Judge, prosecutor's office exchange notes

Citing emails between U.S. District Court Judge Colin Bruce and employees of the U.S. attorney’s office, the federal public defender’s office in Springfield says the judge is so biased that defendants can’t get fair shakes.

“Both Judge Bruce and the United States attorney’s office act as if Judge Bruce is still the first assistant United States attorney (the position he held immediately before taking the bench),” public defenders write in a motion for a new trial filed on behalf of Sarah Nixon, who was convicted of international kidnapping in 2016. “This is ‘smoking gun’ evidence of Judge Bruce working with prosecutors from the United States attorney’s office against criminal defendants.”

Furthermore, engaging in communications with a judge without the knowledge of defense attorneys amounts to misconduct by the staff of the U.S. attorney’s office, say Nixon’s lawyers, who also accuse the office of engaging in a coverup to prevent disclosures of emails that should either have been shared with defense attorneys or never written.

Bruce was removed from hearing any criminal matters after Illinois Times in August reported on emails exchanged between Bruce and Lisa Hopps, a paralegal in the U.S. attorney’s office, during Nixon’s trial. In the emails, Bruce criticized the performance of prosecutors, made suggestions on how to question the defendant and assessed odds of acquittal. “The content of Judge Bruce’s emails to Ms. Hopps regarding Ms. Nixon’s trial reveals a judge who has determined the defendant is guilty and should be convicted, is frustrated and angry that Ms. Nixon might not be convicted, and is willing to share with the prosecutor’s office how the prosecutors handling the case could improve their cross-examination to help ensure a conviction,” Nixon’s lawyers wrote in the Oct. 25 motion for a new trial. “It is impossible to overstate how improper Judge Bruce’s actions were.”

Read more: https://illinoistimes.com/article-20591-judge-prosecutor%25E2%2580%2599s-office-exchange-notes.html