WAYNE CO. CC JUDGE THOMAS HATHWAY DISMISSED SEARCY’S 1999 MURDER CASE WITH PREJUDICE OCTOBER 3, 2022
WCCC Judge Thomas Hathaway
“This Court concludes that the damage caused by the suppression and withholding of the exculpatory evidence cannot be cured. Therefore, it holds that dismissal of the charges [with prejudice] is appropriate given the severe and deliberate violations of the defendant’s due process rights that denied him a fair and impartial trial. Accordingly, this Court GRANTS defendant’s Motion to Dismiss — WCCC Judge Thomas Hathaway
SEARCY PLACED ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF EXONERATIONS https://voiceofdetroit.net/2022/11/28/thelonious-searcy-on-national-registry-of-exonerations-after-19-yr-battle-for-freedom/
Judge Mary M. Sommer
N.MEX. JUDGE MARY M. SOMMER DISMISSED CASE V. ALEC BALDWIN ‘WITH PREJUDICE’ IN JULY, 2024 USING SIMILAR LANGUAGE
“The state’s discovery violation has injected a needless, incurable delay into the jury trial. Dismissal with prejudice is warranted to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and the efficient administration of justice. Your motion to dismiss with prejudice is granted.” 1st District Judge Mary M. Sommer
New Mexico Prosecutor recently dropped appeal of Judge Sommer’s order
Davontae Sanford /Kym Worthy.
But Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy, known across U.S. as “Innocence Denier” appeals state court rulings TO DEATH, e.g. Davontae Sanford, Maryanne Godboldo, Lamarr Monson, Darrell Ewing, et. al.
Searcy’s second pre-trial hearing Jan. 31, 2025, jury trial date March 31, 2025
By Diane Bukowski
January 9, 2025
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(L to r) Shawn Searcy, daughters Paige and Shyra, and wife Tyria Searcy with grandchildren after release in 2022
DETROIT, MI — Thelonious ‘Shawn’ Searcy is asking supporters to come to his pre-trial hearing Fri. Jan. 10, at 9 AM in front of Judge Nicholas Hathaway at Detroit’s Criminal ‘Justice’ Center. Voice of Detroit has extensively covered Shawn’s battle for exoneration, which he won Oct. 3, 2022, and calls on its readers to support Shawn as well.
This is not only about Shawn. It concerns thousands who have been railroaded in Wayne Co. Circuit Court since the 1970’s, many still rotting in MDOC prisons.
On Oct. 3, 2022, 3rd Judicial Circuit Court Judge Thomas Hathaway dismissed all charges against Thelonious ‘Shawn’ Searcy for the murder of Jamal Segars, with prejudice, meaning they could not be refiled. The stinging order repeatedly rebuked the prosecution for “allowing blatant lies to stand.”
He said Wayne Co, prosecutors and police deliberately withheld evidence that should have been given to the defense under Brady v. Maryland :: 373 U.S. 83 (1963), a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That evidence would have saved Searcy from spending 17 years in prison for the Sept. 6, 2004 murder of Jamal Segars outside the Detroit City Airport, a crime he did not commit.
See Judge Thomas Hathaway’s complete ruling at http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Thelonious-Searcy-Order-Gg-Defs-Mtn-to-Dismiss-10.3.20223311-3.pdf.
Despite Judge Thomas Hathaway’s definitive ruling, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel ruled in favor of WC Prosecutor Kym Worthy, claiming Judge Hathaway “abused his discretion” as a trial Judge in dismissing charges with prejudice on a Brady claim.
An earlier COA ruling overturning Searcy’s conviction said Searcy’s trial judge Timothy Kenny abused HIS discretion, by ignoring Vincent Smothers’ two days of detailed testimony that HE murdered Segars.
The COA also said that AP Patrick Muscat withheld evidence of a .40 caliber bullet from Smothers’ gun that was found in the victim’s body, in order to comport with the prosecution’s theory that the murder weapons, presented in court, was a .45 caliber gun.
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Now Worthy has decided to RE-TRY Searcy. He was placed on a tether again after his last pre-trial hearing, despite his clean record since Judge Thomas Hathaway first took him off a tether in 2021 before dismissing all charges. Now, ironically, he returns for another pre-trial hearing in front of Judge Thomas Hathaway’s nephew by marriage, Judge Nicholas Hathaway, who is married to Judge Dana Hathaway.
VOD notes that at least 30 cases have been remanded by Michigan appellate courts to 3rd Circuit Court trial courts, citing violations of Brady v. Maryland and MCR 6.508(G)(2). They say such courts, among other matters, wrongly conflated Brady with a Michigan court ruling in People v Cress, 468 Mich 678 (2003), saying a state court ruling cannot restrict Brady. See http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/30-CASES-REMANDED-BY-APPELLATE-COURTS.pdf.
NM JUDGE DISMISSES CASE V. ALEC BALDWIN ON BRADY VIOLATIONS
Alec Baldwin case dismissed with prejudice.
Across the country, in July, 2024, New Mexico First District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed WITH PREJUDICE a manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin brought after he shot and killed a movie crew member with a prop gun that turned out to be loaded. She said the prosecution blatantly suppressed ballistics evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, as happened in Searcy’s case.
Her ruling (above) defines how and why a case based on violations of Brady v. Maryland can be dismissed with prejudice. She cites both federal and state. Local legal analysts from Michigan have said her ruling holds weight in Michigan as well, coming from a sister court that also cites Brady v. Maryland.
See: https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/alec-baldwin-manslaughter-charge-dismissed/index.html
Last month, the New Mexico prosecutor in the case decided to withdraw her appeal of Judge Summer’s ruling, unlike Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in Searcy’s case.
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