Texas Observer by Ciara O’Rourke September 14, 2018
The Aransas County DA hasn't prosecuted criminal cases from the Rockport Police Department for more than a year. Is she taking on bad cops or abusing her power?On the evening of August 15, 2017, as Hurricane Harvey was just starting to take shape in the Atlantic, the Rockport Pilot posted a press release from Kristen Barnebey, the chief prosecutor in Aransas County. In late July, the release revealed, she had stopped accepting cases from Chad Brooks, an officer with the Rockport Police Department.
The reasons were tantalizing, but vague. Brooks had “shown a pattern of untrustworthy behavior†and “continued to engage in the unethical behavior of profiling defendants,†the press release said. Further, Brooks had “engaged in activity†that she couldn’t explain further due to ongoing investigations. Though she had “issues†with other officers, she didn’t describe those either. The final allegation took aim at the city’s leaders. Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe had deliberately withheld evidence, the press release said. And when Barnebey appealed to C.J. Wax, then Rockport mayor, and Kevin Carruth, the city manager, “nothing was done.â€
Barnebey dismissed 17 cases that Brooks had pending and notified the court that prosecutors would no longer sponsor his testimony. Then she drew a line. “When law enforcement will not uphold the law,†she said, “prosecutors must step forward and ensure the law is being followed and unethical officers are not being put before the judge and jury as credible witnesses.†Until Rockport police cleaned up their department, Barnebey said, she wouldn’t take cases from any of their officers.
Ten days later, Harvey made landfall in Texas, destroying homes and businesses and so badly battering the Aransas County Courthouse that Barnebey and her deputies decamped to a temporary office in a strip mall. In the small lobby, legal books line the shelves, giving the space a sense of permanence as prosecutors pursue criminal complaints from behind a window that separates them from the visiting public. Even though Brooks was fired in July, Barnebey hasn’t prosecuted a case from the Rockport PD for more than a year.
Over the last few weeks, she and city officials have been meeting regularly in the hopes of ironing out their differences. As this story went to press, both sides were hopeful they’d finally reached an agreement. But after months of accusations and acrimony on both sides, many questions remain unanswered. Is Barnebey a green criminal prosecutor bungling the law, as some detractors have suggested? Or a woman taking on good ol’ boys who haven’t enforced laws meant to hold authorities accountable?
Barnebey’s claims center on laws requiring prosecutors to give criminal defendants favorable evidence that could help their case. Under the so-called Brady Rule, a federal law that stems from the 1963 Brady v. Maryland case, any exculpatory evidence that’s withheld is considered suppressed. More recently, the Michael Morton Act — named for the Williamson County man who spent more than two decades in prison before evidence withheld by prosecutors exonerated him — strengthened the Brady disclosure requirements. The 2013 Texas law also directs prosecutors to hand over evidence, including offense reports, witness statements and other documents relevant to the case.
For prosecutors, the stakes are high, at least in theory. If they’re caught skirting the law, they could lose their license, be disbarred or even face criminal charges. Because prosecutors are also required to tell defendants about any evidence that could impeach one of their witnesses, many DAs now keep formal or informal lists of officers whose alleged misconduct would have to be divulged to defense lawyers. In Texas, hundreds of law enforcement officials have landed on so-called “Brady lists.†Some cops have been blacklisted by prosecutors altogether. But Barnebey appears to be the first to snub an entire agency.
More:
https://www.texasobserver.org/the-prosecution-rests/
