Tag: Judge

Colorado prosecutors in Barry Morphew's dismissed murder case accused of scheming against judge

Colorado prosecutors are facing new complaints related to Barry Morphew’s dismissed murder case.

In 2021, Barry was charged with murder in connection with his wife Suzanne Morphew’s May 2020 disappearance, but a judge dismissed the charges in April 2022. 

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC) has since filed formal complaints against 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutors Robert Weiner and Mark Hurlbert, accusing them of withholding evidence in the Morphew case and plotting against District Judge Ramsey Lama in a text thread.

“It was well known that prosecutors in the Morphew case abused their authority and power to wrongly charge Mr. Morphew,” Iris Eytan, Barry’s lawyer, told Fox News Digital. “But, it is new news that these prosecutors also threatened the rule of law and our democracy by attempting to intimidate and threaten the presiding judge due to his rulings and sanctions for their pattern of misconduct.”

SUZANNE MORPHEW MURDER: DA UNDER FIRE AS HUSBAND, DAUGHTERS SAY THEY’RE ‘DISCOURAGED’ IN UNSOLVED CASE

Hurlbert, the lead prosecutor on the Morphew case, told FOX 31 Denver his “only comment is that we deny the allegations and will be filing a response.”

The complaints allege that Weiner and Hurlbert failed to turn over evidence in a timely manner, misstated facts in pleadings, violated court orders and attempted to intimidate Judge Lama in an “abuse of power.”

SUZANNE MORPHEW’S REMAINS FOUND IN ‘SHALLOW GRAVE,’ HUSBAND’S ATTORNEY SAYS

A text thread between the prosecutors cited as evidence in the complaint began in response to a debunked theory stemming from a crime podcast called “True Crime with Julez.” The podcast host, Julez Wolf, started a petition claiming “the ex-wife of Judge Lama is an advocate of Suzanne Morphew and victims of Domestic abuse.” After 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley requested a criminal investigation into Lama’s conduct in the case, 11th Judicial District criminal investigator Andrew Corey found no “wrongdoing.” 

Lama’s wife told Corey that “never did any type of Domestic abuse happen in the relationship,” according to the complaint.

Stanley shared the petition with Weiner and Hurlbert in March 2022, writing, “You guys might want to read this…” Screenshots of texts between the three prosecutors included in the complaint show Stanley questioned the accuracy of the claims in the petition but suggested they investigate the judge. “[I]t could DEFINITELY explain why he hates us so much,” Stanley wrote of the judge.

“Holy crap! Let’s go after him! He should have disclosed this. We need to confirm asap,” Weiner wrote.

“Let’s pull his divorce case,” Weiner said of Lama in another text, adding later, “He should not be on the bench.” Hurlbert called the judge “obviously biased.”

The OARC does not comment on pending complaints.

The counsel filed a similar complaint against Stanley in October. The complaint accused Stanley of sharing information about the case with true-crime podcasters.

SUZANNE MORPHEW’S HUSBAND, DAUGHTERS ‘STRUGGLING WITH IMMENSE SHOCK AND GRIEF’ AFTER REMAINS FOUND

The complaint also alleges that the district attorney failed to share discovery, including DNA-match evidence, with the defense in a timely manner, among other accusations of misconduct.

No signs of human remains or blood have ever been located near the Morphew home in Maysville or in their family vehicles. But DNA was found on Suzanne’s glove box. 

MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW: NEWLY RELEASED DOCS REVEAL AFFAIRS, TROUBLED MARRIAGE BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE

The partial profile investigators were able to obtain matched profiles developed in sexual assault cases out of Chicago, Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Joseph Cahill said during a hearing in 2021, as reported by the Denver Post. Barry’s DNA did not match that sample, his lawyers told KUSA-TV at the time.

In a July interview with FOX 21 Colorado Springs, Stanley called the OARC’s investigation “a witch hunt.”

“I stand up for people all the time, every day. So, me not being able to stand up for myself was difficult,” she told the outlet. “As of right now, the office is majorly underfunded.… If one person quits, it will set back everything, and that’s the kind of shoestring budget it is at this point.… But we have nothing but very, very experienced prosecutors in this office, and I’m so proud of that.”

In September 2023, authorities located Suzanne’s remains in a “shallow grave” in a desert about 45 miles south of Maysville while they were searching for another missing woman. Authorities have not named any other suspects in her murder since her husband’s case was dismissed nearly two years ago.

MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW: COLORADO PROSECUTORS REVEAL BODY IS IN ‘VERY DIFFICULT SPOT’

Morphew’s bike was discovered on the same day she went missing in 2020 in a ravine along Highway 50 and County Road 225 in Chaffee County, near her family’s Maysville home. Barry said he was working in Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, at the time.

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Text messages from Suzanne and Barry, who had been married 25 years, that were unsealed in June 2023 suggest they were both having affairs just before her disappearance.

Four days before her disappearance, Suzanne sent Barry a text saying she was “done.” “I could care less what you’re up to and have been for years,” she wrote, adding that they needed to figure things out “civilly.”

Earlier in 2023, Barry’s legal team filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.

“Barry was the most scrutinized, dissected, surveilled individual, minute by minute, hour by hour, using law enforcement cameras posted by his home, phone taps and GPS devices placed on his car – all during the time frame of her disappearance and the years following,” Eytan said in a statement at the time.

“What needs to be done instead of pointing fingers at Barry Morphew, is asking the officials about the number of missing people and number of human remains that have been recovered in or from Saguache County in the recent past,” Eytan continued.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to contact 719-312-7530.

Idaho student murders: Kohberger's legal team asks judge to ban cameras from courtroom

Bryan Kohberger’s legal team is asking an Idaho judge to ban cameras from the courtroom for the remainder of proceedings, arguing that operators haven’t followed a directive to avoid focusing strictly on the quadruple murder suspect.

His lawyer, Anne Taylor, made a motion to remove cameras from the courtroom Friday afternoon.

Five people lived at the King Road residence in Moscow, Idaho, including three of the victims — Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen. Another victim, Ethan Chapin, was dating Kernodle and was staying at the home on Nov. 13, 2022, when all four were allegedly killed by Kohberger, who allegedly entered the home at around 4 a.m.

Taylor argued that “camera-weilding courtroom observers have failed to obey” a directive by Judge John Judge which was given on June 27. 

IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS: KOHBERGER WAIVES RIGHT TO SPEEDY TRIAL, DELAYING START OF TRIAL

Judge referenced the recent Chad Daybell trial during the June 27 hearing, a case where cameras were asked to leave the courtroom for focusing too much on the defendant.

Judge said cameras in the Moscow courtroom needed to show a wide shot of the courtroom and avoid focusing strictly on Kohberger in order to stay for the rest of the proceedings.

Taylor cited Fox News Digital’s reporting in Friday’s filing.

Kohberger’s lawyer argued that “press observers have thus far failed to comply with the court’s direction, as the continued publication of images such as those shown below continues to the present day,” citing three pictures made available by Reuters and the Associated Press.

BRYAN KOHBERGER JUDGE ISSUES WARNING TO MEDIA AT START OF HEARING ON IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS

She argued that the pictures are “a blatant violation of the Court’s directive to cease focusing exclusively on Mr. Kohberger in their own right.” She added that the pictures were later included in articles with “blatantly sensationalistic and prejudicial headlines and content.”

Taylor also argued in the filing that the continued failure of camera operators to comply with the June 27 directive creates the potential for a jury pool to be tainted.

“Observers’ continued failure to comply with the Court’s June 27th directive compounds this problem and results in the potential jury pool’s constant inundation with conclusory accusations and sensationalistic nonsense guised as factual reporting and analysis,” Taylor wrote. “The images and videos provided above were taken during pre-trial court proceedings, but pose no less danger. To the contrary, they gradually poison the potential jury pool prior to trial even occurring, winnowing the number of jurors able to render a just, unbiased verdict.”

Taylor’s motion to remove cameras from the courtroom comes after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial during a Wednesday afternoon court hearing, which delays the trial’s start, originally set for Oct. 2.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

Yankees' Judge hits 61st homer, ties Maris' record

After a seven-game stretch without a long ball, New York star Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, tying Roger Maris’ American League record, a day after the Yankees clinched the AL East crown.

The post Yankees' Judge hits 61st homer, ties Maris' record appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Judge announces 'preliminary intent to appoint a special master' to review Trump records seized by FBI

FIRST ON FOX: A federal judge on Saturday announced its “preliminary intent to appoint a special master” to review records seized by the FBI during its unprecedented raid of his Mar-a-Lago home earlier this month, at the request of former President Trump and his legal team, citing the “exceptional circumstances.” 

