NWR: discussion for our PW attorneys

Ladies,

I am an attorney in Florida--just so you know where I'm coming from.  I like to watch law shows on tv like law and order, though I sometimes disagree with what they say is the law, etc.  Last night, my husband and I watched Law and Order SVU.  I was very disturbed by the representation made to the American public by the very end of the show:

A man was in prison for a rape that the cops found out was committed by another.  The real perpetrator was caught and confessed on tape--with his lawyer present (no constitutional issues).  The real perpetrator then killed himself.  The ADA on the show stated that nothing could be done for the innocent man who was sitting in prison because no court would accept the hearsay tape as proof that the innocent man did not rape the girl.  The rules of evidence would basically make the innocent man serve another 15 years in prison.

I understand that sometimes innocents are put in jail wrongly.  What bothered me was the representation that nothing could be done to spring the innocent man.  That is not the case in Florida as we have postconviction remedies to correct illegal or incorrect sentences. 

What about in your state?  What would be the outcome of the above scenario?  Would the innocent man really serve another 15 years in prison????

TGD

Im not an attorney, but that's messed the hell up

Agreed, JVille.  That's why I was bothered.  Certainly, that's not the case in any state in the USA. 

Wow... Thankfully thats just a tv show;

and it wouldn't make for good tv if the man was released....

in real life Im sure it would be handled differently.. Or so i hope..

Wow, that makes me sick to my stomach. TV shows always push limits though and do scenarios that wouldn't happen in the place where they are supposed to take place. I don't know why they feel like they have to be so extreme... ratings I suppose. I'm not a lawyer so sorry for butting in lol. I am very very passionate about the law and that so I feel you on this one.

I actually think that this is the case in many states. My crim pro professor has been working hard for several years to try to get a case to the USSC to get this matter resolved, especially in death penalty cases and life in prison.  In many instances, there is no way to introduce new evidence into the record, as appeals are based on what was presented at trial.

wow that is really sad. I hope that is not what happens in real life....

Yeah, my husband hates that show. He is a criminal attorney in FL as well and he tells me every trial he has to tell the jurors - "this is not Law and Order or CSI - that is fake". Was there not DNA evidence in that case?

You know what's bad, a lot of those cases are based on real events even though they say they arent.  Well Law and Order I mean.

I do Social Security law so this is totally out of my area but I imagine the ACLU, the Innocence Project, and other such groups would be all over that...