Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Michael Raymond Copithorne

 

Charge:

"Lewd and lascivious conduct,"

Sentence:

5 years

Years Imprisoned:

2.25

Year Crime:

2010

Year Convicted:

2012

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

Napa

City of Crime:

Napa

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Michael Raymond Copithorne was wrongly convicted on June 19, 2012 of one count of oral copulation of a person under age 16 and three counts of committing a lewd and lascivious act upon a child, in Napa, California in 2010. Michael Copithorne was a teacher at the Napa Christian, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Napa, California. At the time of the alleged incidents the alleged victim was a 14 years old girl who was attending public school, but she had previously been a student of Capithorne's. Copithorne is paralyzed from the waist down from a snowboarding accident in 2000, and he is confined to a wheelchair. His defense was that it was physically impossible for him to have crawled from the front seat to the back seat of his pickup truck as the girl testified, and where she alleged he performed oral sex while his pickup was parked in a church parking lot, and that when he was alleged to have kissed her -- the basis of a charge of committing a "lewd and lascivious act" -- he was out of the country in Belize. The prosecution's case was based on the testimony of the girl, and the prosecution argued she had no reason to lie. After his conviction by a jury, the judge revoked Copithorne's $100,000 bail and ordered him into custody. Copithorne was sentenced on August 16, 2012 to five years in prison. Copithorne appealed, raising a number of issues. On October 2, 2014 the California Court of Appeals reversed Copithorne's convictions and ordered a new trial. The Court ruled that "(1) the trial court prejudicially erred when it provided the jury with verdict forms stating the offenses alleged in two of the lewd act counts occurred "on or around" a range of dates, where prosecution evidence showed that those offenses took place on two particular dates and appellant presented a complete alibi as to those dates; (2) the trial court prejudicially abused its discretion when it refused to permit appellant to engage in a demonstration regarding his physical abilities, when that evidence was extremely relevant to a crucial issue related to the oral copulation count and its probative value far outweighed any risk of undue prejudice; and (3) because the cumulative effect of errors committed during trial unfairly bolstered Jane's credibility and undermined appellant's, reversal of the entire judgment is required." (People v. Copithorne, No. A136373 (Cal. COA, 1st App. Dist., 2nd Div., 2014) On November 19, 2014 Copithorne was released from prison on bail pending the Napa County DA's decision about whether to pursue a retrial. In December 2014 the Napa County DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted."

Conviction Caused By:

Prejudicial errors by the trial judge.

Innocence Proved By:

"On October 2, 2014 the California Court of Appeals reversed Copithorne's convictions and ordered a new trial based on prejudicial errors by the trial judge that deprived him of a fair trial. On November 19, 2014 Copithorne was released from prison on bail pending the Napa County DA's decision about whether to pursue a retrial. In December 2014 the Napa County DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

37

Age When Released:

40

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"People v. Copithorne, No. A136373 (Cal. Court of Appeal, 1st Appellate Dist., 2nd Div., 10-2-2014) (Unpublished opinion) (Reversing conviction based on multiple errors by the trial judge that deprived Capithorne of a fair trial.)"

Information Location 1:

"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6712368648409052237&q=Michael+Copithorne&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"

Information Source 2:

"Jury convicts Napa teacher of sex crime with teen, By Kerana Todorov (staff), Napa Valley Register, June 19, 2012"

Information Location 2:

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/jury-convicts-napa-teacher-of-sex-crime-with-teen/article_83a01f00-ba83-11e1-83b7-001a4bcf887a.html

Information Source 3:

"Ex-teacher at Christian school sentenced for sex crimes, By Kerana Todorov (staff), Napa Valley Register, August 9, 2012"

Information Location 3:

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/ex-teacher-at-christian-school-sentenced-for-sex-crimes/article_72e90e06-e29c-11e1-98cb-0019bb2963f4.html

Information Source 4:

"Ex-teacher Copithorne released from jail, By Kerana Todorov (staff), Napa Valley Register, November 19, 2014"

Information Location 4:

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/ex-teacher-copithorne-released-from-jail/article_9e75d620-eea8-519a-9daf-be281b05de05.html

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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