A Family Business by Ken Englade

Author:Ken Englade
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626815025
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2014-11-10T16:00:00+00:00

In every court proceeding, and the Sconce hearing was no exception, there is a subtle factor at work that commonly effects the outcome: the mix of personalities of the opposing lawyers and the defendants, as well as the quirks of the judge.

Before he was appointed to the bench, Person was a deputy district attorney for twelve years. As a result, he probably tended to lean toward the prosecution in any given case. At least, this was his reputation, and as a result, most prosecutors who came into his courtroom regarded him as a sympathetic fellow traveler. On the other hand, defense attorneys, particularly public defenders, viewed him as blatantly prejudiced against them.

The Sconce case was not going to settle the argument. While it seemed as though Person gave Walt Lewis tremendous latitude in the breadth of the evidence he was allowed to present, the judge’s supporters argued, not unreasonably, that this was justified because it was an especially tangled case and the crimes were unusually vile. In such a situation, the argument went, the more evidence that could be presented, the better. Another judge, even one without a DDA’s experience, might have allowed the prosecution the same freedom.

There was one other thing that made the Sconce preliminary hearing, if not unique, at least highly unusual. As soon as the hearing opened, Diamond renewed his request for a reduction in David’s bail. Commonly, such pleas are considered at a separate hearing, but facing an unwelcome potential delay in getting the preliminary hearing started, Lewis suggested that the two proceedings be combined.

The proposal had considerable merit. That way witnesses would not have to be called twice: once to testify about David’s dangerousness, and again to testify about broader issues that had to do with the criminal cases itself. Person agreed. In the end it was a momentous decision. While it undoubtedly extended the time the hearing would take had bail not been an issue, it also cleared the way for a rare, broad display of evidence, much more than would have been allowed in either a bail reduction hearing or a preliminary hearing if they had been held individually.

In one way, this was a boon to the prosecution, since it allowed Lewis to present a more comprehensive, more cohesive case. But it also helped the defense because in the long run it proved quite beneficial to the Sconces. After the hearing, when the transcripts were forwarded to the superior court judge who would conduct the trial, he already had before him, just by reading the record, a remarkably detailed outline. If circumstances had been different, this fact might have helped the prosecution rather than the defense. But as it turned out, it was a disastrous blow for the district attorney’s efforts.

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