Judge throws out rape case after prosecutor late to court (Cuyahoga County OH)

AP via Cantonrep.com ^ | 06/18/2006 | AP

[kenth]

A Cuyahoga County judge threw out the charge against a man accused of raping a girl six years ago when the prosecutor in the case was 45 minutes late to trial.

Prosecutors have filed an appeal and said, if necessary, they will refile the charge against Norman Allen Craig, 22, of North Ridgeville.

The mother of the now 16-year-old Rocky River girl said her daughter feels victimized by the judge’s decision.

Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher dismissed the case when Assistant County Prosecutor Mark Schneider had not shown up by 1:45 p.m. Monday, after she told both sides to be in court at 1 p.m.

Schneider was in his office preparing an appeal seeking to prevent the judge from continuing with the trial.

Earlier in the day, Schneider had asked the judge to remove herself from the case, saying the judge said last year that she thought the accuser had credibility problems.

“Nobody should be rendering opinions from the bench before trial,” Schneider said. “A child victim who’s being put through the wringer deserves a fair shake at trial.”

Gallagher said her decision to throw out the charge had nothing to do with the girl’s credibility.

“It was all about the unprofessional actions of a prosecutor,” she said. “You don’t show up — too bad. Don’t treat me like a punk and not show up in court without giving us the courtesy of notifying us where you are.”

County Prosecutor Bill Mason said calls were made to Gallagher’s office, and she should have been aware of Schneider’s pending arrival before deciding to throw out the case.

[MrCruncher]

Yes sir.

[TChad]

It's how a lot of tickets etc. get "fixed".

This sounds a lot more serious than most traffic tickets.

[elli1]

Is this more "recovered memory" bunk? If so, I'm not comfortable with any charges at all.

Don't know. But there is this interesting tidbit at the link in post #53:

The hearing was to review private records held by the Department of Children and Family Services and to give the judge a chance to question the victim. Sims [defense lawyer] had hoped to use the records to aid in his client's defense, but the judge denied his request. That caused Sims to state his intention to try the case to the judge instead of a jury...

Apparently the accuser has an 'other issues' file...and that may be behind the 'credibility problem' statement that the judge allegedly made?

[elli1]

While getting a conviction on a he said/she said rape case is tough, it's not impossible. All boils down to credibility on the stand...

But, in this case, witness credibility on the stand comes at a discount--given supposed memories formed by a ten year old brain & recalled by a sixteen year old one. In my mind, that is a bigger obstacle for the prosecution to overcome than say, a 28 YO testifying to events that allegedly happened at age 22.

[Mad Dawg]

Oh Hey! What fun is THAT? Much more fun to rant and rave and throw stuff.

I was just being grouchy anyway. No harm no foul and all that.

THe judge is a jerk.

[Shimmer128]

OK! JUST DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!


are you happy now???? :D
/LOL

[Mad Dawg]

Mommy! He yelled at me!

[Ignatz]

Damn! And here I thought court was about justice.

Ah yes, but justice delayed is justice denied!

[ssbohio]

Attorneys aren't above the law, no matter how much they act like it. When an attorney is summoned to appear in court, he or she, like anyone else, is subject to arrest upon failure to appear. The defendant was there. The defense attorney was there. The court clerk, court services officer, staff attorney, and bailiffs were all there. The victim was there. The families on both sides were there. The only one who couldn't deign to grace the Court with his appearance was the prosecutor.

Prosecutors wield the power to deny liberty to citizens. Their conduct must be of the highest standard. The State's unconscionable delay in this case is contemptible.

What the judge did was to dismiss the case without prejudice, which means that the prosecutor can re-present the case when he is ready to, as he clearly wasn't ready at the scheduled time.

In this case, it was, in the judge's estimation, better to press the reset button on the case than to continue playing along and allowing the prosecution to drag it out. Neither the victim nor the State lost any ability to see Justice served, and an innocent defendant isn't kept dangling by a procrastinating prosecutor.

[Shimmer128]

She! SHE yelled at you.
I'm a she

[Mad Dawg]

Damn, I'm just SEW confused.

Mommy that grrrl yelled at me. No FAYer!

[muawiyah]

Stupid judge ~ "justice", or at least "satisfaction", is readily available in that part of the country upon payment of suitible fees to various people.

Must mean she has mob connections if she can be so flippant in a case like this.