Attorney in slain pastor case held in contempt of court
Published 9:28 am Tuesday, September 16, 2014
A defense attorney in a murder case was held in contempt of court Monday for contacting a grand jury member.
Adam Johnson, who represents Woodrow Karey, called a vice-foreman of the secret grand jury. Johnson said he did so because he believed there may have been a jury irregularity when Karey’s case was brought before the grand jury a second time.
Judge Clayton Davis, however, said that Johnson did not follow the correct steps to investigate. Davis fined Johnson $100.
“In this case, it was initiated the wrong way,” Davis said. “You know it; we all know it.
“You made a mistake. We all make mistakes.”
Johnson said he reviewed the law before calling the juror to make sure he was within the boundaries.
“I would never dishonor your court, and I didn’t intentionally violate that law,” Johnson told Davis.
Karey, 54, is accused of murdering Pastor Ronald J. Harris Sr. in September 2013 during a revival service at Tabernacle of Praise. Karey reportedly then turned himself in to authorities, telling deputies he shot Harris because Harris raped his wife.
On Nov. 13, 2013, Karey was indicted on a charge of manslaughter. However, on June 26, the case was brought back before a grand jury, which indicted Karey for second-degree murder. What new evidence was presented to the second grand jury has not yet been released.
What happens in a grand jury is secret, though there are some exceptions, including that if a grand jury irregularity has occurred, a juror may disclose that to defense counsel, the district attorney, the court or to the attorney general.
Johnson said in a response to the state’s motion that he reviewed the law prior to calling the juror and that he kept his questioning within a narrow scope.
During the short phone call, Johnson asked why the case was brought before a new grand jury and what new evidence was provided, according to court documents.
The defense has asked Davis to quash the second indictment. A hearing on the matter that was supposed to happen Monday was postponed until Nov. 26. A new trial date was set for Dec. 15.
The defense claims the case was presented to a different grand jury after prosecutor Cynthia Killingsworth said in an email that the same grand jury would hear the case again.
Johnson was seeking to reconcile Killingsworth’s email with the fact that a different grand jury heard the case, his response reads.
The law allows for a case to be brought back before a grand jury when a grand jury fails or refuses to indict, but Karey’s defense attorneys say that does not apply to this case because Karey was indicted, although on a lesser charge, thus prosecution had begun.
The defense also claims that prosecutors broke a deal with them by bringing the case back to a grand jury after having already obtained an indictment for manslaughter. The defense says it provided witnesses (including Karey’s wife) for the first grand jury with the understanding that prosecutors would not make a recommendation to the grand jury, but let jurors make up their mind after hearing the facts.
