Case dismissed in dispute between DA and sheriff

In an unusual move, an Edgartown District Court judge dismissed a criminal case Thursday after the Dukes County Sheriff's Office failed to provide prosecutors with disciplinary records of deputy sheriffs involved in the case.

Nine more criminal prosecutions in Dukes County could now be in jeopardy due to the dispute over the release of potentially exculpatory information, known as Brady documents, that state prosecutors are legally required to provide to criminal defendants before the trial.

The high-stakes legal battle came into public view Thursday after Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois II's office filed identical motions in ten criminal cases in Edgartown District Court, asking judges to order compliance with Brady's demands within two weeks or hold a hearing. having heard about the delay.

Galibois separately asked Judge Benjamin Barnes to dismiss one of the ten cases, and the judge agreed. The case involved an Edgartown man, Paulo Kinaki, who was charged in October 2022 with violating an abuse prevention order.

A spokeswoman for Galibois told the Times that the prosecution asked for the case to be dismissed because Dukes County Sheriff Robert W. Ogden's office failed to provide the Brady documents the prosecutor requested in the case.

Prosecutors are counting on the sheriff's office to provide documents related to the other nine cases. Defense attorneys must be informed, for example, if an officer involved in a case was dishonest, or used excessive force, racial profiling, sexual harassment, or otherwise violated official policy.

Galibois launched an effort to obtain Brady documents after taking office in February 2023. The district did not have a prior Brady policy, which is named for a landmark 1963 Supreme Court decision.

In an affidavit filed in court Thursday, Galibois' office said it sent the new policy to all law enforcement agencies in the county, including the sheriff's office, in the spring of 2023. In August of that year , he sent another letter requesting any prejudicial or exculpatory material about officers that his office was legally required to provide to defendants.

The DA's office wrote to Ogden again in September “emphasizing the need for 'Brady' documents and stating that if we do not receive a response, we will be required to file a notice with the court for each case,” explaining the failure , Tara Cappola,” Cape and Islands Second Assistant District Attorney said in the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Ogden then told the prosecutor's office that he had reviewed the documents of all current deputy sheriffs and that there were no Brady documents in his files.

In January of this year, Gallibois sent another request to county law enforcement, this time requesting documents from Brady over the past 20 years.

In his response, Ogden “essentially [notified] the Commonwealth that it would impose an undue burden on them to comply with our request,” Cappola wrote.

She said Special Sheriff James Neville later said no current employee of the department would meet the district attorney's office's criteria to release the information about Brady.

Cappola said sheriff's attorney Jack Collins responded May 22 that he would review a request for the list of current employees and respond. A week later, she said, she received a response from him that did not meet the former employees' request.

“At this point, the Commonwealth is unable to certify that we have met our ‘Brady’ obligations in this case because witnesses from the Sheriff’s Department are involved,” Cappola wrote in his affidavit for the nine additional cases.

Ogden could not be reached by The Times on Friday.