No Violation, No Reasoning
A three-judge circuit court dismissed with prejudice bar charges brought against the chief of the capital crimes unit of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. The ABA Journal had previously reported the charges:
For years, the state attorney general’s office in Virginia hasdistributed letters to former jurors in capital cases, cautioning themagainst talking to defense lawyers working on appeals.
And the Virginia State Bar wants to put a stop to the letters.
The form letter, which is supplied to local prosecutors, advisesjurors that they may be contacted by someone representing the convictedkiller who “may try to give the false impression that they are workingon behalf” of the prosecution or the courts, the Washington Post reports.
The state bar, which considers the letter to be “offensive,” haslaunched disciplinary proceedings to stop the state from sending outthe letter. This is the second such attempt since the letter firstbecame public in 2004.
Defending the letter in her response to the bar’s complaint againsther, Katherine P. Baldwin Burnett, the assistant attorney general whohandles the capital litigation unit, wrote that the juror letter isn’tintended “to prevent any juror from speaking to anyone, but simply toinform the juror so he or she would understand the situationaccurately.”
The Post reports that the letter instructs jurors to demand officialidentification and further instructs jurors to contact the prosecutorfor verification.
The Post notes that it’s not clear how many prosecutors send theletter. But the paper quoted retired Fairfax County prosecutor RobertF. Horan, Jr., who defended the letter.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a prosecutor advisingjurors that they can talk or not talk,” Horan is quoted saying. “I alsothink it’s all right to say that the questioner doesn’t have their bestinterests at heart.”
The order does not provide any analysis or rationale for the decision, but indicates that the dismissal was sought by Special Assistant Bar Counsel. (Mike Frisch)