New York State (not city): Briefly, I understand that "fraud upon the court" is a serious charge that results from an officer of the court who essentially lies TO the court (and not IN the court, which would constitute the lesser offense of perjury), and thus ruins the trial court's ability to conduct a fair trial. My understanding is that any verdict issued thereby cannot stand. My question is this: Is there any condition or legal reason upon which the perpetrator of "fraud upon the court" can mount a successful defense? Is there anything that would legitimize that kind of behavior in the eyes of the law? Secondly, is it difficult to prove fraud upon the court? (I have what I believe is solid evidence in the trial transcript, where the ADA stated "I have given the court the discretion in how to proceed..." and then she instructed it to find the defendant pro se guilty based solely upon her lies about the evidence. The evidence was never produced at pretrial (because there was none, even though I was told to arrive early at court so I could attend one) and was never produced at trial, despite the request of the defendant pro se (the reason being, I found out post trial, is that the "evidence" is fictitious).
Yes, this occurred in traffic court--I find it hard to believe that a prosecutor would risk her career over such a mundane matter, so I'm wondering if maybe she thinks I would be unable to prove the claim of fraud upon the court at appeal, despite the transcript statement and the nonexistent "evidence" she claimed to have, which even the trial court itself (reluctantly) admits is not in the the file or anywhere else in the record and despite a notarized statement from the purported creator of the document (an MD) denying he ever produced the document the prosecutor claimed to have and upon which the verdict relied.
It's not the fine that bothers me (less than $100), it's the lying by a public, tax-paid court official and its blind acceptance by the (tax-supported) court that makes me want to appeal this case.
Sue
Yes, this occurred in traffic court--I find it hard to believe that a prosecutor would risk her career over such a mundane matter, so I'm wondering if maybe she thinks I would be unable to prove the claim of fraud upon the court at appeal, despite the transcript statement and the nonexistent "evidence" she claimed to have, which even the trial court itself (reluctantly) admits is not in the the file or anywhere else in the record and despite a notarized statement from the purported creator of the document (an MD) denying he ever produced the document the prosecutor claimed to have and upon which the verdict relied.
It's not the fine that bothers me (less than $100), it's the lying by a public, tax-paid court official and its blind acceptance by the (tax-supported) court that makes me want to appeal this case.
Sue