UNCHARGED MURDER IN FAIRFAX GETS ATTENTION

I urge everyone to check out this post by Blueweeds, which is written by a Northern Virginia Democratic Chair.  It covers the murder of Steve Cornojo in Fairfax and how Commonwealth's Attorney Bob Horan has not pressed murder charges against the killer.  This is becoming a major issue in the race between Ray Morrough and Patrick McDade and Patrick has given blueweeds an exclusive statement on the issue. 

Please go read that post and urge Ray to give Falls Church (which is still hurting badly from this murder and lack of charges for apparent racial reasons) what they are asking for- a public comment on why no murder charges are being pursued.

Comments

[Not Jack Herrity]

Could McDade be the insurgency candidate of 2007? Morrogh has certainly done himself no favors. He's running the office now, so at least he has the power to conduct a review of Horan's decision.

NJH

cornEjo

[dems4dems]

This story should be kept on the front burner. It is always unsettling when a homicide is not presecuted when we know who the perpetrator is. Another equally compelling case is the case of Prince Jones, unarmed and innocent of any wrongdoing, gunned down in cold blood by a Prince Georges County plainclothes officer who pursued him to Fairfax County in what turned out to be case of mistaken identity. Horan wouldn't prosecute, saying the investigation revealed insufficient evidence that could support a conviction. That is not surprising; a common thread that runs through the Horan tenure is that he has always "declined" to prosecute police misconduct.

[Mike@Blueweeds]

It has been noted that the Cornejo, Prince Jones, and Culosi shootings are all a very odd coincidence. More on Culosi shooting at http://www.justiceforsal.com/.

Let me get this straight. An attorney with two years experience as an ASSISTANT prosecutor, who is the major underdog in a campaign says that he's going to review a case. WOW! jStop the presses!That's earth-shattering. What conviction! What courage! What a load of guano. Horan, an prosecutor with 40+ years of experience, a prosecutor of whom one circuit court judge said "he could get a loaf of white bread indicted" reviewed the case, and thought that either the evidence didn't support a charge, or that a coviction couldn't be obtained. Hmmm... While I have some complaints about how Horan has run his office, it's all been on the management side. As a prosecutor, he's good. He's damn good.

[Mike@Blueweeds]

8:19 - Horan is obviously an excellent prosecutor, but in the Cornejo case he, for only the third time in his career, allowed his investigators to present the case to the grand jury. No one is sure why - Horan has refused to say whether it was something innocuous or as a result of public reaction in the Culosi case.

It IS a fools errand to second guess criminal investigations absed on published reports. But in the Cornejo shooting, a very conservative civil jury which saw all the available EVIDENCE awarded MORE money to the Cornejo family - which is clearly a jury trying to send a message to the public that they saw something.

Horan's reaction to the civil award? He was "surprised" by the eyewitness testimony to the shooting. His investigators had ignored or discounted the eyewitness of two Hispanics who witnesses the entire confrontation. Horan got blindsided by his own team.

I'm a D+++ Politics asside, McDade deserves for taking a position on this case and being consistent in pointing out these types of issues in the CA office.

The Cornejo family, hundreds of friends of the family, Steve's soccer coach, the members of the civil jury, the Democratic Mayor of Falls Church, members of the Eighth District Democratic Committee, Gerry Connolly (D), at least five regional newspapers, several bloggers (Ds and Rs), the Falls Church City Attorney, Dave Albo's law firm, several other mebers of the NOVA legal community, the Fairfax County Auditor Office ... all and more have asked for an explanation based primarily on the disconnect between what the CA has said and what the evidence in the civil trial was.

If its guano - it's good guano - being pushed by a lot of people who understand the issue transcends politics.

[Not Jack Herrity]

Anon, I think the issues here are less about Horan's competence and more about the way he runs his office and the decisions he makes. Remember, this is the guy who voluntarily understaffs his office, overworking his prosecutors so he can say he runs a "lean" office.

Horan and Morrogh are both notorious for declining to prosecute cases and for seeking plea-bargains just because their prosecutors have caseloads they cannot handle.

NJH

[SJ]

Horan himself only had 2 years experience as a prosecutor before he became Commonwealth's Attorney. McDade's outside perspective and familiarity with modern management techniques make him the best man to turn that office around.

