DOVER, Del. - Convicted pedophile pediatrician Earl Bradley is putting his defense on paper.
Bradley sent a 15-page, handwritten letter to the chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. The former doctor writes police violated his 4th Amendment rights during a 2009 raid of his office and exceeded the scope of the search warrant.
"The December 2009 Bradley search warrant was constructed and executed in a manner so blatantly [sic] outrageous that it simultaneously assaults multiple principles of the 4th Amendment," Bradley wrote in the letter, dated July 19, 2012.
Bradley, of Lewes, is currently serving 14 life sentences for sexually assaulting young patients at his office. The complex has since been demolished.
Bradley writes that if a book were written on his case, it could be titled "A Dozen Ways to Assault the 4th Amendment."
The pediatrician does not discuss the crimes or admit guilt. Many of his arguments were already made by his public defenders during oral arguments in June.
As part of his appeal to the state supreme court, defense attorneys argued police went too far in seizing computer thumb drives that eventually revealed videos of child sex abuse. The warrant authorized the seizure of medical files for eight patients. Prosecutors argued police acted within the scope of the warrant, noting medical files can be stored on digital devices.
"The warrant is so strongly based on speculation and inference that it becomes hard to find even a basic premise for an anchor," Bradley writes.
Bradley noted he was not invited to the first set of oral arguments and had not been notified of the next hearing scheduled in August.
The Delaware Department of Justice had no comment on the letter, said spokesman Jason Miller.
Geoff Moulton, a Widener University Law School professor and former federal prosecutor, said it's unclear if the justices will even consider the letter.
"I expect it will make no difference at all in the case or the appeal," Moulton said in a telephone interview.
The law professor said it is not unusual for prisoners to write letters to courts during the legal process. However, he said Bradley's letter does not include many new details or personal information.
"The court's used to getting these sorts of things and, in terms of the substance of his letter, I don't think it adds anything to the case and so I don't expect it to have any impact," Moulton said.
A panel of three justices from the state's high court heard oral arguments in June. However, all five justices are set to hear arguments again on Aug. 15. Moulton speculated the entire court may want to decide the case given its prominence or potential impact on Delaware law.
To read Bradley's letter, click here.
Earl Bradley sent a 15-page, handwritten letter to the chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. (Photo: WBOC)
