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Civil liberties fundamental to our form of
government |
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January 26, 2018 |
By U.S. Representative Raul Labrador
It took too long, but our legal system delivered
a blow for justice this month when a federal
judge in Nevada dismissed charges against
rancher Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a fourth
man.
The government alleged they led an armed
rebellion against the United States, charging
them with conspiracy, extortion, using firearms
in the commission of crimes, assault,
threatening federal officers and other felonies.
But U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed
the charges, citing “outrageous” misconduct by
federal prosecutors that “violated due process
rights.”
In an unusual step, Navarro read her order from
the bench, taking a half-hour for a
point-by-point account of government misconduct.
At the heart of the outrage was the
prosecution’s willful withholding of critical
evidence that could have proven the defendants
guiltless. Navarro said the prosecution
committed an “intentional abdication of its
responsibility.”
To ensure fairness in our justice system, the
government is required to disclose exculpatory
evidence that may be helpful to the defense.
That prosecutors ignored this bedrock principle
is abhorrent.
Among the evidence that might have helped the
defense were records of government surveillance
at the Bundy ranch, information about the
presence of government snipers, FBI logs about
activity at the ranch in the days before the
2014 standoff, and law enforcement assessments
saying the Bundys posed no threat of violence.
Also excluded were internal reports from the
Bureau of Land Management. Special Agent Larry
Wooten wrote that he “routinely observed…a
widespread pattern of bad judgment, lack of
discipline, incredible bias, unprofessionalism
and misconduct” by federal agents at the
standoff. Wooten also said federal agents used
excessive force, violated civil rights and
committed ethical violations.
Rather than disclose that evidence as required
by law, the prosecution taunted the defense for
seeking the BLM’s internal affairs report,
calling it a “bright shiny object … that did not
exist.”
Navarro noted that prosecutors had willfully
mocked the defense for making a basic request to
ensure fairness and justice.
I’ve been so troubled by the prosecutions that
on September I contacted Attorney General Jeff
Sessions. I both wrote and spoke to Sessions,
urging him to review a letter signed by 53
current and former members of the Idaho
Legislature. The legislators had expressed
serious concerns about the treatment of four
Idahoans facing trial in connection with the
standoff, including Ammon Bundy, who was among
those covered by Judge Navarro’s dismissal.
“There is a strong possibility that a
miscarriage of justice is being committed,” I
wrote, asking Sessions to ensure that defendants
be treated fairly. In December, Sessions opened
an inquiry into the prosecutors’ actions. I
welcome that investigation.
Congress will also hold the BLM accountable. I
am a member of the House Natural Resources
Committee, which has asked the BLM director to
address the Bundy case and to how to restore
trust in the agency’s ability to effectively
enforce the law on federal land. In Idaho, the
BLM manages about 22 percent of the land. It’s
vital that Idahoans working and recreating on
those lands have confidence that they are
treated fairly.
We must learn from this horrible example of bad
faith and take steps to ensure that such
misconduct isn’t repeated. And we must never shy
from the principle that civil liberties are
absolutely fundamental to our constitutional
form of government. |
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