Virtually unreported so far by anyone is a Second Circuit rebuke last October of then-judge Robinson for excessive secrecy in pre-trial decision-making leading to Kerik's guilty plea the next month.
Strangely, Robinson didn't respond by trying to treat the defendant more fairly. Instead, he personally called the jail physician where Kerik was being held pre-trial in solitary confinement and obtained the defendant's mental health records.
Robinson then, in effect, thumbed his nose both at the appeals court and defendant by announcing the results pre-trial in court. Predictably, several news outlets then published articles suggesting the defendant suffered from a mysterious mental ailment before trial.
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Many of Kerik's advisors and supporters are strongly conservative, and believe that "the media" has long been determined to destroy him unfairly. They assume progressive media proceed in lockstep to this end.
We came to research the Kerik case in depth when we learned he had written Democratic former Gov. Don Siegelman a sympathy note a year ago saying they were undergoing essentially similar experiences in the justice system. It's been particularly gratifying to see that OpEd News and even such advocacy-oriented news sites as Progressive Democrats of America remain open-minded enough to publish opinion columns noting the unfairness in Kerik's prosecution.
The stage is now set to see what the Second Circuit, the nation's most prestigious appeals court, has to say about the kind of irregularities that can undermine public confidence in the nation's justice system. Stay tuned.
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