James F. Bogen, Esq. -  Ask an Attorney columnist attorneybogen@yahoo.com........Archive / Bio

March 6, 2008

National & Local Legal News Commentary: Clemens, Cutts, Veillette, and Baker

Since my last column there's been some interesting events in the world of legal news. To begin, in my last column I wrote about how Congress in its infinite wisdom wants to waste their time and our tax dollars "investigating" the use of steroids in professional wrestling. That's still on the table as far as I've read, but baseball is back at the forefront thanks to Roger Clemens and Andy Pettit. As I mentioned with Barry Bonds, I could care less if those guys were involved in any steroid use. Congress has plenty of other things to worry about that actually do affect our everyday lives. The fact that Roger Clemens may be facing criminal charges for lying to Congress won't exactly make me think that the world is becoming a safer place. As I've mentioned before, there are plenty of laws against the possession and distribution of steroids that the DEA and local police can enforce without extra investigatory "help" from Congress. If Congress starts busting large steroid distribution networks that law enforcement hasn't been able to touch, then I'll change my opinion on this subject.

Closer to home, former Canton police officer Bobby Cutts, Jr. was extremely lucky to receive a sentence of life in prison with a chance of parole after 57 years for killing his pregnant lover and their unborn child. The jury could have recommended the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole (juries recommend the sentence in death penalty cases). From experience, I know how difficult it is to garner jury sympathy in child victim cases. Quite frankly, I was surprised that Mr. Cutts was able to do that after telling that ridiculous-sounding story on the stand about how he accidentally killed Jessie Davis by elbowing her in the throat during a fight. And then instead of calling 911 immediately, he hid her body. I've heard better stories from many of my clients.

On the local front, there will definitely be some interesting issues coming up in the death penalty case of Michel Veillette in Warren County. Based on information that has been released to the public so far, some points can be raised about his statement to the police. As was reported, he has no attorney present, and he was not well enough to be brought to court for arraignment. It appears probable that the condition he was in and the medications he was on at the time could call the admissibility and credibility of that statement into question. It will be interesting to see what comes out when his attorneys move to suppress this statement. As for pretrial publicity, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office has done a good job of keeping key details about the merits of the case out of the press to avoid prejudicing the jury pool (when's the last time we heard much about it on the news?). And Mr. Veillette definitely has good attorneys defending him. This will definitely be an interesting case to follow.

Also on the local front, it was about time that the charges against Amy Baker in Mason County, Kentucky got dismissed a few weeks ago. It appeared clear from the start that the Mason County attorney only brought those charges for political reasons. There is no question that Amy Baker contributed to the death of Marcus Fiesel. However, there are rules about immunity that are in place for a reason. As Judge Lewis Nicholls wrote in his 26-page opinion, "At first blush, it may seem that such a rule allows a criminal to walk free. However, the two criminals primarily responsible for the death of Marcus Fiesel were his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll. Without Amy Baker's assistance... the Carrolls would certainly have gone free." Judge Nicholls further wrote that, "However much Amy Baker's crime may merit a stiff penalty of prison time, it cannot be purchased with a misunderstanding by two prosecutors and a play on words...."

That decision could not have been any further on point. From the court proceedings involving Clermont County Prosecutors, it appeared that the Mason County attorney was suddenly having selective amnesia about his conversations with them and interpreting what was said very creatively. Allowing this prosecution to stand would have created a mockery of the laws governing immunity. As much as I detest the idea of Amy Baker walking free, that was legally the right decision.

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Until next time...