Judge blocks federal prosecutors from refiling charges in Reflecting Pool case
A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled prosecutors cannot refile charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after it emerged the damage was actually caused by a contractor's rushed and botched lining installation during renovations. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had moved to drop the charges in August, telling the court newly released documents showed the installation fell behind schedule due to bad weather, failed seal testing, and supply delays, and that the rushed work was never properly fixed. Judge Todd E. Edelman wrote that Hearn's actions 'had no effect on the value of the Pool.'
Despite dropping the case, federal prosecutors later signaled they might try to refile the charges, prompting Edelman to hold a hearing in September. He ruled the government had no right to 'compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so,' at Hearn's expense, while noting he respected prosecutors' general authority to decide which cases to bring.
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