Innocent, Wrongully Accused Acquitted at Trial!
Innocent, Wrongfully Accused Found Not Guilty!!
" 'Tis better that a thousand guilty people go free....than to convict an innocent man".
---Winston Schoonover
Upon hearing the jury's verdict, A.H. and his wife threw their arms around each other, hugged, and spontaneously broke out in tears. Their arduous, treacherous and nightmarish journey through the criminal justice system finally was over.
If one reviews the clerk's on-line notes....the entry simply reads: "Disposition: Acquitted.....Jury Trial". Those words however, do not begin to tell the story of A.H.'s six (6) months of fighting an oppressive, misguided prosecution in our criminal justice system. (St. Lucie County Case No.: 2004 CF 4148).
In September 2004, the Treasure Coast was devastated when hurricanes Frances and Jeanne slammed into the coastline at nearly the identical spot, within twenty-one days of one another. Tens of thousands were displaced. Governmental institutions shut down. Much of the citizenry of Florida's Nineteenth (19th) Judicial Circuit suffered without electricity, food and water. The event was a portent of what would occur a year later in New Orleans.
A.H. is a gentleman-small-farmer living in Wisconsin. He also is a licensed insurance adjuster, and he wanted to help. Major insurance companies brought in hundreds of good citizens like A.H. to assist in adjusting the profound damage sustained by the Treasure Coast. A.H. left his wife at home and travelled to Jacksonville for training with one such Insurer. Upon completing two (2) weeks of training, he was sent to the Treasure Coast, to quickly and efficiently adjust as many homeowner's claims as quickly and efficiently as possible.
A.H. did not have the time to adequately make all necessary arrangements to provde for his living expenses, so he and his wife came up with a plan. When A.H. needed money to provide the basic necessities of life, his wife would send a money order to one of the two "Wal-Mart" stores that had managed to re-open following the storms.
After using both stores for that purpose, "Wal-Mart" filed a criminal complaint with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department. "Wal-Mart" claimed that A.H. had negotiated the same money order from his wife on two different occasions, at two different "Wal-Mart" stores. The store claimed it had videotape surveillance which conclusively showed the theft.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office was understaffed and overworked due to the natural calamity having befallen the area, and they conducted a bungled, cursory investigation, that essentially took "Wal-Mart" at it's word.
A.H. was arrested, and subsequently charged with two (2) felonies; Grand Theft and Uttering a Forged Instrument. Each of the charges carried a maximum sentence of five (5) years in prison, five (5) years probation, and a $5,000.00 dollar fine.
It's true.
A.H., on these facts, could be convicted and sentenced to prison for ten years. A.H. bonded out of jail on October 25, 2004, one day after his arrest.
A.H. immediately engaged the services of attorney Jonathan Jay Kirschner, Esq. Kirschner was astounded and outraged that such a charge, so summarily investigated, could lead to an arrest. Kirschner tried to persuade the Assistant State Attorney prosecuting the case to abandon it, but to no avail.
Typically in a criminal case, the defense will seek to delay trial. Generally speaking, delay results in two (2) outcomes---the State's evidence often deteriorates over time, and the Defense is able to thoroughly investigate and prepare for trial.
This case was different. A.H. and his wife incurred extensive costs attendant with merely showing up for court appearances, (as they had to travel from Wisconsin each time) and the pressure and anxiety attendant with the case began to extract a toll on A.H.'s health, as well as his marriage.
Kirschner elected to push the case to trial.
Although there was much preparation and investigation needed in order to be "ready for trial", Kirschner 'cleared the decks', and made the case a priority. He and co-counsel Leatha Mullins, Esq., themselves went to investigate the alleged "crime scene", taking high quality digital photographs of the area where the crime was said to have occurred. The lawyers recreated the travel route and time that would, of necessity, have to have been used by A.H. in order to commit the charged crimes.
Overhead maps of the City of Port St. Lucie were obtained, in order to have the ability to show the jury the routes available to A.H., and the relative positions of the two (2) stores from one another.
At the docket call on May 16, 2005, Kirschner stood up and announced "Ready for Trial".
The defense team began picking the jury shortly thereafter.
At 8:30 a.m. on May 18th, Attorney Kirschner rose from defense table, approached the jury, and began his opening statement by telling them "This is a case about an innocent man, wrongfully accused..."
Two (2) days later, at precisely 1:53 p.m. on May 19th, the jury returned it's "two word" verdict....NOT GUILTY.
The clerk's entry reads like this. "Jury returned with a vedict of ...not guilty. Jury was instructed and excused with thanks. Defendant was adjudged not guilty. Court ordered all evidence returned to the parties. Court adjourned"
But the clerk's entry doesn't tell the story.
