flint water crisis is back in the news.
