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Topic: Recantation

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	No. 95-1518
		After finding "the victim's uncorroborated recantation to be less credible" than the accusations she made to her sister, to the police, and to the circuit court at the preliminary hearing, the circuit court concluded that there was no reasonable probability that a different result would occur at trial.
		Furthermore, the recantation is consistent with circumstances existing at the time of H.L.'s initial allegation, as testified to by H.L.'s mother: that she and H.L.'s father were in the process of divorcing, and that McCallum had disciplined H.L. for her misconduct involving school truancy, coming home late, and not observing rules of the house.
		The circuit court merely determines whether the recanting witness is worthy of belief, whether he or she is within the realm of believability, whether the recantation has any indicia of credibility persuasive to a reasonable juror if presented at a new trial.
	www.wisbar.org /res/sup/1997/95-1518.htm (6352 words)

	Attorney in New York Peter Agulnick - Published Articles
		The policy behind the recantation defense is to encourage truth telling by barring a punishment for a witness who lied but might wish to purge his conscience by retracting his false testimony and providing the truth.
		It is a defense to perjury that a witness recant a knowingly false
		A well-formulated recantation defense increases the likelihood of veracity and,
	www.agulnicklaw.com /articles/recantation.html (8330 words)

	98-3107B (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		Her recantation was allegedly based on her confusion at the time of trial as to whether Sorenson or his brother committed the assault.
		He argues that the circuit court's exclusion of the recantation evidence constituted a denial of his constitutional right to present a defense and his constitutional right to have a jury determine every fact at issue.
		Sorenson argues that the experts based their evaluations primarily on his commission of the underlying crime and on his failure to complete several sex offender treatment programs, which were not completed because he refused to admit to committing the assault.
	www.courts.state.wi.us /sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=17449 (4289 words)

	No. 97-2932
		Identifying recantation evidence as inherently unreliable, the State asks that we adopt a test with which circuit courts could assess the reliability of recantation in a manner that is more structured than the assessment of credibility engaged in by the circuit courts in those cases where a defendant alleges a misunderstanding of the plea.
		And when the new evidence is not recantation, holding the defendant to these requirements is reasonable, for if the defendant knew of evidence prior to the entry of a plea, or was negligent in seeking the evidence, it would not be fair and just to allow him or her to withdraw a plea.
		However, if a reasonable jury could believe the recantation, then the defendant is entitled to withdraw his or her plea, for the defendant does not have the added burden of showing that a reasonable jury would have a reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt, as is required when a motion is made after sentencing.
	www.wisbar.org /res/sup/1999/97-2932.htm (7488 words)

	Criminal Resource Manual 1751 Comparison of Perjury Statutes -- 18 USC 1621 and 1623
		Recantation was never a defense to perjury in the common law, and is not a complete defense in a Section 1621 prosecution.
		First, the recantation must be made "in the same continuous court or grand jury proceeding" in which the original false declaration was made.
		Finally, recantation bars prosecution only if the admission occurs at a time when the false declaration has "not substantially affected the proceedings, and it has not become manifest that such falsity has been or will be exposed." United States v.
	www.usdoj.gov /usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01751.htm (470 words)

	MDAA - From the Courts
		At the final probation surrender however, the victim testified for the defense, recanting her earlier statements by denying the physical assaults.
		First, the summary qualified as prior recorded testimony, as the victim was "unavailable" because her recantation rendered her "effectively unavailable" in the same sense as though she had exercised her 5th Amendment privilege.
		Finally, the Court noted the judge's misgivings about the reliability of the victim's recantations (the record reflects the victim was pregnant with the defendant's second child and had expressed concerns that the defendant would be jailed).
	www.mass.gov /mdaa/courts/janovich.html (278 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		Recantation, for all its value in ultimately unveiling the truth, may well prove to be a disincentive to veracity in the first instance; to the extent that a perjurer can sidestep prosecution simply by recanting, he is hardly the more prompted to tell the truth in the beginning.
		The Department's interpretation was: If a witness recants in the course of the same continuous court or grand jury proceeding, a prosecution for false statements will be barred, provided that the repudiation is made before it has substantially affected the proceeding, and before it is evident that the witness' false testimony will be exposed.
		We note that, since we conclude that Sherman was not entitled to the defense of recantation under 18 U.S.C. S1623(d), we need not address whether the Constitution would preclude the prosecutor from prosecuting under S 1621 and thereby depriving Sherman of a defense to which he would have otherwise been entitled.
	vls.law.vill.edu /locator/3d/Jul1998/98a1924p.txt (5335 words)

