Judge not to blame for Conn escape

One of the most unfortunate developments caused by Eric Conn’s decision to flee has been the unfair attacks on U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Wier, who initially decided to allow Conn to remain out awaiting trial.

Wier is a totally honorable and well-respected judicial officer who, after listening to conflicting arguments, made a good faith judgment call. While I disagreed with that call, any suggestion that Wier had any improper motives is just nonsense.

Make no mistake, one year before Conn was indicted on behalf of the class action plaintiffs, his former clients, there was a hearing in Floyd Circuit Court in which we sought to seize Conn’s assets by offering evidence that he would flee.

After Wier’s decision to allow Conn to remain out, the government could have appealed. It didn’t.

The government then learned Conn had violated several court orders in the civil action and was sanctioned in Floyd Circuit Court. This should have signaled that he was not very respectful of court orders. Conn’s prosecutor took no action.

Finally, in late March, when Conn pleaded guilty, he was inexplicably not taken into custody. This was not Wier’s decision.

Those blasting Magistrate Wier need to shut up.

This story was originally published July 5, 2017 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Judge not to blame for Conn escape."