This series of posts are an introduction to the shinanigans of the court.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Attn: Agent Steven Johnson / Theft Division
710 Kipling Street, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80215

Dear Agent Johnson;

It would seem the Larimer County Clerk of Courts may have untoward reason to withhold information that should be made available per my son’s request. His complaint regarding the behavior of the Clerk is enclosed. He, his father, and I are requesting investigation. Jason cites these in his complaint;
Theft, deception, conceals or abandons: / CRS 18-4-401,
False statement, fraudulent use/statement / CRS 18-5-507,
Abuse of public record/impairs the availability of public record CRS 18-8-114.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My own complaint or observation, if you will, is this;

While the final appeal process to the U.S. District Court of Colorado is ticking off its days, the Clerk of Larimer Court is playing with monies sent by Jason and by me. Not providing Jason with the requested material in a timely fashion, using the “no monies enclosed” excuse; is a deliberate abuse of power. Several weeks ago I enclosed a postal money order to the clerk from the U.S. Post Office in Bath, ME, careful to put it in the envelope and seal it with the request for information. The clerk is tampering with the time line of the appeal.

Over the past eight years I have spent $30,000 on an appeals lawyer by re-mortgaging my home. In the past few months my business and my home have been lost to the failing economy and Jason has had to continue “pro se.” I can remain in my home for a few more months until the bankruptcy trustee disposes of it, but my unemployment checks don’t allow for the frivolity of the Larimer County Clerk of Courts.

All of this would have been unnecessary if the case had been handled properly to begin with. Evidence was withheld! The judge and the prosecutor handling the case are earning a reputation for deceit. Terrance Gilmore and Jolene Blair have both recently been censured by the Colorado Supreme Court for problems surrounding evidence in a case that sent an innocent man to prison for life. That man has recently been released after serving ten years of that life sentence. Censuring by the Supreme Court appears to be just that; a word, not justice.

When evidence is not released in a timely fashion to opposing parties it is deemed suspicious. In Jason’s case, I pushed his public defender for release of ballistics testing and she did not push the opposition in return, and it was never produced.

Jason’s past appeals attorney stated he has found the Larimer County Court to be the most difficult court in the state to interact with.

How long are we going to continue to see this shameful status quo in the court?

Douglas D. Guidorizzi of Emory Law, states: “Plea bargaining may satisfy what some scholars argue is “an irrepressible tendency toward cooperation among members of the courtroom work group. A tighter screening process will prevent the overcharging that creates significant leverage for the prosecution in negotiations.” “The concerns of plea bargaining critics are corruption of institutional values, decreased effectiveness of criminal sanction and the increased chance of improper convictions.”


Eric Luna, Cato Policy Report, Overextending the Criminal Law. “The sledgehammer of draconian punishment (threat] is most disturbing when it is used to coax pleas out of individuals with valid claims of mitigation or even innocence.”

Mary-Ellen Pecci
211 Campbells Pond Road
West Bath, ME 04530
207-443-6861
maryellenz@suscom-maine.net

CC: State Senator Bob Bacon
State Representative Don Marostica
First Lady Jeannie Ritter
Attorneys’ David Wymore & Maria Liu
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Portland, ME
Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News