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F. McNamara Jardine (WSBA No. 21677, admitted 1992), of Tacoma, was suspended for 90 days following a hearing, by order of the Supreme Court dated May 5, 2000. The discipline is based upon her failure to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense in a felony vehicular homicide prosecution in 1996. The suspension became effective May 13, 2000.
In December 1995, Ms. Jardine, who had handled three or four adult felony trials prior to this one, was assigned to prosecute Mr. D. He was charged with vehicular homicide after hitting and killing the victim as she walked across the street. Both the defense and the prosecution had been told that the victim had a briefcase, but the police did not recover it at the scene. One defense theory was that the victim wore a dark jacket and carried a dark briefcase, obscuring her brightly colored dress from Mr. D’s view.
In November 1995, the defense specifically requested production and identification of the briefcase. The trial was set for January 22, 1996. On January 18, 1996, Ms. Jardine received a photographic reconstruction of the crime scene by a defense expert, showing a mannequin in a red dress wearing a dark jacket and carrying a large dark-colored briefcase. On this same day, the prosecutor’s office located the person who removed the briefcase from the scene, Mr. S.
On January 19, 1996, Mr. S brought the briefcase to a meeting with Ms. Jardine. Ms. Jardine told Mr. S that she would not need him as a witness, and he left with the briefcase. Ms. Jardine did not mention the briefcase to defense counsel, but discussed the briefcase with her supervisor. The supervisor instructed Ms. Jardine to disclose the briefcase information to defense counsel, but Ms. Jardine did not do so. During the trial, Ms. Jardine objected to the admission of the defense reconstruction photographs, stating that the briefcase was not accurately portrayed and the depiction was not supported by the evidence. In her closing argument, Ms. Jardine told the jury, "we don’t even have the briefcase to determine its color." On January 29, 1996, Mr. D was acquitted by jury verdict. On February 6, 1996, defense counsel learned that Ms. Jardine had the briefcase during the trial.
By failing to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense in a felony prosecution, Ms. Jardine’s conduct violated RPCs 3.4(a) and 3.8(d).
Sachia Stonefeld represented the Bar Association. Kurt Bulmer represented Ms. Jardine. The hearing officer was Stephen Bean.
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