PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A judge has referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, one of his top officials and his office to federal authorities for criminal investigation.
The order comes after separate evidentiary hearings this summer involving several lawyers within his office, regarding their handling of a 2009 murder conviction appeal.
In the 40-page opinion, Judge Paul Diamond said he “reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia’s highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law,” referring to DA Larry Krasner and Matt Steigler.
The judge laid out all of the testimony from several attorneys within the office, and one who quit, about how a document siding with a murder defendant’s appeal — full of errors and misstatements — came to be.
The appeal involved Dennis Johnson, who was convicted in 2009 of killing Kenyatta Smith at a Strawberry Mansion convenience store.
In his opinion, Diamond said Krasner and Steigler, who was supervisor at the time, tried to blame an assistant district attorney, then tried to malign her as a rogue attorney. Diamond said Krasner and Steigler went to great lengths to prevent the case from being referred to the attorney general.
“Mr. Krasner does not wish to give this Court a truthful account of how the Concession came to be even though his duty to the Court requires him to do so,” wrote Diamond.
Diamond found the DA’s office had a conflict in the case, but he could not order them to refer the case to the attorney general’s office.
Krasner could face disbarment in federal court, though that is a lengthy process. It could trigger possible disbarment in Pennsylvania, which would disqualify him from being district attorney.
Whether or not Krasner and his office are or will be under criminal investigation will not be disclosed to the public, as all federal investigations are done privately, and typically through the secretive grand jury process.
“I respectfully and vigorously disagree with the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law,” said Krasner in a statement.
“I look forward to appealing to the higher court as soon as the law allows. This remains a pending matter, which limits for now my and my office’s ability to respond in the media.”
KYW Newsradio has reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s office but have not yet received a response.
Opinion comes after hearings over how district attorney's office handled 2009 murder conviction appeal
Opinion comes after hearings over how district attorney's office handled 2009 murder conviction appeal
