Bar Counsel to Supreme Court: Mary Kellett’s misconduct “inexcusable”
Mary Kellett, the Bar Harbor Maine prosecutor accused of conducting Salem style Witch Trials of dozens of innocent men for sex crimes[1] will go before a single Maine Supreme Court Judge for misconduct charges in the Vladek Filler case. On April 24, 2013 Bar Counsel Scott Davis filed a formal complaint with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court charging Mary Kellett engaged in prosecutorial misconduct through “multiple serious violations” which were “inexcusable” in her prosecution of Vladek Filler.
Bar Counsel’s complaint followed a two year investigation and a two day formal disciplinary hearing before a Bar Panel during which Kellett’s office had Filler held in custody. In December 2012 the Bar Panel issued a decision finding Kellett failed to turn over “at least two key pieces” of evidence of Filler’s innocence, engaged in violation of rules and court orders, did not act as a truth seeker, misled the jury, and engaged in conduct unworthy of an attorney.[2]
Kellett’s prosecution of Filler began when he was engaged in a bitter child custody dispute with his then wife Ligia Filler–a substantiated child abuser. Ligia Filler characterized her criminal complaints as her way of fighting for the custody of the Filler children[3]. Mary Kellett intervened with Child Protective Services and rushed to immediately arrest and charge Vladek with spousal rape based solely on his wife’s accusations.
During his prosecution Vladek maintained and won sole custody of his children, but Kellett’s rampant prosecutorial misconduct resulted in him being falsely convicted for sexual assault of his wife. Kellet suppressed and withheld court ordered exculpatory evidence, and obtained rulings to bar extensive evidence of his accuser’s motives and conduct form trial.
Even evidence that Vladek was involved in a bitter divorce and child custody dispute with his wife and evidence of her numerous strategic, malicious, and frivolous actions against him aimed at regaining custody of their children were barred due to Kellett’s objections. She repeatedly suggested to the jury that there was not a child custody dispute and that evidence of such didn’t even exist. Kellett told the jury about domestic violence statistics and about her own personal experiences, and that Filler failed to prove that he didn’t rape his wife.
As a result of Kellet’s prosecutorial misconduct the trial court set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial. Kellett appealed, seeking to reinstate the conviction and to set a new legal precedent barring prosecuted men in Maine from being able to present evidence of their bitter divorces and child custody disputes with their false accusers as a defense.
The Supreme Court upheld the mistrial due to Kellett’s misconduct and violations of Filler’s constitutional rights. By that time the Divorce Court Judge ruled that Ligia Filler lacked credibility, abused the children, and in review of the same evidence the Judge ruled that the criminal charges of spousal rape against Vladek did not even pass the lowest — more likely than not — standard of proof. But Kellett ignored the District Court ruling and announced she would still re-prosecute Vladek for the same false charges. Several bar complaints were filed against Kellett alleging serious violations and suppression of evidence and she was forced to step aside due to the pending disciplinary investigation in to her conduct in the case.
Filler then became a major political target for malicious prosecution. Kellett’s associate Paul F. Cavanaugh was assigned to pull all the stops and was allowed to run wild in Judge Robert E. Murray’s kangaroo court to gain a conviction by any means possible.[1]
Miraculously, Vladek was still acquitted of all but one misdemeanor assault charge. The misdemeanor charge alleged Vladek had unclear physical contact with his wife which caused a bruise to magically appear on her upper arm 4 days after they last saw each other. Judge Murray denied all defense motions and allowed a clearly unrelated bruise claim and photograph to be used to convict Filler even after police found his wife making conflicting claims to officers and their examination finding absolutely no bruises on her arm — 2 days after the alleged contact.
The prosecutorial misconduct of Mary Kellett involved other Maine officials.
ADA Paul Cavanaugh repeatedly complained to the court that Vladek filed a Bar Complaint against Mary Kellett and caused public attention. At sentencing Cavanaugh sought up to a year in jail punishment/retribution — not for any magic bruise — but to punish Filler for engaging in his own vigorous defense against the corruption in Cavenaugh’s office.
