The Washington Supreme Court has thrown out a murder case in an 8-1 ruling due to “prosecutorial misconduct” for what was deemed racist arguments.
In 2007, Kevin Monday was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree assault in a high profile murder case, that stemmed from a gang related shooting in Pioneer Square, reports the Seattle Times.
The court found that King County deputy prosecutor James Konat engaged in “prosecutorial misconduct” based on his questioning witnesses. While questioning witnesses at the murder trial, many of whom were black, Konat referred to an alleged street “code” that he believed would prevent witnesses from talking to police. During his questioning, he referred to law enforcement as the “PO-leese.”
The defendant, Monday, appealed the murder conviction on several grounds, contending that Konat made “blatant and inappropriate appeal to racial prejudice and undermined the credibility of African-American witnesses based on their race.” The Court of Appeals agreed, but upheld the conviction.
The Supreme Court however, stated that Konat’s arguments were grounds to overturn the conviction, stating that Konat’s comments cast doubt on the credibility of the witnesses based on race.
The ruling stated, “The State repeatedly invoked an alleged African American, anti-snitch code to discount the credibility of its own witnesses…it is deeply troubling that an experienced prosecutor who, by his own account, had been a prosecutor for 18 years would resort to such tactics.”
The State also argued that something all prosecutors learn early in their careers is that all criminal defendants lack reliability when testifying.
Justice James M. Johnson dissented, and said that while Konat’s comments tainted the jury’s impressions, the murder case was still proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Monday will be retried and a different prosecutor will be assigned to the case. Konat was not formally disciplined for his actions.