There were gasps and cries in the courtroom when Judge Kirstin Hamman said, “And the judgement and sentence is vacated and the defendant is ordered to be released from custody,” before a Zoom feed broadcasting the hearing suddenly turned off.
She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial against Gordon Cordeiro.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said he was disappointed in the ruling and “None of the judge’s findings exonerate him in any way.”
His office intends to appeal and file a motion seeking to impose bail on Cordeiro’s release, Martin added, saying there is a flight risk because a murder charge is involved.
Honest answer: the legal theory is that if each side doesn’t argue their case as well as they can, justice can’t be complete. That’s why there are things like mistrials when the defense attorneys do a poor job, and appeals only work to the extent that certain things were brought up furing the original trial.
In practice it’s deeply flawed.