Free Chasing Gideon by Karen Houppert Page B

in the hearing that he attempted to call the witnesses, that he was unable to reach them, and that after that, subsequent to that attempt, [A.N.J.] confessed to him that he had done this. This was a case—”
    â€œWhy didn’t he follow up?” Justice Sanders interrupted. “Is it because he had a lot to do? He had 263 clients under contract, that he had an average of thirty to forty active dependency cases at one time and another two hundred cases as well? Would that be the reason?”
    â€œAbsolutely not,” Highland said.
    â€œHe’s a busy man,” Justice Sanders said.
    â€œI guess my question is, even if the defendant told his attorney, I did this, why would that remove the obligation of counsel to see whether there was a triable case nevertheless?” Justice Madsen wondered. “Guilt certainly doesn’t mean you plead guilty, it means the State, whether or not you put the State to its burden to prove that you’re guilty, and we have a system that presumes you’re innocent. So I guess I’m not understanding why, and particularly when you’re dealing with victims who are four and five years old, who are going to be pretty poor witnesses probably—maybe no, but probably—and you have allegations that they were previously sexually molested, so it seems like a pretty good defense case without, I mean, at least [a] good enough case to go and investigate. So I don’t understand why you’re sort of taking the position that he, you know, what happened was his client confessed, so therefore that’s a good excuse for not going further in the investigation?”
    â€œAbsolutely not,” Highland said, but explained that A.N.J. agreed the event had taken place, but insisted the five-year-old had initiated things. Then, the detective who interviewed A.N.J. said his behavior seemed damning. “[A.N.J.] put his head down. He started crying. He started trembling. Which would certainly be indicative of guilt and consciousness of guilt. . . .”
    Highland goes on, but Justice Sanders cut her off, incredulous. “You’re confronted, you’re a twelve-year-old kid confronted by a police officer? Isn’t that a traumatic experience?”
    Highland laughed. “I don’t know.”
    â€œIf I get pulled over for speeding, my heart is palpating, you know? And I’m a little more than twelve years old,” the justice said.
    Highland tried to get around this one, and moved the discussion to A.N.J.’s sex offender record, arguing that it is not always permanent. She pointed out that he could go to court as an adult and make a case to be relieved of the requirement to register as a sex offender wherever he went.
    Justice Alexander pointed out that the court did not have to grant him that, however. “It’s conceivable that this twelve-year-old child would have to report until, uh, the rest of his life.”
    â€œIt’s conceivable. It’s highly unlikely. I’ve never—”
    â€œBut the fact that it’s a possibility seems to me that’s something that he should have been told.”
    The justices persisted here, circling around the issue of the permanency of A.N.J.’s sex offender record. Highland tried to wrangle the argument elsewhere. “I would like to say that this plea needs to be upheld for finality, certainty, and closure. Not just for the victim, but for [A.N.J.],” she said.
    Closure for Sean Replogle—and indeed, public defender Carol Dee Huneke and car crash victim Judy Rodeen—would prove elusive. On the heels of winning Sean’s case, Huneke had a surge of euphoria, before realizing that the victory was just a blip on the screen and she would be headed back to her hundred remaining open cases. She asked to be reassigned to the juvenile division, where she hoped she could make more of a difference. And her boss approved this lateral move.
    But Sean’s case