Ex-Prosecutor Disbarred for Withholding Evidence in Murder Case

A retired Maryland prosecutor was disbarred for withholding exculpatory evidence he received after trying double murder case in 1981 and then falsely claiming in court that the evidence wasn’t exculpatory.

Although Joseph Cassilly is retired, disbarment is necessary “to protect the public and deter other attorneys from similar misconduct,” the Maryland Supreme Court said Oct. 22.

Evidence used against John Huffington during his trial included hair samples, which an FBI agent testified were “indistinguishable” from Huffington’s, the court said.

An FBI investigation in the 1990s concluded that the hair comparison analysis testimony from Huffington’s case was questionable but Cassilly destroyed ...