- Posted October 02, 2013
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Michigan ordered to free man linked to corrupt trial
DETROIT (AP) -- A judge has ordered prison officials to release a Detroit-area man whose drug trial was marred by perjury by police.
The jury failed to reach a verdict in that trial, but Alexander Aceval subsequently pleaded guilty and has been in prison since 2006.
Federal Judge Arthur Tarnow ruled Monday that the trial misconduct was so severe that authorities should've been barred from further prosecuting Aceval.
There's no dispute that an informant and Inkster police officers lied at Aceval's trial. The lies were known by prosecutor Karen Plants and then-Wayne County Circuit Judge Mary Waterstone. But the perjury wasn't discovered until after Aceval accepted a plea deal.
Plants pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and lost her law license.
Aceval's attorney, David Moffitt, says Tarnow's decision "vindicates us in every regard."
Published: Wed, Oct 2, 2013
headlines Oakland County
headlines National
- 50 Years of Service: ABA has been a ‘stalwart ally’ for LSC funding
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Biden recalls time he bluffed knowledge of torts case and why he changed his mind about civil-trial work
- Lawyers’ ‘barrage of personal attacks’ on opponents started with tissue-box toss, appeals court says
- Longtime prosecutor resigns after judge tosses him from case, citing Perry Mason-type revelations
- 24% of law students expect to work in public service, survey says