Judge Robert E. Murray sentenced Vladek to an unheard of 21 days in jail and then forced him to serve that sentence precisely during the time he was required to appear to testify against Mary Kellett at her disciplinary hearing.[2]
Vladek was brought to testify against Kellett as a prisoner, in shackles, under guard and under strict rules of no communications.
The case presented by the Bar Counsel did not try to address examples of Kellet’s criminal misconduct. By day two of the hearing it became apparent that Kellett was being given a pass and an obvious effort to allow her to white wash her misconduct was in progress. Vladek, while under guard, demanded to retake the stand in final minutes of the hearing and managed to get his entire 3 part complaint with documents admitted on the record in rebuttal to Kellett’s testimony. As news began to spread of a white wash, A Voice For Men activists from around the world took action to make their voices heard, and heard they were.[3]
In its decision, the Bar Panel cited Kellett’s failure to turn over at “least two key pieces of exculpatory evidence” which were “critical” to Vladek’s defense, rampant discovery violations, and efforts to mislead and deceive the jury about facts and evidence. The seriousness of Kellett’s misconduct, the Panel wrote, “cannot be overstated”. Despite court and Bar Panel findings and recommendation and despite numerous calls by A Voice For Men, SAVE, National Coalition for Men, and the National Parents Organization (formerly Father’s and Families) for Kellett to be removed from her position, she has been allowed by state and county officials to continue prosecuting innocent men.
Officials like district attorney Carletta Bassano, the Hancock County Commissioners, and the Attorney General’s office have decided to look the other way as Kellett continues to be unleashed on the public. They have chosen to completely ignore substantiated evidence of Kellett’s egregious misconduct. Not only does Kellett to continue to destroy innocent men’s lives, she is allowed to continue to provide extraordinary protection and plea deals to female offenders, hence undermining the administration of justice against both the innocent and the guilty.[1]
During the past 2 years, since the Board of Overseers of the Bar found probable cause to conduct and investigation and take disciplinary action, Kellett has continued to prosecute numerous innocent men. Even after the Bar Panel’s decision to suspend her law license 4 months ago, she has continued to charge men with sex crimes with at least 3 men having such charges already dismissed. Kellett continues to give female criminals extraordinary plea deals. It’s business as usual in Hancock County because Mary Kellett and DA Carletta Bassano are not worried. The corrupt structure in place continues to protect Kellett from accountability for acts which any private attorney would have been criminally prosecuted and jailed long ago.
No one in Hancock County or State government, or the mainstream press for that matter, has shown any concern for Kellett’s misconduct or the harm she has caused in her 1100 prosecutions during some 10 years in office. No one in Maine’s government seems concerned for the victims of the devastating abuse which Kellett continues to inflict.
Joseph Digenova, a former United States Attorney, discussed the problem of prosecutorial misconduct with PBS stating “This is serious business. These career prosecutors believe that nobody can touch them. Nobody! That’s a very dangerous thing in a free society”.[2]
Here indeed we have an example of career prosecutors in Hancock County Maine who are engaged in a very serious business of ruining people’s lives with the arrogance of knowing nobody can or will punish them–not the courts, not the state, not the justice department–no matter how egregious or criminal their misconduct may be.
If an abusive medical surgeon withholds and misrepresents facts in order to perform unnecessary surgeries on healthy people, he is stopped, stripped of his medical license, and criminally prosecuted by authorities. Yet Mary Kellett, a Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar substantiated violator of rules and civil rights of the innocent is not even slowed down. She is just allowed to continue to hold and use the power of the state against the public with no real oversight or intervention from her superiors or State of Maine officials.
For years A Voice for Men has reported about a crime spree of misconduct and civil rights abuse by Mary Kellett and her 7th District Attorney’s office in Maine. We have called for intervention from the Governor and State ofMaine officials who are legally responsible with protecting the public from abusive officials acting under the color of law. The justice system which the public is expected to trust has become a mockery of our values and ideals. Maine officials must be held to their duty and oath of office and must protect the public by removing Mary Kellett from her position.
We will not stop calling for accountability and will continue to investigate and report the misconduct of any public officials in Maine who fails in their duties to hold corrupt prosecutor Mary Kellett fully accountable for her crimes.
