[Southsider2k12]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/publi...d2786bc432.html

The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that at least some testimony might be allowed from Michigan City police officers accused of wrongly eavesdropping on a murder suspect and his attorney.

The high court on Wednesday ruled the officers could not testify about the evidence gathered from listening to the private talks, but could testify about the evidence collected from the remainder of the investigation.

Brian Taylor, 22, is charged with murder in the March 2014 shooting death of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Simone Bush, at a home on County Line Road on the west side of Michigan City.

A LaPorte County judge had barred all trial testimony against Taylor from those officers after they invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the eavesdropping.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.news-sentinel.com/opinion/When-justice-is-cheated

When justice is cheated
The rules are there to protect all of us
Monday, April 04, 2016 8:44 AM
A bedrock principle of our criminal justice system is that the burden of proof is on the prosecution, not the defendant. One way that principle is enshrined is through absolute attorney-client privilege.

A deputy prosecutor and some Michigan City police officers violated that privilege and got themselves into a big mess. They eavesdropped on the private talks between 22-year-old Brian Taylor, charged with murder in the March 2014 shooting death of his girlfriend, 22-year-old Simone Bush, and his attorney. That made them privy to the defense’s strategy, and suddenly an advanage was given to the prosecution that the prosecution shouldn’t have.

And now the whole case against Taylor is in jeopardy.

A LaPorte County judge barred all testimony against Taylor from the police officers. Some of the conversation overheard by officers and information derived from those talks were used to help develop the case. Much of the evidence in the murder case was thrown out when LaPorte Superior Court 1 Judge Kathleen Lang ruled those officers would not be able to testify.

Now the Indiana Supreme Court has given the prosecution a reprieve, sort of. It ruled unanimously that the judge’s ruling went too far. The high court said the officers could not testify about the evidence gathered from listening to the talks, but could testify about the evidence collected from the remainder of the case, things like fingerprints, bullet fragments collected at the scene, spent shell casings and publicly viewable content from Taylor’s Facebook page.

However, the court said prosecutors will have to convince the judge hearing the murder case that testimony from the officers won’t infringe Taylor’s right to a fair trial.

“And if it cannot, perhaps the same law-enforcement personnel whose bold misconduct sabotaged the prosecution will likewise be bold enough to personally deliver that news to Simone Bush’s family,” the decision said.

What an appropriate suggestion. When the system fails, the harmful effect isn’t just that a guilty criminal might go free. The victims of the crime get no justice and no closure, and the rest of us are left with the sense that things are broken. We all hope we will never be caught up in the process, but if we ever are, we must have faith in it.