Judge extends stay in Twin Peaks civil suits(Waco)

WacoTrib ^ | 4/2/2018 | TOMMY WITHERSPOON

[Elderberry]

Attorneys hoping to proceed with civil rights lawsuits on behalf of bikers arrested after the 2015 Twin Peaks shootout left court disappointed Monday after a judge extended a stay on the proceedings.

Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, of Austin, conducted a status conference Monday in a portion of the 133 Twin Peaks civil rights suits and extended by at least 90 days a stay that has been in place for almost two years.

Sparks agreed with Thomas Brandt, an attorney who represents McLennan County and District Attorney Abel Reyna, that it would be prudent to defer the lawsuits until the conclusion of the ongoing federal racketeering trial in San Antonio involving former national Bandidos leaders Jeffrey Pike and John Portillo.

The civil lawsuits in Austin — and to some extent the criminal cases in Waco — have been held up because a federal prosecutor in San Antonio revealed last year that the Bandidos investigation there contains information that could prove relevant to the Waco cases. But the federal prosecutor has said he won’t turn over the materials to Reyna until after the federal trial, which officials say should conclude in four to six weeks.

Dallas attorney Don Tittle, who represents about 115 of the 133 Twin Peaks plaintiffs, noted that about 25 of his clients were not indicted in the May 2015 shootout. Tittle asked Judge Sparks to allow at least those cases to proceed into the discovery phase.

Tittle said he was disappointed in the judge’s ruling. He said Reyna’s argument to delay the civil cases pending new evidence from federal prosecutors is “disingenuous” and another attempt by Reyna to avoid being placed under oath on a witness stand.

[Texas Fossil]

Thanks for the update.

Headshake.

[wastoute]

7 more years...