Anonymous said on July 12, 2012  

"this blog is amazing!"

 Anonymous said on July 15, 2012  

There is not much that irritates me more than a prosecutor who tells witnesses they don't have to talk to the defense attorney or to a pro per who is self-representing. Most witness will read it: "don't talk to the defense attorney." The police already know they don't have to.

It is extremely difficult to prepare a defense when the witnesses and the police won't cooperate with the defense, especially with the tacit approval of the prosecutors and judges who let them get away with it.

I was in a situation one time where the government witnesses (police) were refusing to talk to me, and everyone would say, "on advice of County Counsel, I have been told not to talk." I told the DA that I was being told this. The DA called me a liar, so I secretly had my wife record the police telling me about the county counsel's (alleged) advice and turned the recording over as part of the defense obligation of discovery. Of course, the prosecutor threatened to prosecute my wife for "wiretapping" "if it ever happens again."

One cop said he wouldn't talk to me because it was a "conflict of interest" to talk to the defense. I even offered to record all interviews, and give the witnesses a copy before I left and let them make their own recording, and the police still refused. (There wasn't an imaginary conspiracy not to talk; there was a real live conspiracy.) I lost all remaining respect I had for police and prosecutors after that. I now have to force myself to not put all police and prosecutors (because there are some good ones) in the "corrupt corner."

 Ken Lammers said on July 15, 2012  

I can't answer for all prosecutors, but I have never sought out witnesses to tell them about the rules for talking to defense attorneys. It's always in answer to someone calling and telling me that a defense attorney is trying to contact them.