Soares blames media for witness relocation


Is District Attorney David Soares relocating witnesses in murder trials because of what appears in the media?

David Soares

David Soares

It would appear to be the case based on remarks the district attorney made to Capital News 9 about the recent Kathina Thomas murder trial.  The report cited threats being made to witnesses after the trial.

It recalled Soares asking the media to withhold names of certain witnesses before the trial. Some, such as the news station, obliged completely, while others such as the Times Union agreed in part.

According to the TV report, Soares is now saying media outlets which did not heed to his request are partly to blame for the witness relocation. He did not identify which witnesses were threatened in the report. 

Trials are held in open court, where anyone can sit and find out who testifies. Soares’ request to the media was truly unique; the DA did not make it in two subsequent murder trials this year (or the current triple murder trial of Jovan Underdue).

Jermayne Timmons

Jermayne Timmons

As it turned out, two of the witnesses Soares requested anonymity for admitted telling lies on the stand. Neither has been charged with perjury, which itself could make for an interesting subplot. The DA, who often speaks of one standard of justice, recently said through a spokeswoman that “anyone” who lies in an Albany courtroom would face charges.

The DA’s stance is also interesting given his appellate counsel’s recent remarks before taking a GPS-related case to the Court of Appeals.

Here was his comment: “You don’t have a privacy right in those things that you do in public.”

Categories: General
Robert Gavin

4 Responses

  1. Cfoote says:

    Gee Mr Soares.. How about investigating these punks making threats as well. As you dig deeper you will see this problem of guns, money and drugs runs far deeper than you can imagine. Not only is it daily life with our youth its taught by some parents. If someone is threatening a witness, get out there and arrest whoever it is and show them you mean business. Place as much effort on that as you have busting steroid users and companies and then you really will have accomplished something

  2. JG says:

    Well put Cfoote. However, David Soares is used to have things handed to him, like Shelly Silver’s downstate money that got him in the office and how the televised media who have been his lapdog.

  3. Cfoote says:

    How about the next thing handed to him is his pink slip?

  4. ms.noisette(jermayne sister) says:

    sorry guys thats not my little brother picture they have up