	State v. Peseti
		Peseti argues that the family court erred in concluding that the complainant's recantation of her allegations of sexual abuse constituted a privileged communication under the HRE and, therefore, that her testimony relating thereto was inadmissible at trial.
		In the present case, defense counsel sought to elicit testimony from the complainant regarding her recantation of her allegations of sexual abuse by Peseti to demonstrate her motive to fabricate her version of the events in order to be placed in the foster care system.
		Upon the DPA's objection based on "patient privacy," defense counsel argued that the proffered recantation was material to the complainant's motive to fabricate the allegations of sexual abuse and to her credibility as a critical witness for the prosecution.
	www.hawaii.gov /jud/23345.htm (6664 words)

	Converted WP file pds
		In Carnahan, the victim/witness recanted at the trial of the defendant and, therefore, it would have been incongruous that such a witness would have provided an explanation for her recantation.
		Additionally, Roemer's suggestion that the victim might have recanted because she had an emotional attachment to her abuser was supported by the fact that the victim in the hypothetical had been involved with her attacker for more than fourteen years, married to him for four of those years and had a child with him.
		Further, Roemer's suggestion that the victim might have recanted because she wanted to pacify her assailant could also be inferred from the fact that the victim recanted while her attacker was in jail from where he was unable to harm her.
	www.in.gov /judiciary/opinions/previous/archive/06239901.pds.html (4625 words)

	Oregon Judicial Department - Publications
		The state responds that, because the evidence of petitioner's guilt was overwhelming, the omission of the recantation evidence did not have a tendency to affect the result of that trial.
		It would seem nearly impossible to believe that the recantation presented, especially when attacked by the prosecution, would have had a reasonable probability or tendency to change the result of the proceeding in the face of what was otherwise overwhelming evidence.
		Although the transcript of the underlying criminal trial was introduced as an exhibit in the post-conviction trial, some of the exhibits from the underlying trial, including the videotape of the interview, were not introduced by petitioner and, therefore, are not part of the post-conviction record.
	www.publications.ojd.state.or.us /A112794.htm (4572 words)

	R. v. Burk
		When it was conceded that the Crown was fully aware of the recantation, the trial judge refused to permit the Crown to re-examine the witness with respect to the recantation, apparently with a view to eliciting that the accused had played a role in the recantation.
		So her recantation to the same person, this loving grandmother whom she has trust and confidence in implicitly, this recantation was just as spontaneous as was the original complaint.
		Her thinking, obviously, was that if the defence did not bring out the fact of the recantation, this omission would bolster the complainant's reliability and if the defence did bring it out, she would re-examine and establish that the recantation was tainted by the involvement of the respondent.
	www.yorku.ca /dmartin/Evidence/Cases/Burk.htm (2887 words)

	ED86566: Courtney Reid, Appellant v. State of Missouri, Respondent.
		Jennings' recantation could serve as the basis for a successful defense, he would not have pleaded guilty, but instead would have proceeded to trial.
		Regarding the recantation, the motion court concluded that Movant's allegations were "indirectly refuted" by the record, and "completely" refuted by plea counsel's affidavit.
		Given that trial counsel informed Movant prior to his plea that the victim had recanted, his conclusory statement that he was unaware that he had a valid defense is insufficient to warrant a hearing.
	www.courts.mo.gov /courts/pubopinions.nsf/ccd96539c3fb13ce8625661f004bc7da/990e6e7ab80534b78625717900766872?OpenDocument (3369 words)

	Hurricane Carter: The Other Side of the Story
		Bello in which he stated that his identification of the defendants Carter and Artis was a mistake, that he had identified the wrong persons, and that he had been pressured and confused into his trial testimony by the prosecution and the police (22aA 4866-74).
		This recantation was solicited from Bello by public defender investigator Fred Hogan and journalists Selwyn Raab and Hal Levinson.
		The recantations provided the basis for an extensive public relations campaign on behalf of the defense directed in part by a large public relations firm from New York City headed by a man named George Lois.
	www.graphicwitness.com /carter/recantation.html (2529 words)

