Friday, July 15, 2011

Safe on errors

Okay once I could understand.

Twice?  Especially after being warned?

That starts to sound like it was deliberate on the part of the prosecution.  If the Judge finds it was prosecutorial misconduct he could declare that Double Jeopardy attached and the case will be over.


Judge declares mistrial in Clemens case

Prosecutors' improper introduction of inadmissible evidence cited.
By Stewart M. Powell and Will Tucker - Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON — The criminal case against Roger Clemens, born three years ago in the cauldron of a contentious congressional hearing, collapsed Thursday when a federal judge halted the baseball great's trial on its second day of testimony due to prosecutorial misconduct.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, a no-nonsense jurist nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, declared a mistrial late Thursday morning after government lawyers played a videotape to the jury that contained evidence the judge had earlier declared could not be  presented.

The rapid-fire legal drama unfolded when prosecutors introduced hearsay testimony from the wife of former Clemens teammate Andy Pettitte. Walton halted the proceedings and upbraided Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Durham, then concluded that the prosecutor's action impaired the former Houston Astros pitcher's right to fair trial.

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