Court Says Prosecutor's Lies Means Man Can Have His Money Back, But Not His Life

from the and-not-even-a-wrist-slap-for-the-prosecutor dept

In a mess of a case that involved multiple incidents of prosecutorial misconduct, as well as an after-the-fact decision to seize assets, the only people walking away clean are the prosecutors. The Open File has the background and details.

In an appellate opinion notable for its extensive adjudication of several aspects of prosecutorial misconduct, the 5th Circuit has upheld a lower court finding of misconduct in a defendant’s first trial, as well as a claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness in his second. It has managed to do this while, nonetheless, affirming the defendant’s criminal conviction and sentence.

The defendant, Jason Dvorin, was convicted in 2012 for bank fraud, largely because of the testimony provided by his co-conspirator, Chris Derrington. He was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.

He appealed this first conviction, which is when the first details of prosecutorial misconduct were uncovered.

During Dvorin’s first appeal, the government “discovered” that prosecutor Mindy Sauter had failed to disclose a sealed supplement to the plea agreement with Chris Derrington promising Derrington assistance in obtaining leniency at his own sentencing.

READ MORE:https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160327/12431834024/court-says-prosecutors-lies-means-man-can-have-his-money-back-not-his-life.shtml