A federal judge has permanently blocked prosecutors from refiling charges against a former Olympic canoeist accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd E. Edelman issued a 26-page ruling Thursday that prevents the U.S. Attorney’s Office from pursuing David Hearn, a Maryland resident and former Olympian, for his actions at the historic site.
The decision follows a brief period of uncertainty in early September when federal prosecutors signaled they might reinstate the case. That move prompted a hearing before Judge Edelman, who ultimately sided with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s earlier assessment that the prosecution lacked merit.
In August, Pirro had sought to dismiss the charges, stating she would not have filed the case had she possessed more information from the Department of the Interior, which manages the Reflecting Pool. Her office argued that new evidence undermined the basis for the criminal complaint.
Judge Edelman’s ruling found that observed damage to the pool was actually caused by a contractor’s “rushed and botched” installation of lining during renovations. The court determined that Hearn’s actions had no effect on the value of the Pool.
The judge acknowledged the authority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to decide which cases to prosecute and which to dismiss, noting that the government’s own assessment supported dropping the matter.