She labeled him as “unethical” and “dangerous” during the campaign. Now, Noah Phillips’ attorney says the attack ad Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert aired ahead of Tuesday’s election accusing her rival of misconduct is enough to have her office thrown off of the controversial 2016 murder case Phillips took to trial.
“What we have is a lawyer with a strong personal and professional interest in the outcome of this matter. The TV ads run by the DA about this case have moved this into the realm of egregious conflict of interest,” attorney Steven A. Lewis argued at a Friday hearing before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Curtis Fiorini, adding later, “If the head of a public agency is accused of a conflict, the whole office must be recused.”
The unique Friday motion asked Fiorini to remove the DA’s lawyers from the case, though Phillips is no longer involved in the matter. The DA’s office took Phillips, its principal criminal attorney, off of the case after defense attorneys levied allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in April.
Schubert’s campaign seized on the defense attorneys’ charges in a heavily-aired television ad that cited the misconduct claim, suggested that Phillips could face felony charges connected to the allegations and branded Phillips as “Unethical. Dangerous. Wrong for DA.”
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Schubert claimed victory after Tuesday’s election with more than 60 percent of the vote, but with thousands of ballots yet to be counted, Phillips’ camp continues to wait for vote results.
Attorneys for the DA and the state attorney general’s office argued Phillips has no standing to demand the DA’s removal, but Phillips’ attorney pushed ahead, calling the case “an unprecedented situation.”
“Every court in every matter has the power to disqualify,” Lewis told Fiorini, adding later, “This just doesn’t happen every day. But, you have the power to do it and it’s the right thing to do.”
Supervising county prosecutor Dawn Bladet was quick to respond.
“There’s no precedent because there’s no basis in fact that supports a conflict of interest in this case,” Bladet argued. “I don’t believe there’s a basis to take the case out of the hands of the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office,” saying the campaign for the June election had no bearing on the case she took over from Phillips.
Fiorini told the attorneys he would issue a written ruling in two weeks. He also delayed a hearing on a motion for a new trial stemming from the defense attorneys’ misconduct claims until July 27.
Friday’s hearing stemmed from the alleged “secret deal” Phillips was accused by defense attorneys of making with murder defendant Tiwan Greenwade at trial. The accusations became campaign fodder for Schubert in the waning weeks of her bid to defeat Phillips and win reelection.
The purported…
