Several cases dismissed, charges dropped, bonds reduced during disbarred District Attorney Linda Stanley’s time in office – Canon City Daily Record
EDITOR’S NOTE: The impact on several cases by disbarred District Attorney Linda Stanley is the No. 5 story of 2024.
According to an opinion imposing sanctions by the Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, disbarred District Attorney Linda Stanley exposed her subordinate lawyers to professional liability and her office to public embarrassment by not appropriately supervising her prosecution team.
Her lack of oversight also led to several cases dismissed, charges dropped and bonds reduced in the 11th Judicial District.
The Barry Morphew homicide case may have been one of the first to receive significant sanctions on Stanley’s watch.
Prosecutors in Barry Morphew murder case accused of retaliating against judge, withholding evidence
Morphew was previously charged in the death of his wife, Suzanne Morphew, after she disappeared from their Salida home in May 2020. After a year of investigation, he was charged with her murder. Still, shortly before the trial began, his legal team discovered that the DA’s Office had not disclosed a variety of potentially exculpatory information to him and the court. After sanctions were ordered against the prosecution, Stanley dropped Morphew’s charges in April 2022, just before the case was to go to trial.
Another high-profile case affected by discovery issues on behalf of the DA’s Office is the Joseph Tippet case.
Tippet, 38, was arrested on suspicion of murder in the first degree, a Class 1 felony, in connection with the death of his 72-year-old father, William Tippet, in their South Raynolds home on Jan. 6, 2023. After several hearings on discovery violations and warnings from a district court magistrate, Tippet’s charge was reduced to second-degree murder, a Class 2 felony, as a sanction for multiple discovery failures on the part of the DA’s Office.
The Colorado Supreme Court upheld the district court’s ruling by a 4-3 vote. After examining 20 of nearly 30 cases at the time, the Colorado Supreme Court found a pattern of discovery violations on behalf of the DA’s Office, including cases dating back to July 2021.
In an order granting a motion for sanctions in the Tippet case filed by District Court Judge Kaitlin Turner on April 4, 2023, Turner wrote that she took into consideration 20 cases listed by the defense whereby the DA’s Office engaged in a pattern and practice of neglect and gross negligence by withholding and delaying in disclosing evidence.
Those cases involved sexual exploitation of a child, sexual assault on a child, homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault, assault, felony vehicular eluding, felony menacing and domestic violence.
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Sanctions ranged from lowering a defendant’s bond amount to excluding testimony. In some, the DA moved to dismiss certain charges or the entire case.
Justice served: Those connected to Linda Stanley cases feel vindicated by disbarment
Charges were completely dropped against the man accused of causing the death of his live-in girlfriend’s 10-month-old baby, Edward Hayes.
William Jacobs, 22, was the last person to care for the baby who died after being discovered unresponsive in a Cañon City motel room where Jacobs lived with the baby and his mother, Brook Crawford, 21.
According to testimony during a December 2023 preliminary hearing, Edward’s head trauma was non-accidental based on the severity of the injuries and the pattern of the injuries.
Jacobs’ public defenders filed a motion to dismiss the case based on alleged actions on behalf of Stanley, including outrageous governmental conduct and a discovery violation. A similar motion was filed by Crawford’s attorney claiming Stanley’s comments in that same televised interview were “highly prejudicial.”
The first-degree murder case against Jacobs was dismissed.
Crawford’s initial felony charge of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury was dismissed for lack of probable cause. Her other charges stemming from this case were moved to county court as Class 1 misdemeanors: child abuse and cruelty to animals/neglect.
Crawford’s motion to dismiss the charges against her, based on Stanley’s outrageous government conduct, was granted.
Two of the three felony charges filed against the Cañon City man who shot a motorist he believed to have been speeding past his house May 11 were dismissed as a sanction for discovery violations in November. Troy Richardson, 65, originally was charged with attempted second-degree murder, a Class 3 felony; first-degree assault, a Class 3 felony; and menacing, a Class 5 felony. Turner dismissed the first two charges.
A redacted Park County order filed April 25 by then-District Court Judge Amanda Hunter listed six cases where courts in the 11th had found discovery violations in the last 30 days.
In Park County, a DUI charge was dismissed as a sanction for discovery violations due to the failure to discover body-worn cameras, 911 recordings, and dispatch logs six months into the prosecution of the defendant.
In Fremont County, a discovery violation discovered by defense counsel during a sex assault trial led to the declaration of a mistrial. 1.
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In Chaffee County, failure to discover a witness statement to the defense during a motion hearing resulted in a continuance of the upcoming jury trial as a sanction. The Motion notes this “came after the district attorney had represented to the Court on the record that no other statements existed….”
In Hunter’s aforementioned Park County order, she reduced the maximum penalty the defendant could receive if convicted, as follows: In the first case, the maximum penalty is reduced from 32 to 16 years on count 1 (attempt to commit murder in the second degree) and on count 2 (assault in the second degree). In the defendant’s second case, Hunter reduced the maximum penalty from 31 years to 16 years on counts 1 and 2 (special offender).
Jeff Lindsey was sworn in as District Attorney on Nov. 1, assuming the office after Stanley’s disbarment. He has committed to upholding justice, restoring public trust and ensuring that all residents of the 11th Judicial District receive fair and equitable treatment under the law.
Lindsey has held a full-day training with the entire office and has met with support staff and attorneys to review the importance of discovery.
Top 10 Countdown
No. 10. Fremont County school districts growing, upgrading with construction projects
No. 9. Part of Main Street building collapses
No. 8. City of Florence settles lawsuits
No. 7. Law enforcement responds to manhunts in Cañon City
No. 6. Abbey Event Center closes its doors
No. 5. Disbarred District Attorney Linda Stanley’s impact on several cases
No. 4. Friday
No. 3. Saturday
No. 2. Monday
No. 1. Tuesday
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