Commentary: Dev Appellate Brief Puts Forth Strong Evidence of Unfair Trial

Dev-2yr-1aI was not always sold on the innocence of Ajay Dev.  It was the summer of 2009 when I received an email from Mr. Dev’s sister-in-law about the case.  Mr. Dev had just been convicted, and he had not yet been sentenced to the stunning 378-year sentence.

Little did I realize that this would be a pivotal moment in my life, as I headed out to the Roseville home of the Devs and heard their story.  I didn’t know what to think, I had not seen the case, had not heard the evidence, and I was in a position of having to take their word for it.

My eyes opened for the first time when Mr. Dev was sentenced to a 378-year term.  There are a lot of murderers who won’t serve even a fraction of that time.

Moreover, I was concerned, reading comments from the juror who said that they did not find the victim credible, but the tape was definitive for them.  For me, if the tape was all there was, it was ambiguous at best.

Over time, the testimony of friends and family members, the details of the case, and reports from the prison pushed me slowly but steadily toward believing that an innocent man had been taken away from his young children and put in prison.

The clincher for me was my extended read of the appellate brief.  Reading an attorney – rather than a family member – assess the evidence and the law was eye-opening.

We have yet to see the response from the Attorney General’s office.  It was interesting, however, that in the Michael Artz appeal, the AG’s office actually conceded a number of critical arguments.

Judge Timothy Fall, like Judge Stephen Mock in the Artz case, appears to have made some rather egregious errors.  In my time covering the courts, for the most part I have come to respect the fairness of Judge Fall.  However, he does have one serious flaw, despite his tremendous grasp of the law and generally fair approach – his lack of patience.

It appears from reading the appellate brief and the interchange that Judge Fall simply ran out of patience for resolving the translation issue, and he made a huge error – he allowed the victim to translate the contested portion of the pretext call.

When the defense objected to use of the transcription containing the alleged victim’s (AV’s) corrections, Judge Fall would overrule them with, “I’ve never had a completely accurate transcript ever on – anytime I’ve had a transcript used.  I will admonish the jury appropriately as I always do… but I’m going to let [the prosecution] go ahead and use the transcript.”

This was the entire trial, if you believe the word of the jurors posted on the Woodland Daily Democrat site following the trial.

One said, “Yes, her testimony was difficult to swallow. If for her testimony alone, he would be a free man. The phone call is what put him where he is now. I am confident that we made the correct decision.”

Another said, “In the pretext call, Ajay admitted to having sex with the victim after she was 18. The exact quote is ‘You f$#*ed me after age 18, that means you gave consent.’ The entire defense was that no sexual relationship occurred and that it was a story made up by the victim. With his admission, that defense was completely disregarded.”

As the defense notes, “The prosecution found the pretext call so significant it devoted most of its closing argument to Ajay’s out of court statements made during the pretext call” and the prosecution argued that deliberations “needed to start with the pretext call … you start with what he admits to, you start with the threats and the discussion.”

These are critical errors.

The defense cites section 752 of the Evidence Code, “When a witness is incapable of understanding the English language or is incapable of expressing himself or herself in the English language so as to be understood directly by counsel, court, and jury, an interpreter whom the witness can understand and who can understand the witness shall be sworn to interpret for the witness.”

The defense notes that, “The trial court abused its discretion by permitting [AV], a highly biased interpreter, to translate the portions of the pretext call spoke in Nepali.”

The defense notes that Judge Fall  went so far as to advise the jury that AV qualified as an expert translator, justifying it with: “She.. speaks English and Nepali.  She says that – and can tell you what was on there, and apparently she reviewed it, and this is part of her testimony now that this is what she heard, and it’s accurate under her understanding of the two languages as far as the translation goes, so that’s the state of the evidence we are now.”

The defense cites case law that suggests that, while the court can appoint “an uncertified interpreter at its discretion when a certified interpreter cannot be located, it cannot appoint a biased interpreter.”

They cite California Rules of Court, Rule 2.890(c), “An interpreter must be impartial and unbiased and must refrain from conduct that may give an appearance of bias.”

These are not small mistakes.

The result is that while AV interpreted the disputed sentence as, “But you had sex with me when you were 18,” the defense contests that this “was an impossible translation,” and the defense translator explained how the beginning sounds of what he heard are not the beginning sounds of any sexual word in Nepali.

