Lawyer: Report could help client
A local attorney filed motions requesting Sutter County Superior Court release the original 2017-18 grand jury report, which went unpublished, and to allow him access to its contents – primarily materials and findings pertaining to what he said was an investigation into the District Attorney’s Office for “willful or corrupt misconduct and other wrongdoing” in the handling and prosecuting of cases.
Attorney Jesse Santana – who represents Danelle Stylos, a former director of development services for the county who was arrested last February on suspicion of felony voter fraud, perjury and other offenses – filed the two motions Friday morning.
He said the information included in that original report will “provide the defense with evidence and information that will exonerate Ms. Stylos, cast doubt on the pending criminal charges and politically motivated prosecution of Ms. Stylos, and assist Ms. Stylos in preparing for her defense.”
Sutter County District Attorney Amanda Hopper said she is prohibited from discussing anything pertaining to grand jury proceedings due to confidentiality mandates.
“However, I have no knowledge of any willful or corrupt misconduct or other wrongdoing in the handling and prosecuting of cases by current Sutter County DA staff,” she said.
Sutter County Superior Court Executive Officer Stephanie Hansel said the court will process any filed motions consistent with its usual business practices.
“The court does not ever comment on pending cases,” Hansel said.
Stylos and Santana will return to the courthouse later this month to try to compel the court to act on the motions ahead of preliminary hearings scheduled for late September.
First motion
In the first motion, Santana asserted “on information and belief” that part of the grand jury’s investigation focused on misconduct in the District Attorney’s Office in the handling and prosecuting of cases, including his client’s.
He said that information was included in an original report submitted to the court. However, the court did not file that report, he asserted, but he should still have access to the report because it included information pertaining to his client’s case.
“Moreover, the Court should order the disclosure of relevant and admissible testimony of witnesses who were examined before the grand jury regarding Ms. Stylos’ case for the purpose of ascertaining whether their testimony is consistent with that given by the witnesses before the court,” Santana wrote in the motion.
Santana said the grand jury is required to file a final report of its findings and recommendations, and while the Superior Court has limited authority to refuse to file a report, the court has no authority to impose its own views on the grand jury or suppress a report.
“Therefore, the Sutter County Superior Court must respect the grand jury’s ‘watchdog’ function and independence of judgment and file the original 2017-2018 Sutter County Grand Jury report,” the motion stated.
According to the Sutter County Grand Jury website, the grand jury elected to not publish a report this year.
Second motion
In the second motion, Santana said he has reason to believe that the District Attorney’s Office is in possession of the original report that wasn’t published.
He stated due process requires that a prosecutor disclose to the defendant evidence favorable to the accused. He said that the prosecution’s duty to disclose that type of information extends to all evidence that reasonably appears favorable to the accused, not just evidence that appears likely to affect a verdict, citing a state appellate court decision from 1995.
“This motion is made on the grounds that the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office has not provided the discovery required by law and has failed to provide exculpatory evidence and impeachment evidence,” according to the motion.
Hopper disputed the claim, saying her office has complied with all discovery requirements.
“It is a criminal offense (see California Penal Code Section 933.05) to disclose a grand jury report that has not been published. Mr. Santana is asking this office to commit a crime,” Hopper said.
August 11, 2018
Appeal-Democrat
By Jake Abbott
No comments:
Post a Comment