[NOTE: The following op-ed is published below as a courtesy to "friend of LST" Edd Hendee and because we believe it will be of significant interest to our readers. Opinions expressed reflect those of Mr. Hendee, and he welcomes your response, both in comments that follow and on-air at 281-558-5738 from 6-9 AM weekdays on KSEV.]
My thoughts on the 5th Circuit’s Ramos & Compean decision
By Edd Hendee
On December 3, 2007 a three judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court heard appeals on Case 06-51489, United States of America v. Ignacio Ramos; Jose Alonso Compean. I was there seated in the front row witnessing the proceedings and taking specific notes.
The 5th Circuit has a non-binding policy of rendering an opinion within 60 days on criminal trials so the questions, statements, and body language of the three judges last December 3rd were clearly indicative of what a timely opinion would be.
Yesterday July 28, 2008 the Court rendered a 46 page opinion upholding the indictment, Federal Gun Charges (924C), trial proceedings, convictions, and mandatory 10 year add-on sentences. Certainly the conclusion of the court is not what we had expected or hoped for - but there are two obvious problems in their ruling and stated opinion.
First there is no reconciliation of the statements of the court members Jolly, Higginbotham, and Prado last December during the appeal hearing and their ruling & opinion issued yesterday upholding the convictions and sentences of Ramos & Compean.
Second the 46 page opinion released yesterday by the 5th Circuit is NOT compelling and contains numerous direct conflicts of common sense and clear intent of law with the written opinion of these judges.
Last December 3 during appeal proceedings I recorded the following statements by these judges:
- Judge Jolly openly stated it “does seem the Government over-reacted” in this prosecution
- All 3 judges aggressively went after the 924C gun charges pointing out that there are no other cases where law enforcement officers were charged with this crime
- Judge Higginbotham asked US Atty if every policeman who was accused of using unreasonable force should face 924 C charges or are these discretionary. Judges strongly disagreed with the application of the 924C charges.
- The judges further raised questions that the witness Davilla was not a low level mule but routinely ran drugs and would have likely carried a weapon in the daily activities of smuggling drugs.
- There was NO indication that the judges considered the US Atty’s discretion reasonable nor that the 924C gun charges were warranted.
Further the 5th Circuit took 8 months to rule on this case which is clearly outside of their own goal of 60 days in Criminal Cases. Did the case seem too complex for a quick review? That’s not evident in the 46 page opinion where the judges state that the jury saw the evidence and the jury believed the US Atty more than the defense. Wow - that’s a landmark opinion.
The jury NEVER was told that the Gov’t lead witness was a major mule who repeatedly ran dope across the border.
The jury was NEVER told that the lead witness Davilla was implicated 4 months before the trial in another dope load and this was while he was under immunity for the first dope load.
The jury was never advised that the witness Davilla broke the immunity by not fully cooperating with names and information about his employer - the cartel. In fact the US Atty told the three judges last December that their guy - Davilla - “told some lies” in his testimony. Wow - they knew he lied and they went along with it. Simply put that’s perjury by Davilla and suborning perjury by the US Atty team.
But the 3 judges conclude their opinion with the following statement:
“We conclude. For the most part, the trial of this case was about credibility, and although the jury could have gone either way, it chose not to believe the defendants’ version of the crucial events of February 17. The trial of the case was conducted fairly and without reversible error.”
Really?
It should shock every citizen to find that the 5th Circuit finds no fault with perjury, suborning perjury, denial of the 6th amendment rights to confront an accuser, and the 6th amendment rights to a PUBLIC TRIAL.
When Judge Cordone sealed the reports of the October load - the 2nd drug load run by Davilla and issued a gag order to both sides and families to not speak of that load under penalty of imprisonment - the public was locked out of the trial. So was the jury.
How do I say that? Just ask Juror Bob & Juror Claudia how they would have voted on this jury had they known Davilla was running drugs while under immunity. I did ask them that exact question. They answered “NOT GUILTY for Ramos & Compean”.