The management of Horan's office (led by his deputy I'm sure) does seem to be the biggest problem now. With too few prosecutors and overwhelming case loads, 72% of serious crimes are being pleabargained down or dismissed outright. The Cornejo, Prince Jones, and Culosi cases are endemic of a bigger problem. How many other times has a prosecutor been "surprised" by testimony that potentially could have swung a case.

Honestly I expect better in Fairfax County.

McDade's agenda (www.mcdadeforca.com) is to modernize the office, and make sure victims rights are protected. On November 6th people are going to have to decide if they want more of the same problems in Fairfax County, or if they deserve better.

The amazing thing here is not that a prosecutor with 2 years experience thinks it's worth a review. The amazing thing is that a prosecutor with over 40 years experience and a deputy with decades of his own don't seem to think so.

Mike@blueweeds what exactly do you mean by allowing his investigators to present the case to the grand jury? The cops have always been the ones to present the case to the grand jury. The jurors go to jury rooms, cops come in, tell their side of the story, the grand jury decides whether to issue a true bill of complaint, the cop leaves the room. Horan's never in the jury room with the members of the jury. At the end of the day, the foreman/woman presents the bills of indictment. The judge asks them if they know of any other events in the community that should be investigated. I've never heard a grand jury say yes to that question, but they could.

[Mike@Blueweeds]

2:37 - Apologies, I wasn't very clear here. The process you've described is the normal criminal indictment procedure. In potential homicide cases, however, Horan has almost always done a direct bill of indictment and skipped the GJ process(states can indict by either GJ or a direct bill from prosecutor). In the Cornejo case, Horan elected to follow a procedure he almost never has before in close to 50 years of prosecuting cases. From the 7/20/05 FCNP: "Horan conceded that sending the case to a grand jury was an unusual move for him, especially in a shooting case. He left the grand jury, composed of seven Fairfax County residents, the option of indicting the assailant for involuntary manslaughter, even though in the past he’s said he was elected to “make the tough calls.” However, it is highly uncommon that a grand jury will bring forth a different outcome than what a commonwealth attorney recommends, suggesting that Horan encouraged the outcome the grand jury reached. On behalf of Horan, Fairfax Detective Chester Toney presented the case to the grand jury..." http://www.fcnp.com/520/lead1.htm

This probably would not have been such a big deal - except that a Fairfax County civil jury awarded MORE than what the Cornejo asked for in a wrongful death lawsuit. This almost never happens except in movies. many people, myself included, believe the civil verdict was an attempt by citizens who had an opportunity to see all the evidence, to send a message to the CA that they had bungled the investigation. Horan himself was surprised by the eywitness evidence brought forward.

Speculation about all this evidence is really difficult and dangerous. That's exactly why Horan or the CA should explain what they are doing or why they are not doing anything.

Mike@blueweeds I have personally heard a judge on the Fairfax Circuit Court say that Horan could indict a loaf of white bread. If an indictement was presented, and the jury didn't issue a true bill of indictment, where's the injustice? Are you saying that the grand jury was wrong? They'd have been using a lower standard of proof than a criminal jury would use, and they didn't think that there was any "there" there. Why would you think that the shooter would have fared worse before a criminal jury?

Sorry, forgot to address what Horan "recommends." Horan doesn't even go into the jury room when the evidence is presented. How could he influence the jurors? He doesn't argue evidence before them, or anything. Are you saying that the police officer who went into the jury room to present evidence lied? Did he minimize the evidence? Did he slant the evidence? Sometimes the tough calls that an elected official has to make is to go against the will of some people. That's why we have a justice system and not trial by vigiliantes.

[Mike@Blueweeds]

5:20 - Nobody knows what the GJ saw. That's really the issue given what the civil jury did. The civil jury are the ONLY ones who saw what the GJ should have seen. And they sent a message saying - "CA, you guys missed something." BTW - The standard for indictment is only probable cause. The standard for a civil verdict is higher than pc, so you know that at least the civil jury saw pc.

But let me ask you something. Why do you think Horan didn't just issue a direct indictment like he's done in almost every shooting case he's prosecuted in 50 years as teh CA? He's only asked a GJ to indict a shooting death three times in his career - why with this case? What do you make of Horan's public statements after the civil verdict that he was "surprised" about the eyewitness testimony that was the key to the civil case? And given the NUMEROUS questions people (of all backgrounds) have about the Cornejo shooting, why do you think the CA just doesn't make some statement rather than criticize people for asking questions about what should be a public process? Nobody wants to jeapordize an investigation or prosecution - but why can't the CA just say "it's an open case. no comment." or "we have closed the investigation and don't intend to pursue charges because ...." or "we are still reviewing recomendations of our investigators ...."

