King Brothers

David Rimmer, the prosecutor who came under fire publicly for his prosecution of two teenage brothers accused of murder, could be disciplined for his actions during the trial. Click here to read full text.

Rimmer certainly deserves 'discipline'!! Interesting that the Bar added 2 extra alleged violations.

Good for you!! And thank you for relentlessly pursuing this, since so many of us were focused on different aspects of this injustice.

Cathy Corry -- www.justice4kids.org -- www.FloridaWhistleblowers.org
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Gandhi
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

In today's mail I received notice that the First Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee "A' of the State of Florida has set a meeting date of August 19, 2003, to hear the Ethics Complaint I filed against David Harold Rimmer, accusing Mr. Rimmer of unethical behavior in the course of he Ricky Chavis and Alex and Derek King murder trials "to determine if probable cause exists for further disciplinary proceedings".

Information given to me by Bar Counsel states that upon initial review of my complaint it appears that Mr. Rimmer's conduct "may have violated R. Regulating Fla. Bar: 3-4.3 (Misconduct and Minor Misconduct); 4-3.1 (Meritorious Claims and Contentions); 4-3.3 (Candor Towards Tribunal); 4-3.4 (Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel); 4-3.8 (Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor); 4-4.1 (Truthfulness in Statement to Others); 4-4.4 (Respect for Rights of Third Persons); and 4-8.4(a)(d) (Misconduct)."

This initial review is truthfully encouraging in that in addition to finding that Mr. Rimmer may have violated all the rules I accused him, the initial review also indicated that Mr. Rimmer may have violated Rule 4-3.1 which states that "A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or controvert an issue therein, unless there is a basis for doing so that is not frivolous, which includes a good faith argument for an extension, modification, or reversal of existing law" and Rule 4-4.4 which states that "In representing a client, a lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden a third person or knowingly use methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person"

It's my understanding of the law that Bar Counsel likely included these violations in that Mr. Rimmer's bringing Ricky Chavis to trial on murder charges was frivolous given his lack of effort to convince the Chavis jury to convict Mr. Chavis added to his further comment about his intent to set the Chavis verdict aside had both the Chavis and King brother juries brought back guilty verdicts was a violation of Rule 4-3.1 and Mr. Rimmer further calling Alex and Derek King as witnesses at Ricky Chavis' murder trial was an illegal way to obtain evidence against the boys which he could use against them at their murder trial and was a violation of Rule 4-4.4.

Clearly there's still a long way to go before Mr. Rimmer's held responsible for his perversion of justice in the Terry King murder case, however, it appears that the groundwork has been laid.

On Thu, 14 Nov 2002 15:16:02 -0500 "Jones, Kay" <Kay.Jones@turner.com> writes:
> More info;
> ok for air-glc
> 3:15 pm update: full write

Brothers accused of killing their father plead guilty to lesser charge, sentenced to state prison

PENSACOLA, Fla. (CNN) -- Derek and Alex King admitted beating their father to death with a baseball bat and were sentenced to eight and seven years in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty Thursday to third-degree murder and arson.

In a statement he signed as part of his pleading, Derek King, 14, admitted killing his father at the suggestion of his 13-year-old brother.

"I murdered my dad with an aluminum baseball bat and I set the house on fire from my dad's bedroom," Derek said in the statement read by Circuit Judge Frank Bell.

Alex's statement corroborated his brother's. The pleas and sentences came out of a court-ordered mediation that reached a resolution Wednesday. Last month, Bell tossed out a jury's second-degree murder conviction just before sentencing, ordering the parties to try mediation.

Thursday, Bell sentenced Derek to eight years for each charge, to run concurrently, and Alex to seven years for each charge, also to run concurrently. He also granted both boys nearly a year's credit for time served since their arrest last year.

The brothers' case garnered national attention, not only because of the sensational crime for which they were accused, but also because the same prosecutor tried another man for the crime, also accusing him of killing Terry King with the baseball bat.

