Feb. 9 LOUISIANA: New Orleans Justice System Scrutinized----2 criminal court judges have opened investigations into whether indigent suspects are adequately represented. 2 veteran New Orleans criminal court judges have launched investigations of the besieged city's crumbling criminal justice system - probes that could lead to major changes in how poor defendants are represented. That system, on the verge of collapse for years, has been further imperiled by Hurricane Katrina's consequences. In the public defender's office, so few lawyers are available for more than 4,000 cases that defense for the indigent is almost nonexistent. And the office has no investigators. That disarray has caused Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter to summon key players in the system to a hearing that will be held Friday. The chief judge of the court, Calvin Johnson, also believes the system is in crisis and has launched an investigation, asking Tulane and Loyola law professors to assist him. In calling his Friday hearing, Hunter said there might be prima facie evidence that indigent defendants in Orleans Parish "are not and cannot receive the effective assistance of counsel to which they are constitutionally entitled." The judges' moves follow decades of reports describing Louisiana's system of indigent representation as one of the worst in the country. Several court decisions, including one by the Louisiana Supreme Court last year, have lambasted the system, but those rulings have not generated meaningful reforms. One symbol of the precarious situation in the public defender's office can be found on the website of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. It lists pertinent court information but does not even have a telephone number for the city's indigent defender. The office's few remaining lawyers are each responsible for an estimated 1,000 felony cases, dramatically exceeding American Bar Assn. guidelines for how many cases a lawyer can handle effectively and responsibly. "It's impossible, not to mention unethical," for a defense lawyer to be responsible for so many cases, said Phyllis E. Mann, a longtime leader of the Louisiana Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who has played a key role in recruiting volunteer lawyers to help out after Katrina. Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Catherine D. Kimball, who has been spearheading efforts to get the state's court system back to normal, said she expected Louisiana to receive at least $60 million in federal aid from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. But in a telephone interview Wednesday she said she expected little of that money to go to indigent defense, with "the lion's share" earmarked for law enforcement agencies to defray hurricane costs. As his 1st step, Judge Hunter - who, like Judge Johnson, lost his house as a result of the storm - appointed outspoken New Orleans defense lawyer Richard C. Teissier as a special counsel to assist him in determining whether indigent defendants are receiving the representation to which they are entitled. Teissier was raised in New Orleans and has been practicing law there since 1987. In 1992, Teissier orchestrated the litigation that led to an infusion of $7.5 million for indigent defense in Louisiana. He later headed a lawyer panel that handled all 1st-degree murder cases where the public defender's office had a conflict. Teissier said he had a clear goal: "I think that from the devastation of Katrina, a new justice system should be implemented in New Orleans, and it should be one in which fairness is the ultimate result." As the judge in Teissier's 1992 case, Johnson ruled that Louisiana's public defender system was unconstitutional because it was so underfinanced and understaffed that poor defendants were not receiving the defense required by the state and federal constitutions. Teissier, then a public defender, had argued that his caseload was so heavy, he could not adequately represent a client accused of rape, robbery and murder. The following year, the Louisiana Supreme Court said defendants in that Orleans Parish court were presumptively entitled to hearings on the adequacy of their representation, but it overturned Johnson's ruling that the entire system was unconstitutional. Since then, several scholarly reports have criticized Louisiana's public defense system. Louisiana is the only state that funds its program primarily through traffic ticket fines. That source was erratic even during good times and the flow of funds has now slowed to a trickle, said research director David Carroll of the National Legal Aid & Defender Assn., which issued a lengthy report describing the system's failings two years ago. The report decried the heavy caseloads borne by public defenders and said chief public defenders did not have sufficient independence from the judges who appointed them. Last year, the Louisiana Supreme Court unanimously concluded the state had failed to adequately fund its indigent defense program. The decision in State vs. Citizen said the Legislature "may be in breach" of its duty to fund the program but did not order lawmakers to take any specific action. Reform efforts that were launched in the Legislature stalled, and Katrina further delayed them. The storm not only exacerbated preexisting problems but created a statewide financial crisis that made the reform prospects even bleaker. After Katrina, Tilden H. Greenbaum III, who heads the Orleans Parish indigent defense program, laid off 30 of the 39 public defenders. Last week, the Louisiana State Bar Assn. granted Greenbaum's agency $70,000 to fund two additional lawyers, but it set limits on how many cases those lawyers could handle - lest those attorneys undertake more work than they could handle. "We did not want to engender unethical conduct by the public defenders," association President Frank X. Neuner Jr. said. "There is a right-to-counsel crisis," said Pamela R. Metzger, who directs the criminal law clinic at Tulane Law School. "Katrina is