Judge threatens to remove capital defense lawyer, cites missed deadlines and overzealous motions
A federal judge in Boston told a capital defense lawyer on Tuesday that she had ruined her credibility and that he might sanction her or remove her from the case.
Senior U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf said lawyer Danalynn Recer had missed deadlines and violated an order to refrain from contact with a federal mental health examiner, the Boston Globe reports. He also said Recer had filed overzealous motions after hours and on weekends, the story says.
Recer maintains she answered questions when the mental health examiner contacted her because she thought he had gotten permission to call her.
Recer was appointed for the sentencing retrial of Gary Lee Sampson, who pleaded guilty in two carjacking murders and later admitted to a third slaying, the Boston Globe says. His death sentence was overturned because a juror had lied during voir dire.
“Since the sentence was overturned,” the story says, “defense lawyers and prosecutors effectively have been retrying the entire case, with the number of court filings rivaling the case of the suspected Boston Marathon bomber.” Additional prosecutors have been added to the case.
Wolf ordered the public defender’s office in Boston to compile a list of lawyers who could replace Recer if Wolf orders her removal.
