"The head prosecutor of the 9th Judicial District Court is backing the Aspen attorney’s office after a local judge handed down sanctions against it, alleging infractions in handling pretrial evidence and discovery.
District Attorney Martin Beeson said he is assisting Aspen prosecutors in filing an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. The appeal asks for a rule to show cause for sanctions levied by Pitkin County District Court Judge Gail Nichols in August. Beeson said the court’s actions were “arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair.”
“I am baffled by the court’s actions and the words that have come down from the bench,” Beeson said. “We believe the judge is completely wrong.”
Nichols punished the Aspen prosecutor’s office on Aug. 22 by suppressing evidence in an aggravated motor vehicle theft case. She cited five cases in the past four years in which Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin has “repeatedly shown that he does not accept responsibility for insuring compliance with [evidence] rules and avoiding further ... violations...”
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"spin-doctors". That is the summary judgment of DA Beeson, in his own words, when it comes to criminal defenders.
"Beeson called the judge’s ruling a “truth suppressing sanction” that gives a windfall to the defendant.
“We are supposed to be seeking the truth,” he said. “It offends our sense of truth seeking.”
No, we are, by law if a case has gone to arrest and charges, supposed to be servicing trial with the truth already in hand.
That is why we have law enforcement officers who serve no one but the people and enforce the law rather than serve it. They are the truth seekers and hold the ultimate power as the only protection between the citizens they serve, the attorneys and the court.
That is why we have duty, rules and procedure in our adversarial system. If we are on the eve of trial, if we are at the point where trial is to commence, then we are long past the point of facts and truth reveal. We are at the point of arguing life and death against those facts. That is why the all encompassing power of the DA must never be abused. We literally argue for life and death. Rules and procedure exist and must be followed. As a number of my peers have stated on this forum in the past, we are a nation of law. Those are the rules and they are absolute.
The very fact that Martin Beeson can go into a public interview on a newspaper and be obviously sincere in his disturbed confusion speaks volumes as to the validity of defenders past theories regarding potential criminal behavior on this DA's part. It speaks volumes regarding the instinctual knowing a growing number of judges in our district have that there is something very wrong in Martin Beeson's tenure.
The fact that Judge Nichols ruling is very clearly worded that she is sanctioning with suppression in this case solely based on the errors committed on this case and neither Mordkin or Beeson bring forward evidence to show otherwise is revealing.
When the only argument is a track record on other cases rather than the one in question, the population of the district should be wondering where our DA was educated and how competent are they to hold duty.
We believe. As defenders we believe and trust that our cops and prosecutors are stellar in the performance of all their duties. We honor our colleagues integrity until shown that there is reason not to. We believe because we are all sworn to duty. Duty, as the law, is absolute.
These sanctions from Judge Nichols, including sharp criticism and revealing her belief that there is a pattern she has observed is empowering to the district.
How many of those thousands of cases has there been an accused and counsel wondering why it is so incredibly difficult dealing with Martin Beeson on the most simple basic rules of law? How many of those thousands of cases have behind the scenes issues exactly the same as this case that have not been laid before the court for our judges to see?
The answer is not a 1% margin of error as the spin-doctors at the DA's office wish the public to believe.
There has never been, in the history of 9th Judicial, a DA with more difficulties in his cases than Martin Beeson. Well over half of all cases brought in his seven year tenure are worthy of taking a deeper look at the complete case history and handling.
Those of us who are very successful up against Beeson's attorneys have settled into somewhat of a routine in knowing what to unearth. However, even the most seasoned are struggling with the new levels of God-like aggression showing over the past two years or a little more.
The next step is for our judges to begin comparing notes on their dockets and taking a historic look into the definite pattern present.
Good luck to Chief Deputy Arnold Mordkin and District Attorney Martin Beeson as they present themselves and their plea before the Colorado Supreme Court.
Chad Abraham needs to get out there and win the trust and confidence of every defender we have in 9th Judicial. Get them to talk without compromising their current cases. Looking back since Colleen Truden was elected, even myself as a layman have heard unbelievable stories over Beeson's years of the shuck and jive they do to defenders. Anybody who's ever even had a lawyer for a traffic ticket or small claims action knows that 95% of the real information on how it all goes down never even gets in front of the judge's eyes. What the people know out here is that there's something really wrong in all the high-profile cases in front of Beeson. Very, very wrong. If I'm asked, I have to say it's the duty of the Aspen Daily and every lawyer we have to step up and either clarify the allegations or clear them up by standing alongside Beeson. Sure don't see anybody stepping up publically for this DA. Danforth needs to dig and not just in Aspen. Rio Blanco county, Garfield County. All of 9th district.
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