During the Ben Kerensa testimony, there came a point where Kerensa testified that he had exchanged multiple emails with police about the incident. These emails were never included in discovery. We never got copies of them.
It’s odd that several other emails from witnesses who were down the block and hardly saw anything were included in the discovery, but the emails from the most direct witness and chief complainant were not included.
Nor were there any recorded interviews with Benjamin Kerensa by the Portland police detectives. They had conducted thorough, hour-long interviews with some of the other witnesses, some of whom were the ones who hardly saw anything. Those interviews were included in the discovery.
But for some reason these seasoned, experienced detectives didn’t think to interview the primary “victim” who had eyes on me longer than anyone else and was in direct contact with me for much of the incident?
This was baffling to me.
It certainly appeared that deputy DA’s Kate Molina and Todd Jackson were hiding evidence, as testified to by Benjamin Jacob Kerensa.
Now, you would think any attorney or first year law school student would immediately raise this concern to the courts upon finding out that the DA’s withheld discoverable evidence.
So, naturally, Jason Short said nothing about this. After finding out about these missing emails, Short and Trotter did not raise any fuss about this. They never said anything like “Your honor, it appears as though there is missing evidence, as we never received these emails that Kerensa just testified to sending.”
That’s right, Jason Short and Chris Trotter knowingly allowed prosecutors to hide discoverable evidence that could have helped to acquit their client.
To make matters even more perplexing, when the Portland police detective who lead the investigation and conducted several of the interviews was on the stand after Kerensa, Jason Short never bothered to ask him if he had seen or exchanged emails with Kerensa, nor did Short ask him if he conducted any sort of interview with Kerensa.
This was important discoverable evidence that Short and Trotter apparently didn’t think was relevant.
Had Jason Short thought to ask the detective these questions, and his answer confirmed that Katharine Molina and Todd Jackson had violated Oregon’s discovery laws by withholding that evidence, we could have motioned for dismissal right then and there based on this.
On top of all of this, whenever the state loses evidence, the courts must instruct juries to assume that evidence is exculpatory in nature, meaning that it would favor the defendant. In this case, being a bench trial, had Trotter or Short spent 30 seconds raising this issue to the judge, the judge would have to assume this missing evidence weighed in my favor. It may have been enough to get a not guilty verdict.
Jason Short and Christopher Trotter consciously sacrificed a chance to free their client.