Fiery defense lawyer Norm Pattis, who represents one of the four East Haven police officers arrested on charges of illegally targeting Latinos, wants the case against his client tossed, saying the dismissal would be a fitting sanction against a federal government that turned the arrests into a frenzied media circus.
In a motion to dismiss filed Thursday, Pattis takes particular aim at U.S. Attorney David Fein, saying it was his call to roust some of the defendants from bed and arrest them in front of their children. “This resume-by-gunpoint approach to the administration of justice may serve Mr. Fein’s ambition in raising his own profile among the nation’s law enforcement community, but it has little to do with justice,” the motion states.
Pattis also said his client’s right to fair trial was harmed by prejudicial statements made by government officials at a press conference announcing the arrests, including comments that the officers acted like “bullies with badges” and were a “cancerous cadre.”
Variously quoting the U.S. Supreme Court, Lord Coke and Shakespeare, Pattis also said that neither individual sanctions nor a change of venue were adequate remedies for the impact of “an entire day choreographed to transform the proceedings into a circus.”
Read the full motion here.
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One Response to Pattis: Fed’s “Barnum-like” behavior warrants dismissal of East Haven charges
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Pattis is absolutely right. The gov made a staged, showy, ridiculous display, calling the accused every name under the sun. But, they are “innocent until proven guilty”…yeah, right. When the gov targets you, they will execute every possible underhanded tactic available to ensure they make their 98% conviction rate. The average person has no clue how corrupt the system is.