Defense attorney says 11th Judicial District Attorney not ‘held accountable’ for court violations related to Morphew murder case

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- A high-profile defense attorney is proposing a law to end prosecutorial immunity after the 11th Judicial District Attorney Office is alleged to have violated a number of court violations.

Nearly a year ago, Barry Morphew walked out of the Fremont County courthouse a free man. The 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley dismissed his first-degree murder charge “without prejudice” after a months-long investigation into the disappearance of his wife Suzanne.

That same year, his defense attorney, Iris Eytan, wrote a law to hold prosecutors accountable for court misconduct. She proposed the end to prosecutor immunity, meaning people could sue prosecutors for court violations.

In a press conference today, Eytan pointed to the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, specifically in regards to the Morphew case, as the reason prosecutorial immunity needs to end.

“Prosecutorial misconduct hurts the innocent accused,” Eytan said. “It hurts victims of crimes and it hurts the public and taxpayer money.”

In an 83-page complaint sent to the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, Eytan details a dozen violations of court and attorney rules by Stanley and her office, including failure to uphold victim rights, dishonest and unethical practices and the repeated failure to turn over evidence.

“They excused any evidence of innocence, concealed favorable evidence, manufactured evidence and opinions and allowed witnesses to testify falsely,” the complaint states. “The real threat to the public remains as long as they are able to continue the practice of law without any significant discipline.”

In one instance, the prosecution failed to turn over evidence to the defense showing Suzanne Morphew’s missing phone was initiating and receiving calls after the time that the prosecution theorized she was murdered.

“Although the prosecutors claimed time and time again that they produced all mandated information, they instead had systematically concealed and omitted favorable and exculpatory evidence from the Arrest Affidavit, from the Preliminary Hearing, and subsequent discovery sanction hearings, and had misrepresented critical facts both in the affidavit and in critical court hearings,” the complaint states.

Eytan even alleges the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and the FBI helped the DA’s office conceal evidence. According to the complaint, the DA’s office, the CBI and the FBI knew about DNA of an unknown man found in Suzanne’s car. That DNA was later matched to three unsolved sexual assault cases in Arizona and Illinois. However, none of that information was shared with the defense.

The defense even called CBI Agent Joe Cahill to the witness stand during preliminary hearings. According to the complaint, “he denied knowing much about the DNA, the CODIS matches, or the meaning of the matches.” The CBI and the FBI declined to comment about the allegation.

“The judge wasn't told about (the DNA evidence),” Eytan said in a press conference Friday. “Barry Morphew wasn't told about that. They all knew about that. All of them.”

This is just one of dozens of cases where defense attorneys have alleged evidence misconduct against the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Over the last several weeks, 13 Investigates uncovered 33 separate criminal cases with allegations of discovery violations in them.

Six of those cases were dismissed, including two child sexual assault cases, a child porn case, a strangulation case and two first-degree murder cases, with one being Morphew’s.

“This is not a series of oopsies or mistakes; there were too many not to be intentional, willful, and/or a knowing pattern of discovery and ethical violations,” Eytan’s complaint states. “These prosecutors still believe they have done nothing wrong. They will continue to violate their ethical obligations, harm other people, until and unless the OARC disciplines them, up to and including disbarment.”

Stanley continues to ignore our multiple requests for comment about the situation.

Eytan said the prosecutorial misconduct isn’t unique to the 11th Judicial District.

“It's an epidemic in this country, and it's time to make it known who is committing the misconduct and when it's happening so that lawmakers can make changes,” Eytan said.

Eytan said prosecutors aren’t held accountable when they violate court rules. In the Morphew case, she said judges ordered sanctions against Stanley’s office but it was just a slap on the wrist. She plans on introducing her prosecutorial immunity bill to the legislature in 2024.

“The only way to hold them accountable and to deter them from committing more misconduct is to have them have skin in the game and have the potential to sue them,” Eytan said. “Don't worry, they won't be sued if they don't violate the Constitution. It's as simple as that.”

Watch the press conference below:

Do you have a tip you want 13 investigates to look into? Email us at 13investigates@krdo.com