CA: Verdict overturned in Sierra case

Deliberately withheld evidence again. Previous comment on July 12

An appellate court Tuesday overturned the murder conviction of a mentally ill San Jose man after finding the prosecutor failed to turn over a crucial piece of evidence that would have helped his defense. After Dennis Sierra killed his grandfather in 2004, police made a tape recording of his statements that were not turned over to the defense until after a Santa Clara County jury convicted him of first-degree murder in 2005. Sierra appealed the case, claiming the tape provided important evidence of his mental state.

Tuesday's three-judge opinion written by Justice Conrad L. Rushing stated that "the tape represents such strong and compelling evidence of defendant's mental state shortly after the homicide and puts the case in such an entirely different light that its exclusion undermines our confidence in the jury's verdicts at both the guilt and sanity phases of the trial."

Justices Eugene Premo and Franklin Elia of the 6th District Court of Appeal joined in the opinion that found the prosecution violated strict court rules requiring them to turn over all exculpatory evidence to the defense. Sierra's appellate lawyer, George L. Schraer, said the violation was so egregious the justices had no choice but to reverse it. "It was the correct decision. It was obvious that this was the most important evidence for determining what the defendant's state of mind was and whether he was insane, and the jury never heard it," Schraer said.

Assistant District Attorney David Tomkins said he was not surprised by the ruling and that the case would be re-examined to determine whether it would be retried. "We obtained a murder conviction in the last trial. I feel we can do it again," he said. Nonetheless, he added, "The prosecution put all that work into the case and to have it overturned because of an oversight and forgetfulness is disappointing." ["oversight and forgetfulness". What a barefaced lie!]

During the trial, the jury heard testimony that at the time of his arrest, Sierra was walking the streets naked, with his eyes closed, saying he was a government agent named James Dean. But Deputy District Attorney Richard Titus, who has since retired, contended that Sierra was exaggerating his symptoms to avoid punishment.

Sierra's public defender, J.J. Kapp, tried without success to obtain the tape before the trial. But after he obtained the tape, he asked that the conviction be overturned based on the withheld evidence - a motion rejected by Superior Court. Sierra's case was among those cited in the Mercury News' ongoing "Tainted Trials, Stolen Justice" series, which examines how flaws in the criminal justice system can increase the small but significant chance of a wrongful conviction.

Report here



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