The verdict in that trial was kept sealed until the conclusion of the boys' trial, and jurors expressed dismay when they learned that man -- Ricky Chavis, a 40-year-old family friend and convicted sex offender -- was found not guilty.

Derek King's statement said Chavis "encouraged my brother Alex and I to run away" and skip school, let them stay up late and sleep late, and hid them when their father came over.

"He told us that Dad would kill us before he would let us live with Rick," Derek said in the statement read by the judge.

Derek's statement said that Chavis had encouraged the boys to lie by telling police that they had killed their father because he was abusive.

"That was not true," Derek said. "My dad never abused me." Alex's statement said Chavis had told him he loved him and that he was gay. The younger boy also admitted his role in their father's death.

"I suggested that Derek kill my dad," he said in the statement read in court by the judge. "That started a short talk about it."

Alex also agreed to testify against Chavis on a charge of being an accessory to the murder and another of lewd and lascivious behavior.

The brothers, sitting at separate tables before the hearing began, smiled and laughed with attorneys until the judge's bailiff called the court in session.

Both answered a crisp "No, sir," when Bell asked if they thought the attorneys or the court-appointed mediator had tried to mislead them in any way.

Bell thoroughly questioned the boys about their understanding of the proceedings, whether they consider themselves legally incompetent -- as their mother alleged in a faxed letter to the judge -- and whether they trusted their attorneys.

Both answered that they were satisfied with their attorneys' representation in court and believed they had their clients best interests at heart.

The mediation began last week and included discussions with attorneys representing the wishes of the boys' mother, Kelly Marino, who had said she feared a negotiated settlement would require that her sons plead to something that would taint them for life. Marino wanted a new trial, with new attorneys representing the boys.

Marino's attorneys filed a motion for a competency hearing for the boys just before Thursday's hearing, but Bell ruled that because those attorneys were not the attorneys of record they had no standing with the court to file motions.

The brothers spoke with family members -- including their mother -- to discuss the terms of their resolution Wednesday night and were prepared to go forward, both Alex and Derek told the judge.

The boys originally had confessed to killing their father and setting fire to the home last November, but later changed their story and implicated Chavis, claiming the older man had persuaded them to take the blame.

Prosecutor David Rimmer said after the two trials that even though he had argued in Chavis' trial that he had wielded the he bat, he in fact believed Derek done so, Alex was a principal actor in the killing and Chavis encouraged the boys.

But James Stokes, who represented Alex, blasted the prosecution, saying the state could not possibly have prosecuted both cases, believing both parties were guilty of the crime.

Attorneys for the boys filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the whole process was "fundamentally flawed" and that jurors had been misled. Just before he was to sentence the boys in October, Bell granted the motion for a new trial, but ordered mediation first, with the caveat that a new trial would go forward if talks failed to reach a resolution.

Pensacola, FL October 17, 2002
"There's no question in my mind that they did not receive a fair trial", said Escambia Circuit Judge Frank Bell as he granted the defense motion for a retrial. Bell also ordered mediation between the prosecutor and defense attorneys. Alex and Derek King, 13 and 14 years old, were convicted as adults last month of second-degree murder.
To read the complete story of Judge Bell's order, click The Hearing
To read a follow-up story, click The Latest News.

Click "I do not understand why..." to read text of Rev. Thomas Masters' speech at the Pensacola Rally for the King boys.

Although justice prevailed on October 17, many are furious with prosecutor David Rimmer's ability to pervert justice the way that he did. Read more about the unethical prosecutorial dilemmas of this "bizarre" case:
click http://www.geocities.com/beoliver/

On October 17, 2002, forty people, some from as far away as Arizona, met on the lawn in front of the M. C. Blanchard Judicial Building in Pensacola, Florida to demand a retrial for Alex and Derek King. The effort was aimed at swaying Judge Bell to appreciate the errors and confusion that defined the guilty verdict of two children tried as adults for the murder of their father. Later on that Thursday, Judge Bell did overturn the verdict and, in a rare legal move, ordered that the issue attempt to be resolved through mediation. Here are photos from that historic day in Florida's legal annals.