Computer Kiddie Porn Acquitals

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I have just finished a very complicated (on one level) and simple (on another level) case involving kiddie porn that was found on a computer. The complicated part was challenging the fact that digital imaging technology is of such a sophisticated nature that even experts can't tell the difference between morphed images and real ones. In other words, the images that are discovered on a computer could have been adult females and simply manipulated to make them look like children.

The simple part was that the charged images were all logged in under my client's girlfriend's name! The state argued that my client was the one that actually accessed the pictures because there was a search for "preteen" under his login.

To make a long story short - after a series of computer experts testifying that the images were not morphed and that the children were real, the jury acquitted on all 10 counts.

Needless to say, a very relieved client! What really bothers me, however, is that district attorneys around the state continue to charge these patently weak case. Is it a reaction to public hysteria over sex crimes in general (witness the "rape" cases of 18 year old boys having sex with their 15 year old girlfriends)? Political expediency? Both? Who knows....what is clear is that hundreds, maybe thousands, of people (mainly men) are being charged with very serious felonies when they should not be.

In this case it was a bitter ex-girlfriend who made it very clear that she would do and say most anything to put my client in prison. I was able to prove that she had lied in court on numerous occasions, and actually hatched a plan to get rid of my client months before she turned the computer over to the police.

If anyone doubts the importance of an experienced defense attorney in our system of justice - go ask my client!

John A. Birdsall, Birdsall Law Offices, S.C.
135 W. Wells St., Ste 214, Milwaukee, WI 53203
414.831.5465 - www.birdsall-law.com

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Proving a crime is a real "burden"!

Two cases currently being given an inordinate amount of hysterical media attention demonstrate how the public can have a twisted view of justice in America. More importantly, they are left with the impression that the cops always get it right and ignore the vast number of wrongfully convicted people in this country.

OJ is at it again! Or is he? Was he set up? Even some commentators think so as discussed on CNN InSession BLOGs. The hysterical reaction to OJ over the years is explicitly played out here. After his arrest for trying to get his own property back, who were the first to be interviewed? The Goldman's!! How's that for getting a fair shake? The actual evidence - available for those who care to look - shows a judge who let in tapes secretly recorded that even the FBI expert admitted could have been altered, the witness who did the taping selling them to a gossip website (TMZ) BEFORE he gave them to the police and then writing a book well before the trial and the arresting cop admitting that he normally arrests people before making a complete investigation! There is little doubt that OJ was trying to get his stuff back himself (without the police) to avoid any proceeds from going to pay the $33 million dollar judgment against him, but that does not mean he knew that a gun was brought to the party. His rat/snitch friends know that but will say anything after the frantic rush to cut deals with the government.

On the other side of the country, a young woman is being crucified daily in the press. Casey Anthony reported her daughter Caylee missing in July - a month after she went missing. Since then, she has been vilified as "unstable," "perplexed" and that she had long ago tried to give Caylee up for adoption. The authorities then claim to have found Caylee's hair, an "odor" and "stains" (which can only be seen with a black light) in the trunk of Casey's car. There is reportedly evidence of a "decomposing body" and traces of choloform. Never, however, have any of these supposed scientific tests been confirmed. I have seen countless instances where DNA and fingerprint "evidence" has been debunked because of faulty sample collection, messy lab work or flat-out corrupt technicians. But the media plays it like undoubted fact and then engages in salacious smears to paint this woman in the most evil light possible. Enough already!!! Can't the media allow the process to work without poisoning the jury pool before someone has a chance to defend themselves. The paper thin case they are trying to build reminds one of the Manhattan Beach sex abuse case (day care worker acquitted of molesting hundred's of preschool children) or the Duke LaCrosse case (where the DA was ultimately disbarred for abusing his position by manipulating the stripper "victims" of a claimed sexual assault).

Trying someone in the press is not what this country, or a criminal justice system are about. It turns into entertainment for those that can't get enough of Britney, Paris and Lindsay. If anyone has any doubt about the need for an experience and aggressive defense lawyer, these cases ar explicit examples of that need.

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John A. Birdsall, Birdsall Law Offices, S.C.
135 W. Wells St., Ste 214, Milwaukee, WI 53203
414.831.5465 - www.birdsall-law.com

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