	Washington Courts
		If she were to adhere to the facts in her recantation while under oath in open court and subject to cross examination, Rolax, Powell and York would require the court to permit D.T.M. to withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial.
		At one point, the court stated that, assuming it would find Pendleton's recantation credible, and deleting all the recanted evidence from the certification of probable cause, nonetheless the remaining evidence was sufficient to establish a factual basis for Clements' plea.
		In context, however, it is apparent from its ruling that the court did not find Pendleton's recantation reliable, in large part because it was inconsistent with the unretracted evidence in the certification.4 Thus independent evidence supported the plea, and the trial court was not convinced the recantation was reliable.
	www.courts.wa.gov /opinions/?fa=opinions.opindisp&docid=526596MAJ (3113 words)

	People v. Mullen, No. 1-98-1555
		That argument suggests the recantation was offered by the defense merely to impeach Freeman, however, the record indicates that the defense took the position that the recantation not only impeached Freeman, but exonerated defendant because the recantation was the truth.
		Once the defense indicated that Freeman's recantation was true, the defense went beyond impeaching Freeman's credibility with the recantation and raised the inference that Freeman's direct testimony was a lie, a fabrication.
		The essence of the defense case was that Freeman told the truth when he gave the recantation statement in May 1997 identifying Sam Quinn as the offender and stating that he did not see defendant kick the victim.
	www.state.il.us /court/opinions/AppellateCourt/2000/1stDistrict/May/HTML/1981555.htm (6782 words)

	2003 NYSlipOp 15445 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		Since the recantation is not reliable, the court did not deprive defendant of due process by denying his motion.
		The two affidavits that purportedly established the recanting witness's direction of travel at the time of the incident were of dubious credibility, but even if believed they would not establish that the recanting witness could not have seen the murder, and would not provide any other persuasive corroboration for his recantation.
		The last affidavit, alleging that the authorities pressured the affiant to give false testimony against defendant, which he ultimately declined to do, was not newly discovered and was entirely incredible, as the court record clearly establishes that this witness declined to testify out of fear of defendant.
	www.courts.state.ny.us /reporter/slips/15445.htm (355 words)

	'I Take It Back!' (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		The court first stated that the psychology of recantation by a child like M.M. is beyond the ken of the average juror.
		In testifying for the prosecution, the expert claimed the relevant research demonstrated that recantation was not that uncommon in cases of CSA.
		Ultimately, then, the available data related to recantation and allegations of CSA are, at best, equivocal, It is ill-advised, therefore, to assume that recantation is a reliable means for identifying sexually abused children.
	echo.forensicpanel.com /1998/10/1/itake.html (712 words)

	Aleck Carpitcher Update
		Meanwhile, a frustrated Carpitcher continues to serve a 38-year prison sentence despite the fact that his alleged victim recanted her testimony in March 2000.
		She was the sole witness in a prosecution that offered no supporting evidence of her allegations - no medical signs of abuse, no indication of emotional harm, no corroborating witnesses, no confession from Carpitcher.
		Because the 21-day rule bars Carpitcher's lawyers from simply presenting the girl's recantation, his habeas petition is based on claims that his constitutional rights were violated.
	www.truthinjustice.org /carpitcher2.htm (1096 words)

	Amazon.com: Recantation (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		Jackson's recantation or, The life & death of the notorious high-way-man, now hanging in chains at Hampstead: Delivered to a friend, a little before execution;...
		The quacks of Helicon, and Recantation by Lambert A Wilmer (Unknown Binding - 1853)
		Recantation demanded and refused: A rejoinder to "An appeal to facts," contained in a pamphlet recently issued by the Rev. Robert Eckett, relative to the...
	www.amazon.com /s?ie=UTF8&search-alias=aps&keywords=Recantation&page=1 (475 words)

