The attorney, John R. Osgood of Lee's Summit, chastises the Turner Report for its "slanted, one-sided report," and accused me of a mounting a "despicable effort to smear the doctor before he has had a chance to confront the accuser."
He asked me to remove the post from this website.
I know of few instances in which the reporting of felony charges of any kind against any person would not initially be considered slanted. The public information that is available comes completely from court rccords and the information that is put in the records, at least initially, comes from the prosecuting attorney's office and law enforcement agencies. It was noted that Dr. Goins pleaded not guilty and the time of his next scheduled hearing is provided.
While there are instances in which a person is wrongfully accused, the filing of felony charges, and in this case, the arraignment has already been held, makes it legitimate news and something that is of interest to the community.
That being said, while I do not intend to remove the post, I have no problem with providing the attorney's e-mail, which includes a defense of his client:
Dear Mr. Turner: It has come to my attention that you have posted a story on your blog about Doctor Goins being charged with statutory rape of a 16 year old.
Fortunately under our constitution and system of justice Doctor Goins is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt which means confrontation by his accuser in court and a right to confront all the evidence and answer these spurious uncorroborated salacious charges.. The probable cause statement you refer to is nothing short of shameful in its vagueness and utter absence of any corroborating evidence you would expect to see in such a document such as medical evidence, precise dates, reference to corroborating witnesses and their testimony, and forensic evidence. A preliminary hearing is set for June at which time the state will need to at least prove probable cause to bind over the Doctor for trial in circuit court, something that is highly doubtful..
Your slanted one sided report is a despicable effort to smear the Doctor before he has had a chance to confront the accuser or before we know even slight information from her as to her allegations, when they are alleged to have happened and whether it was reported at the time to authorities and so on. In the meantime you are jeopardizing the reputation and a well established staff physician who is providing a valuable service to our community.
Your report is cheap sensationalism without the slightest mention of corroborating evidence. I hope you will rethink this and consider removing it until the Doctor has had his day in court at the preliminary hearing in June of this year at which time we fully expect the charges will be dropped..
John R. Osgood
Attorney at Law
112 SW 3rd Street, Suite One
Lees Summit, Missouri 64063
Joplin doctor pleads not guilty to statutory rape, sodomy charges
11 comments:
Me thinks you doth protest too much.
This attorney knows that Turner is perfectly within his rights to report this story. The doctor will probably be charged financially for the arroeney's blustery e-mail to Turner, even if it is not a defense of his client. It seems this lawyer is taking his cues from the Trump team, attack the accuser, attack anyone reporting it, and make stupid idle threats. He is certainly not helping his client's case.
A probable cause statement does not ever contain detailed information. Just enough facts to give "probable cause" for a charge. It is not a complete recitation of the facts and evidence. In fact, the defense attorney is not entitled to the detailed information - referred to as discovery, until AFTER a preliminary hearing has taken place. That hearing is to determine there was probable cause for the person to be arrested, it is not a determination of the full facts and evidence. That happens at the trial, and then the jury determines if the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is bluster, plain and simple. Curious why this information wasn't carried in other news, the Globe for instance had not mentioned this arrest. However, if it had been anyone else - including school board members, etc. they would have been printing it.
Randy.... Post the transcript of the preliminary hearing....It's a public record
It won't let me post the exact link but here is the Title of the case.
17AO-CR00250 - ST V JEREMY DANIEL GOINS (E-CASE)
You can look it up on missouri case net.
Preliminary hearing is set for 6-7-2017 at 1:30pm.
I think this is terrible that you would stoop so low to get a News story! Innocent till proven guilty ......not guilty before proven innocent . People did need to know all the details of a so called charge! Which may or may not be true. This is such a vicious attack on your part to obtain a news story........ I wouldn't believe a thing you write now , you have lost all credibility.
You have no doubt ruined a persons life and career Just by writing such a horrible story whether it be true or not . Maybe this young person made advances to the Dr but we won't be judging her will we .... get the facts before you report and not just because there was a transcript to go by. Let the courts decide not a kangaroo court as you have created.
I'm not a great fan of Mr. Turner, but he published a public record. The affidavit is a probable cause statement that a crime has occurred and that there is probable cause that this person committed the crime. That is all it is, it does not determine innocence or guilt. For those of you that are blaming the child, shame on you. There was an investigation and there is probable cause that a crime occurred. The child is not to blame.
@ 11:30AM
If that's snark, then it's some of the finest.
While there are indeed two sides to every story, it's obvious there is enough evidence against this man or the court would have never issued a warrant for his arrest. In addition to that, he has a substantial bond.
This is a matter if public record and now it will be up to the courts to decide.
Good story.
Dr Goins is an excellent doctor and these are false accusations!! I hope the young woman who falsely accused him gets reprimanded
He didn’t do this to some random girl he barely knew. He knew this girl for years and years and was supposed to be her protector. He and the other adult in the house failed miserably at protecting their child
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