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August 9, 2007

Update: Carcieri to appeal order to testify about raid

Governor Carcieri will appeal to the state Supreme Court a judge’s ruling last week that he must take the stand at the criminal trials of seven Narragansett Indians arrested in a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop in July 2003, arguing that his testimony is not relevant to the cases.

Judge Susan E. McGuirl ruled in Providence County Superior Court Friday that the tribal members’ lawyers could call the governor to testify. She said the defendants’ rights to due process outweighed the governor’s claim of executive privilege, particularly since he made numerous public statements following the raid.

The judge limited any questioning to the instructions Carcieri gave Col. Steven M. Pare, then superintendent of the state police, in the days leading up to the raid.

“Governor Carcieri’s conversations with Col. Steven Pare have no relevance to the criminal charges against the seven defendants,” Michael Maynard, the spokesman for the governor, said in a statement. “The Governor believes that there is nothing that he could say that is in any way relevant to the charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, which is what this trial is about.”

“He believes that his testimony at trial would only serve to deflect attention away from the conduct of the defendants,” Maynard said. “We do not see how these conversations have any bearing on the actions that were taken by the defendants on the day of the incident that led to the criminal charges against them.”

“Moreover, compelling the governor to testify in a case like this sets a dangerous precedent. If the defendants are successful here, there will be a long line of litigants seeking gubernatorial testimony going forward. In effect, the high bar to compel gubernatorial testimony will be substantially lowered,” Maynard continued.

This afternoon, Narragansett Indian Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas issued a statement saying that the tribe is "very disappointed" in Carcieri's decision to appeal McGuirl's ruling.

Thomas, who is among the seven defendants in the case, said the governor's instructions to the state police are relevant to their defense and their effort to obtain a fair trial. He continued:

"We were hoping that the governor would have said, that, 'If the judge thinks my testimony is relevant, I look forward to testifying because the right of defendants in criminal cases to a fair and public trial is paramount.'

"However, this is apparently not the case. To use an old hunting expression, it looks to us like the governor is 'running into the tall grass'."

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney, with projo.com reports

Posted by Jack Perry  at 4:58 PM | Permalink

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Jackson | August 9, 2007 6:56 PM link

George Simmons | August 9, 2007 10:39 PM link

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