BOMBSHELL: Myhre Has A History of Brady Violations
by Shari Dovale
In the recent mistrial of the Bunkerville Standoff case in Las Vegas, Judge Gloria Navarro harshly rebuked Acting US attorney Steven Myhre for his blatant Brady violations and refusal to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense.
Exculpatory evidence is information that is critical to the defense case. It could change the way the attorneys present their cases, change the theory of the case, impact jury selection, and even exonerate the defendants completely.
Prosecutors are well aware of the legal requirements to turn over this evidence, though they know that by doing so they could be crushing their own case in the process.
This brings up the question of whether they are “Finders of Fact” as they should be, or if they are only interested in gaining a conviction. The current Federal conviction rate is above 97% overall, with the majority being plea agreements. Defendants are overcharged with crimes so they will be more amenable to taking plea agreements.
In the case of the current Bunkerville Trial, Cliven, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, as well as Ryan Payne, have been held for nearly 2 years in pretrial detention, and Cliven is still there.
The case was declared a mistrial on December 20th, with Judge Navarro finding that the prosecution “willfully” suppressed potentially exculpatory, favorable, and material information from the defense.
This are serious allegations that could lead to a multitude of punishments. Something that should be considered when they are looking at sanctions, etc. would be the prosecution’s history of Brady abuses.
In the case of US v. Chapman, Steven Myhre was, again, the Acting US Attorney for the District of Nevada. He was in charge of the case and controlled all aspects of the case.
The case centered around securities fraud. On August 8, 2003, a grand jury in the District of Nevada returned a sixty-four-count indictment charging that Defendants allegedly created multiple shell corporations, back-dated corporate records to make their activities appear lawful, and named dummy directors and officers who had no actual control over the corporations and in some cases did not even know of their existence.
But, as in the Bunkerville Standoff trial, this case lead to a mistrial due to the prosecution ~ headed by Steven Myhre ~ not disclosing vital exculpatory evidence.
During the mistrial hearing, Chapman’s attorney alerted the court to hundreds of pages of documents that the government had delivered that morning and the previous evening. They totaled some 650 pages and consisted of rap sheets, plea agreements, cooperation agreements, and other information related to numerous government witnesses, including at least three important witnesses whose testimony was already complete.
This case resulted in a dismissal with prejudice. The government prosecutors ~ headed by Steven Myhre ~ attempted to appeal this decision. The appellate court upheld the ruling and stated clearly:
This is prosecutorial misconduct in its highest form; conduct in flagrant disregard of the United States Constitution; and conduct which should be deterred by the strongest sanction available.
Obviously, the powers that be did not heed the advice of the 9th Circuit. Myhre continued on in his current capacity. How many more violations will we find as we search his history?
It seems that the District of Nevada has little to no concern for the Constitutional rights of defendants. With a history of hiding evidence from the defense, isn’t it time to prosecute the prosecutors? Who will hold Acting US Attorney Steven Myhre accountable for his lawlessness?
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Attorney General Robert H. Jackson;
“The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous. . . .While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.”
A prosecutor has almost unilateral, unchecked ability to destroy the lives of those he charges. It is beyond troubling that our top law enforcement officer chooses the company of those who repeatedly failed their duty.
As Attorney General Jackson foretold: “Therein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor: that he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted.”
http://www.roberthjackson.org/the-man/speeches-articles/speeches/speeches-by-robert-h-jackson/the-federal-prosecutor/
http://www.pogo.org/our-work/reports/2014/hundreds-of-justice-attorneys-violated-standards.html
As I will continue to point out, the “FBI” states, on its own website, that it will investigate violations of 18USC241 (violations of the rights of Citizens, under the color of law)
Constitution? What Constitution?
Yeah, and I doubt that is even unique to the “District of Nevada”.
You are so right Alfie ! Bundy et al has been a show trial from the start, but it’s turning into a theatre of the absurd for the Govt. As Shari asks above, who will hold Myhre accountable for his lawlessness? He has been out for the Bundy’s blood. We owe him no quarter. What if the outfit that has accredited him – the State Bar of Nevada – is deluged with complaints? I just happen to have the contact info for SBN, and Myhre’s membership # etc. Below is a possible complaint message :
This complaint is against one of your members, Steven W Myhre #9635, Office of the US Attorney, District of Nevada. He is currently the lead prosecutor in the Bundy et al case. I am a concerned observer – ( give your name, E-mail address and residency) As you likely know, Mr Myhre is presently under investigation by the US Attorney General, and for good reason. While there have been many witnesses to Myhre’s vindictive,insulting and unprofessional courtroom manner, a single witness, Judge Gloria Navarro, has given the most damning testimony against him. Before declaring another mistrial in the Bundy case, Navarro excoriated AUSA Myhre in open court for his numerous willful Brady and Giglio violations, not to mention his attempt to silence a whistleblower. She heaped the blame for this latest mistrial squarely on Myhre. Rather than the probity expected from a man in his position, Myhre has been acting a personal vendetta. Is this man a suitable member of the State Bar of Nevada ?……end of complaint……contact info….State Bar of Nevada, 3100 W Charleston Bvd, Las Vegas Nv. 89102…..fax.. 1 – 888 – 6606767…..e-mail…complaints@nvbar.org
[“How can anyone get a fair trial when the Judge, the Prosecutor, the Clerk of the Court and everyone else who works at that place all work for the “State” which apparently has been harmed! how you harm a piece of paper in a filing cabinet somewhere is beyond me but to add insult to injury they willfully with hold evidence so the truth of the matter does not get out.”]
[“So why go to the expense of going to a trial costing a small fortune when they can just determine everyone who has the misfortune of being dragged into this place of injustice guilty as charged.”]
[“So anyone with an ounce of gray matter must conclude it’s just for show.”]
[“Oh how they would love that outcome, but alas they have to go through the pretense and the expense of a trial with the odds stacked against the defendant”]
And Cliven is still incarcerated? Why hasn’t the judge released them all? What a sham.
Josie : I guess you hadn’t heard. Cliven was granted PTR along with Ammon Ryan and Ryan P, but he refused it. He would have had to sign a PTR agreement with certain condidtions, but the grand old man said “NO DEALS”. He remains in detention,determined to walk out free and clear or nothing.
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I share the concerns regarding Navarro and the DOJ’s intention to look at this thing again. I’m very leary of that process.
One of the things I look forward to most in 2018 is a dismissal, once and for all, of this entire matter. And if it’s proven that any of the prosecution’s team engaged in misconduct I hope they receive the same punishment that I would.
Rest in peace LaVoy.
Wow Neal, my sentiments exactly about Ol’ Navarro. Rats rattin’ on rats ! 🙂
And Judge Navarro, who has worked with Myhre for quite a while now, acts as if she is “alarmed,” and/or “surprised” at Myhre’s tactics? No, this Judge very well knew what she was dealing with; she remained silent, allowed Myhre’s behavior to continue, and by all appearances, may have been complicit with Myhre. This judge very likely aided Myhre in every way possible, only claiming “concern” when the truth was leaked. This obvious, blatant corruption isn’t limited to Myhre – it travels further up the chain-of-command. The question is, how far up does this corruption go? Answer: One can only imagine.
Yes, JustSayin….Navarro has decided that she is not going down with the ship, and has made Myhre the fall guy. Myhre has been out for the Bundys Blood, a vindictive, mean spirited personal vendetta. We owe him no quarter. Far from being an exception, Myhre’s malfesance is endemic in US Attorney’s offices and it is long past time that one of them was made an example.