I've tried editing the state & its not working. The case is in Morgantown, West Virginia
Several people were indictment by use of the same informant. Some of the cases have been dropped because the informant deemed unreliable due to getting in more trouble and going in and out of jail. The informant is actually in more trouble than some of the people who have been indicted. For the people still waiting for their cases to be prosecuted can the informant be used to testify? Can the video be used? Police did not personally witness the control buy. The alleged transaction was not even caught on the video. The video is very limited. You can't see or hear the defendants. I just feel like something shady is going on here. There doesn't seem to be any evidence especially if the informant can't be used.
Your nephew should rely on his attorney. If there is good reason to have the charges against your nephew dropped, the attorney will work to get the charges against him dropped and the case dismissed. Prosecutors rarely will try to move forward with a case that cannot be adequately supported with evidence.
From Wharton's Criminal Evidence §265 (and
Brown v. US, 202 F.2d. 474, 5th Cir 1953), "Inadmissible hearsay evidence may be illustrated thus: ... information from public rumor or unidentified sources that the defendant was engaged in an illegal activity ..."
If what the confidential informant says he saw or heard is to be used as evidence against your nephew, the confidential informant will need to be identified and the confidential informant will need to testify to what he saw or heard and the confidential informant will be questioned by your nephew's attorney. It is not sufficient for a prosecutor to say that "someone" saw or heard. If the confidential informant testifies, the fact that he has been unreliable in the past can be used to impeach his testimony.
I don't know if the video can be used. It does not sound to be of much worth.
There is an Innocence Project in West Virginia, connected with West Virginia University's Clinical Law Program. If your nephew is
convicted based on questionable evidence, your nephew could find help there.
http://wvinnocenceproject.wvu.edu/justice
It is good that you are looking to help your nephew but your nephew has an attorney working for him. There is little you can do to assist the attorney.