Trump and his legal team filed a motion Monday evening seeking an independent review of the records seized by the FBI during its raid of Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, saying the decision to search his private residence just months before the 2022 midterm elections “involved political calculations aimed at diminishing the leading voice in the Republican Party, President Trump.”

U.S. District Judge from the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen M. Cannon on Saturday afternoon said that the decision was made upon the review of Trump’s submissions and “the exceptional circumstances presented.”

“Pursuant to Rule 53(b) (1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Court’s inherent authority, and without prejudice to the parties’ objections, the Court hereby provides notice of its preliminary intent to appoint a special master in this case,” Cannon wrote in a filing Saturday.

FBI SAID IT HAD ‘PROBABLE CAUSE’ TO BELIEVE ADDITIONAL CLASSIFIED DOCS REMAINED AT MAR-A-LAGO, AFFIDAVIT SAYS

A hearing is set for Sept. 1 at 1:00 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Fla. Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to file a response by Aug. 30 and provide, “under seal,” a “more detailed Receipt for Property specifying all property seized pursuant to the search warrant executed on August 8, 2022.”

The current property receipt shows that FBI agents took approximately 20 boxes of items from the premises, including one set of documents marked as “Various classified/TS/SCI documents,” which refers to top secret/sensitive compartmented information.

Records covered by that government classification level could potentially include human intelligence and information that, if disclosed, could jeopardize relations between the U.S. and other nations, as well as the lives of intelligence operatives abroad. However, the classification also encompasses national security information related to the daily operations of the president of the United States.

The property receipt also showed that FBI agents collected four sets of top secret documents, three sets of secret documents and three sets of confidential documents, but the document does not reveal any details about any of those records.

DOJ ‘TAINT TEAM’ EXAMINING TRUMP MAR-A-LAGO DOCUMENTS

The government initiated the search in response to what it believed to be a violation of federal laws: 18 USC 793 — gathering, transmitting or losing defense information; 18 USC 2071 — concealment, removal or mutilation; and 18 USC 1519 — destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.

The allegation of “gathering, transmitting or losing defense information” falls under the Espionage Act.

Trump and his team are disputing the classification and say they believe the information and records to have been declassified.

Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to file under seal a “particularized notice indicating the status” of its review of the seized property, “including any filter review conducted by the privilege review team and any dissemination of materials beyond the privilege review team.”

Cannon also said that the Justice Department should include in its filings its “respective and particularized positions on the duties and responsibilities of a prospective special master, along with any other considerations pertinent to the appointment of a special master in this case.” 

Trump’s motion for a special master filed Monday evening, requested that the Justice Department halt its ongoing review of the material seized by the FBI during the raid — some labeled classified, and others covered by attorney-client privilege — until an independent review could be conducted.

At this point, a Department of Justice “taint” or “filter” team has been reviewing documents seized by the FBI during its raid.

A senior law enforcement official familiar with the process told Fox News that the review began soon after the search warrant was executed on Aug. 8.

The official told Fox News that it is standard procedure for the Justice Department to use a “taint” or “filter” team to go through documents obtained during a search — in part, to identify records that may be protected by attorney-client privilege.

Fox News first reported earlier this month that FBI agents seized boxes containing records covered by attorney-client privilege and potentially executive privilege during the raid.

TRUMP FILES MOTION SEEKING INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF DOCS SEIZED DURING FBI RAID ON MAR-A-LAGO

Sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Saturday that the former president’s team was informed that boxes labeled A-14, A-26, A-43, A-13, A-33, and a set of documents — all seen on the final page of the FBI’s property receipt — contained information covered by attorney-client privilege.

Attorney-client privilege refers to a legal privilege that keeps communications between an attorney and their client confidential. It is unclear, at this point, if the records include communications between the former president and his private attorneys, White House counsel during the Trump administration or a combination. 

The ruling Saturday comes after another federal judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, released a redacted version of the affidavit used to justify the FBI’s raid. 

The FBI, in the heavily-redacted affidavit, said it had “probable cause to believe” that additional records containing classified information, including National Defense Information, would be found on the premises of Mar-a-Lago, beyond what he had previously turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. 

Reinhart signed the FBI’s warrant for the raid on Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 5, giving the FBI authority to conduct its search–a document Reinhart unsealed, along with the property receipt from the raid earlier this month. 

Judge declares mistrial in case of Backpage.com founders charged with facilitating prostitution

A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday at the trial of the founders of the lucrative classified site Backpage.com on charges of facilitating prostitution and laundering money after deciding prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge.