Opinion ID: 654620
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Alleged Wrongful Conduct.

Text: 86 The alleged prosecutorial misconduct took place with the following witnesses: Richard Lawler, Scott Haga, Thomas Hagen, and Jeffrey Remick. The defendants contend that an AUSA told Richard Lawler before he testified to the grand jury that he was a f---ing liar and that unless he told the truth he was going to f---ing jail. The defendants maintain that an FBI agent told Scott Haga, in front of Haga's five-year old son, that Haga would be sentenced to five years in jail for perjury unless he testified truthfully. With regard to Thomas Hagen, the defendants assert that an FBI agent told him he would go to jail unless he told the truth during his testimony. Lastly, the defendants contend that two AUSAs yelled at Jeffrey Remick before he testified to the grand jury. They claim the AUSAs told Remick to shut the f--- up, called him a smart ass punk and a motherf---er, and said he was a f---ing liar, who would go to jail for five years if he perjured himself and that he would make the inmates in prison a nice girlfriend. 87 The government denies using any profanity with Remick, except that one of the AUSAs told him to shut the f--- up when he refused to quit yelling and using coarse language. The government is silent about its use of profane language with Lawler. The government further denies that anyone told Remick that he would have made another inmate a nice girlfriend. The government concedes, however, that it applied pressure on the witnesses to tell the truth, because those witnesses were recalcitrant at first about talking to the government, about inculpating the defendants, or even about telling the truth during their testimony. But, the government underscores that each of the four witnesses did testify truthfully and, as such, the tactics it used did not prejudice the defendants in any way. 88