A man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a child nearly 20 years ago wants to be let out of prison and appeal his case at the federal level, again citing a relationship between his defense attorney and then-prosecutor Kelly Ayotte as a justification for his appeal.
James Dale was found guilty in 1999 of murdering a 6-year-old Hopkinton girl in 1997 and was sentenced to 60 years in state prison. He filed a petition in federal court arguing that he is wrongfully incarcerated and should be given another chance to appeal.
Dale has appealed his conviction at least twice before: In 2004, he claimed his counsel failed to represent him properly by neglecting to call the victim’s mother and sister to the stand. He also felt his attorneys should have challenged the state’s DNA evidence and offered an overall better defense.
Then, in 2013, he claimed his former attorney, Nicholas Brodich, had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with then-prosecutor and current U.S. Sen. Ayotte, during the trial. Both parties admitted they’d had a brief romantic relationship, but after the trial concluded and Dale was sentenced. A superior court judge found in January 2015 no proof that the relationship had affected the trial in any meaningful way.
Dale continues to proclaim his innocence and fight his incarceration. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office wants Dale’s latest appeal attempt to be dismissed.
According to federal court documents, Dale continues to argue that his ineffective counseling and Brodich’s relationship with Ayotte affected his conviction. He wants to be appointed an attorney, released from the Northern NH Correctional Facility, and given another chance to appeal his conviction. Dale filed the motion himself and appears to be representing himself.
The state, represented by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Woodcock, is asking the judge to toss out Dale’s request, saying the petition is untimely and should be dismissed on procedural grounds. According to court documents, Dale would have had one year to file his petition after a decision was reached on his most recent appeal.
Woodcock also argued that Dale has not been diligent in pursuing his attempts to petition on time and has produced no evidence that he was prevented from filing sooner.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)