STATEMENT BY DISCOVERY FOR JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY LEADERS ON BRONX JUDGE JOHN WILSON BEING INVESTIGATED FOR BARRING PROSECUTOR FROM COURTROOM “Discovery For Justice is outraged that Judge John Wilson has been asked by the State Commission on Judicial Misconduct to justify his on-record correction of prosecutor Megan Teesdale for withholding critical evidence of Segundo Marquez’s innocence while he sat in jail for months, during a March trial that ended with rape charges being dropped against him. We plan on visiting Judge John Wilson to extend our support for taking courtroom discipline seriously and insisting on fair proceedings for the accused. It is important that judges who observe unfair tactics in their courtrooms are able to take action to correct it, without fear of reprisal for doing their jobs. Judge Wilson should be commended, not investigated, for insisting that prosecutors disclose key evidence—evidence which proved that an innocent man was in jail, in that case; and yet, in spite of Judge Wilson’s courageous stance, we cannot and should not expect him to correct the unjustified withholding of evidence throughout New York State. New York needs a long-term solution to this unfair and costly practice. Therefore, we implore all New Yorkers to join Discovery for Justice’s issues based grassroots campaign to demand that the New York State Legislature repeal Criminal Procedure Law Article 240 and enact Criminal Procedure Law Article 245. This amendment would require all parties to exchange all the evidence early in a criminal case, to ensure that time and resources are not wasted, as they were in Mr. Marquez’s case.”
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:28:31 +0000
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