Posted on 01/27/2007 10:58:55 AM PST by calcowgirl
There could be other possibilities. Perhaps they tried to bring it up in court and weren't allowed to. There have been multiple reports that certain agents weren't allowed to testify, others were given immmunity to testify, information relative to the violent border environment or the history of the agents was not allowed, etc. Time will tell--hopefully.
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Austin American Statesman. Austin, Tex.: Feb 17, 2006. pg. B.3
(snip)
EL PASO
Judge restricts border testimony
Lawyers in the case of two Border Patrol agents accused of shooting a suspected drug smuggler and covering it up must ask a judge before they can mention other border incidents, including a Jan. 23 standoff in which men carrying weapons and wearing Mexican military uniforms helped suspected smugglers escape to Mexico.
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean have been charged in the shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, a Mexican national, during a scuffle last February in Fabens. Jury selection begins today.
Prosecutors last week asked federal Judge Kathleen Cardone to exclude mentions of border confrontations and incidents of border violence. This week, Cardone said lawyers would need to ask her before any such mentions could be made.
Thanks for the post.
Bump
Other incidents are irrelevant to the incident at hand.
If the jury convicted them based on the facts of this incident, then I tend to believe they screwed up or had really bad lawyers.
I really hope Poe finds out of lot of info with his FOIA request.
Lil' Johnny Sutton played for the UT championship baseball team of 1983. That's why GW and him get along so well plus Crawford Texas is in Sutton's jurisdiction
As an undergraduate, he played baseball for the Longhorns and was the starting left-fielder on the 1983 National Championship team.
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:kqi3ImYmjJUJ:www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/us_attorney/+%22Johnny+Sutton%22+baseball&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3
He's in left field, alright... haha.
;^)
Sorry, they did not have the full weight of the DoJ leaning against them, but it does look like they had bad lawyers; either that or the union is lying; or both.
Austin American Statesman. Austin, Tex.: Jul 1, 2002. pg. B.1
(snip)
People who know Sutton say he's a good match for the job. He grew up in Texas, speaks Spanish fluently and spent eight years prosecuting cases in Houston.
But in other ways, Sutton cuts an offbeat figure as U.S. attorney. The district's yawning main office in San Antonio, with its tall, narrow doors and dictator-sized balcony, almost swallows Sutton's 5-foot-6 1/2-inch frame. His sharp blue eyes exude a boyish love for adventure, brightening when he talks about surfing in Central America and charging up active volcanoes for a look at lava.
"He always reminds me of a kid who was afraid of missing something," said Bill Moore, a friend and prosecutor who worked with Sutton in Houston.
Before the law, Sutton's passion was baseball. He doesn't display his trophies or wear his championship ring from his days of playing for the University of Texas Longhorns. But the prosecutor, now a father, still relishes the game.
"I love to hit a baseball. And I love to hit it right at a pitcher's head," said Sutton, who faced such pitchers as teammate Roger Clemens. "If you can knock 'em down, it's even that much better. . . . As a hitter, you want to be feared."
A valuable player
Sutton grew up in Houston. His father was a doctor, his mother a "force of nature" who taught her son to try everything and not to fear failure. The family spent weekends on a ranch in the Hill Country, where Sutton and his younger brother explored caves at night and hunted. Running together, the boys learned how to catch rabbits by hand.
Sutton dreamed of playing baseball. His grandfather, Johnny Keane, had managed the St. Louis Cardinals to victory in the 1964 World Series.
Sutton grew up to be a scrappy second baseman, but he lacked a strong throwing arm. For three years at UT, he rode the bench. But he kept practicing. Riding home on his bicycle, he would stop at a chapel to pray for patience and guidance.
Finally, just before the 1983 NCAA Central regional tournament, Sutton got his shot: Coach Cliff Gustafson put him in left field to fill in for an injured player.
Sutton racked up hit after hit and won Most Valuable Player for the tournament. His clutch batting earned him a starting position in the College World Series. Sutton was crucial to the Longhorns' national championship, Gustafson said.
"Everything he hit had eyes," Gustafson said, meaning the balls fell safely amid the opposing players. "He sparked us."
But Sutton's Cinderella story expired after graduation.
"Most of the scouts were handing me a law school application," he said. He gave up his dream.
After law school, Sutton worked at the Harris County district attorney's office. Swamped with cases, the young prosecutor immersed himself in trial work. He was aggressive and tough but fair, former colleagues say. He also had a touch with victims' families. In eight years, Sutton said, he tried more than 60 cases, including three for capital murder.
"There's nothing better than having sweet old ladies on a jury coming up to you and hugging you and telling you they're proud of what you did," he said.
Talking about wanting to hit the pitcher in the head when he hits the ball, that is plain stupid. Professionals don't think that way. First of all, that stops the game. It could start a brawl. Last, but not least, the pitcher could be killed or disabled for life. Plain stupid. And no substitute for a line drive down the inside of the base line.
I implied no such thing. My point was that since when are press releases from union reps now regarded the respect of Moses coming down from the Mount with the Ten Commandments??? They have an agenda and are thus biased. Bias is not an intrinsically bad thing but anything they say needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Are you implying that NO Border Patrol agents have ever done anything wrong or are incapable of breaking our laws???? Should they be above prosecution???
Sheesh! Who said anything like that? Get a grip, guy.
Yeah, I agree. Juries know everything. They never, ever make mistakes. Everyone convicted by them is guilty as sin, everyone acquitted is innocent as a newborn baby, and anyone who raises questions should be ignored.
Oops, scuse me, I gotta run -- I gotta drop off my kids at Neverland Ranch. I got a date with this hot blonde chick who used to date O.J.
Not to derail the thread too much further, but pitchers including otherwise-Conservative-Gentleman (IIRC) Nolan Ryan would pitch at and hit a known slugger to mess with his confidence. It's brutally aggressive but almost all of it is left on the playing field as just part of the job.
And now we return to our regular scheduled BorderCast ;^)
I'm not aware of any case where the NBPC has gone out of it's way to support agents that are criminally corrupt. From what I've seen they have done a good job at exposing government corruption in regards to enforcing immigration law. My personal experience with government corruption makes me inclined to believe that the NBPC's rebuttal is plausible.
Pardon them NOW!!!!!
Oh, geez, gimme a break. I'm retired from 32 years in LE and I know what the hell goes on in courtrooms, jury rooms, and in prosecutor's minds. This was a railroading, plain and simple.
Sometimes juries get it wrong.
Yep and if you ask anyone in jail they'll tell you they're innocent. They got railroaded and had a lousy attorney. Are you going to believe them too?????
Are you admitting here that railroadings are capable of happening in our justice system??? Helluva system you devoted 32 years to if that's the case. Sounds like you've got some things you need to get off of your chest.
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