Part of the ongoing issue, and there has been more than I can say here, is the handling of the case by the CA office itself.

The CA should be given a lot of latitude, but, ultimately, the office is a public prosecution office and accountable to the citizens of the Commonwealth.

Why are you saying this was a racial issue?

[Not Patrick McDade]

Politics is a rough game but I have some questions for the Republicans who monitor this blog to answer:
Did Patrick McDade recently fail to disclose to defense attorneys that a police officer witness had been arrested in connection with a sexual offense in Arlington and was no longer available as a witness? Did McDade fail the bar exam the first time around? Do we really want that combination of attorney running the Fairfax Commonwealth's attorney's office, meaning lack of candor and ability all rolled into one?

[Not Jack Herrity]

NPM, you sound like a disgruntled defense attorney. If I remember correctly, McDade works for Democrat Dick Trodden, who said publicly (and for attribution) that McDade is a capable prosecutor.

A hard-nosed prosecutor will occasionally run afoul of an overzealous defense attorney, so I'm not surprised that there are allegations out there by defense attorneys who McDade forces to earn their keep.

Meanwhile, Morrogh keeps sidling up to his buddies in the defense bar, taking thousands from them in campaign contributions while he plea bargains their cases down to misdemeanors.

NJH

[dems4dems]

Maybe better saying this late than never but NPM's insinuation of failing to disclose how many times one took the bar exam is worthless! I took it and passed it the first time. BFD!!! I can think of at least one classmate who's now a sitting judge in Virginia who failed it the first time. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell (from Virginia) passed it on his fourth attempt. The bar exam is necessary but passing or failing it doesn't say very much except you now have the pleasure of practicing law.

[Not Lewis Powell]

Point well taken on the bar exam issue but McDade is no Lewis Powell. More importantly about McDade though people are framing this as a Republican v. Democrat race when really it should be about who is more competent. As much as defense attorneys, many of which are Republicans would love to see the train wreck of a McDade victory this will probably be bad for victims of crimes. It is well known that McDade is a fairly poor trial lawyer, often failing to know how to lay the most basic foundation for the admission of items of evidence as well often beeing incapable of asking non-leading questions, a key skill for a prosecutor. Ray Morrogh is known as a very capable trial lawyer that knows how to handle complex litigation. McDade has been very critical of Bob Horan yet apparently that has only been the case after he applied for a job with him and did not get it. Why did he need a job? He touts that he worked for Judge Alden which is normally a two year clerkship, yet for him it was only one year. The question is whether he was asked to leave and why? Another question is why Republicans would be so enthused to have a protege of democrat Dick Trodden, whose office has a lot more problems than Horan's, get the job in Fairfax (remember as an example when one of his assistants who was the son of a Fairfax Board of Supervisor member was allowed to avoid a breath test in an accident with a fatality?). The sad thing is that the Republican party did not put up a real competent alternative but rather a candidate with little understanding of the office and of how to really improve the system of justice in Fairfax.

It is interesting that according to the last campaign finance report filed by Morrogh, he receives most of his support, including one $10,000 donation from defense attorneys. They must be really nervous that a McDade win will end their gravy train they have been riding on for years now. Additionally, those of you who have seen the Reston debate between Morrogh and McDade, McDade clearly won and kept Morrogh on the defensive. Even elected democrats (Dick Trodden) concede that McDade is a skilled trial attorney, even if he has only been doing it for a few years.
And I just checked because of this post… most of Judge Alden’s law clerks have been for only one year for a while now. Get your facts straight.
That posting represents everything that is wrong with blogging... People can just stand up and lie with no reprecussions That posting should say “Authorized and Paid for by Ray Morrogh” at the bottom.

[liberalleaningright]

I think people are forgetting the main point to the election (dismissed felonies). I don't think that the people that live, work, and visit Fairfax County want to see the county turn into what Prince George's County Maryland has turned into (few cases prosecuted & crime rampant(. Sure the defense attorney's are scared, they may actually have to work rather than just show up and have a felony broken down. The office needs a MAJOR overhaul in management style and needs to become progressive and aggressive. I hope our county doesn't go into the toilet if the current management style lasts....