I rest my case. It’s a shame the 5th Circuit missed it so badly.
Wonder what changed them from December to July?
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76 Responses to “Edd Hendee responds to 5th Circuit’s Ramos & Compean decision”Search
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While I detest the term “conspiracy”, this scenero seems to meet all the criteria. I’m just saying, it took an awfully long time for these 3 judges to decide nothing was wrong with the original trial. If that’s what they thought, why didn’t they just say so and allow the next step to move forward? Something very smelly about this whole thing.
I have to say to Dan Patrick and Edd Hendee, Thank you for trying. Ditto for the few of us who actually cared enough to make right the injustices being done to us. Alas! Dan and Edd can not do it by themselves, they needed the help of people like you and me, but that help never materialized. Far too many people are not interested as long as they themselves are happy. Too many people got lazy and they will not take a little extra time out of their lives to get involved. By the time that they finally realize what is going on it will be too late.
A phone call from Washington to the judges
Enough Said
I too agree that there is something smelly and corrupt going on in our judicial system.
KRAUT, how can you say that help never materialized? This has been a national story on the radio talk shows. It has been covered heavily in the Conservative media. Yes this ruling did not go the way many of us wanted. Yes there are things that Edd feels are suspect in the ruling and the timing. That does not mean there was not large support, it just means that the support was not enough to sway these judges. Hopefully Bush will pardon or commute the sentences of these men, however, it does not mean we should assume the entire judicairy system is corrupt and useless as some seemed to be saying last night.
I have been an observer of the courts for decades and I take more than a passing interest in the law. My reading has included numerous opinions from primarily federal courts, countless law review articles, legal commentary and histories. I wish I had a dollar for every time a sitting judge, retired judge, law professor or appellate attorney cautioned one can never predict which way an appeals court will rule based upon the questions from the bench during oral presentations. It simply cannot be done.
duhmoose:
since when did public support sway a court decision? I always thought it was the law and the constitution….silly me. The thought of orders from “higher up” never crossed mind until it became obvious that something influenced these guys to delay a timely decision for 8 months and then come back with pages and pages of nothing.
My favorite legal jargon of all:
“the jury could have gone either way…”
That is one of the jost intelligent, legal comments I have ever read. Reading through the statement it seems that the judges sat around for 7 1/2 months then decided, “Oh yea! We need to rule on this, don’t we?” sort of feel.
PAX
JD
Unlike Michell Obama who “for the first time in her life was proud of her country”, for the first time in my life I am ashamed of my country.
In spite of the fact that 2 jurors said that their verdict would have been different had they heard all of the evidence, this court said they got a fair and full trial and the jury just chose to believe the government. Give me a break!
Maybe they, the judges, are being blackmailed by someone in power, perhaps washington?
#6 cont’d
An anecdote for my previous comment. I remember reading, about 10 years ago, an article by a veteran legal journalist who spent most of his career in DC. He had kept a personal scorecard of predictions in cases where he watched orals in appeals courts and at the SCOTUS. He said he not only did not improve his accuracy over the years, but began to bet against his first impression from the proceedings in order to improve his predictive score.
#5 duhmoose,
I am saying that far too many people refuse to get involved. I am certain that only a small percentage of voters actually wrote letters or called. The reason for my thinking is this, the extremely low voter turnout in some of our elections. If all of the KSEV listeners would turn up to vote we could sway many elections. Compare the number of listeners to the number of votes cast.
And I did not say anything about all of the judiciary being corrupt, just as not all of the politicians are bad.
Call your Rep/Senator in DC.
BURN THE PHONE LINES
Call these Judges
BURN THE PHONE LINES
DEMAND the removal of Jonny Satan
DEMAND the removal of These Judges
and
finaly Charge them All with TREASON
#8 KalebD
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is second only to the Ninth Circuit in its caseload and it has less than half the judges according to some dated facts I have. It may be worse by now. The criminal caseload for the entire federal system in Texas has skyrocted over the past few years because of increased immigration enforcement and more successful drug smuggling interdiction.
It may be that these judges actually had some other cases to consider and other work to do. One thing you can count on in the appeals courts is the longer it takes for a ruling in a criminal case, the worse it looks for the defendant. If there was going to be an obvious and drastic change in the circumstances of Ramos and Compean, the ruling would have come down much sooner.
The circumstances of this entire case cause me great concern as an individual and as an American.
The jury was obviously misled causing them to render an uniformed verdict. Had the jury been allowed to hear all the evidence and rendered the same verdict, we could then say “At least the justice system worked even though we don’t agree with the outcome.” It is an outrage this is not the case.
The prosecutor has been affirmed through the appeals court that he can bend and twist both law and the U.S. Constitution to achieve his desired outcome. The public should be very concerned because what’s next? Maybe the more appropriate question should be: Who’s next?
The judge hearing the original case exercised powers that far exceeded his authority. Will it now become common place for judges to decide which relevant details can be excluded from the trial? Personally, I think I would have rather been thrown in jail than to have kept my mouth shut knowing relevant facts were intentionally excluded and kept from the jurors.
I think we need to ask ourselves just how far up the “food chain” does this go. Has our government and it’s influence gotten entirely out of hand? How many law enforcement officers will die because they hesitate using force or deadly force for fear of this same prosecution? How many good people will pass on going into law enforcement because they don’t want to ever face this situation and they feels it’s not worth the hassle?
As an informed and responsible CHL holder, I now am concerned that I could be faced with the same type of prosecution and persecution should I find myself where I have no choice but to defend myself with a firearm.
“We the People” are facing a serious situation here and Ramos and Compean are just scratching the surface. The legislators familiar with this case need to make it a major issue. I’ve heard plenty of talk but in actuality, see little action. If we allow our legislators to sit on this we could all be in dire straights.
I entirely support Edd Hendee and pledge my support in any way possible. Edd, let me know what I can do to help!
Clearly “The Fix” was put in. I’m sure initially while hearing the case the Judges were in favor of releasing Ramos and Compean; however, as news of the hearing spread it reached the ears of the big “W” who probably dropped a dime.
one has to remember that some judges get it wrong….its not a case of guilt or innocence or the law.
I recently sat on a jury that found an illegal guilty of DWI…….Judge Walter McMeans sentenced him to time served(one night)….no fine and no court costs and let him walk…sometimes judges just get it wrong.
texpat:
I like your comparison of the 5th to the 9th “Circus of appeals” court….the most overturned in the nation. Looks like the 5th is trying to horn in on their reputation for being wrong more often than they are right. This is a good start. If this was an easy case and they are so overloaded, why didn’t they deal with it right away and get it out of the way?….hmmmm…I’m just sayin’…… something ain’t right here.
Ramos and Campeon were “just doing their job”? Really? They were hired to shot people in the back? Wow…hard to believe.
The lead witness LIED under oath on the stand and the prosecutor knew he was lying when he did it.
This alone is enough to over turn the case and return it to the trial court to be retried.
I like many others smell a strong odor that indicates there was undue influence from outside the courtroom affecting this decision.
trl3, could you please provide a citation for that allegation?
#17 wfish
The Fifth has a reputation as a conservative Court and as such is very reluctant to overturn jury verdicts or legislative statutes without explicit compelling reasons or interests. We most often praise the Fifth for following constitutional principles in criminal cases, but here they are being accused of all sorts of baseless and unfounded corruption because folks resent the Court acting as it always has in the past. This ruling is quite characteristic of the Fifth and does not deviate from the character and reputation of the Court.
The Ninth Circuit, on the other hand, sees no problem in flaunting either the will of the people as expressed legislatively or sacking the vote of 12 cititzens who devoted time, energy and judgement to their civic duty.
I’m still not convinced at all that a) Sutton knew that at the time that the lead witness was lying under oath (Sorry, Edd), b) that any lie the lead witness told materially changes the case, and c) that how much the jury knew or didn’t know about the level of Davila’s drug runner activities was relevant to the case.
