Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Amid Growing Seattle Criticism, Anne Bremner Tries Another Move To Keep Video And Records Hidden

Posted by Peter Quennell





Click above for the new Seattle Times report and the rapidly-proliferating (currently all negative) comments. Here’s the key passage.

Bremner’s attorney, Tyler Firkins, filed a motion Monday in King County District Court in Shoreline, seeking to use a rule that governs which records the court can release to bar the Sheriff’s Office from releasing the report. A Superior Court judge already has ruled the report can be released under the state Public Disclosure Act, a decision that Bremner is appealing.

At issue in the new motion is a rule known as Administrative Rule for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction No. 9, or ARLJ 9, which exempts district-court officials from releasing police reports unless they have been admitted into evidence, incorporated into a court pleading or have been placed into public record. In district court, a police report isn’t considered evidence unless it is submitted as an exhibit during trial or a plea hearing, something that hasn’t happened in the Bremner case.

According to Firkins’ filing, Bremner is seeking to have that rule extended to the Sheriff’s Office to prevent it from releasing the report.

“We release 17,000 case reports a year under the [state] public-disclosure statute and we’ve never heard this argument in the past,” said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.

Our lawyers here remark that that state and county rules would trump any local township rules. Seattle is pretty well certain to see all those records. Especially as the case is now moved to the Spokane Court of Appeals, which at 280 miles away from Seattle should be safe from the attempted exertion of any influence. 

Our previous posts and comments here and here explain how this development involving Anne Bremner goes to the guts of the motives and credibility of the most ardent pro-Knox TV talking-head in the U.S. Good people in the US she may have influenced or misled may number up in the millions, not to mention those hurt in Italy and the UK. 

Many of the comments under this and previous Seattle media reports come from other lawyers, first-hand or second-hand, who obviously believe that Seattle deserves very much better. This is one.

Some lawyer friends with combined experience of 60 years say they have never seen this kind of flagrant abuse of court rules and the appeals process by someone for whom the facts and evidence are so clearly damning. It appears the appeal to the Seattle appellate judge was a brazen attempt to capitalize on the influence of friends on the system. Appears this judge could smell the unethical ramifications and wisely passed it on.

The tenacity of the prosecutors, the Sheriff’s office, and the Superior Court judge to treat this self proclaimed important person with big connections the same way others are treated is commendable. They may not be invited to the next party of drunken judges and celebrity barristers. The state FOI statute clearly trumps a local court procedural housekeeping rule.

And this is another.

Kudos to the Court of Appeals Commissioner for transferring the appeal to Spokane, to the Kenmore Prosecutor for (finally) filing charges, and the Sheriff’s Office for standing their ground on the evidence as they see it.

I just hope the transparency and even-handedness continues, that influence doesn’t rear its head behind the scenes, and that justice prevails in the end.  This has become a much bigger issue than just a DUI charge.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 08/25/10 at 06:30 AM in Hoaxers from 2007More hoaxers

Comments

8/25/10

Curiouser and curiouser. Scenes of T-rex in Jurassic Park come to mind.

Posted by Hopeful on 08/25/10 at 05:10 PM | #

Just like the misconduct allegations against Judge Heavey, it will be very interesting to see the Knox Groupies try to blame Mr Mignini for Bremner’s current plight.

Posted by Janus on 08/25/10 at 07:04 PM | #

Everyone must be treated equally under the law.  It doesn’t matter who you are, the law treats you as equal to the next man.

Everyone. 

Google an image of Justice - blindfolded (she cares only for the evidence presented before the court); carrying scales (she is balanced and fair and gives equal consideration to both sides of the case); carrying a sword (she exectues the decision of the court.

I’m pretty sure that even a school child considering the law as a potential career understands the lady Justice.

Sadly our legal systems (worldwide, I’m not picking on anywhere in particular) involve lawyers who spend way too much time trying to dismiss evidence, twist rules to their advantages, trip others up.  Lady Justice would not approve.

The actions being reported in The Seattle Times seem to me to be twists and turns, attempts to gain an advantage….what do they do?  They make the man in the street angry, they make the man in the street realsie that justice is no longer the Lady Justice - she has been perverted.

The only plus I see in any of this is for the judge who has decided to pass this case to a different district in order to eliminate (as far as possible) the “network” of friends and co-workers etc involved in this case.  This judge has re-tied the blindfold - hopefully justice will be served.

In an ideal world someone who is innocent should embrace the opportunity to go before a court: they can present their evidence, state their case and be heard on an equal basis to the opposing side.  If they speak the truth their innocence should shine through. Only the guilty should fear their day in court.

Posted by Nolongeramember on 08/25/10 at 08:21 PM | #

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Or to next entry The Anne Bremner Case: The Seattle Times Posts A Tough No-Nonsense Editorial

Or to previous entry Could Knox Campaigner Anne Bremner Be Facing A Prison Term And Disbarment?