Mary Moriarty – the controversies continue

Over the past month, the latest controversies surrounding Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty have led to two formal complaints of unethical behavior made against Moriarty to the Minnesota Lawyers Board of Professional Responsibility.

History

Moriarty is no stranger to controversy.  It may be time for her supporters to recognize the on-going controversies are not the signs of a social justice warrior being unfairly criticized, but rather signs of an official who has consistently shown poor judgement, and has ultimately undermined justice.

Moriarty served as Hennepin County’s Chief Public Defender from 2014 – 2020.  In 2019, she was placed on leave by the State Board of Public Defense after complaints were filed against Moriarty alleging that she “has a ‘fractured relationship’ with others in the justice system, made inappropriate social media posts, and created a culture of fear in her office.”  In 2020, the board voted 4-2 against reappointing Moriarty as Hennepin County’s Public Defender, ousting her from the position she had held for 6 years.

In 2022, Moriarty decided to reenter the justice system, not as a defense attorney, but as Hennepin County’s chief prosecutor.  This move mirrored other progressives around the country who campaigned their way into the role of public prosecutors, and used this powerful position to dramatically alter the criminal justice system.  I wrote about the dangers of this movement to no avail.  Hennepin County voters elected Moriarty to become the Hennepin County Attorney where she has served since January 2023. 

Shortly after taking office, Moriarty began making controversial decisions which have upset the balance of justice in Hennepin County.  Her policy decisions have consistently favored criminals and pitted her against victims, including surviving family members of murder victims.

Current Complaints

In 2023, Moriarty played a key role in vacating the conviction of Marvin Haynes who had been convicted in 2004 of murdering a flower shop owner during a robbery in North Minneapolis.  The victim’s sister, an eyewitness to the murder, picked Haynes out of a photo lineup reportedly stating “Oh my god, that’s him” when she saw the photo of Haynes.  At least four of Haynes friends and relatives also testified against him sharing details of the crime that only the shooter would know – like the gun Haynes was carrying at the time of the murder, and how the victim had startled Haynes during the robbery before Haynes shot him.

The case was strong, and the evidence that convicted Haynes had been properly reviewed and affirmed by the trial judge and appellate courts.  But Haynes’ conviction wasn’t safe 20 years later when Moriarty partnered with the Great North Innocence Project and ultimately agreed to a stipulated order to vacate Haynes conviction, leading to his release.  Key to vacating the conviction was the sad fact that neither the victim or his sister who witnessed the murder, and confidently identified Haynes, were alive to argue otherwise.  The process flew under the radar just as Moriarty had hoped – until now.

Unfortunately, it appears Moriarty intends to ensure even more cases are overturned, as she has created a first of its kind Conviction Integrity Unit, to proactively re-examine past convictions and “pursue appropriate relief” for those convicted.  She even hired the Great North Innocence Project attorney she had worked with to vacate Haynes’ conviction, to run her new unit.

This is an odd priority for a prosecutor’s office which admittedly doesn’t have enough attorneys to properly prosecute current cases.  It also represents a problem I’ve articulated in the past:

“This revisionist approach to evaluating decades old convictions that were properly tried and for which multiple appeals have been considered and rejected, has been particularly troubling. It’s a dangerous path that needs to be closed for all but the most persuasive and clear-cut cases involving, for example indisputable DNA evidence.”

In January 2024, Moriarty filed murder charges against Minnesota Trooper Ryan Londregan, related to Londregan’s use of deadly force against Ricky Cobb in July 2023.  By all accounts, Moriarty dismissed the advice of multiple use of force experts and attorneys in her own office who had objected to the murder charges, but instead stubbornly pressed ahead.  Only after significant legal opposition and criticism led to indications that the Governor was stepping in to take the case away from Moriarty, did she relent.  In an odd Sunday evening press release in May, Moriarty announced that she was dropping the charges against Londregan.

Moriarty’s actions in the cases involving Haynes and Londregan have come under fire once again in the past month. 

On July 16^th, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association filed a 17-page ethics complaint against Moriarty with the Minnesota Lawyers Board of Professional Responsibility for her conduct in the prosecution of Trooper Londregan.

On August 9^th, the retired Assistant Hennepin County Attorney who originally prosecuted Haynes, Mike Furnstahl, filed another ethics complaint against Moriarty with the Board of Professional Responsibility.  Both complaints allege what they claim to be politically motivated decision making on the part of Moriarty, which was at odds with the facts.   

None of this should come as a surprise.  Moriarty is doing just what she said she would do if she became the Hennepin County Attorney.