Unless you’re suggesting that R&C would have gone free simply because the jury knew how much of a scumbag Davila was. That would make the trial process much more of a farce.
Is it OK for a LEO to shoot an unarmed man because he’s a real POS?
Because that is what this seems to be boiling down to.
bootsbuck:
Absolutely! Beyond a doubt! You got it right! They were just doing their job. Your problem is you have the job description wrong. They were “Just Doing Their Job” of protecting you and me from illegal drug runners. I don’t have a problem with that.
Does anyone remember that Sutton was not the prosecutor in this case? His flaw was approving the 924 charge, not the actual prosecution.
While I think the penalty R&C received for their crimes is excessive, especially the 10-year add-on, I have to go with what the courts have decided, both the jury and the 5th Circuit. jimb post above (#22) points out some good reasoning that is on the mark. Furthermore, our legal system is biased toward the defendants in virtually all aspects and portions of the process. For example, it only takes one out of the twelve jurors to vote against conviction. Also, if any one court decides to overturn the conviction, that’s the end; the state (US in this case) has no further recourse. R&C still have recourse available to them despite this loss.
wfish, what you’re suggesting in your #23 smacks of vigilante justince.
From Darren10:
LOL, nice way to put words in my mouth.
BUT - Let’s look at your statement more closely, and pretend that it can be taken seriously.
So Ted Poe and Laura Ingraham are foaming at the mouth about conspiracies and how someone “got to” the 5th circuit? They’re making accusations that Sutton knew that Davila was lying on the stand at the time he lied (and not after the fact) with no proof to back it up?
They’re making the rather ridiculous claim that if ooonly the jury knew the depths of Davila’s involvement in drug running (I personally believe that the jury didn’t harbor any illusions that Davila was just a nice guy just trying to help his mommy, by the way), that they would have set R&C free? That somehow the other facts brought out in the trial wouldn’t have mattered?
If so, then yes, Poe and Ingraham are saying irrational things about this case.
I will say it one more time: I don’t like that R&C are in jail. I think their sentence is unjust, and that the prosecutor could have used his discretion to not bring charges under 924C, as Edd points out.
I hope their sentences are commuted by President Bush.
What I don’t think is happening is some big plan/conspiracy to sacrifice R&C on the altar of the Bush Administration’s evil plans to open the border or create the NAU or some even less explicable thing going on. I don’t think that anybody “got to” the 5th, and I don’t think, as has been suggested here, that anybody needs to be tried for treason.
I especially don’t think that anyone needs to be tried for treason. Even if gross prosecutorial misconduct and a conspiracy on the part of the 5th is ultimately revealed, that’s not treason.
I wish things had gone differently for R&C. I don’t like the fact that they’re still in prison. But much of what I see here is knee-jerk reactions to a ruling that people don’t like that are based on emotions and angst over illegal immigration more than fact and law.
Johnny Satan and his bunch of out of control, perjury seeking prosecuters should all be jailed for thier actions I think 25 to life would work for me.
For the first time in my life I fear my government.
When free men fear thier government, its time for a new government! One that goes back to the original constitution.
The adult logical side of me, that respects the law and the courts, sighs and says that justice was done on the appeal and I should accept the courts decision.
Every other part of me is screaming in outrage and this travesty of justice and these idiot judges.
sigh, the cognitive dissonanace continues.
texpat:
Seems to me, the Nineth and the Fifth are getting closer and closer. Case at hand is case in point. What happened to the law, the constitution and justice? I thought that’s what the courts were suppose to decide…..not something based on “their reputation”. Every case is different and should be viewed as such by whichever court gets it. Otherwise, there is no justice, only tradition according to what that court has done in the past. Pick you court, pick your verdict? Doesn’t sound right to me.
#29 wfish
They appear to have viewed the case on its merits and have decided that according to the established law and founding documents that justice was done. Congress passed the law that provided for the 10-year gun add-on. Sutton may have used that provision beyond what Congress thought it should be used for, but it is their fault that they did not word the law more clearly or better specify its application. Further, the President (whoever it was at the time) signed it into law. You are imputing motives to the judges in this case for which there is extremely thin to no evidence.
