[UPDATE: More posts on Brenda Morris' misconduct are here.]
I've been following the exploits of Brenda Morris, the lead prosecutor in the Ted Stevens case. She and her boss, WIlliam Welch II, have engaged in several acts of prosecutorial misconduct. Finally a federal judge stood up to them:
In a status hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan held four Justice Department lawyers in contempt for failing to turn over 33 documents related to post-trial motions in the case of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted of corruption charges in October.
The contempt finding was directed at William Welch II, chief of DOJ's Public Integrity Section; Brenda Morris, principal deputy chief of the section and lead prosecutor in the case; trial attorney Kevin Driscoll; and Patricia Stemler, chief of the Criminal Division's Appellate Section.
...
When Driscoll failed to satisfy the judge with an answer as to why the documents weren't turned over, the judge said he was holding the Justice Department lawyers in contempt.
"Is the Department of Justice taking court orders seriously these days?" the judge asked, bewildered.
Will the State Bar investigate either of these two unethical prosecutors? If not, why not? Will the Department of Justice weed out these bad seeds? If not, why not?
If Brenda Morris and William Welch II are engaging in prosecutorial misconduct when litigating against Williams & Connolly, imagine what they are doing to less capable lawyers. (!) Morris and Welch must to be stopped. Immediately.
Here are my other posts about these two scoundrels:
- Corruption in Senator Stevens' Corruption Trial;
- Brenda Morris Commits More Prosecutorial Misconduct in Stevens Trial;
- Brenda Morris (along with William Welch II) is At It Again.
How much more will the State Bar allow these unethical prosecutors to get away with? How can the Department of Justice allow the leaders of its Public Integrity Division to have no integrity?
UPDATE: Kevin Driscoll is off the hook:
MINUTE ORDER as to THEODORE F. STEVENS. On February 13, 2009, during a hearing held in open court, the Court held four attorneys with the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), including Attorney Kevin Driscoll, in contempt for failure to comply with this Court's January 21, 2009 and February 3, 2009 Orders, after the attorneys acknowledged that they had no reason for failing to comply with the Orders, they simply had not complied. Upon reflection, however, the Court will not hold Mr. Driscoll in contempt. Mr. Driscoll did not sign the relevant pleadings, has not filed an appearance in this case, and appears to have been brought in by his supervisors only recently for the limited purpose of addressing a discrete issue. Moreover, the three senior DOJ attorneys present at the hearing did sign the relevant pleadings and have been working on the specific issues related to the Court's January 21, 2009 and February 3,2009 Orders for months. Therefore, under the circumstances, it was those attorneys', and not Mr. Driscoll's, responsibility to ensure that the government complied with the Court's Orders. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on January 14, 2009. (AS) (Entered: 02/14/2009)
