Alaska Politics Blog : Judge in Stevens' trial: Do federal prosecutors have a pattern of mishandling evidence?

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Erika Bolstad

Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau in 2007, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

Don Hunter

Don Hunter covers Anchorage city government and politics. He is a longtime ADN reporter and editor and wrote for the Anchorage Times. E-mail Don at dhunter@adn.com

David Hulen

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Judge in Stevens' trial: Do federal prosecutors have a pattern of mishandling evidence?

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: June 30, 2009 - 2:05 pm

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From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. –

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who oversaw former Sen. Ted Stevens’ corruption trial, continues to be critical of the conduct of federal prosecutors in his courtroom. Days after dismissing the indictment against Stevens, Sullivan ordered a criminal investigation into the conduct of FBI agents and prosecutors who failed to turn over evidence that might have aided Stevens in his defense. Today, it appears that he was equally hard on prosecutors in an unrelated drug case.

From an Associated Press story:

By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A judge asked federal prosecutors in a major drug-dealing case Tuesday if they have a pattern of mishandling evidence after a second high-profile prosecution fell apart in his courtroom because of witness problems.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said he saw similar prosecutorial mishandling in the dismissed corruption conviction against former Republican Sen. Ted Stevens this spring and now in the Justice Department's move to drop drug charges against Chinese-Mexican businessman Zhenli Ye Gon.

Sinec Ye Gon’s arrest, prosecutors said one witness has recanted and another has refused to testify, and they have asked Sullivan to dismiss the case. Sullivan said he will throw out the indictment during a final hearing on July 30, when he'll also decide whether to allow prosecutors the option of charging Ye Gon again.

Sullivan said that the prosecution only belatedly revealed the witness problems, despite being required to do by Justice Department policy and the Constitution. Meanwhile, he said that without knowing of the problems he repeatedly delayed the trial at the prosecutors' request while Ye Gon was "essentially in solitary confinement" at a Washington jail.

"All of this raises legitimate questions about whether the government ever intended to abide by its constitutional obligations to provide that information to the defendant," Sullivan said.

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1 July 9, 2009 - 9:45pm | boling1525

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