As texpat said above, the 9th Circuit regularly throws out jury verdicts and makes broad pronouncements. The 5th tends to follow what the lower courts rule and correct those verdicts only when there is a conflict with other verdicts or are in error of law. The difference is night and day between the two.
wagonburner:
Would like to buy it, but just can’t. Every law enforcement officer should just leave his/her gun at home in fear of the “10 year gun add on law”? I don’t think we would have any law enforcement at all if that were to happen. The difference between the two courts is getting dimmer and dimmer and common sense is totally lacking in both as well as a decent respect for right and wrong…..or so it seems to me.
No. They shouldn’t.
For those of you who think this is a conspiracy, I have an unopened box of aluminium foil for ya..
Big Jolly
#31 wfish
Then Congress should change the law to exempt law enforcement for cases such as this and/or other appropriate cases. Having laws on the books that are only sporadically or unequally enforced do more damage to the sense of law and order than a single verdict that people might have issue with.
#33 mike
Yep. Some people here seem to have teleported in from some of the lefty sites where a conspiracy lurks around every corner.
For grins sometime, check out alt.conspiracy.black.helicopters. Some of those people need steel plate instead of tinfoil.
#35: I think I heard this morning that there is a bill in congress now doing just that. If it gets passed it would give GW a good excuse for a pardon.
Big Jolly #20
See paragraph 11 of Ed Hendee’s Statement
” in fact the U.S. Atty Told the three Judges last December that thier Guy - Davaila - told some lies in his testimony.”
I knew it before as do many people, but since you did not believe me maybe you believe Edd Hendee.
wfish, which is exactly what some legislators are proposing due to this ruling.
#38 trl3,
Edd’s referenced statement does NOT say what you said it did. You stated that:
Edd’s conclusion notwithstanding, in no form or fashion does the statement that Edd referenced state or even imply that the prosecutor knew the witness was lying and put him on the stand in order for him to lie.
Edd, great job. I know you won’t give up. I’m not either. I listened to you as much as I could on the radio this morning. I understand you are going to see Nacho very soon. Please tell him we haven’t given up. It looks like we are fighting a 5000 lb. fire breathing dragon, but even dragons have weak spots. It may be the smallest thing that brings down the behemoth. I have to keep the faith that right wins over might.
#29 wfish
Come on, you are a smart guy and you know what I mean. Every court develops a reputation based upon the prevailing judicial philosophies of the members. How can you draw the conclusion, from my comment, the Fifth has thrown out the Constitution or the law or concepts of justice ? I said no such thing nor did I imply it.
I would like to see the evidence you have proving the Fifth Circuit has moved closer to the judicial philosophies of the Ninth as well as the data reflecting their decisions are overturned at SCOTUS at anywhere near the same rate.
George Bush will do exactly as he has done in the past. Nothing! I voted for this president twice, but he doesn’t have the intelligence or the balls to take a stand on anything but his position on the war.
BigJolly, why did the prosecution have the fact their witness was picked up a second time (before the trial) carrying drugs suppressed?
If thier witness was “lily white and pure” this fact should not have been kept from the jury.
That question is answered in the opinion, txcapofficer. I linked to the opinion yesterday and quoted that information on the front page. This is the money line:
It only gives an opinion that he didn’t have a weapon.
That doesn’t answer why it was kept from the jury. To me it is relevant information as to the credibility of the witness and the prosecution.
Read the opinion. It discusses the conflict between 5th and 6th amendment rights. Very informative.
txcapofficer, it looks like that was brought up to show likelyhood of the suspect being armed, not as a credibility issue. How does a second drug load make him any less credible than knowing he cared the first one? Or do we inherintly trust first time offenders, but not second time offenders?
The jury knew good and well that Scumbag Illegal Alien Drug Dealer was carrying drugs. Whether that was his first or 459th run is not really relevant to the case.
