Mo. judge fires 34-year court employee for providing document that helped free innocent man

[n2doc]

By Associated Press
10:10 a.m. CDT, July 28, 2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A longtime judge's assistant in Jackson County says she was fired for providing a public document that helped a wrongfully convicted inmate win his freedom.

But court officials say 70-year-old Sharon Snyder was sent packing four weeks ago because she violated court rules against inappropriately providing advice and discussing court matters with outsiders.

Snyder says she gave Robert Nelson's sister a copy of a motion last year from a different case in which a defendant successfully requested DNA testing. Nelson, who was convicted in 1984 of raping a woman and robbing her, previously filed two motions for DNA tests that were denied because they didn't meet technical requirements.

Nelson was freed June 12 after DNA tests ruled him out as one of the rapists in the 1983 attack.

http://www.ky3.com/news/sns-ap-mo--judges-assistant-firing-20130728,0,3766719.story

[sigmasix]

1. is there contact info for this judge?

Just in case members of DU would like to let this judge know what we think of him.

[magical thyme]

2. ok, is the employee 34 years old, per the headline?

Or 70 years old per the article? I'm guessing the writer who interviewed the fired employee could see the difference, in which case the editor who likely wrote the headline screwed up.

[antiquie]

3. ???

I read it that the 70 year-old had been a court employee for 34 years -- but then that leaves no snark room.

[magical thyme]

4. yikes. My brain inserted the word "old" after "34 year"

cripes I'm over tired...need a vacation desperately.

thank you

[lpbk2713]

5. Let no good deed go unpunished.

It always seems to work out that way when bucking the system.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. She is a hero.

I live in a community where people prefer to remain mum, instead of pass on valuable information. It's a terrible community atmosphere.

If you wonder what happened to the honest society we once remembered, asked yourself if you are harboring someone else's secret. If you are, then you're part of the problem.

[xocet]

7. Here is more information on the story from the KC Star....

Jackson County Circuit judge fires 34-year court veteran for good deed
July 28
By BILL DRAPER
The Associated Press

A Kansas City man freed from prison three decades after being wrongfully convicted of rape considers Sharon Snyder his “angel” for giving him a public document that showed him how to properly seek DNA tests. A Jackson County Circuit judge considers the 34-year court employee an insubordinate for offering legal advice and being too chatty about courthouse matters.

Sharon Snyder, a 70-year-old great-grandmother who was fired nine months before she was scheduled to retire, sees herself somewhere in the middle and insists she would provide the same help if she had a chance to do it again.

Robert Nelson, 49, was convicted in 1984 of a Kansas City rape that he insisted he didn’t commit and sentenced to 50 years for forcible rape, five years for forcible sodomy and 15 years for first-degree robbery. The judge ordered the sentence to start after he finished serving time for robbery convictions in two unrelated cases prior to the rape conviction.

Those sentences ended in 2006.

...

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/28/4373583/jackson-county-circuit-judge-fires.html

[uponit7771]

8. K, so the judge didn't instruct how to properly ask for DNA TWICE!! The judge should be fired not...

...the employee!!!

What asshole would do this !?

[Igel]

11. One that thinks confidentiality and impartiality are important.

Judges judge. They aren't supposed to take sides--"Hey, I like this defendant, so I'm going to give him advice on how to win the case in my court."

Those working for the judge are agents acting on behalf of the judge. What they do, the judge did.

If you want to file a motion properly, you take a risk if you're doing it pro se. Want to avoid the risk, get a lawyer.

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. Yes, because people in prison for the last 20 years have so many resources.

[OnlinePoker]

9. Any case where there is potential DNA evidence should be revisited

Unless the person who committed the crime admitted it, if there is some ability to test for DNA and this will determine guilt, it should be done. People wrongly imprisoned shouldn't have to jump through hoops to prove their innocence. They should be able to ask for it and have the test done.

[valerief]

10. America's Mythical Freedumbs. nt

[alp227]

13. typical american justice, get in trouble for exposing trouble nt