Affiliation Links Ashcroft, Crowe & Dunlevy

Former U. S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Oklahoma law firm of Crowe & Dunlevy have formed a "strategic affiliation" that's expected to benefit the clients of both firms, those involved say.

Robert McCampbell, partner with Crowe & Dunlevy and former U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Oklahoma, welcomed Ashcroft during a recent visit to Oklahoma City to formalize the affiliation. The two are pictured above.

McCampbell and Ashcroft have worked together since both served at the United States Department of Justice. After leaving the department, Ashcroft founded the Ashcroft Group, LLC and McCampbell joined Oklahoma-based Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C.

The affiliation between Crowe & Dunlevy and the Ashcroft Group will enhance the talent and expertise provided to clients of both firms in appropriate matters. Founded in 2005, the Ashcroft Group provides strategic expertise in the areas of government relations, corporate governance, litigation strategy, crisis management, Homeland Security and entrepreneurial ventures. Crowe & Dunlevy, one of the state's largest and oldest firms, includes over 120 lawyers and represents clients in all aspects of the general practice of law, including complex business transactions, litigation in state and federal courts, natural resources law and all types of alternative dispute resolution. The two firms will remain independent and are not engaged in the joint practice of law.

"We at the Ashcroft Group are pleased to be associated with the distinguished firm of Crowe & Dunlevy," Ashcroft said.

"The Ashcroft Group is an outstanding collection of professionals, and we look forward to this affiliation," said Roger Stong, president of Crowe & Dunlevy.

Crowe & Dunlevy was founded in 1902 in Oklahoma City. It has now grown to over 120 lawyers with offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Norman.

Share |

McCampbell: Behenna Should Get New Trial

Former U. S. Attorney Robert McCampbell said today that Army Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted of murder in the death of an Al Qaida operative in Iraq, should, at the least, be given a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.

McCampbell appeared on The Verdict with Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater to discuss the conviction of Behenna, an Edmond native who is the son of federal prosecutor Vicki Behenna and retired OSBI agent Scott Behenna.

Prater said information in the possession of the military prosecutors in the Behenna case favorable to Behenna should have been "immediately" disclosed to Behenna's defense attorneys. Instead, the information was not disclosed until Behenna had been convicted. An appeal to the judge based on the withholding of the information was dismissed.

That information came from the proseuction's own forensics expert, who agreed with Behenna's account of how the death occurred. The expert was not called to testify and was sent home by the prosecutors after he told them of his opinion.

The Behenna case has drawn the attention of Senator Jim Inhofe and Congresswoman Mary Fallin, who have directed questions about the verdict and withheld information to Army officials.

Behenna is now in the federal prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, serving a 25-year sentence. The commanding general of his 101st Airborne unit at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, has total control of the eventual outcome of the case. The general can set the verdict aside, dismiss it, order a new trial or reduce Behenna' sentence.

Share |

Behenna Case Draws More Attention

Oklahoma City television station KOKH-Fox 25 recently profiled the case of Edmond Army Lt. Michael Behenna, whose murder conviction in the death of an Al Qaida operative in Iraq is being appealed based on the withholding of evidence favorable to Behenna by military prosecutors.

The KOKH report reiterates the comments of former Oklahoma City federal prosecutor Robert McCampbell, who first spoke about the case on Reid Mullins' morning show on radio station KTOK, and Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, who spoke out on The McCarville Report Online. Both men believe the withholding of evidence by the prosecution is an ethical and legal violation and should result in a new trial, or dismissal of his conviction.

Behenna is the son of retired OSBI agent Scott Behenna and federal prosecutor Vicki Behenna.

For more details on the case, see http://www.defendmichael.com/.

View the KOKH report at http://kokh.com/players/news/top_stories/kokh_vid_2290.shtml.

Share |

Prater On Behenna Case: 'The justice system, both civilian and military, is about seeking the truth'

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater is "disgusted and angry" about the handling of the Army's prosecution of Lt. Michael Behenna of Edmond.

Prater, in a statement to The McCarville Report Online, said, "As a prosecutor, if the allegations against the military prosecutors are true, I am disgusted and angry. The justice system, both civilian and military, is about seeking the truth, not just convicting the accused. If the military prosecutors failed to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense team of Lt. Behenna, they have lost all understanding of their duty. As disturbing, is the fact that the military judge did nothing to address this egregious, ethical and moral violation of duty by the prosecutors."

Prater joins former federal prosecutor Robert McCampbell and others in criticizing what appears to be a breach of legal ethics in the case. McCampbell spoke out last week on Reid Mullins' morning show on radio station KTOK.

Behenna, a member of the 101st Airborne and an Army Ranger and the son of federal prosecutor Vicki Behenna and retired Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Scott Behenna, was convicted in a court martial in the 2008 death of Al Qaida operative Ali Mansur in Iraq.

His conviction is being appealed based on the expert opinion of prosecution witness Dr. Herbert L. MacDonell, who was not called to testify and who says it is his belief that the evidence supports Behenna's defense that he shot Mansur in self-defense when Mansur charged him. The prosecution alleged Behenna executed Mansur while he was on the ground. MacDonell said the forensic evidence supports Behenna's defense and that's why the prosecution did not call him to testify.

MacDonnel revealed his opinion to Behenna's defense counsel. It was not revealed to the military tribunal by the lead prosecutor, Captain Meghan Poirier, until MacDonell sent an email after Behenna was convicted and before he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The tribunal refused an appeal of the conviction on Behenna's behalf based on the prosecution's failure to disclose MacDonnel's forensics evidence, but reduced his sentence to 18 years which he is now serving at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Read MacDonnel's belief in Behenna's innocence at http://defendmichael.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/govexpertwitness.pdf.

Share |

Former Prosecutor Rips Behenna Case Handling

Former federal prosecutor Robert McCampbell (right) of Oklahoma City said today the failure of military prosecutors to reveal exculpatory evidence in the murder trial of Lt. Michael Behenna of Edmond constitutes a failure of the legal system.

McCampbell told Reid Mullins of KTOK this morning that the first thing a lawyer learns is that prosecutors have a responsibility to disclose all evidence and seek the truth. Withholding evidence, he said, diminishes the legal system.

McCampbell cited several legal cases in which evidence was withheld. In the Behenna case, military prosecutors failed to disclose that their own expert witness concluded that Behenna likely acted in self defense when he shot and killed an Al Qaida operative in Iraq last year, and for that reason, that did not call him as a witness. They also did not disclose his opinion to Behenna's attorney. Behenna was convicted of murder and faces years in federal prison. His conviction is being appealed.

Several groups of veterans have come to Behenna's defense and urged members to donate to a legal defense fund. For details, go to http://defendmichael.wordpress.com/.

Share |

Board Of Education To Reconsider Porter Vote

The Oklahoma City Board of Education on Friday will reconsider its vote suspending Superintendent John Porter because of what its attorney says was confusion over the time change of the meeting in which Porter was suspended.

The board voted 5-0 with one abstention Monday to suspend Porter with pay until a hearing in February into alleged financial irregularities by Porter.

Porter has denied intentionally misusing district money.

Questions have since come up about whether the board violated the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. The Oklahoma County District Attorney's office is investigating claims the board didn't properly notify the public of the time change for the meeting and didn't have a detailed-enough agenda.

School Board attorney Robert McCampbell says the mistake was a "clerical matter" and even though the meeting was publicized in advance he's asking the board to meet again tomorrow afternoon and readdress the issue.

Share |