Posted on 02/22/2007 10:16:22 AM PST by SmithL
Kathleen Culhane, 40, of Petaluma was arraigned Wednesday on 45 felony counts of perjury, forgery and counterfeiting documents in front of Sacramento Superior Court Judge David Abbott.
"This could make people lose faith in the justice system," Michael Farrell, senior assistant attorney general, said after Culhane's arraignment. "She undermined the system."
Farrell said the 23 false declarations submitted by Culhane in four death-penalty cases have been removed from the cases and only had the effect of drawing out the already-long appeal process. Culhane faces a maximum of 18 years and 8 months in prison.
Culhane's work came into question a year ago when attorneys for Michael Morales filed last-minute documents -- that Culhane had prepared -- saying five jurors regretted their decision to condemn Morales to death for the 1981 killing of Terri Winchell. The documents had been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger in a bid for clemency that was later denied.
Farrell said his office and the San Joaquin District Attorney's Office began to call the jurors who reportedly had changes of heart. Prosecutors learned that the five jurors and one witness had not made new statements or ever met Culhane.
"This is about someone who decided to do what she wanted and run around the system," Farrell said.
Culhane worked on the Morales case for Los Angeles attorney David Senior and Kenneth Starr -- the attorney who investigated former President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Farrell said he has seen no indications that the defense attorneys knew about Culhane's alleged forgery.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Kathleen Culhane watches from behind bars during her arraignment Wednesday at the Sacramento County jail courtroom on charges of perjury, forgery and counterfeiting documents. Her bail was reduced, and her attorney said she would be bailed out of jail immediately.
When does she get hired by Berekeley's law school?
Crimes which undermine our justice system should carry the same punishments as capital offenses.
But...But... The ends justify the means your Honor!!! I FEEL they are innocent and should be set free...I FEEL IT!!!!
"This could make people lose faith in the justice system"
Too late dude, I lost that long before OJ....
You can't lose something you don't have, and faith in the "justice" system is something I don't have.
Goodness, I didn't mean it that way. I know you were being /s. I wasn't sure how to spell and did a spell check. The spell check didn't look right either.
My whole point is she looks like a typical left wing graduate for the ultimate left wing halls of Berkely.
I remember her family on 'Hee Haw'.
The only thing that really surprises me is that anyone in our judicial system CARES that she has been lying. I have very little faith in our system of justice right now.
She and Nancy Grace should both be in prison.
Ah, another lying leftist, falsfying her work to exonerate guilty violent criminals in the name of anti-social leftist causes.
Oh, no offense taken - I realized the mistake just after I hit "post," that's all.
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