Posted on 06/03/2015 4:28:18 AM PDT by don-o
A Dallas attorney who represents a biker in a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Waco and McLennan County filed a complaint Tuesday against McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson.
The complaint, filed with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct by attorney Clinton Broden, alleges Peterson violated several judicial ethical canons in the manner in which he set bonds for the 175 bikers jailed after the May 17 shootout at Twin Peaks restaurant.
snip
Broden’s complaint also alleges Peterson set bonds “in mass, group hearings without considering the rules for establishing bonds under the Code of Criminal Procedure.”
Broden said it is “completely inappropriate” under state law to set bonds “to send a message.”
“It is our belief that law enforcement chose Peterson to set the bonds in this case because of his lack of legal training and his willingness to ignore the requirements that each case be given individual consideration,” Broden said.
The complaint also charges that Peterson, a retired state trooper, “inappropriately refused to set probable cause hearings” in some biker cases until Aug. 6, “almost three months after the arrests — only after consulting with the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office
(Excerpt) Read more at wacotrib.com ...
ahh....cue the appearance of the bootlickers!
Seeing as how the local authorities are mum and the DOJ is uninterested, it is up to folks like us to at least keep the situation in discussion.
““It is our belief that law enforcement chose Peterson to set the bonds in this case because of his lack of legal training and his willingness to ignore the requirements that each case be given individual consideration,” Broden said.”
I guess in Texas, you don’t have to have any legal training to be a judge. Maybe instead of a retired state trooper, they should have elected a bouncer from a nudie bar. He could have “related” better to the bikers.
In the 90’s most of us realized that most of the “militia members” were FBI, ATF, etc. I am certain the Bandidos, Mongols, Hell’s Angels, etc. have their share of the same. I read a thread this morning about a Facebook page that serves as a source of fictitious quotes to discredit conservative presidential candidates. Why do we fail to consider the “bootlickers” are likely as not to be coming from the same source?
If the bouncer had educated himself on basic principles related to the setting of bonds and upheld the concept of an independent judiciary, he's more fit for the job than the "good old boy" who has the job.
In before the socialists defend the state against the citizenry.
Only for Kangaroo Court Justices of the Peace.
So, long term, what can we do? I read a post yesterday that was insightful. The poster said his father assured him that the US would not slide into even further corruption. It seems more than likely dad was right. All the lying, corruption, fraud, etc. will produce a rejection of immorality and the next generation will embrace integrity enthusiastically. I heard something to this effect in regard to “The Victorian Era” the other day, as well. The Victorians are remembered for their strict propriety but no one knows or remembers the reason they did so was a rejection of the lack of morals that preceded them.
So the future most of us will not see will probably look more like the 50’s than the 60’s or 70’s. IMHO, our task then, is to make it important that our posterity remember WHY so it will be harder for the immorality to resurface. Expect another Great Awakening but let us hope and pray for an awakening that is more able to resist the deterioration of morals we have witnessed. It won’t be easy and there is much work to be done. It doesn’t seem to me to be inevitable either. While one might think that no society can fail to realize it cannot function without integrity I am reminded that Latin America has been burdened under the asphyxiating weight of “the mordida” for centuries.
If bonds are posted by an agency, the agency stands to make a lot of money down there. I wonder if the Magistrate is somehow related to any bonding agency?
It’s about time a lawyer stands up and does the right thing. Hopefully a bunch of other lawyers will see a few bucks at the end of the tunnel and launch their own lawsuits.
As to the JP, it’s a very interesting point that the local DA used the guy’s ignorance to set gigantic bails on everyone.
It will be interesting to see how big the “I’m a JP!” ego remains after the suits start rolling in.
The are drawn like moths to a flame to threads such as this. No cues or other enticement[s] are necessary.
I do.
The only problem with your thesis is that your government has and is still in the process of importing 50-100 Million
cretins from the Middle Eastern and South American Countries that for the most part have absolutely no understanding of the Founders and what they created here.
They are only interested in a couple of things...Free Stuff from the Government and their ability to push their radical religious beliefs.
America is asleep while your Leaders import a whole new Generation of Far left wing kooks.
Spoken like a true statist. I guess you and some others don’t realize that the law was not made for professionals.
The answer is simple. Stop the free stuff.
The guy quoted is a Florida lawyer and (like myself) may not know if there are any variations in practice in the State of Texas.
In most of the country the description of the duties and limits of a JP is correct, but from what I’ve seen here, Texas judges seem to have additional powers and responsibilities in some areas of practice and this may vary by the county.
There’s too much I don’t know except that the bails are abnormally high and the whole legal process I’m seeing in Waco stinks based on the process elsewhere.
Reposa may act like a nut case but he’s licensed here and knows what he’s talking about.
We’re back to ‘wait and see’ unless somebody in the system starts leaking info. I’m hopeful that someone in the LEO community has a Constitutional conscience, but it’s possible that a ‘Ronnie Earle’ DA is involved.
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