The defense translator argues, “It was very difficult to hear this portion of the audiotape because there was a gap in the tape… Therefore, for all intents and purposes the word was unintelligible.”

That mistake is compounded by the failure of Judge Fall to properly instruct the jury by instructing them to view ambiguous statements made by the defendant on a recorded pretext call with caution.

“This is an incorrect statement of the law,” the defense argues.  “Only unambiguous or undisputed recorded statements should be viewed without caution.”

That is the first problem.  The second problem that the defense had is that they were not allowed to present the evidence that AV was convicted of forging the birthdate on her passport.

This, too, is no small factor.  In this trial, the only evidence that was presented against Ajay Dev was the word of AV. There is a tendency to ask oneself: why would AV invent this horrific story?  That is where the immigration issues and the pressure she was under to find a way back to the US comes into play.

Without allowing the defense to put on this evidence, for really technical and perhaps wrongly-decided legalistic reasons, Judge Fall really took away the defense’s ability to challenge the credibility of the accuser.

The defense cites Evidence Code section 452.5(b), “An official record of conviction certified in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 1530 is admissible pursuant to Section 1280 to prove the commission, attempted commission, or solicitation of a criminal offense, prior conviction, service of a prison term, or other act, condition, or event recorded by the record.”

The defense argues here that Judge Fall abused his discretion by determining that Mr. Dev’s defense failed to provide a proper “chain of certification” pursuant to Evidence Code section 1530(a)(3).

“With proper authentication under Evidence Code section 1530, the trial court should have taken judicial notice of the verdict… and the appellate decision… under Evidence Code section 452.5.”

“The trial court also refused to take judicial notice of the Nepali record of conviction because it found there was no evidence the Nepali judgment resulted from a criminal versus civil proceeding,” they write.  “The Nepali court documents however, make it very clear that the verdict came from a criminal proceeding.”

The strength of this appellate brief is that the defense is able to show how the decisions of Judge Fall actually went against the established law on a number of locations.

The final area that the defense argues is the admission of legal porn.  First, the defense has strong evidence that Mr. Dev had nothing to do with the porn – problems with the timeline, evidence that some of the files were never accessed, and evidence that Mr. Dev was at work at times when the porn was accessed.

One is tempted to dismiss this as unimportant – after all, the jury actually acquitted Mr. Dev on the porn charges.  But, as the defense notes, the introduction of the porn was not only prejudicial to the jury, it also helped make the prosecution’s story.

It is always dangerous to take one side’s arguments and attempt to extrapolate, but some of the points seem rather clear cut.  It will be interesting the extent to which the AG’s office under Kamala Harris will actually attempt to defend this case against Judge Fall’s errors, which seem to be critical to the core of the case.

In the meantime, it seems increasingly likely that an innocent man sits in jail, with his young son that he has never held rapidly growing up.  It is time for justice to prevail and for Mr. Dev to be exonerated for the crimes that he did not commit.

—David M. Greenwald reporting

About The Author

David Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.

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42 Comments

  1. djwein

    Thanks again, David, for your thorough review of this appeal. I agree that the Judges errors are clear-cut and truly egregious. After reading the appeal myself I cannot imagine there could be any effective rebuttal presented. When reading the appeal one cannot help but hear the “ka-ching” of cash-for-convictions over and over!

  2. Nemesis

    The defense notes that Judge Fall went so far as to advise the jury that AV qualified as an expert translator, justifying it with: “She.. speaks English and Nepali. She says that – and can tell you what was on there, and apparently she reviewed it, and this is part of her testimony now that this is what she heard, and it’s accurate under her understanding of the two languages as far as the translation goes, so that’s the state of the evidence we are now.”

    This is quite amazing to me because when the judge placed all his faith in the accuser by allowing her to be an expert translator he is cueing the jurors to give her more credence than anyone else on this issue.

  3. Eusebio

    As the days, weeks, months, and years pass, those of us close to Ajay Dev and his family continue to bare witness to his horrific suffering. Thank you David for exposing the gross injustices committed in this case. Ajay Dev is innocent.

  4. Organa

    Nemesis: “This is quite amazing to me because when the judge placed all his faith in the accuser by allowing her to be an expert translator he is cueing the jurors to give her more credence than anyone else on this issue.”

