I learned a couple of days ago that Charles Stobaugh has definitely filed an appeal on his 2010 murder conviction in the death of Kathy Munday Stobaugh. Although he pleaded his "indigence" at one point, the good judge in the case saw through all that maneuvering and told Mr. Stobaugh that if he wanted to appeal, he would have to furnish his own court transcript; the State (You and I) would not do that for him. The idea of going to prison indeed brought Mr. Stobaugh out of his "indigence" and he was miraculously able to afford the transcript.
What exactly will the Stobaugh attorneys appeal? There are a few things that could be brought into question. One item of appeal will more than likely be that a Denton reporter who, according to the defense, possessed information that could have cast doubt on Mr. Stobaugh's guilt refused to name her source of information and did not testify at the trial. Prior to the trial, the judge did not require this reporter to name the source of her information. The reporter (believing in freedom of the press as provided for in our Constitution) refused to reveal her informant. The judge further refused to require this information at trial, nor did he order the reporter to testify, as requested by counsel.
A second issue that will probably be raised was the fact that the same judge did not require a certain police investigator to testify at trial. This officer, whether state or local I am not sure, made a statement to the effect that he personally believed there was "no way" that Charles Stobaugh could have committed the murder, and that there was actually no proof that a murder had occurred. This officer's statement may not have been made on official record. The defense of course contends that a fair trial was denied Mr. Stobaugh since this officer did not testify.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of this appeal. I suspect that by the time all motions and briefs are filed, there will be more issues on appeal. The one thing that is not on appeal is this man's guilt or innocence. Without a strong defence, the only recourse is a tough offense, in this case, attacking procedure rather than fact. I believe that the appeals system works (usually) in a similar fashion to the now familiar "play review" cameras of college football. Without a strong and convincing argument against these issues, the guilty verdict in the original case will not likely be over-turned. Not being a lawyer, of course, I could be completely wrong here, but I think not.
The verdict in the Stobaugh Case has upset many defense attorneys across the nation because Stobaugh's conviction adds one more precedence to case law indicating that a murder conviction CAN INDEED be had even though the body of the victim is not located. The Texas justice system has become a strong advocate for victims of murder, in that prosecutors around the state are no longer willing to "reward" a criminal by not filing a murder case "just because the killer hid the body really well." Project Innocence and other such defendant-oriented organizations are certainly watching this case, and its appeal, with rapt attention. I, for one, am pleased that Charles Stobaugh, based on the evidence presented to jurors, was convicted
What exactly will the Stobaugh attorneys appeal? There are a few things that could be brought into question. One item of appeal will more than likely be that a Denton reporter who, according to the defense, possessed information that could have cast doubt on Mr. Stobaugh's guilt refused to name her source of information and did not testify at the trial. Prior to the trial, the judge did not require this reporter to name the source of her information. The reporter (believing in freedom of the press as provided for in our Constitution) refused to reveal her informant. The judge further refused to require this information at trial, nor did he order the reporter to testify, as requested by counsel.
A second issue that will probably be raised was the fact that the same judge did not require a certain police investigator to testify at trial. This officer, whether state or local I am not sure, made a statement to the effect that he personally believed there was "no way" that Charles Stobaugh could have committed the murder, and that there was actually no proof that a murder had occurred. This officer's statement may not have been made on official record. The defense of course contends that a fair trial was denied Mr. Stobaugh since this officer did not testify.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of this appeal. I suspect that by the time all motions and briefs are filed, there will be more issues on appeal. The one thing that is not on appeal is this man's guilt or innocence. Without a strong defence, the only recourse is a tough offense, in this case, attacking procedure rather than fact. I believe that the appeals system works (usually) in a similar fashion to the now familiar "play review" cameras of college football. Without a strong and convincing argument against these issues, the guilty verdict in the original case will not likely be over-turned. Not being a lawyer, of course, I could be completely wrong here, but I think not.
The verdict in the Stobaugh Case has upset many defense attorneys across the nation because Stobaugh's conviction adds one more precedence to case law indicating that a murder conviction CAN INDEED be had even though the body of the victim is not located. The Texas justice system has become a strong advocate for victims of murder, in that prosecutors around the state are no longer willing to "reward" a criminal by not filing a murder case "just because the killer hid the body really well." Project Innocence and other such defendant-oriented organizations are certainly watching this case, and its appeal, with rapt attention. I, for one, am pleased that Charles Stobaugh, based on the evidence presented to jurors, was convicted
No comments:
Post a Comment