Maynard Williams - Prosecutor Misconduct
Maynard, William; manslaughter; NRE: prosecutor misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence
[337:664]; 1st Dept. 11/9/72; affirmed
"The record shows that Maynard's guilt was established beyond a reasonable doubt."
[363:384]; N.Y. Cty. Ct. 3/29/74; reversed, due to Brady violations
[Neither the prosecutor nor the witness at trial mentioned the latter's ongoing mental condition;* it was this witness's testimony that was most damning. Also, the prosecution repeatedly ignored defense counsel's requests for witness's criminal records.]
[* This was also true of 'Arthur' in the Nickel case. Though the boy did list the numerous psychiatric medications he was on, neither he nor anyone else ever disclosed precisely what conditions they were meant to be treating.]
R31 [822] "William A. Maynard was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in [Manhattan] on February 4, 1971, following two previous trials which had resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial...In 1974, [County] Court, acting at the request of the [DA], dismissed all charges against Maynard and ordered him released because the prosecution had suppressed evidence pertaining to the unreliability of its chief witness. Specifically, this witness had a long history of psychiatric hospitalizations and a criminal record which the prosecutors unlawfully failed to reveal..."
from NRE synopsis (actually, New York Times article from 2/6/73):
"On April 3, 1967, Robert Crist and James Barnhardt were involved in an altercation in Greenwich Village. Crist testified that Barnhardt had confronted him, which led Crist to chase and strike Barnhardt. The two were separated by police officers who walked Crist away from Barnhardt.
"William Anthony 'Tony' Maynard, a black man, along with a white companion, confronted Crist for striking the older and smaller man. An argument ensued for several minutes until Sgt. Michael Kroll...arrived. Maynard and his companion left, and Kroll and Crist drove after them in Kroll's car.
"Crist and Dennis Morris, both witnesses, testified they saw Maynard shoot Kroll in the face with a sawed-off shotgun. Michael Febles, another witness, identified Maynard as the person he had seen arguing with Crist. Febles said that he had heard the shot fired, though he did not see who fired it. Febles also testified he had seen Maynard and his companion run away. Howard Fox, a cab driver, testified that in the afternoon before the shooting, he drove Maynard and another person to Greenwich Village, and that Maynard's friend had a camera bag over his shoulder.
"Maynard was accused based on the eyewitness testimony of Robert Crist, Dennis Morris, and Michael Febles. The first trial for Maynard in 1969 ended in a hung jury. The second ended in a mistrial. The third trial resulted in a conviction for manslaughter in the first degree on December 9, 1970. Maynard was sentenced to a maximum term of ten to twenty years for the crime.
"Lewis M. Steel, Maynard's attorney, reportedly filed five motions for a new trial. Steel's efforts were unsuccessful until the medical and criminal history of key witness Febles was discovered: Febles had a severe psychiatric history and had been convicted of disorderly conduct in 1966.