    I agree with this but not only does it give credence to the translation, it also indirectly gives credence to anything else AV says however blatantly false.

    David, thank you taking the time and energy to sift through this unbelievable story and put it out there for the public.

  5. Themis

    Judges do make mistakes at trial but honestly elevating AV to be the court interpreter, disallowing evidence showing AV’s motive, that AV lied in the past, and prejudicing the jurors with allowing the pornography chargesare massive mistakes Judge Fall made in one trial. This is very unusual and extremely troubling.

  6. JustSaying

    “We have yet to see the response from the Attorney General’s office. It was interesting, however, that in the Michael Artz appeal, the AG’s office actually conceded a number of critical arguments.”

    When does this happen? Also, link to appellate brief, please.

  7. David M. Greenwald

    The Artz decision happened a moth ago, we ran three articles on it.

    The appellate brief is on the Advocates for Ajay site, I can’t link it easily on my phone.

  8. LOTR1OF9

    Thank you soooo much, David. I cannot tell you how much it means to have a third party, such as yourself, and after painstakingly going through the evidence, to conclude and state publicly that Ajay dev needs to come home!!!!! From the bottom of all our hearts….thank you.

    For all the readers who either are or are not connected to this case, just a quick note…it takes real courage and strength of character to stand firm in one’s convictions, especially in a case where the alleged crimes are so heinous–even more so to speak out publicly against injustice. Thank you to all who have stood behind Ajay believing in his innocence and who are willing to speak out for him against public opinion and adversity.

  9. JustSaying

    Thanks for way to see appellate brief. I’m asking about the AG’s response to this case (not the Artz case–although your note that the AG acknowledged problems with Artz handling is an interesting point that suggests those folks don’t just arbitrarily support all the DA/court actions).

  10. Peggy Dev

    I’m sure you have all read in the news about wrongful convictions and exonerations. We are relieved that an innocent person has gone home. What most cannot feel and I did not know until this happened to me, is the tremendous suffering that happens. Moments stolen from your life that cannot be replaced. We are all suffering. This has been a nightmare on so many levels. But no one suffers more than Ajay. We are hopeful that justice will be served and Ajay will finally be free. Waiting for that day to come is unbearable.

    Although Ajay suffers from depression, he tries to occupy his time making a difference in prison by working for the Education Department teaching and tutoring math to the inmates. I have been approached by a few guards who wanted to share with me that they know Ajay doesn’t belong there and have wished us luck in our appeal.

    Thank you to all the supporters for standing by Ajay. Thank you David for taking the time to look deeper into Ajay’s case. The work to bring him home is not over yet.

  11. Themis

    Fight Against Injustice thanks for the link to the brief. The fact that Ajay’s family posted the brief online seems they have nothing to hide here. I am wondering how such an unfair trial could have happened here in our courtroom. I have known the DA’s office is win at all costs-I just didn’t realize that the judges were helping out. What a sad story. I haven’t had time to look at the brief but I definitely intend to. Thanks David for sharing insights into how you came to your belief on Ajay’s innocence.

  12. Calpal

    Excellent Journalism David! You present a crystal clear picture of what can and, IMO, did go wrong with the courtroom proceedings in the Ajay Dev case. I hope he is exonerated. The prosecution’s case was/is a travesty!

  13. bachha

    Thank you David and the Vanguard for an in depth analysis and commentary. This huge tragedy will hopefully end soon. I want to have my faith back in the Justice System.

  14. Logos

    Notwithstanding the trial court’s well-documented improvident-exercise-of-discretion, nevertheless, two salient points pertaining to Mr. Dev’s unconscionable conviction must be brought under closer scrutiny.

    Apart from the plaintiff’s spurious testimony…the prosecution failed to produce at trial a scintilla of either forensic or empirical evidence that definitively substantiates the plaintiff was ever raped and/or abused by anyone…let alone by the defendant.

    Assuming for the moment that the infamous “[u][u]you $#@$#@ me after the age of 18, that means you [u]gave[/u] me[/u] consent[/u]” represents a literal declaration by the defendant; how does a sitting jury adduce that this out-of-court statement (in connection with the defendant’s 27 emphatic denials), both contextually and logically translates into the defendant’s admission and proof of guilt?

