The buck starts here

I didn't do it-Bart Simpson


Luzerne County District Attorney and Judge candidate had another case thrown out because of a technicality. Aren't lawyers supposed to dot the i's and cross the t's. This time a gun charge was dismissed because the DA's office violated the defendant's right to a speedy trial.

The gaffe in Jordan’s case was the latest in a series of errors by prosecutors that have recently cost them cases.

They previously lost felony charges against William P. Jenkins Jr. by failing to bring him to trial on time and then missing a deadline in an appeal of the case.

In December, the state Superior Court overturned the conviction of Kurt Keiper, who wrote more than $478,000 in bad checks, because he was not brought to trial in time.

And, on Wednesday, Lupas said Assistant District Attorney Frank Barletta failed to timely file a court document detailing appeal issues in the case of Linnea Holdren, a school teacher accused of allowing her son to take a gun to school. That means prosecutors might be precluded from raising those issues before the appellate court.

In the Holdren case he blamed the error on a secretary. It's never his fault. There have been other cases when an assistant DA hasn't even shown up in court resulting in the defendant walking.

The escape charges against Hugo Selenski were dismissed because of a paperwork error.

Having Bart Simpson as the DA is bad enough but do we really want this guy as a Judge.

Another view of Lupas and his number one:

The ringmaster and his No. 1 assistant say they are running for higher offices.
District Attorney Lupas has his sights set on becoming a judge, and Jacqueline Musto Carroll wants to replace him as district attorney.

We had a first-hand look at D.A. Lupas and his band of clowns. Our son, Tom Zielinski, and his girlfriend, Kim Potoski, were killed on July 21, 2005, by a hit-and-run driver. A 10-year-old daughter was left behind as a result of this tragedy.

The state police said the defendant, who fled the scene, was responsible for this accident and the police report verifies this by the accounts of three witnesses. The defendant was not charged with vehicular homicide.

To say this was a travesty of justice, after the defendant only received a one- to three-year sentence, would be a gross understatement. I wonder what he would have been charged with if he was one of their kids?

David Lupas and Jacqueline Carroll should be ashamed of themselves, not only as would-be professionals but as disgraces to the judicial system. Their lack of organization was only exceeded by their incompetence and pathetic work ethic.

However, if you read the newspapers, you are obviously aware of their track record.

Remember Tommy and Kim come election time.