A Missouri appeals panel has ruled all evidence against a Kansas City lawyer accused of killing a man in 2000 should be thrown out.
In its 8-2 decision Tuesday, the Western District Court of Appeals found that Jackson County prosecutors could not be relied on to give defendant Richard Buchli all the evidence against him, which is required to ensure a fair trial. The court also said the state's failure to comply with rules was unfair and prejudiced Buchli, according to The Kansas City Star.
Buchli was convicted in 2002 of first-degree murder in the 2000 beating death of 49-year-old Richard Armitage. The conviction was thrown out in 2006 because of evidence not turned over to the defense. Jackson County prosecutors appealed that decision.
In its ruling released Tuesday, the appeals said in the 8-2 decision that the right to have all of that evidence - called "discovery" - effectively trumps the state's right to prosecute Buchli.
"There is unquestionably a societal interest in prosecuting cases of murder, but this does not give the state free reign to prosecute this defendant for an indefinite period of time, no matter how many decades it takes the state to comply with its legal obligations," Judge Gary D. Witt wrote in the 24-page majority opinion.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement Tuesday that she was "greatly disappointed" in the opinion.
"Excluding all the evidence in any case is an incredibly harsh remedy to a discovery violation," Baker said. "It is a de-facto dismissal of the case."
She said prosecutors are weighing whether they will continue to appeal. If it stands, Tuesday's decision would leave prosecutors without any evidence to prosecute the first-degree murder case against Buchli.