Justice comes in many forms. Conversely, abuses of justice are as disparate and numerous.
A woman was convicted of a murder 17 years ago, and has spent that entire time locked up. She has always maintained her innocence. She eventually caught the attention of The Innocence Project, run by folks like Barry Scheck who seek out those wrongfully convicted of heinous crimes to find ways within the legal system to reverse their fortunes and overturn their convictions. In the case of Debra Brown, her factual innocence had to be proven by “clear and convincing evidence” to a judge, a standard only exceeded (but rarely observed by juries or judges) by the “beyond a reasonable doubt” requirement for finding a defendant guilty of a crime.
Judge Michael DiReda, new to the Second District bench in Ogden, but a long-time well-respected prosecutor in Davis County for years, made a very brave ruling for Ms. Brown. Judge DiReda ruled that the newly discovered evidence and review of the old evidence showed that it was factually impossible for Ms. Brown to have committed the murder in question. Absent a vehicle to make her case (the Post Conviction Remedies Act, or PCRA), lawyers working for free, and a judge brave enough to follow the law and make the right decision, despite the looming political pressures on judges to rule the way the government wants, then Debra Brown would remain in prison and rot there for the rest of her life.
As shocking as it may be that a woman was imprisoned for nearly two decades until her innocence could be proven, I am seldom surprised by what happens in the murky world of jurisprudence. We have seen a huge chasm grow between the conscientious, fact-based rulings of some judges and the plugged ears, closed eyes and shut mouth rubber stamping of the government's position by others. After the skewering of Judge Robert Hilder a few years back when he was seeking appointment to the Utah Court of Appeals (an appalling spectacle by Utah State Senators), it seems many judges who have higher aspirations have shied away from making any decision or issuing any ruling that could run afoul of the loudest, most obnoxious and politically powerful special interests: The NRA, the Eagle Forum, the land developers, the highway construction contractors, and now, the Tea Party.
But I will give additional kudos to Judge DiReda, who correctly ruled on a case of mine last week that possession of the painkiller Lortab without a valid prescription is a Class B Misdemeanor, Schedule III violation, not a felony, as the Weber County Attorney's Office had charged my client. Sure, the law is convoluted and difficult to understand if you only give it a cursory read, but that's why we're lawyers. I spent three years in law school earning a doctor's degree, and the last 26 years immersed in the law, so taking the time to dissect and fully understand the very laws that are the ultimate issue of my client's case, well, HELL, that's my job. And it was the job of the prosecutors, too, but they punted, fumbled and dropped the ball.
I've always wondered, if you can muff the punt, can you Mott the Hoople?
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