I feel it appropriate and necessary to respond to Tonja Brown's letter printed in the Jan. 9 edition of the Nevada Appeal entitled "Not everybody in prison is guilty."
While Ms. Brown's letter is informative and partially accurate, there are a number of factual inaccuracies that are misleading. The case of State of Nevada vs. Nolan Klein was prosecuted in Washoe County, in January 1989. I did serve on the jury; however, at that time I was employed by a private law firm in Reno practicing in civil litigation. I was not hired as a prosecutor for the Carson City District Attorney's Office until September 1989, and in fact had never before been employed as a prosecutor.
During voir dire, the jury selection process, both the prosecutor and defense counsel were informed that I possessed a law degree and that I was employed as a private attorney. Each side had the ability to excuse me as a juror if they thought it appropriate. They did not. After hearing the testimony of the witnesses and much deliberation, the jury unanimously agreed to a verdict of guilty.
Some time later, after I came to work for the District Attorney's Office in Carson City, Ms. Brown contacted me by telephone requesting I sign an affidavit to assist her brother, Nolan Klein, in getting a new trial. I refused because he received a fair trial. I spoke with Ms. Brown briefly and provided her with some of the facts considered by the jury in reaching the verdict. She became hostile at my refusal to change my view on the case, and I terminated the conversation.
I firmly believe now, as I did then, that the evidence presented in the case against Nolan Klein in January 1989 proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty of the crime charged.
ANNE M. LANGER
Carson City
