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Judge delays decision on Brothers issue

This story originally appeared April 5, 2005

The Bakersfield Californian | Thursday, Feb 15 2007 6:40 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Feb 15 2007 6:41 PM

A motion to dismiss the quintuple murder case against Vincent Brothers was delayed Monday to give a Merced County judge time to decide a crucial issue.

Brothers' defense team asked an out-of-county judge to decide whether Kern County Superior Court Judge Michael Bush should hear the case. His attorneys fear that Bush's past friendship with Deputy District Attorney Lisa Green may affect the trial.

That judge has not yet decided if Bush can be impartial, and the hearing was postponed until May 31, the same day as the preliminary hearing.

The motion to dismiss will be called to decide if charges should be dropped based on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

At issue is the testimony of Melvin Brothers, the defendant's brother. He said that prosecutors in a federal grand jury investigation coerced his testimony.

Brothers' attorney Kevin Little said he lodged two separate requests to have Melvin Brothers ordered to court for the hearing, but Bush said neither could be found in the case file.

Brothers' defense team also asked for the judge to order the release of other evidence, including consumer information from the two adult victims.

The attorneys also asked for a hearing to ensure that the defense has received all the evidence it needs.

Brothers is accused of killing his mother-in-law, Earnestine Harper, his estranged wife, Joanie Harper, and their three children, Marques, Lyndsey and Marshall.

They were found dead in their Bakersfield home July 8, 2003, but Brothers, the former vice principal of Fremont School was not arrested until April 30.

-- Compiled by staff writer Jessica Logan