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Former state prosecutor suspended from bar for courtroom misconduct

Delaware Public Media

The Delaware Supreme Court has suspended a former state prosecutor for legal misconduct that forced the reversal of a 2012 murder conviction.

The supreme court has suspended former deputy attorney general R. David Favata from the bar or six months and one day. Favata retired from the state Department of Justice in March, but was still licensed to practice law in Delaware.

 

The AG's office declined to comment on his suspension.

Court documents say Favata made unethical statements during the appeal of then-convicted murderer Isaiah McCoy, who had been sentenced to death for a 2010 shooting in Dover. McCoy was representing himself during the appeal.

The court found Favata infringed on McCoy's right to a fair trial when he stated that McCoy was guilty while vouching for a state's witness. And they say Favata kept up disparaging remarks and inappropriate commentary throughout the trial -- including addressing himself to McCoy during an off-the-record court recess and calling him a snitch, then telling the court he'd done no such thing. He later admitted that he had.

During the trial, the judge reprimanded Favata for making "smart-ass remarks" and being disrespectful and dishonest. Favata has since admitted to the other judicial violations, which led McCoy's conviction and death sentence to be overturned last fall.

The supreme court's suspension means Favata will have to prove his "rehabilitation" as a lawyer before he can resume practicing law in Delaware.

 

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