    Clearly, the jury’s daft sense of reasoning in this critical instance signifies an unfathomable, cataclysmic dereliction of personal integrity and duty.

  15. Nemesis

    Organa you are right when you say that Judge Fall gave credence to AV in all aspects. Subliminally the jurors may believe that the Judge believes everything AV says.

  16. avidreader

    The number of critical errors in this case are astounding. And add to that a sentence of 378 years! I find this to be an outrage and hope that Mr. Dev is exonerated of these apparent lies very soon. Allowing AV to act as an expert translator of that precept call when she has everything to gain from making sure the translation is to her benefit completely baffles me.

    I want to believe in our judicial system however with cases like this it is difficult to do.

  17. Fight Against Injustice

    Please sign the petition asking the Attorney General’s office to look at this case. http://www.change.org/petitions/free-ajay-dev-a-victim-of-cash-for-convictions

    To become more educated about this case go to: http://www.seekingjusticefortheinnocent.com or http://www.advocatesforajay.com

    Thank you David for your analysis of this case. Hopefully, people in our community will pass this information on to others so that eventually the Attorney General’s office will realize that this is a serious case of wrongful conviction and help to rectify it.

  18. kristineg

    Thank you for this series of articles, David – you are doing this community a great service as the only journalist in the region who is publishing these well-written investigative articles and helping us hold our local officials accountable.

  19. Fight Against Injustice

    There were approximately 50 letters written in support of Ajay to Judge Fall. These were letters from people that knew both AV and Ajay and interacted with them both over the five year period. The support for Ajay is overwhelming by any standard. The letters are posted at: http://www.advocatesforajay.com/letters.php

    Here a few snippets for you:
    “I have had the privilege of working with many different children with many different disabilities, some who have been either physically, emotionally or sexually abused. If I did not believe 100% in Ajay Dev I would not be writing this letter.”

    “I am a molestation victim. I had to go through a terrible process to get the person who hurt me pointed out… I would do anything to prevent someone else from experiencing something of this nature. Similarly, I would fight to get anyone guilty of such a horrible crime exposed and behind bars. I would never stand behind a rapist. On the other hand, as a victim of sexual abuse, I condemn any false accusation and see it as a slap in the face of any true victim when an innocent man is found guilty due to unfounded accusations from an inconsistent “witness”.”

    “My appraisal of Mr. Dev’s character is also qualified by my professional experience of 15 years in social service to military veterans and psychiatric patients. During my career, I witnessed the most impaired, psychologically damaged and socially degraded individuals known to man. I learnt to skillfully determine those who actually are wholesome individuals, who, against all odds, strive to live meaningful and ethical lives and encourage those around them to do the same–these are qualities that Mr. Dev possesses.”

  20. Leopold

    I am so outraged that this was sent to trial, how can we find out how much the trial and incarceration of this obviously innocent man is costing us tax payers?

  21. Iyah

    [quote]Judge Timothy Fall, like Judge Stephen Mock in the Artz case, appears to have made some rather egregious errors. [/quote]
    We all have to remember Judges are just people too. They also make mistakes. However, one would hope that they can graciously recognize the mistake(s) that was made and help to rectify any wrongs. I for one am hoping Judge Fall is this type of man.

  22. Iyah

    David, excellent coverage of facts surrounding this case. I have to say I agree with you, [quote]it seems increasingly likely that an innocent man sits in jail, with his young son that he has never held rapidly growing up. It is time for justice to prevail and for Mr. Dev to be exonerated [/quote]

  23. eyeswideopen

    It is commendable when people take the effort to look into a matter before coming to an opinion or conclusion. I am very impressed with David, as he clearly stated from his first article that he could not say if Ajay Dev was innocent or not until he had the opportunity to review the FACTS. True to his word, after reviewing these truths, he has drawn his conclusion, that Ajay Dev is innocent. This is why Ajay has so many supporting him, it is not because we are emotionally attached, it’s because we have reviewed all of these facts and we encourage everyone to please do the same.

    What’s unfortunate is that this can happen to anyone, and each of us would want people to give us the opportunity to show our innocence. So why not allow Ajay to do the same?

  24. My two cents

    Excellent coverage of this story! I really appreciate all you insight David and for keeping all of us informed. Let’s hope this gets the attention of the court and they take a real close look and give Ajay the justice he deserves. Thanks again David!

