A federal judge in Montgomery, Ala., on Friday lashed out at Justice Department Criminal Division Public Integrity Section prosecutors over their delays in handing over evidence to defense lawyers, saying their conduct in a major public corruption case is “ridiculous,” The Associated Press reported.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. said he is mulling sanctions against the DOJ lawyers who are handling the case against past and present Alabama officials, businessmen and others accused of participating in a bribery conspiracy to legalize electronic bingo in the state. Capel did not elaborate on what punishments he is considering for the prosecutors who were supposed to give defense lawyers information on FBI wiretaps by March 2. It took prosecutors until March 30 to turn over to the defense all of the FBI documents related to the wiretaps.
Senior Deputy Chief Peter J. Ainsworth of the Public Integrity Section had led the prosecution team. But Deputy Chief Justin Shur of the Public Integrity Section replaced him as the top prosecutor on the case last month.
The DOJ’s other lawyers include Senior Litigation Counsel Brenda K. Morris, who was the lead the prosecutor in the public corruption case against the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The charges against Stevens eventually were dropped because of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
The DOJ didn’t explain its decision to replace Ainsworth, according to the AP. But DOJ lawyers said errors have been made in the case, but they do not jeopardize a fair trial.
Joe Espy, a lawyer for casino owner Milton McGregor, who is charged in the case, said the move is “a self-imposed sanction” that “does not cure the harm the government has done to these defendants,” according to the AP.
“This is supposed to be some elite group coming down from D.C., and how this case has been conducted is ridiculous,” Capel said, according to the news wire.
The Public Integrity Section previously came under fire from a federal judge over its handling of the Stevens prosecution. Attorney General Eric Holder ultimately dismissed the case in 2009.
A preliminary draft of a DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility report on the allegations that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence from the Stevens defense concluded that two Assistant U.S. Attorneys engaged in misconduct. But Morris and former Public Integrity Section chief William Welch were cleared of the misconduct allegations.