As I’ve said before, I don’t believe for a second that the jury harbored any notions that Davila was as pure as the driven snow.
Didn’t I read somewhere that the 2 officers tried to cover up the incident.? Something about picking up and trying to hide the bullet casings?
gadboy, the central point to the entire case is the appropriateness of aplying the 924C violation to law enforcement officers acting on duty in an enforcement capacity. Had that not been used, this entire case would most likely not have even been newsworthy as the resulting punishment would have been extremely light in comparison. The defense argued it was inappropriate, and the prosecution argued the other way. THe appeals court found they beleived it was appropriate AS IT IS CURRENTLY WRITTEN. It is now encumbant on the legislature to fix this statute if that was not their intent, or come out and say that this type of prosecution is within the scope of what they intended.
An eminently reasonable explanation.
Unfortunately, yes, R&C engaged in an attempt at covering for their actions. It made them look worse. I bet it wouldn’t have gone so bad for them if they hadn’t have. I still think they received too much of a penalty. They should at minimum lose their jobs, but I think the prison sentence is too harsh.
Maybe Bush will commute their sentences. Maybe the Legislature will fix the law, if they so choose.
But the insanity isn’t going to fix a dang thing…
Go Edd. … and they say there are no conspiracies. Thanks for all you do.
Maybe we should put the pressure on the FUTURE repub candidates. for state and federal office. Kay Bailey H and any other govenor candidate Darth dewhurst, (Remember the Alamo: Texas is place to start the fight to decontaminate the government.) that unless they get Bush to do the right thing, we’ll vote for Kinky etc.
While we wait the months, years for another appeal, the legislature to change a law, Ramos is in a cell, tiny at best. Some of you have closets bigger than his life. He is shackled to go to the shower, a few feet away. He gets a few minutes each day to walk around. He is alone. Every day he is alone. He has injuries that never healed properly from the beating he was given, the ” guarantee his safety” beating. He has hours and hours to think. Can we imagine what he thinks about? His family, how are they doing? His son, growing up without him. I’m sure he reads. How is she paying the bills? Who is protecting his family? How in hell did this happen? He knows he has support on the outside. This ruling must be a blow almost unbearable. Three men have decided his fate. Edd has investigated, dug, begged, argued, revealed, fought to get this man help. Why? Why is it so important that Nacho Ramos stay in prison? I always say it’s power and money. So, how do power and money contribute to his incarceration for picking up shells, firing at a man he thought was armed?
They picked up their shell casings. With the exception of the range I always pick up my casings.
The other officers heard the shots. Could not be a cover up.
Davilla escaped to Mexico. No way to prove whether or not he had a gun. Drug runner, probably did and stashed across the border.
Shot in the butt, should have aimed higher.
Solitary confinment and shackled, cruel and unusal punishment.
Let them go.
BigJ,l the fact that the perps relatives said he ALWAYS went armed, and that was not allowed to be presented to the jury is irrelevant?
We have had more than one million American military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 6 years. They fight and conduct their duties under circumstances far more dangerous and stressful than any of our Border Patrol agents. Their rules of engagement are more complicated by a magnitude and yet, a mere handful have been convicted of criminal behavior similar to Ramos and Compean. If they can do it in combat environments amidst foreign and often hostile locals, and forgo even the most minimal living advantages, then we should be able to expect the same of our law enforcement officers.
Big45Iron,
As long as you don’t claim some sort of conspiracy, I won’t say a word.
Read the opinion and you will find out why the three judge panel thought that it was proper to be excluded.
#59 BJ
When you get a chance, would you mind finding that family/gun reference in the ruling ? I just reviewed quickly again the 45 pages and could not find it.
Who exactly gained money and power by R&C’s incarceration? That’s a ludicrous suggestion.
56 - At best, picking up the shells would have been interfering with an investigation. Ask a cop if they pick up the shells after they discharge their firearms in the line of duty.
#61 jim
It would be a very interesting event if everyone commenting on Ramos and Compean actually read the entire 45 page opinion and then debated the points of the document and the facts it discusses. Of course, it is always just easier to blow it all off and say “money and power”.
