On January 5, a bar complaint against St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch and his two assistant prosecuting attorneys, Kathi Alizadeh and Sheila Whirley, was filed with the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel. The complaint was the result of weeks of research and discussion between 10 citizens, including mothers, educators, lawyers and a former chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals. It was prompted by the egregious conduct of McCulloch and his staff, acting more as defense counsel for Darren Wilson than as prosecutors vigorously representing their client: the citizens of Missouri and residents of St. Louis County.
Like others around the country we were appalled that Alizadeh and Whirley would dump thousands of pages of evidence on the laps of the jury. We were even more concerned that they would launch the three-month-long grand jury process by misleading jurors with a law deemed unconstitutional decades before. And though McCulloch could engage in a diatribe during the announcement of the decision, release documents to the public and appear on radio to discuss the case, the system prevents the grand jury from telling their side. Thus the grand juror law suit filed the day of our complaint.
McCulloch had no response to the press. More significantly, in keeping with this tangled web of injustice, the man appointed to oversee the misconduct of attorneys in this state responded to the press by releasing an illicitly gained order suspending my license to practice law. Neither the Missouri Supreme Court order nor the complaint was supported by a single ounce of evidence. Neither did it have any relevance to the conduct of the prosecutors.
When questioned by the Los Angeles Times about his own misconduct in my case, Alan Pratzel then released the complaint that had been rewritten to cast question on my character. The pain of public scrutiny back then pales in comparison to the pain of our children being killed.
The actions of Pratzel, both in prosecuting my case and in releasing the information to the press, is indicative of the tactics used in the Darren Wilson case: vilify the opponent, hide evidence, “lose” documents, initiate the case by presenting false information, knowingly present false witnesses, overwhelm the proceedings with excessive documents. And, when all else fails, as in my case, go before the Missouri Supreme Court and knowingly lie to get what you want. Whether it’s an attorney or anyone else, the system is designed to protect the major players and to penalize the poor and minorities.
For decades we’ve talked about the corruption among police, the corruption in the legal system, the corruption of even judges. We’ve lamented and protested the treatment of Reggie Clemons and questioned the cover-up in the Jack in the Box case. Yet when an order of suspension against an attorney who has served the community for decades is entered by the same system, for some that order is believed on its face.
It’s the apathy and acceptance of the public that’s allowed our legal system to grow into a well-designed machine that protects the wealthy and those in blue. As long the public allows the system to be cloaked in corruption, we all remain at risk of being brutalized, prosecuted or even killed.
Christi Griffin is founder of The Ethics Project, a non-profit organization addressing the impact of crime, injustice and incarcerations. She is the author of “Incarcerations in Black and White: The Subjugation of Black America” that draws attention to the destruction of black communities to support an economy dependent on prison labor. See www.TheEthicsProject.org.
