Posted on 08/09/2011 2:45:00 PM PDT by for-q-clinton
The Virginia State Bar agreed Monday to publically reprimand York-Poquoson Commonwealth’s Attorney Eileen Addison, who faced charges of professional misconduct. Assistant Bar Counsel Kathryn Montgomery negotiated an agreed disposition for a public reprimand with Addison’s attorney, Rodney Leffler. An agreed disposition is comparable to a plea agreement. The disposition and the history of the case in question were explained during a conference call hearing with members of the Bar’s disciplinary board, Addison, Leffler, Montgomery and three clerks with the Bar.
Addison faced misconduct charges from her prosecution of Carlos Chapman, Marquis Edwards and Kwaume Edwards in the 2006 shooting death of Michael Tyler. Michael Morchower, the lawyer defending accused shooter Kwaume Edwards, alleged that Addison negotiated a plea agreement with Chapman’s lawyer, Doug Walter, for his testimony against his co-defendant Kwaume without notifying the defense. Morchower filed a motion for a new trial in May 2007, and Kwaume was acquitted.
In her agreed disposition, Addison acknowledged that she had violated two rules. First, she failed to make a timely disclosure to the defendant’s counsel of evidence that could negate the guilt of the accused, mitigate the degree of the offense or reduce the punishment. Second, she violated the rules of professional conduct.
During the conference call hearing, Montgomery said she was satisfied with the disposition because Addison has no prior record of misconduct.
Leffler said Addison was unaware that Chapman’s lawyer, Doug Walter, had told his client he would likely get a plea agreement after Kwaeme’s trial concluded. In letters, Walter told Chapman that if he had a plea agreement in place before Kwaeme’s trial, Morchower could argue the agreement impeached his testimony.
Leffler said Addison wished she had approached the bench in court when Chapman, under oath, testified a plea agreement offer had never been made. “She felt this is in the best interest of the Bar, the profession and the right thing to do,” he said. “She does embrace this disposition and asked the board to impose it.”
Barbara Lanier, clerk of the disciplinary system for the Virginia State Bar, said that if the board had not accepted her disposition, they could have sent her case on to a hearing date set for Sept. 23 or opted to suspend her for up to 60 days.
Addison is currently running for reelection for her position as Commonwealth’s Attorney, facing challenger Ben Hahn in the Aug. 23 Republican primary. In April, Hahn resigned from his position as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in her office and declared his candidacy.
Hahn can clean up the office and get rid of the other dead weight prosecutors that allowed this behavior to go on and even partake in it themselves.
You can vote absentee if you aren't going to be here or are busy on 23 Aug. 224 Ballard street...just bring your ID.
Ooooh, a reprimand. Wow. That’ll leave a mark.
NOT!
That's not exactly correct. She has done simliar things in the past but the bar gave her a mulligan right before these charges were investigated. We need to throw this bum out of office.
I know...it makes me sick. This woman has led a corrupt office where the things she’s being accused of doing are common place. Those with morals and better ethical standards have left her office. The ones remaining are corrupt cronies who shouldn’t be practicing law.
Only way to fix it is to vote her out on 23 Aug in the Republican Primary.
Vote for Hahn.
BTW: There is a lot more to this corrupt politician than is in this article. It doesn’t mention that she just skated otu of other ehtics violations before settling this case. You know how hard it is to nail a corrupt prosecutor? so even getting a public reprimand is pretty huge if you think about it. Sure she probably should be in jail, but hopefully we’ll kick her out in August.
BTW: Another reason that it’s so hard to nail prosecutors. The system doesn’t want them to get in trouble. If they rule against her in an overwhelming fasion then ALL her cases will need to be reviewed and some crooks would go free because of a corrupt prosecutor.
A prosecutor has to really screw up badly and then refuse to go away quietly before that happens. Addison has done both and I understand there may be more charges soon. Our best bet is to get her elected out of office so we won’t have to deal with her anymore.
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