Firm News
Mr. Clune and Dr. Vanino’s work has been covered in regional and national news publications that recognize their progressive approach and successes in violent crime litigation. Victim Justice PC has
either provided direct legal representation to the victim or consulted on the cases below.
"Parish Carter not guilty of first-degree murder"
June 10, 2010
The Denver Post
"An Arapahoe County jury today found Parish Carter, the third and final man to be tried in the killing of a witness and his fiancée five years ago, not guilty of first-degree murder. Carter, 28, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, witness intimidation and posession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He will be sentenced Aug. 26 at 9 a.m. "I am really numb that they would come back with a not guilty verdict on first-degree murder," said Rhonda Fields, the mother of victim Javad Marshall-Fields. "At least no one is getting away with murder." Attorneys refused to comment. Carter was charged with first-degree murder in the June 2005 deaths of Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. Marshall-Fields was scheduled to testify against Carter's stepbrother, Robert Ray, in another case when the couple was gunned down on an Aurora street on the eve of that trial...
"Accused rapist admits guilt; sentenced to prison"
May 26, 2010
Aspen Daily News
"The Carbondale man accused of raping a woman last year at the Centennial housing complex pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted sexual assault as part of a plea deal, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Emanuel Gonzalez-Loujun, 22, stood trial for sexual assault and kidnapping in April but the jury of eight women and four men couldn’t reach a consensus, resulting in a hung jury and mistrial. If convicted, Gonzalez-Loujun faced life in prison. Gonzalez-Loujun was scheduled to be re-tried on those charges in June but the District Attorney’s office — through DA Martin Beeson — offered the plea deal in an effort to secure an admission of guilt from the suspect. The victim had agreed to a second trial but also had been consulted about the plea deal, which she approved of. She sat in the front row of the courtroom next to her supporters, crying at times and smiling once the hearing was over. However, she said she wished her attacker had received a stiffer punishment and a conviction from the jury..."
"Defense seeks to ban three from courtroom during rape re-trial"
May 12, 2010
Aspen Daily News
"Three individuals including the victim should be banned from the courtroom in next month’s rape case retrial, according to motions filed by the defendant’s lawyers. They also want to bar her therapist and a newspaper reporter. Public defenders for rape suspect Emanuel Gonzalez-Loujun filed the motions last week in Pitkin County District Court. They would exclude the victim, legal advocate Jill Gruenberg, and then-Aspen Times reporter Carolyn Sackariason. Gonzalez-Loujun will be re-tried after a jury of eight women and four men in April could not reach a verdict on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping...."
"Ray officially sentenced to death in slaying of witness"
May 6, 2010
The Denver Post
"CENTENNIAL — If Robert Ray had been found guilty of being an accessory to a murder in 2004, he might have been out of prison by now. Instead, Ray will pay with his life for killing a witness who was scheduled to testify against him. Arapahoe County District Judge Gerald Rafferty on Wednesday formalized the sentence a jury handed down nearly a year ago: the death penalty for killing Javad Marshall-Fields. "Mr. Javad Marshall-Fields observed the rule of the law," Rafferty said. "Mr. Ray did not, and he suffered the consequences." During the sentencing hearing, Marshall-Fields' mother, Rhonda Fields, noted what an honest young man her son had become and praised him for his courage..."
"Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger meets with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as more allegations surface"
April 13, 2010
NY Daily News
“…Fred Bright, the district attorney for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit in Milledgeville, announced Monday that he wasn't bringing charges but that "significant questions" remained about the incident. Bright said the alleged victim declined to cooperate with the prosecution, adding that the woman was not recanting her story, according to her lawyer. John Clune, a Colorado attorney who represented Kobe Bryant's accuser when Bryant was accused of sexual assault in 2003, said the Georgia woman's decision not to proceed didn't mean Roethlisberger was out of the woods. "The fact that she doesn't want to proceed with a criminal case could be a sign that she doesn't want to proceed with any case, or it could just be that she doesn't want to expose herself to the criminal justice process, which is a lot different than the civil justice process," Clune said…”
