A judge has dismissed all charges against a former deputy states attorney and a child advocate mid-trial in Aberdeen.
The presiding judge determined that there wasn't enough proof presented against the defendants to continue. Judge Gene Paul Kean says he didn’t want the jury to get bogged down in office politics.
Judge Kean issued an order of judgment of acquittal - dismissing all counts in the indictment against attorney Brandon Taliaferro and children’s advocate Shirley Schwab.
The pair were being tried on a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges, including witness tampering and obstructing law enforcement. The origins of the case date back to 2011, when two Native American girls accused their white foster parents of sexual abuse.
Daniel Sheehan is the lead counsel for the Lakota Peoples Law Project. He was among many observers in the courtroom.
“Judge Gene Paul Kean ruled that there was no credible evidence presented by the state prosecutors that could possibly have supported a rational conclusion on the part of the jury that either defendant committed any offense of any kind,” says Sheehan.
Judge Kean says this was only the third time in his 30 –year career that he’s seen charges dropped during a trial at the request of the defense.