	James v. State (01/30/2004) sp-5773
		After his conviction, Danielle M.,1 the key witness and only eyewitness to the incident, recanted her testimony that she saw James having sex with the minor, Elaine F. The superior court denied Jamess motion for a new trial predicated on Danielles recantation, basing this denial on its finding that Danielles recantation was not credible.
		James argues that instead of focusing exclusively on the credibility of Danielles recantation, the superior court should have address[ed] whether, after considering [Danielle]s evidentiary testimony with all the other evidence to be presented at a new trial, a reasonable jury could probably conclude that there existed a reasonable doubt.
		The states argument that the superior court made an implicit finding that Danielles recantation would not produce an acquittal at a new trial is based primarily on the premise that a credibility assessment encompasses an evaluation of the probable impact of the testimony.
	www.touchngo.com /sp/html/sp-5773.htm (2115 words)

	Convicted man gets new day in court - Roanoke.com (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		Although the girl recanted her testimony the following year, Carpitcher had been barred from presenting that evidence because it came too late under the state's 21-day rule.
		But prosecutors, who have maintained all along that the girl was pressured to recant by supporters of Carpitcher, have cited additional evidence since 2000 that they say supports his conviction.
		Carpitcher's lawyers have argued that the medical test cited by prosecutors is inconclusive at best, and that the recanted recantation is based on hearsay evidence that would not be allowed in court.
	www.roanoke.com /news/roanoke/wb/xp-23060 (579 words)

	People v Encarnacion (2005 NY Slip Op 50203(U))
		Defense counsel stated that he could have cited the recantation to undermine that argument because the recantation also had been made while Fabrizio was under oath.
		Nevertheless, even if the recantation had been suppressed, this Court still would find no Brady violation because defendant cannot establish that she was prejudiced by the non-disclosure.
		Recantations are notoriously unreliable (see People v Shilitano 218 NY 161, 170 [1916]), particularly when made by someone seeking to avoid the consequences of self-incrimination.
	www.courts.state.ny.us /reporter/3dseries/2005/2005_50203.htm (7555 words)

	Harmon v. Texas (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		The habeas corpus procedure required that the District Court Judge (1) compare and weigh the new evidence (presented on habeas corpus) against all the evidence of guilt adduced at trial and (2) assess the probable impact of the newly available evidence upon the persuasiveness of the State’s case as a whole.
		The dissenting judge noted that the judge who ruled the complainant’s recantation to be credible did not witness the testimony of the complainant.
		Justice Hervey outlined the record of the victim’s original trial testimony and demonstrated that significant aspects of the victim’s trial testimony were not recanted.
	www.nesl.edu /csr/svnews/Cases/2004/harmon_v._texas.htm (246 words)

	COURT RULING OFFER INMATE A RAY OF HOPE. A KEY WITNESS HAS GONE BACK ON TESTIMONY THAT HELPED CONVICT DENNIS W. ...
		With the recantation on April 20 by witness Randy G. Bowman, and Stockton's previous claims that prosecutors withheld evidence during his original trial, ``Stockton does have a legal niche now that he didn't have'' earlier, said William S. Geimer, a law professor at Washington & Lee University.
		Bowman's recantation comes as Stockton's appeals have nearly run their course and he is about to be given an execution date.
		One key factor in whether a recantation is more believable than the original testimony is what motivations may exist for the changed testimony, said Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center.
	scholar.lib.vt.edu /VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950502/05020258.htm (1897 words)

	6. BALTHASAR HUMBAIER IN MORAVIA -- The Protesters
		Recantation there undoubtedly was, and Hubmaier wrote grievingly afterwards: "O God, pardon my weakness.
		In a gloating style excessive even for Zwingli, he writes that, seeing that Hubmaier was clearly "a sport of demons", he extracted a recantation from him while he was "stretched upon the rack".
		That this was so is confirmed by the sinister words in his final condemnation in Vienna in 1528: "He was racked also at Zurich on account of the second baptism, and compelled to testify who had led him into such baptism, and...
	www.antipas.org /books/protesters/prot_06.html (2056 words)

	Alaska Law Review - YIR 2004 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-01)
		the supreme court held that the trial court improperly failed to consider whether a recantation by the key prosecution witness would have resulted in James' acquittal in a new trial.
		James had been convicted of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor, largely on the strength of the testimony of Danielle M., a fourteen year-old girl claiming to have seen the assault.
		When Danielle later recanted her testimony in an affidavit, James appealed for a new trial.
	www.law.duke.edu /journals/alr/cases/casename/crimjames1.htm (148 words)

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