At the beginning of the summer, the Supreme Court let stand a civil jury verdict against two LAPD detectives who withheld evidence that proved a man’s innocence.
The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by the Los Angeles city attorney. Thus, confirming it is unconstitutional for police to withhold relevant evidence.
The case at hand involved the detainment of, Michael Walker, for 27 months while awaiting trial. Walker was arrested after a store clerk called the police because Walker looked like a person who had been robbing stores in the area.
After police arrested Walker, no hard evidence was found that linked him to the robberies. The biggest clue was how the bandit was robbing the stores – using a handwritten note demanding money, usually, misspelling the word “start”.
Two days after Walker’s arrest, a Burger King in the area was robbed with a handwritten note misspelling the word start. The detectives later admitted to knowing about the Burger King robbery but not telling prosecutors.
Not until, after, another man was arrested for the robberies was Walker released – 27 months later.
This case is just another example of the government artfully burying evidence. This is a very common practice in complex fraud and drug cases. Nicole DeBorde of Hochglaube & DeBorde Law Firm holds nearly 20 years of experience and background as a former Harris County prosecutor. She can help you fight serious criminal charges such as domestic violence, drug trafficking and complex fraud.
