Prosecution Team: Fill & Download for Free

Judge Ellis is in the Judicial Branch of the government. He has his job for life. He is not answerable to anybody in the Executive branch under any circumstance for how he does his job. (If he commits federal crimes, he can be arrested by federal law enforcement.)Robert Mueller is in the Executive Branch of the government. He has his job until he finishes his assignment, or until his supervisor (Rosenstein) decides he is done. His authority does not extend to reprimanding judges. I think he knows that.Mueller’s team did call hi on an instance of judicial overreach yesterday. The day before, Judge Ellis criticized the prosecution team for allowing a prosecution witness to be present in court during other witnesses’ testimony. In response, the prosecution team filed a formal motion for the a corrective instruction. That is, they asked the judge to read the transcript where he previously given permission for that, and to say to the jury, in effect, that he had been in the wrong, and that he apologized. For a judge like Ellis, having to admit being in the wrong may be more a effective correction than anything anybody else could say to him.Q: Can Robert Mueller call Judge Ellis and admonishing him for reprimand his prosecution team against Manafort? Is that ethical?

Shortly after Bundy’s execution I prosecuted a Bundy wannabe. (Ted Bundy was his hero, and he told me he was honored to be prosecuted by the same prosecution team that prosecuted Bundy. He didn’t seem to be honored by the fact that we got the same result with him that we did with Bundy). Anyhow, Wannabe lived with three women while he was engaging in his spree of rape, torture, and murder. While we were taking depositions in the case, the defense attorney asked the women if they had any explanation for why he never killed or attempted to kill them, and they told him, “Because we are strong women.” The defense attorney then asked the investigating officer why he thought the guy hadn’t killed the women he was living with. The investigator had a far better answer than the women did. “You don’t shit where you sleep.”

Once accepted into the Witness Protection Program, a person is in it for life, with two exceptions.The first exception is that the Witness voluntarily withdraws from the program. This is strongly discouraged but ultimately it is the decision of the Witness.The second exception is when the Witness violates conditions of the program. Being in the program comes with a litany of rules. They agree to remain law abiding and avoid any situation that might lead to a negative contact with law enforcement. They cannot discuss the program or their status with anyone outside of the prosecution team, the originating agency or the U. S. Marshals witness inspector assigned to their case. They cannot associate with known criminals. They may not visit their “hot zone” except when testifying and under direct protection. They may not contact any former associate. They may not contact any family member that is not in the program. And the list goes on. If they violate any of the rules, they are usually given 2nd or even 3rd chance to comply with the rules. After that their behavior is considered habitual and they may be removed from the program, at which point they are on their own.It should be noted that U. S. Marshals have never lost a witness that remained in the program. This cannot be said for people who have voluntarily withdrawn or have been expelled from the program.