OK, so what’s the next step?
An appeal to the entire 5th Circuit Court?
Or a request for a pardon By Bush?
#64 Mike Smith
You tell me. I’ve evaluated the case and appellate ruling and I don’t even see a compelling argument for an en banc rehearing of the appeal. I may be wrong, but I don’t think so.
If anyone else can find a genuine issue on which to hang a serious SCOTUS appeal, I am willing to listen and concede you are much more creative than I am.
65 Texpat. I think, in this case, the difference between the decision and the points made in the initial breifings at the 5th circuit certainly invite questions.
Further, the fact that Edd has been SO close to the proceedings gives ME a large degree of confidence in HIS honing in on the crucial points etc.( No I haven’t read the whole thing.)
At the very least, as Ted Poe said today on the other station (KTRH) the weapons statute was NEVER intended by those empowered to pass it, to apply to Law Enforcement officers in the performance of their Jobs. In fact it was specifically noted as such;according to Ted Poe.
In addition, Appeals courts have little appeal for me, if they don’t correct the injustices of the original Judge and the procecution or defense.; especially the right to, properly defend one’s self.
Like most things that start well intentioned, the Law and its surrounds have become a board game or a real ‘Dungeons and Dragnet’
Texpat, is it Me or are you part of the legal fraternity? I reread 64 and I believe that you have made my point for me ,re: the evolution of the gameing of Justice. Our system needs to be geared to the real finding of guilt or innocense.; NOT the posings of masters (or not) of debate. that should be, especially true of Appeals Courts. Asw I said in 65 theweapons charge being reversed would at least get them out with time served. We could debate the rest later.
What did I say? My comment disappeared!
What do you mean, disappeared? Nothing in the bucket. LST ModNS
KSEV’s phone number is wrong in the heading - should be 558
I actually mean I posted the comment, it showed up, and went away.
texpat #6;
I’ve wondered myself if the delay was out of pressure not to deliver an opinion or out of simple physical restraints like having recieved more cases. So your point is interesting. I wonder if all their cases are extremely backedup. 7-8 months is a very long time.
Big Jolly #20;
I’m late in this thread but here it you know full well that DHS identified Davila as the one who dropped off the October load and Sutton’s office refused to arrest him. All the while Davila told the jury he was a one time drug smuggler.
jimb # 22;
a) Sutton Did know
b) You tell me if YOU heard Davila make the statements he did on the stand and then if you heard of the October and September loads if that would not change your opinion of the man
c) It’s relevant to his credibility directly relating to what e testified on the stand
No LEO shot any unarmed man in the back. Davila was armed. That was testified to in court. granted, a I said he said scenario; but it was said that he was armed.
jimb #26;
And that is just one reason to see this as a trial where the prosecutor went to great lengths to to protect a known drug smuggler, KNOWING he violated his immunity agreement, KNOWING their decision allowed him to freely smuggle drugs into this country, while using EVERYTHING HE COULD to prosecute Ramos and Compean. Sutton’s choice to use the gun charge only “adrenalinates” the dishonesty of this case.
I readily admit that the NAU conspiracy is not provable in terms of this prosecution but it did explain the unexplainable as to why Sutton would go to these disingenuous lengths for his prosecution of Ramos and Compean. I’m less inclined to use it now that the 5th Circuit’s opinion was released. i’m now focused on those details.
wagon #30;
Sutton used it, it was HIS responsibility for its implications. He tried to apply it to Gilmer Hernandez but it was dropped in court AFTER the outrage the public displayed of Ramos and Compean’s incarceration.
I absolutely agree Congress needs to revisit this law and amend it to prevent it from being used again st police. If it is continued to be used against them, they would be safer, NOT to carry guns.
Edd;
Thank you for all you have done for Ramos and Compean. I literally spent the entire night and previous afternoon and up to the following morning, only getting one hours sleep debating this issue. Keep up the good work. It can be exhausting.