Posted on 08/19/2003 9:41:38 PM PDT by FreeLibertarian
Judge Removes Self From Hudak Trial
By RICHARD BENKE | Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A federal judge who was about to put a Canadian antiterrorism expert on trial on charges of having 2,400 missile warheads withdrew from the case Monday, delaying it again while the man remains jailed without bail.
Senior U.S. Judge John Conway gave no reason for withdrawing.
He had repeatedly urged defense attorneys Robert Gorence and Tim Padilla last week to avoid trial, which had been set for Tuesday, by working out a plea agreement for David Hudak. Gorence said that was an unacceptable option.
Gorence filed a motion Monday asking for trial to begin this week - or else to reopen the question of bail.
"Quite clearly, the United States does not have its ducks in a row and is seeking a continuance in a wild goose chase, seeking nonexistent proof while Mr. Hudak continues to languish in custody while his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial is trampled upon," Gorence's motion says.
Unless trial starts immediately, he said, "Mr. Hudak requests that conditions of release be set immediately."
He noted the trial was previously delayed from March 31 to Aug. 19 and that Hudak had no criminal record.
"It is with great reluctance that I vacate the trial setting in this matter scheduled for 9 a.m. on August 19, 2003," Conway said in Monday's order. "I request the clerk of the court to remove this case from my docket and randomly transfer it to one of the active district judges" except Judge James A. Parker.
Hudak would have gone on trial almost exactly a year after explosives were found at his Roswell-based High Energy Access Tools Inc., called HEAT. He has been in custody more than a year.
Co-defendant Michael Payne pleaded guilty last month in exchange for a recommendation of leniency.
Gorence has said Hudak, who also has a business in British Columbia, should not have to await any further delay in the case.
He petitioned the court for the immediate appointment of a replacement judge, resisting any suggestion of a longer delay.
There was no immediate word on who the new judge might be.
Senior Judge C. LeRoy Hansen issued several orders listed Monday on the Hudak docket, sealing files in the case.
It was unclear if Hansen would try the case. His office did not respond to such questions Monday.
Last week, Conway ruled jurors could hear how Houston-based Halliburton Corp. was involved in selling Hudak shoulder-launched missile ammunition in 1994. But Conway said the panel must not hear about Vice President Dick Cheney's role as chief executive at Halliburton.
Gorence, in court motions, argued that Hudak's belief in Halliburton as an upstanding, legally operating company had been bolstered by his knowledge Cheney was its leader, which Gorence said was relevant to Hudak's case. Cheney continued as CEO until after the 2000 election.
Gorence's motion suggested it was unfair for Hudak to face charges while Halliburton, which sold him the ammunition, does not.
"How often in a drug case does the United States prosecute a lowly user while allowing the sellers to sell with impunity?" he asked. "Incredibly, this is exactly what is happening to Mr. Hudak."
Conway ruled any mention of Cheney, who did not come aboard at Halliburton until a year after the warhead purchases, would be irrelevant and inadmissible.
Hudak faces 50 years in prison if convicted of stockpiling the 2,400 warheads, which he and Halliburton have maintained were demolition charges, not missile tips. No launchers for the ammunition were found on Hudak's Roswell properties.
Hudak also is accused of offering U.S. defense services to troops from the United Arab Emirates, which Gorence says is a U.S. ally.
In an interview published Monday in The Albuquerque Tribune, Hudak said he has felt all along that what he was doing was not only legal but right.
"I've always had very deep personal feelings about what is wrong and right in this world, and I consciously made an effort to get involved in what's right," he said.
Judge Removes Self From Hudak Trial (Antiterrorism expert on trial for arms violations)
Judge Removes Self From Hudak Trial (Antiterrorism expert on trial for arms violations)
or something similar. Thank you.
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