  25. nena8

    Leopold –

    I too am outraged. Outraged of the reckless handling of someone’s life by authorities who are suppose to protect the truly innocent. As the AG’s office prepares their response to Ajay’s appeal, I pray that they will not only carefully consider the seriousness of the multiple errors made at the trial but investigate into the Yolo County DA’s motives behind bringing weak cases to trial. They may find it has everything to do with “Cash for Convictions” –
    http://www.seekingjusticefortheinnocent.com/index.php/cash-for-conviction/cfc-news/cfc-news/489-samantha-gardner

    Yes, a tremendous cost to us tax payers but more so for the lives of Ajay and his wife and sons. Truly a tragedy!

  26. bachha

    Another problem with the Nepal documents not coming in was that the AV got to talk about the Nepal case in Ajay’s trial, asserting it was a sham, denied her involvement and blamed Ajay for the whole thing. The defense was not allowed to present the rulings and documents to disprove her statements at Ajay’s trial, wherein she told the Nepal court something entirely different. Had the documents come in the defense would have been able to show a clear motive as to why she would falsely accuse Ajay and would have been able to impeach her testimony at Ajay’s trial as to what occurred in the Nepal case.

  27. nena8

    Fight Against Injustice mentioned that there are a total of 10 reversible error claims. This particular one shows how the Prosecutor lied to the jury. Under Legal Arguments (VIII, pages 200-211), the Brief states in part:

    “Appellant’s convictions must be reversed because the Trial Court sanctioned prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument by allowing the Prosecution to attribute an admission of rape to Appellant that did not exist.”

    “The Prosecution committed misconduct by telling the jury during closing argument that Ajay admitted raping [AV] in Bangkok in a note passed to his lawyer during the preliminary hearing: A fact neither in evidence nor supported by any facts outside the record.”

    “In sum, the prosecution’s fabrication of a handwritten note from Ajay to his lawyer written during the preliminary hearing allegedly indicating that Ajay had admitted raping [AV] in Bangkok fundamentally infected the fairness of the trial constituting federal constitutional error. Not only did the fabrication, made during closing arguments, implicate almost every right protected by the Bill of Rights, it concerned a fabricated admission to a rape in a rape case and, therefore, went to the heart of the case. Given the sheer deceptiveness of this misconduct, the remarks also constituted state law error.”

    The link to the appellate brief is: http://www.seekingjusticeforth…-and-facts

  28. eagle eye

    The state bar is going after Clinton Parrish for false campaign statements.
    The Bar ought to go after this prosecutor – the consequences of his dishonesty are far, far greater.

  29. David M. Greenwald

    It’s unlikely. First, there is a four year statute of limitation for prosecuting perjury. Second, it would actually be self-defeating because the threat would deter people from coming forward to recant.

  30. memary10

    The conviction of Ajay Dev was a sham. The trial was conducted in kangaroo court fashion with the accuser herself being allowed to translate the contents of the telephone call that convicted him. It boggles the mind. Ajay and his family have had their lives destroyed and their confidence in the justice system as well. When I first met the family Ajay’s father told me he was sorry he had ever brought his family to this country. Now that someone in my own family will likely be torn away from her baby and sent to prison for defending herself against home invading gangsters, I also have lost confidence in the justice system and am sorry I didn’t leave this country when I had the chance.
    What kind of a nation have we become that decent and law abiding people are imprisoned while thugs in expensive suits walk the Halls of Congress?

  31. Fight Against Injustice

    Another interesting part of this case is the charging strategies used by DDA Steve Mount. AV alleges she was raped 3x per week for 5 years. Yet, Mount did not charge Ajay that way. Why?

    Instead 40% of the charges were from when she was 15-16. The reason he made the charges this way is that he could add up the counts because she was young and the sentencing is harsher. And then Ajay was charged one rape every three months after that.

    Why charge this way? If Mount believed AV’s story, then why didn’t the charges reflect it. Maybe because he realized her story was unbelievable and if he charged that way, he couldn’t get a conviction.

    Here is a quote from Mount during closing arguments that illustrates that he realizes that AV’s testimony is not credible:

    “She is not the brightest cookie in the jar…..Her memory is terrible.” Transcript page 5126.

