The Marin County District Attorney’s Office has lost another bid to prosecute a defense lawyer for alleged witness tampering.

The prosecution alleged that Tyler Rogers Smith, 44, bribed a witness to not testify against a client. The allegations centered on a 2023 case in which Smith represented Nicholas Pasichuke, who was accused of vandalizing his ex-girlfriend’s laptop.

Pasichuke proposed an out-of-court agreement to pay his ex-girlfriend $3,000 to help her move to Texas. In exchange, she would not voluntarily testify in court or cooperate with the prosecution, investigators stated. Pasichuke pleaded guilty to the vandalism charge and was ordered to pay fines, according to court records.

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against Smith, alleging he bribed the ex-girlfriend to dissuade her from testifying.

The defense said there was no evidence to prove that the payment came from Smith or that he was a party to his client’s agreement. The defense also said the agreement did not preclude the ex-girlfriend from testifying if she were subpoenaed.

Judge Geoffrey Howard initially dismissed the case over evidence issues. The prosecution refiled. During preliminary hearing in December, Howard ruled there was insufficient evidence to justify holding a trial. The prosecutor filed a motion with a different judge to reopen the case.

On Wednesday, Judge Kevin Murphy, who reviewed the transcripts from the preliminary hearing, sided with the defense.

“I do think that the magistrate’s conclusions were legal and proper,” Murphy said about Howard.

Charles Dresow, one of Smith’s defense attorneys, said the case has now been dismissed three times by two judges.

“The DA obviously thought we were playing baseball and were looking for three strikes, which they got,” he said. “Unfortunately, they forgot they were prosecuting an attorney whose liberty, livelihood and career were placed in jeopardy by the prosecution.”

“Mr. Smith will long suffer the impact of the Marin County district attorney’s decision to prosecute him for crimes which he did not commit,” Dresow said.

The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Brian Roberts, declined to comment after the hearing Wednesday.