Posted on 06/18/2006 11:00:29 PM PDT by 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.
And, from your link:It took a 16-year-old Rocky River girl six years to find the courage to tell police about the boy next door who she said raped her.
Lots of room for Reasonable Doubt in this one.
Per grjr21's link: It took a 16-year-old Rocky River girl six years to find the courage to tell police about the boy next door who she said raped her.
While all the things I stated above should NOT happen, penalizing the public and certainly the victim by giving the perp a get out of jail free card is wrong. If a cop violates your rights, punish the cop. If a prosecutor shows up late for court, place them in contempt.
Judges like this should be removed from the bench immediately for they are committing a 2nd crime on both the victim and the public.
Then this is just a he said/she said deal. No way of proving what, if anything ever happened. At the very least, there is reasonable doubt, and so no way to get a conviction unless there is some other evidence.
Regardless of that fact, she could have charged the prosecutor with contempt of court and still not dropped the case.
I think your post #20 shows the 'Shrek' version of the same judge.
It's time for us to by a beret....and wear it to any Hillary rally. A little subliminal advertising: We know what the meaning of "is" is and what "was" the most degrading Presidency in the history of the USA.
Of course my previous post doesn't make sense. I posted it to the wrong thread!!!!
The prosecution is supposed to drive the case through the court. No prosecutor is like broken transmission in your car. Stops on road, gets towed.
nope, his office had informed the judge of the situation. if a defendent doesn't show should they be automatically guilty?
Judge claims she heard nothing about it.
I may have missed your point RZ and if so I apologize. In your description does the prosecutor get fined for breaking down on the road and also have to pay the towing fee? I would like to see that.
It seems like in the current system, the taxpayers pay the fine and the towing fee while the defendant gets a "get out of jail free" card.
The prosecution is what keeps the case alive. Not there and no timely request for a reschedule means case tossed. Usually not tossed "with prejudice" which would mean no refiling possible. If that judge hates the case that much, the prosecutor prolly doesn't want to be in front of that judge anyhow.
As a practicing lawyer for over 20 years, with 10 of them as a District Attorney, I can say, failing to appear, and not notifying the court by telephone, or having another prosecutor show up and give an explanation will almost always get a case dismissed. This happens most anytime a lawyer fails to show. It may seem harsh, but if a case is set for trial, and no one shows up to prosecute the matter and/or no one shows up to ask for a continuance, most any judge would dismiss the charges. I have no bone to pick with the judge. The prosecutor should be slammed though. Failing to show up for court is unthinkable.
That's the way I see it, too.
Perhaps someone can send pictures of the Judge's family and directions to her home to the rapist, just so he can thank her personally.
I agree. I'm sure there were probably cases scheduled behind this one which were being held up as well. Piss poor lawyer imho.
Itr should be noted that the options pertain to the *accused*, who is presumed innocent. One hopes that
you never find yourself falsely accused and in a position
to need these protections.
So all the accused has to do in order to walk is find a buddy who can figure out a way in delaying/preventing the prosecutor from arriving in court?
Sounds to me like its now open season on prosecutors with a ruling like this.
"I think they both appear to be liberal democrat lesbians."
My GayDar system agrees.
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