Gonzalez, Martinez’s other defense attorney, believed LaHood’s “position of power” meant the DA was capable of following through on his threats. Mark Stevens, who later joined Martinez’s defense team, told me recently that he worries about the effect of LaHood’s threats on other defense lawyers.
For the criminal justice system to work, defense attorneys must be allowed to provide zealous, unfettered representation. That often requires them to do things that upset prosecutors. They must interview victims, searching for inconsistencies in their accounts to use during cross-examination at trial.
And if a prosecutor fails to turn over exculpatory evidence, they must allege a constitutional violation and ask for sanctions, up to and including a mistrial or outright dismissal. Advertisement. Advertisement. When prosecutors threaten defense lawyers for doing their jobs, they chill that representation.
The defense lawyers asked for a mistrial and indicated they may ask the judge to bar further prosecution. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. According to defense pleadings, LaHood threatened to shut down the opposing counsels’ practice during a meeting in the judge’s chambers.
Lawyers are reluctant to file bar complaints, afraid that prosecutors will withhold favorable plea deals or provide bare-minimum discovery in cases down the line. When they do file complaints, most of them go nowhere fast. Likewise, courts seldom chastise prosecutors for unethical behavior.
A prosecutor has enormous power over a criminal defendant’s fate, and a defense attorney is often the only person standing in his or her way. A diligent defense attorney will speak out when a prosecutor withholds critical information, relies on faulty forensic evidence, or engages in other egregious behaviors.
Advertisement. In February, San Antonio District Attorney Nico LaHood allegedly did just that. LaHood was prosecuting Miguel Martinez, who stood accused of shooting a graduate student named Laura Carter in the head during a drug deal gone bad. Martinez’s trial derailed soon after it began.
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