I've noticed that there are many creative people that post on this website, and I'm interested in the prosecution reaction to the california prosecutor who got taken off her case because of her book. There is a link to the article under Issues in Prosecution on the home page and here:

Prosecutor Bumped From Her Case

Did the judge make the right call, or did he go out of his way? Would it have made a difference if the book was well-written? What do you think?

One fact I noticed, DN, was that the book was self-published by the author, meaning a vanity press was paid to print copies. That doesn't mean it wasn't well written, but that makes me more inclined to believe it is not a great work.

The far reaching effect could be, if I wanted to write a novel about a murder mystery, does that mean I can no longer prosecute murder cases for fear of recusal?

To quote one of my non-lawyer friends who used to constantly pepper me with silly legal questions, "What are my rights?"

When I first saw the article a few days ago I wondered if the court had done the right thing. Since then I feel more confident it had. If her book had involved cases that had already become final I would agree that removal was improper but, as I recall, she was writing about pending cases and current characters; thus, perhaps encouraging readers to prejudge the case--about which she had special knowledge. Her conduct doesn't pass the smell test. (I couldn't get back to the story with your link).

Remember that novel that a whole bunch of us wrote on this very forum last year? The lead post was "Flat Crazy," which was the name of another novel. I don't think we ever fully agreed on a title for our work.

Anyways, there were a lot of prosecutors who contributed to that novel, and altho it has yet to be published, probably a lot more people have read that novel than have read the California prosecutor's book.

Does this mean that all of us who contributed to that work, could now be kicked off a case involving Byzantine fogs, and camel dung cigarrette smoke?

That's a pretty heavy thought. Or, as they say in California: "WHOA!"

October 9, 2006
California Prosecutor�s Novel Gets Her Bumped From a Case
By ADAM LIPTAK
A California prosecutor�s fictional alter ego has gotten her kicked off a real-life case.

In January, Joyce Dudley, a deputy district attorney in Santa Barbara, published a crime novel called �Intoxicating Agent.� Its heroine, Jordon Danner, has the same initials and the same job as Ms. Dudley, and the novel concerns a rape case with echoes of a real one. In both, the victim said she had been sexually assaulted after being given an intoxicating drug.

Acting on a motion from the real defendant in a real rape-by-intoxication case, an appeals court in Ventura, Calif., ruled on Thursday that Ms. Dudley�s novel had crossed an ethical line.

�She has a disabling conflict of interest,� Justice Kenneth R. Yegan of the California Court of Appeal wrote of Ms. Dudley for a unanimous three-judge panel.

Ms. Dudley must be disqualified, Justice Yegan continued, because the defendant, Massey Haraguchi, �is being prosecuted for raping an intoxicated person while the prosecutor is promoting her novel involving the identical charge.�

Justice Yegan wrote that Ms. Dudley�s desire for money and fame might tempt her to throw the book at the defendant, as it were.

�Dudley will garner no laurels, and the case will not generate favorable media publicity for her book,� Justice Yegan wrote, �if she enters into a negotiated settlement.�

The question of whether a lawyer�s freelance fiction can require disqualification was both novel and important, Justice Yegan wrote. He said he hoped �that this case of first impression will make a lasting impression.�

Ms. Dudley declined to comment. �The litigation is still pending,� she said, �and it would be unethical for me to respond in any way.�

In a sworn statement filed in opposition to the disqualification motion, Ms. Dudley said her book was not based on a real case.

�The fact that I have written and published this fictional book,� she added, �has not affected or impacted any of my decisions in this case.�

Robert M. Sanger, a lawyer for Mr. Haraguchi, declined to comment. In his own sworn statement, Mr. Sanger said that aspects of Ms. Dudley�s book were based on a separate rape-by-intoxication case that twice ended in hung juries and was eventually dismissed.

Mr. Sanger was Ms. Dudley�s adversary in the other case, too. In the Haraguchi case, Mr. Sanger wrote, Ms. Dudley refused to discuss a settlement though she conceded that no other prosecutor in her office was willing to pursue the case.

�Intoxicating Agent,� which Ms. Dudley paid to have printed, is made notable by Ms. Dudley�s acknowledgment to a local newspaper that her fictional heroine was �a pumped-up version� of herself.

Ms. Danner, Ms. Dudley writes, has �the poise and sexiness of a dancer, the brains of a scholar and the protective passion of a mother.�

�She had always been attractive,� Ms. Dudley continues, �but now, having reached middle age, experience, confidence and poise further enhanced her beauty.�

Prosecutors in �Intoxicating Agent� are fearless champions of the truth; defense lawyers, unethical and manipulative; and defendants, despicable and unattractive. One is called �felony ugly.�

Deborah L. Rhode, an authority on legal ethics at Stanford, said the appeals court�s ruling was correct but too broad.

�There�s a lot not to like in the way that this deputy district attorney traded on her office to promote her book,� Professor Rhode said. �And the court could justifiably be concerned that her desire for publicity could affect her decision whether to try the case or accept a plea.�

But the decision went on to seemingly ban all sorts of extracurricular writing.

�No current public employee,� Justice Yegan wrote, �should be permitted to exploit his or her official position as a lever to earn extra income.�

That prohibition may run afoul of the Constitution, Professor Rhode said. �Dudley has obvious First Amendment interests in being able to present her characters in whatever stereotypical form she chooses,� she said.

Linda Fairstein, a former prosecutor in New York who has written nine successful crime novels, called that aspect of the decision overreaching and absurd.

But she expressed little sympathy for Ms. Dudley.

�It�s not really a good judgment call to closely mirror the facts of a case while it�s still pending,� Ms. Fairstein said.

She could have started a MySpace page like this:



Wichita Falls officer suspended over graphic MySpace page

Associated Press
Oct. 13, 2006

WICHITA FALLS � A Wichita Falls police officer whose Web page on MySpace.com included images of dismembered women has been indefinitely suspended, city officials said.

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Jeremiah Love's page on the free-access social networking site contained images and statements that could undermine public confidence in the department, according to an internal affairs report. He was suspended Tuesday.

Julia Vasquez, a Wichita Falls assistant city attorney, said Love espoused a fondness for violence on the Web page that would hurt his testimony in criminal cases.

"These are comments that would make it difficult if he was trying to defend himself against a complaint regarding excessive force as an officer," she said. "There may be no evidence of excessive force � but when someone looks at his site, the comments could be used against him in court."

Love's attorney, Richard Carter of the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, said the 26-year-old officer would appeal the suspension on the grounds that the punishment is excessive. He said the appeal would be heard by an arbitrator.

Love's Web page, which has been removed from MySpace.com, was listed under the name Leatherface. Graphic images on the page included a woman with the word "loath" carved into her flesh. Love listed his occupation as "super hero/serial killer."

According to the internal affairs report, Love designed his site in the genre of horror movies. Love told investigators the site was meant to be humorous, according to the report.

Bruce Martin, a defense lawyer, said he discovered Love's MySpace page shortly after Love arrested one of his clients last month. He said he took the Web site to the District Attorney's office.

"I think all of the arrests, all of the searches and all of the seizures he's made have come into question," Martin said. "In any case of abuse or alleged abuse perpetrated by Officer Love, this Web site can be used to test his credibility."

Police Chief Dennis Bachman wouldn't comment on Love's case but said the public "always tends to hold their officers and firemen to a higher standard whether right or wrong."

Vasquez said Love has not faced any disciplinary action in the past.


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