Monday, September 11, 2006

Words Can Hardly Describe this Level of Injustice

**spread this far and wide

(how much longer will Michigan allow this in Berrien County?)


Shannon David McKinney was found guilty today by a Berrien County jury. The charge was possession of marijuana. There were .00004 grams of marijuana planted by officer Collins and officer Bernard Hall. Both claim it was in McKinney's pocket. Mr. McKinney does not smoke or sell marijuana.

Court-appointed attorney Berger from Berger & Laforge law firm refused to subpoena witnesses for the defendant to prove that officer Collins and Hall planted the marijuana or to find that there was no marijuana at all.

McKinney had several witnesses who would testify that he had no marijuana in his possession. He told the judge that court-appointed attorney Berger refused to subpoena his witnesses. McKinney recorded the phone conversation without attorney Berger's knowledge. During the conversation Berger made several statements in reference to witnesses and told McKinney he refused to subpeona witnesses and that McKinney could do nothing about it. McKinney played the tape for me.

Before the trial started and before she heard any evidence, Judge Angela Pasula told the defendant, "You are going to trial and then to jail." Judge Angela Pasula, the prosecutor, and court-appointed attorney Berger were a team against Mr. McKinney.

Legal malpractice has been defined in Michigan by a series of cases beginning with Babbit v Bumpus. The Michigan Supreme court defined legal malpractice in Michigan as any professional misconduct - acts by your attorney that cause you to suffer a damage.

Since I have been a court observer in Berrien County, I have seen thousands of people just like Mr. Shannon McKinney. Who will be next? When are the good people of this county, this state, this country going to stand up and say enough is enough. There will be a war soon and Berrien County courthouse and law enforcement will not win.

Rev. Edward Pinkney