simply Exhibit A on why the system doesn't work. There are structural flaws built into the system," including the way it is funded and the way lawyers are assigned to cases. In the near term, she said, unrepresented defendants need lawyers. But basic changes are also necessary, she said, and she is considering suing over such issues. A partner in Louisiana's largest law firm, M. Richard Schroeder of the Jones Walker firm, said his legal group was considering getting involved in the litigation "in pursuit of a solution, working with the court." Schroeder, who has done pro bono work for years, said it was unacceptable for several thousand poor defendants to be "languishing in jail" without having seen a lawyer. (source: Los Angeles Times) NORTH CAROLINA: Death penalty sought for robbery homicide In Durhan, the death penalty will be sought against 1 of 3 suspects accused of robbing and killing a convenience store owner to get money for drugs, a prosecutor announced Wednesday. Although a trial date has not been set, Assistant District Attorney Jim Dornfried said he hoped to get a death verdict against Timothy Lamont Uzzelle for his alleged role in the May 2005 death of Ahmed Raja in his Hilltop Food Mart on Hardee Street. Superior Court Judge Ron Stephens approved the incident as a death penalty case after Dornfried identified 2 so-called aggravating factors: The murder occurred during a robbery, and financial gain was involved. A security camera showed 2 young men entering the store, one of whom immediately shot the 44-year-old Raja with a handgun. The other intruder carried a shotgun. The 2 men, one wearing a mask and the other a hood that covered most of his face, fled with the store's cash register after a fatal sequence of events that took just 59 seconds. Dornfried said Uzzelle confessed to the crimes, and his fingerprints were found on the store countertop and stolen cash register. According to the prosecutor, Raja's family was consulted about the decision to seek capital punishment. "We certainly took their wishes into consideration," he said. Dornfried added that Raja, at the time of his death, had just moved from Pakistan to the United States and was planning to bring his family here. "This victim is someone who came to America to pursue the American dream," said Dornfried. "They didn't just kill him. They killed the dream." Uzzelle was 18 when the crimes occurred -- the minimum age for the death penalty. There are 2 other suspects in the case: Bruce Lee Garrett, who also was 18 at the time of the crimes, and Marque Sowell, who was 17. But even though Garrett was old enough, the death penalty will not be sought against him, according to Dornfried. He said Garrett did not enter the convenience store, did not have a gun and merely served as an alleged lookout for the others. (source: The Herald-Sun) PENNSYLVANIA: Jury weighs death penalty or prison term ---- Deputies' widows testify about their loss, their lives after the murders. [At a glance What: Dustin F. Briggs murder trial. The charges: 2 counts each of 1st- and 3rd-degree murder and general criminal homicide. The victims: Bradford County sheriff's deputies Christopher M. Burgert, 30, of Sayre and Michael A. VanKuren, 36, of Warren Center. The details: Police charge that on March 31, 2004, Dustin Briggs, now 28, of Wells Township, shot the deputies at the home of his father, Arlan F. Briggs, as they tried to serve arrest warrants on Dustin Briggs and his girlfriend, April Harris. The judge: Senior Judge Barry Feudale of Northumberland County specially presiding, after Bradford County judges John Mott and Jeffrey Smith recused themselves. The court: Bradford County Court of Common Pleas. The defendant: Dustin Briggs worked in his father's junkyard and compiled a long criminal record. In June 2000, his parole officer opposed Briggs' parole "due to the fact that (Briggs) posed a severe danger to law enforcement personnel." The prosecutor: Deputy Attorney General Patrick Blessington replaced Bradford County District Attorney Stephen Downs, who recused himself. The defense counsel: George E. Lepley of Williamsport and Craig P. Miller of Lock Haven. Death penalty statute Death penalty history The Pennsylvania Death Penalty Statute says a jury must vote for a death sentence if it finds at least one aggravating circumstance as outlined by the statute and no mitigating circumstances, or if the jury unanimously finds one or more aggravating circumstance that outweigh any mitigating circumstances. Otherwise, the verdict must be life in prison. Here are the aggravating and mitigating circumstances that may apply in the Dustin F. Briggs case*: Aggravating The victims were law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty. The defendant has a history of felony convictions related to the use or threat of violence to the person. Mitigating The defendant was under extreme mental or emotional disturbance. The defendant acted under extreme duress. Any other evidence concerning the character and record of the defendant and the circumstances of his offense. If Dustin Briggs receives the death penalty and is ultimately put to death, he'll be the seventh Bradford County man executed, according to www.blacksheepancestors.com, which tracks Pennsylvania executions from 1693-1962. The others and their dates of death: March 5, 1923 - Floyd Smith, electrocuted; crime of murder. July 25, 1905 - Bigler Johnson and Charles Johnson, brothers, murdered Bigler's wife Maggie Benjamin Johnson and her niece, Annie. Crime took place in Asylum Township in September 1904. The Web site said Charles Johnson was executed on July 25, 1907, but other news accounts have them dispatched on the same day in 1905. Death by hanging. July 1, 1875 - Albert Brown for the murder-rape of Cora Greenleaf of Canton. Hanging. Dec. 1, 1848 - James Langford, murder. Hanging. Feb. 16, 1844 - James Dolan, murder and robbery. Hanging. [- MARK FLEISHER, Special to the Star-Gazette] So devastating was the loss of Michael A. VanKuren to his family that his dog