9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Quote of the Day

Ninth Circuit Orders Release Of Man Due To Prosecutorial Misconduct

Check out the video; arguing this case probably wasn't fun for the government lawyer.

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Respondent’s unopposed motion to summarily reverse the district court’s judgment is hereby GRANTED. The judgment below is REVERSED. The district court is directed to enter an order granting a conditional writ of habeas corpus, releasing [petitioner Johnny] Baca from custody unless the state of California retries him within a reasonable period of time.

— A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in an order issued on Friday in Baca v. Adams.

Yes, this order was issued in response to the government’s motion — but that motion came after the lawyer arguing for the government got benchslapped at oral argument. The panel — consisting of Judge Alex Kozinski, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, and Judge William A. Fletcher — raised the possibility of prosecuting a prosecutor for perjury, for lying on the stand about the benefits given to a cooperating witness. Yikes.

Check out the argument for yourself. As noted by Sidney Powell — the former federal prosecutor who wrote Licensed To Lie (affiliate link), an acclaimed book about prosecutorial misconduct — the argument “begins to draw blood about 17 minutes into it”:

Baca v. Adams: Order [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit via How Appealing]
U.S. judges see ‘epidemic’ of prosecutorial misconduct in state [Los Angeles Times via How Appealing]
Breaking: Ninth Circuit Panel Suggests Perjury Prosecution For Lying Prosecutors [New York Observer via Non-Sequiturs]

Earlier: Prosecutors Run Amok: An Interview With Sidney Powell, Author Of Licensed To Lie

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