Court: Ontario County DA-elect Ritts guilty of misconduct
The case involved
The prosecutor "engaged in misconduct by improperly eliciting prejudicial testimony about defendant's nickname, 'Diablo,' for purposes other than identification from witnesses who knew defendant by his real name," states the decision on appeal from an
In response, Ritts said Tuesday: "It will not happen again."
"I have already talked to my staff about this," added Ritts, who was elected
Ritts said this was the first time he was cited for misconduct by the court and he plans for it to be the last. On the timing of the decision two days after the election, Ritts said, "The Appellate Division always releases two weeks after the last argument."
"I have no one at the Appellate Division who was looking out for me," he added.
Prosecutorial misconduct was a theme in the heated Republican primary between Ritts and opponent
District Attorney
During the campaign, Ritts pointed to the court's admonishments of Karle, and it was one of the issues the two candidates sparred over during a debate before the September primary. Karle claimed Ritts was guilty of misconduct, citing the case of
On Tuesday, Karle likened the court's
Karle said Tuesday that during the campaign, "it was all blown out of proportion in relation to me." She said the court is tough on prosecutors and it is not uncommon for the court to cite prosecutors for misconduct.
She said she is not criticizing Ritts for being admonished -- "I will not tear down another prosecutor," she said. But she takes issue with Ritts using it in his campaign to "unfairly discredit" her.
In a prepared statement Karle provided the Messenger on Tuesday, she referred to an arson case -- not prosecuted by Ritts -- involving a
Karle stated: "I have had the opportunity to review the higher court's decision released on
Would Ritts have done anything differently in his campaign?
"The campaign is over," the DA- elect said Tuesday. "I don't regret anything."
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