Friday, July 15, 2011
Can I call the prosecutor as a witness?
So, I'm appearing in a rural county where the local sheriff has obtained a search warrant to search my client's farm. According to the affidavit, the sheriff received a call about a loud noise and went to investigate. Being the thorough investigator that he his, he decided to peek into the windows of an out-building garage and saw five marijuana plants growing. So, according to the affidavit, he then sought a search warrant and the rest is history.
Anyway, I just returned from court and a meeting with the (very nice) prosecutor. During our chat, she asked me: "Do you really know why you're here?" Assuming that "because my client is charged with a crime" was the wrong answer, I shyly said: "Not really."
The prosecutor then explained that my (stupid) client had had his neighbor mow the pasture. Again, feeling a little stupid, I asked if mowing the pasture was why I was "really" here (or there). She politely explained that the neighbor was a former Deputy Sheriff, and he had seen the marijuana plants and called the current sheriff.
Soooo . . . the good news is that I now know why my client got charged. The bad news (or good news for us) is that the current sheriff filed a false affidavit about a loud noise and carefully left out the source of his information. So, the sheriff filed a false affidavit to hide the source of his information, but the person telling me this is the elected prosecutor. Is the prosecutor now my witness, or do I hope that the sheriff will tell the truth about his perjury?
Just another day . . . .
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I'm curious of the outcome. Did you call the prosecutor as a witness?
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