D.C. Judge Bars U.S. Attorney Office from Re-filing Reflecting Pool Case Against Former Olympian
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A District of Columbia Superior Court judge dismissed with prejudice the indictment of former Olympic canoeist Davey Hearn over alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and prohibited the U.S. Attorney's office from pursuing further charges.
A Superior Court judge in Washington, D.C., permanently barred the U.S. Attorney’s office from filing any new charges against former Olympic canoeist David "Davey" Hearn in the case involving alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Judge Todd Edelman entered an order on Thursday that dismissed the indictment with prejudice, citing "exceptional circumstances" and describing the government's justification for a new indictment as "theoretical at best, and more likely, simply fanciful."
The ruling noted that President Donald Trump had publicly criticized the decision to drop the case, demanded its reinstatement, and suggested the possibility of removing the U.S. Attorney over the dismissal. Edelman wrote that the government faced "the unique possibility" of reviving a case already deemed meritless due to political pressure.
"This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American," the attorneys for Hearn said in a joint statement, calling the original prosecution unjust.
The U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment. In earlier hearings, prosecutors could not identify any factual basis for a new prosecution, acknowledging that the section of the Reflecting Pool in question was already damaged and that the alleged loss was under $1,000. When asked to propose a plausible scenario for a future case, career official Michael Spence admitted he had no answer.
Attorney Steve Levin argued that the original indictment was driven by the president’s pressure and that the government had abused its prosecutorial discretion, misleading a grand jury. The judge’s order prevents the office from attempting to revive the case, effectively ending the legal dispute.