    Mount also charged Ajay for showing pornography to AV as a minor, yet he had no physical evidence to support it, only her say so. Ajay was not found guilty of the pornography charges, but again, these charges were put their to bolster a weak case and prejudice the jury.

    Mount charged strategically to cause an emotional response from the jury and chose not to charge the way AV alleged that the rapes happened.

  32. LOTR1OF9

    Just to expound a little on what nena8 posted…
    This error was so egregious because in essence what the prosecution was able to do was to add credibility to her otherwise unbelievable testimony by “vouching” for her story. (I am paraphrasing here, please read the appeal for exact wording)

    The appeal points out that as an officer of the court, his statements are weighted as far more credible. In essence, by his remark to the jury, what the prosecution was stating/implying was that he had personal knowledge of an admission of rape by Ajay, thereby adding credibility to her extremely weak testimony. There was never any note passed, no evidence of such a thing ever happening or no admission to his attorney….ever!

    Never let it be said that this prosecutor is not “the brightest cookie in the jar.” He is smart for sure. By making this seemingly innocuous remark in closing arguments, he validated her story and lent an otherwise extremely weak case credibility. Did it seem to matter that she lied repeatedly on the stand?

  33. Sauravdev3

    [b][i][/i][/b]Hope you can come back to Nepal as soon as possible , Kaka we miss you and I Hope that the the legal authorities Soon pass righteous judgement and thereby you will be freed as soon as possible. Papa ,Mom and My brother miss you a lot and they want to convey the message that our support and Love will be there for you forever .

  34. Fight Against Injustice

    The sad part here is that prosecutor “played the jury.”

    1. The prosecutor worked extremely hard to keep the Nepal documents out of the jury’s hands so AV’s motive could not be explained.

    2.During closing arguments, the prosecutor gave a play-by-play interpretation of the pretext call–even to the point of who was in the room with Ajay and what their reactions were. The prosecutor does not speak Nepali, yet he ignored the translation of the independent translator and put his own spin on it. He overlooked the numerous times Ajay denied the allegations.

    3. In closing arguments, the prosecutor claimed to know about an admission of guilt personally. Why would he say this when it wasn’t true, and there was no evidence to back him up? His case was weak and AV’s testimony was shown not to be credible.

    4. The prosecutor spent most of his allotted court time talking about the pornography in order to paint a bleak picture of Ajay’s character. Ajay was found not guilty on the pornography, the charges should have never been allowed. So why spend so much time on it? To get the jurors emotionally upset.

    This was a long and complicated case that went for 8 weeks. Unfortunately, the prosecutor was able to keep some pertinent information away from the jury in order to bolster his case. The truth didn’t matter to him, only the conviction.

    All this is in the appellate brief. Go to :http://www.seekingjusticefortheinnocent.com/index.php/ajay/ajay-news/legal-case/647-ajay-dev-case-and-facts

  35. nena8

    The Trial Court denied Ajay an Evidentiary Hearing during the Settlement Proceedings to find out whether the jury received the video-taped between AV and Detective Hermann as requested by the Jury Foreman during deliberation (Brief, pages 222-229). The Juror submitted the first jury note which read: “We would like to watch Det. Hermann interview with [AV].”

    Later in an interview with the Juror, he clarified that the note was intended to be a request for Exhibit 36B which was the video-tape. The Juror “did remember submitting a jury note regarding the video-taped interview between [AV] and Detective Hermann…when he watched the video-taped interview during trial, he found it somewhat difficult to believe [AV]. So, he wanted to see it again during deliberations. To the best of his recollection, the jury was never given the video-taped interview to watch during deliberations.”

    Ajay’s attorney writes, “Nothing in the record indicates whether the bailiff actually followed the court’s order to deliver any part of the admitted evidence to the jury. This unresolved omission in the record violated appellant’s constitutional right to a meaningful appeal and a sufficient record on appeal as protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection.”

    This was a serious omission!

