Legal Ethics

DA Becomes Victim Of 'Cancel Culture' Or Her Own 'Incompetence' Depending On Who You Ask

Budget cuts or mismanagement? That is the question.

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Cancelled covid-19Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove is no longer formally claiming she’s facing disciplinary action because she refused to enforce mask mandates. But she’s not completely walking away from the idea that the inquiry is all about cancel culturing her for “her conservative politics.”

And not, you know, that the four district court judges and the three circuit court judges in Laramie jointly wrote the Wyoming State Bar Office of Bar Counsel expressing “serious concerns about Ms. Manlove’s ability to fulfill her professional responsibilities and her responsibilities to this community.”

Manlove’s GoFundMe is titled “Fight Cancel Culture in Laramie County,” but the formal charge from the State Bar prefers the word “incompetence”:

5. Manlove was elected as the Laramie County District Attorney in the November 2018 election. On her first day in office, she fired all but one of the prosecutors and several other staff members. A series of motions were filed to delay trial settings, falsely claiming her predecessor’s misconduct made the delays necessary.

6. Owing to Manlove’s incompetence and lack of professionalism, the office was an unhealthy workplace from the beginning of her administration. The new office manager began at once to take notes.

Firing the whole office doesn’t sound like a great start to a tenure. The next three pages of text are single-spaced tales of employees alleging workplace hostility. One email included in the document reads:

From: Leigh Anne Manlove…

I sure as fuck wish someone with a goddamn law degree would have READ and RESPONDED to my email about []. She is NOT COMPETENT. She’s on a DD waiver. She is a victim in a sexual assault case that I AM CURRENTLY PROSECUTING. And she has a fucking attorney.

Nicely done everyone.

And you’re telling me her office had turnover issues? I don’t believe it.

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More from the ALL CAPS school of management:

Rather than be combative or defensive with an unhappy victim – who is 100% JUSTIFIED in those feelings – we need to wrap our arms around the victim and embrace them and share their frustration. These folks can become our biggest allies as we try to get the public at large to understand the negative impacts of these cuts. We need these folks to talk to legislators and the Governor about the unjust treatment that is the result of the budget cuts.

I AM TO BE THE PERSON WHO SPEAKS WITH ANY AND EVERY VICTIM WHO CONTACTS OUR OFFICE, UPSET ABOUT A DISMISSAL/ DECLINATION.
No exceptions.

It’s not necessarily an ethical violation to be a tough boss, but the State Bar’s argument is that Manlove’s management style created staff shortages that spillover over into the DA’s office failing to exercise its duties.

And as for the commitment to “wrap our arms around the victim”:

53. When asked by the mother of one of Rutherford’s victims why she made a deal to release Rutherford from jail, Manlove said, “Because I can.” The victim’s mother promptly filed a complaint with the Office of Bar Counsel (BPR No. 2020-039).

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Frankly, prosecutors shouldn’t be beholden to victims. Society takes that job out of the hands of victims for a reason after all. But when the prosecutor is turning loose a guy that she herself called “a violent threat to every one of us [in the office]” and who was looking at over a 100-year sentence, it’s going to raise flags and require a thorough explanation.

While the specific allegations Manlove’s office letting violent abusers go free are the most serious of the allegations, most of the allegations of prosecutorial failings deal with Manlove opting not to prosecute a lot of non-violent crimes. The decision not to enforce the mask mandate may have been politically charged in Wyoming and the issue she originally tried to build her defense around, but she’s also alleged to have walked away from a huge number of non-violent crimes ranging from fishing and gaming violations to a DUI to claiming that shoplifting and embezzlement victims should “seek redress on their own in civil suits.” Overcriminalization is a problem in this country but, as progressive prosecutors will tell you, it’s not one generally dealt with by just telling everyone to fend for themselves.

Judge Thomas Lee, one of the judges behind the initial complaint letter, testified that “Manlove was dismissing 70 percent of her cases, her inaction was ‘prejudicial to justice,’ and she was ‘abdicating her duties’ as District Attorney.”

Not that Manlove wanted to completely step away from these crimes. She had a solution if anyone would just let her implement it!

22. In the September 18 letter, Manlove encouraged law enforcement officers to “shoulder the burden of prosecuting all non-priority offenses.” It was her position that under Rule 101 of the Uniform Rules of District Courts, police officers could appear and act as prosecutors. There is no reasonably arguable basis for that contention.

23. Manlove actually proposed “putting Troopers into the courtroom.” The Circuit Court judges told Manlove on October 2, 2020, that law enforcement officers could not appear and represent the State in criminal prosecutions. Nevertheless, the letter was repeatedly filed. Judge Campbell responded to the motions attaching the letter with an order striking it. Judge Sharpe said, “On numerous occasions and in various dockets, the Court has addressed the State’s concern regarding the pandemic and the contents of the State’s memo. This Court has previously entered orders striking the letter that the State routinely attached to its motion to dismiss as an improper and unnecessary exhibit.”

Maybe it’s good that they’re bringing back the original Law & Order. Someone could cross-stitch this for Manlove’s office: “In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.”

Whether Manlove can successfully argue that her decision to massively pull back from prosecuting cases stemmed from budget cuts or office turnover that she caused through her management will decide just how much canceling ends up happening here.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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