Legal News

For the First Time, City of Philadelphia Commits Dollars to Fight Witness Intimidation

By Brian Harris

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff
 
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams' request to receive an extra $400,000 for his office next fiscal year to address witness intimidation did not get very far? until now. For the first time the office has received city funds, a total of $200,000,  to address the growing problem of witness intimidation.

Williams previously said he would like to use $400,000 to relocate 20 additional families a year and create a dedicated witness intimidation prosecution team of three senior prosecutors and at least two detectives.

The $200,000 will be used to help fund the District Attorney's Office's witness protection program, according to an announcement today by Williams and Mayor Michael A. Nutter. State funding for witness protection has continued to be cut in tough fiscal times.

Nutter also has announced a plan to convene a summit to solicit "input and cooperation on innovative ways" to address the issue of witness intimidation.

Growing media and legislative attention has been brought to the issue of witness intimidation and how it impacts the handling of the city's most serious criminal cases, including interest in reinstating the indicting grand jury, the development of a witness intimidation bench book to provide a resource to judges on how to curtail witness intimidation in their courtrooms, a proposed change to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter introduced by City Councilman Curtis Jones that would authorize City Council to impose a fine for defendants convicted for witness and victim intimidation, and federal legislation introduced to make it a federal offense for witnesses in state court proceedings to intimidate or threaten a witness.

State Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, D-Phila., introduced legislation last week to increase funding for state funding for witness protection.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on June 28, 2010 (boomark / email).