As Wallin And Klarich Predicted, Bustamante’s Attorney Demands In Motion To Dismiss Charges Due To DA’s Prejudicial Comments
“The DA’s Prejudicial Comments Against Bustamante are Unethical,” Explains Paul Wallin
The day that the DA chose to conduct a news conference when they arrested Bustamante for numerous sex offenses, leading Orange County criminal defense attorney Paul Wallin was asked to go on 1150 AM radio on the David Cruz program to discuss the Bustamante case. During that interview, I warned everyone listening that the DA’s prejudicial comments would come back to bite the DA in the butt because he was attempting to prejudice the potential jury pool against Bustamante.
I made clear that this conduct may be unethical and clearly would give the defense attorney the opportunity to bring a motion to dismiss the charges.
In fact that is exactly what Bustamante’s lawyer has done. A motion to dismiss the charges is now set for July 26, 2012 where a judge will be asked to rule on the motion to dismiss.
It would be tragic if the DA’s attempt to gain himself publicity as a “tough on crime” prosecutor lead to criminal charges being dropped in such a serious case. As I said before, this case cannot be tried in the media but rather in a court of law. It is highly likely the judge will deny the motion to dismiss but likely admonish the DA to stop “trying the case in the media” and may issue a gag order, which would prohibit both lawyers from doing press conferences or press releases to further prejudice the opinions of potential jurors.
This case is serious and should be tried on the “merits” and if a jury finds the defendant guilty, he should be severely punished. If he is found not guilty, he should go free. The DA of Orange County should be embarrassed that they are now required to defend against this motion because they conducted a “publicity stunt” which definitely prejudiced Bustamante’s case.
However, I just do not think any judge in Orange County would ever dismiss the case based upon the DA’s conduct. We will see what happens on July 26, 2012.
If you or a loved one has been accused of sex crimes in Southern California, call us today at 888-749-0034. Our Orange County criminal defense attorneys have over 40 years of experience defending clients throughout Southern California who are facing sex charges.