    For more details:
    http://www.seekingjusticefortheinnocent.com/index.php/ajay/ajay-news/legal-case/647-ajay-dev-case-and-facts

  36. Awakened Citizen

    David, thank you for all of your investigative efforts to rectify our legal system. After hearing and reading in many avenues of communication
    about where justice has gone awry and innocent people have been convicted because of many errors by judges and prosecutors. Prosecutors should be held accountable for any fabrication of facts or accusers stories just as the defense attorneys and witnesses. They should also not be allowed to use dramatics or tears in addressing a jury. I have read other articles you have written and have read your recent articles on Mr. Dev. From reading the Appellants Opening Brief which is based on actual testimonies of witnesses and case law Mr. Dev did not have a fair trial. I wonder why Mr. Rexroad feels as he does. Does he have an ax to grind. If so bring forth his un-contestable evidence that Mr. Dev is guilty. Where is it? Pretext phone calls are not allowed in court in other states. Why in California. It is a very weak point in this case when Mr. Dev denied any wrong doing and denied it many times. How can a prosecutor miss lead a jury by saying Mr. Dev did not deny the allegations? Why is that allowed when the tape said otherwise. I my opinion it is leading the jury to a false conclusion and denies justice and the rights of all of us under the Constitution of the United States.

    I think Michael Burrows had a good point when he brought up families suffering as well as the victim convict (wrongfully accused). We should all open our eyes to the enormous suffering of lives devastated, wasted and emotionally and financial bankrupt from wrongful convictions. I have had the privilege of hearing one of Mr. Dev’s children pray that God will bring his daddy home so he can play with him. Children know, feel and are affected by the wrongful taking away of family. They are victims that the courts, law enforcement and society look upon as damaged goods even when they have put an innocent man in prison. I have never heard of another person sentenced to 378 years. WHERE IS JUSTICE! It is hiding behind apathetic citizens. Let’s correct it.

    I pray for Ajay, his family, Peggy her family, you David, AV and that truth will prevail. God bless us all and the United States of America. Let’s bring it to what we know to be true

  37. larry

    I am one of many people who have known Peggy and Ajay Dev for many years…about 23 years now. I was there when Peggy and Ajay first met and was their roommate at one time. I also got to know both of their families and met the AV when she first arrived in the US. I had the opportunity to spend time with the AV and her adopted parents, including spending the night at their house when my adopted son and I came to visit Davis. I visited at least 10x during the years when the rapes supposedly occured. During that time and sense then, I worked as a social worker and am experienced in working with all sorts of people with various conditions including mental illness, trauma, personality disorders, x-offenders, young adults and children, etc.

    I never saw any tension, awkwardness, embarassment, or unease on the part of the AV, Ajay, or Peggy. On the contrary, I was impressed by the level of love, committment and joy that was very evident in the home. On several occasions, I got to talk with the AV privately while we walked the dog. I asked her about her time here in America, how she was adapting, etc. She expressed no concerns or tension with me or my curiosity about how her life was. It was clear that she was very happy and her life was healthy and progressing just as she wanted it to. I truly believe there would have been at least one clue that something was going on that was inappropriate, but I never observed anything other than a profound sens of appreciation, joy, excitement, and hope in the AV’s demeanor and words. She was an exited and happy teenager. Later, as she started to spend more time with boys and did poorly in school, that was when the tensions started in the home.

    I was also allowed to speak at the “closing arguments” portion at Ajay’s trial and reported on my background and observations of the av and Ajay to Judge Fall. Before the trial, I was 99% sure that the allegations were false. But AFTER hearing the closing arguments by the DA and Defense for Ajay, and observing the Jury, I was 100% sure he was innocent of the charges. Outrageous charges like: “He raped me while his wife was in bed with us” only underscored the untenable array of facts. I believe Peggy when she says she would never fight for his release if she had any hint that anything happened, even if she does have two children she is raising on her own. She would wash her hands of him if he had done what he is accused of.

    The “brief” contains myriad facts that support his release, but my personal experience is a small but important part that I wanted to share. I would say about 3 dozen people have the SAME experience in observing the family dynamics…the AV was NEVER closeted or kept away from others…on the contrary. Ajay, the AV, and Peggy had nothing to hide? By the way, although Ajay is very sharp at things like mathematics, he is no criminal genious and I would rate his “street smarts” as being poor. Now that he has been in prison for a crime he did not commit, his rating his higher. He could have never pulled off this crime, even if he had wanted to. Period.

    Ajay, Peggy, and their entire family have undergone a living nightmare for the past 3 1/2 years and I hope and pray that he is fully exonerated.

    Please tell your family and friends about this injustice and stay tuned to programs like “60 Minutes” which recently did a few stories on wrongful convictions.

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