died. For Kim Burgert, widow of slain deputy Christopher M. Burgert, every day means pain - and dealing with a child who can't understand why Daddy doesn't come home. Those are a couple of things the jury heard Wednesday during the penalty phase of the murder trial of Dustin F. Briggs, convicted on Tuesday of two counts of 1st-degree murder for killing the deputies as they tried to arrest him on March 31, 2004, in a Wells Township junkyard. The jury now has to decide whether to recommend a death sentence for Briggs or life in prison without possibility of parole. The 8-woman, 4-man panel will try to make that decision today. Nearly 2 years have passed. Little of the pain has, Kim Burgert and Elane VanKuren said. "Things are never going to be the same," VanKuren said. "And they are never going to be all right." She recalled a happy husband and a great father, a man who liked the challenge of hunting with a longbow, loved his job and worked an extra one to fulfill the dream of building a log home. They named their dog Montana, in recognition of the state where they planned to retire, when the time came. Montana followed Michael, who rolled around on the floor with him. After the murder, Montana missed Michael. "He died about six months after Michael did," Elane told the jury. That dream house became a reality. But only Elane lives there. Michael's son Andrew is a student at Penn State. His daughter Tifani (they are Elane's stepchildren) is a high school sophomore and lives with her mother. "It's hard watching Andrew and Tifani do the things they do ... and see the pain they're going through," Elane said. "I still cry when I come home to a dream home and he's not there." Elane has vivid memories. On the day of the shootings, she was going to work before Michael. He watched her from bed with one eye closed as she got ready. She thought he was winking at her. But he said he was just looking. "I said, 'I look the same today as I did yesterday and the day before that,' " Elane said. "He said, 'You're beautiful and I love you.' " And that was the last time she saw him alive. Kim and Christopher Burgert were a natural pair, soulmates of the first order, she told the jury. "I met Chris when I was 16," she said. "The 1st time I saw him, that was it. It was love. "He went in the military so he could become a cop," she said. "He loved to work out. He was a really good person and an excellent father. He had a good heart. "He had a zest for life," Kim said. "We did everything together. He did a lot more around the house than I gave him credit for. He did the dishes." His death hit their large family like a hard punch in the guts. Family came in force to the trial, many wearing pins with Chris' picture on their shirts. That punch hit hardest closest to home. "I have a beautiful son I'm raising on my own," Kim said, referring to Christian, now 4. "Chris was a huge part of our lives. Christian still wonders where his daddy went. He says he always came back before. It changes every single aspect of your life." Holiday gatherings without Chris are "hell," she told the jury. "He was supportive of everyone," she said of Christopher. "Everyone loved Chris." Sometimes, Christian has trouble remembering his dad, despite plenty of pictures in the family home. That would have bothered Chris, Kim said. "Chris told me, 'I'm not afraid of dying,' " she said. "'I'm afraid of my son not knowing me.' His son already doesn't know him. He will never know his father's touch." The widows were the only prosecution witnesses, and the state's case took only an hour, including prosecutor Patrick Blessington's opening statement. The defense brought a series of family members and friends to the witness stand to testify on Dustin Briggs' behalf. Dustin is the youngest in a large family, and an older sister, Sara Seymour of Elmira, served as a surrogate mother, changing the baby's diapers and teaching the boy the alphabet. When he was born, eight people lived in a 3-bedroom trailer without running water, she said. They lived there for years. When they moved to the Congdon Road house, on the property where the murders occurred, it didn't have electricity. The family used gas lamps for illumination and ran a generator for a couple of hours each night for necessary chores. Seymour still took care of the boy. "I was his primary caretaker," she said. "It was something I loved doing. I took the part of his mother ... but his parents were still there." Briggs' mother, Dora, suffered from depression but would not take prescribed medication, said Seymour, who described her as "overwhelmed." "We just lived," Seymour said. "There were crazy times. We survived." Dustin's parents, Arlan F. Briggs and Dora Briggs, separated while he was still a boy. Survival was tough for Dustin, family members said. He was grossly overweight, and students in elementary and junior high schools picked on him. He hated getting dressed for gym class. Friend and former schoolmate Edward Divel said other students called Briggs "dirty" and "scummy" and made fun of him because he was fat and because his father ran a junkyard. Arlan called his son "stupid" when things went wrong there, Divel said. Dustin had 5 or 6 vehicle accidents while he was growing up, Divel said. "He more or less kept to himself," he said. "He was a loner." But he has been a good inmate in nearly 2 years in the Bradford County Correctional Facility, 2 correction officers testified. Seymour brings family members, including Dustin's year-old daughter, Anna Marie Briggs, to visit him there every week. Kim Burgert took exception to that. But she didn't say she wanted Dustin to get the death penalty. "If he could be put in a place where he could never see anyone again, I would be satisfied," she said. "But I don't think it's fair that he gets to see his child every week. "Chris doesn't get the chance to see his son and hold his son," she said. "But I guess that even if (Briggs) gets the death penalty, he will still get to see his child grow up." (source: Elmira Star-Gazette)
