A request by the attorney for Will Smith murder defendant Cardell Hayes to have the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office removed from the case was rejected Friday.
Judge Camille Buras denied the motion by defense attorney John Fuller, stating that recusals are “the most dramatic remedy” available and Fuller did not meet his high burden of proof.
Fuller requested the recusal after learning about a 206-page report compiled by the DA’s office accusing him of misconduct. The dossier lays out allegations of serious misconduct against Fuller, including accusations of witness tampering, misrepresentation and exposing confidential informants.
The volume on Fuller has been distributed to state and federal law enforcement. As soon as Fuller found out about it, he filed his motion to recuse, calling the allegations “baseless and inflammatory.”
Fuller said the dossier demonstrates Cannizzaro's "personal animosity" toward him.
The denial by Buras was expected. What was not expected were allegations of misconduct by Fuller against prosecutors, issues that he said are being looked at by other law enforcement authorities.
WWL-TV legal analyst Chick Foret said the dueling accusations show the amount of acrimony between the two sides in this high-profile case.
“There’s a lot of bad blood. I’m going to predict that it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Foret said.
“But as for what we know today, is that John Fuller made representations in open court that he has spoken with law enforcement in response to the allegations made against him, and that now law enforcement is investigating the DA's office,” Foret said.
While Fuller's recusal motion was denied, he was successful in getting a six-week delay in the trial, from Sept. 20 to Nov. 2. Buras said she was adamant that the new date is firm, as she is determined to put the case in front of a jury by the end of the year.
WWL-TV has obtained an exclusive copy of the 206-page dossier, which outlines potentially criminal allegations against Fuller.
The file contains transcripts, investigative reports, jailhouse visitation logs and even security camera video images used to outline five separate allegations of improper meetings between inmates and Fuller and his associates.
None of the meetings were connected to the Cardell Hayes case.
Fuller has also filed for the DA's recusal in several other cases. A denial by Judge Byron Williams has already gone up to the state Supreme Court, which upheld the denial. But another judge, Ben Willard, granted to the recusal.