22-11-2008, 03:10 PM
This story just gets weirder. Then again this is, after all, Texas.
Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, left, who won indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and local officials in a prisoner abuse case, has accused Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of giving those defendants special treatment.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
RAYMONDVILLE — A county prosecutor who brought indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday about special treatment for high-profile defendants as a routine motions hearing descended into chaos.
Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, who is accusing the public officials of culpability in the alleged abuse of prisoners in a federal detention center, asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself. Guerra has complained about Banales' handling of the case.
Attorneys for the vice president and other defendants leaped to their feet in objection, as Guerra pounded the table and accused Banales of giving the defendants special treatment in allowing motions to quash the indictments to be heard before the defendants were arraigned.
"Now, all of a sudden there is urgency," Guerra shouted. "Eighteen months you kept me indicted through the election."
Guerra was referring to his own indictment on charges of extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business until Banales dismissed the indictment last month. Guerra lost re-election in the March Democratic primary.
Banales called a recess to contact the chief justice of the state Supreme Court for suggestions on how to proceed.
After the recess, Banales said he spoke with the general counsel for the state Supreme Court who said the chief justice and next most senior justice weren't available. Banales adjourned court later in the afternoon after announcing that he would send all documents pertaining to the recusal motion to the chief justice.
Banales tentatively scheduled the parties to return to court Wednesday morning.
Unlike the initial hearing last Wednesday when Guerra was absent and media and attorneys for the indicted appeared in equal numbers, curious residents packed the well-worn pews of the Willacy County Courthouse's only courtroom Friday.
Half of the indictments returned Monday are linked to privately run federal detention centers in the sparsely populated southern Texas county. The other half target judges and special prosecutors who played a role in an earlier investigation of Guerra.
Banales appointed a special prosecutor to handle the local officials indicted along with Cheney, Gonzales and state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, because Guerra has sparred with them for years.
The GEO Group Corp. was indicted on a murder charge in the death of an inmate at a federal prison.
"The indictment is the product of prosecutorial vindictiveness and is void on its face," defense attorney Tony Canales, who represents the private prison operator, wrote in a motion. Canales is also the legal representative for Cheney and Gonzales.
Another indictment alleges that Cheney's personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, gives him culpability in alleged prisoner abuse.
The grand jury also charged Lucio with illegally profiting from prison consulting fees.
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Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, left, who won indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and local officials in a prisoner abuse case, has accused Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of giving those defendants special treatment.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
RAYMONDVILLE — A county prosecutor who brought indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday about special treatment for high-profile defendants as a routine motions hearing descended into chaos.
Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, who is accusing the public officials of culpability in the alleged abuse of prisoners in a federal detention center, asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself. Guerra has complained about Banales' handling of the case.
Attorneys for the vice president and other defendants leaped to their feet in objection, as Guerra pounded the table and accused Banales of giving the defendants special treatment in allowing motions to quash the indictments to be heard before the defendants were arraigned.
"Now, all of a sudden there is urgency," Guerra shouted. "Eighteen months you kept me indicted through the election."
Guerra was referring to his own indictment on charges of extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business until Banales dismissed the indictment last month. Guerra lost re-election in the March Democratic primary.
Banales called a recess to contact the chief justice of the state Supreme Court for suggestions on how to proceed.
After the recess, Banales said he spoke with the general counsel for the state Supreme Court who said the chief justice and next most senior justice weren't available. Banales adjourned court later in the afternoon after announcing that he would send all documents pertaining to the recusal motion to the chief justice.
Banales tentatively scheduled the parties to return to court Wednesday morning.
Unlike the initial hearing last Wednesday when Guerra was absent and media and attorneys for the indicted appeared in equal numbers, curious residents packed the well-worn pews of the Willacy County Courthouse's only courtroom Friday.
Half of the indictments returned Monday are linked to privately run federal detention centers in the sparsely populated southern Texas county. The other half target judges and special prosecutors who played a role in an earlier investigation of Guerra.
Banales appointed a special prosecutor to handle the local officials indicted along with Cheney, Gonzales and state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, because Guerra has sparred with them for years.
The GEO Group Corp. was indicted on a murder charge in the death of an inmate at a federal prison.
"The indictment is the product of prosecutorial vindictiveness and is void on its face," defense attorney Tony Canales, who represents the private prison operator, wrote in a motion. Canales is also the legal representative for Cheney and Gonzales.
Another indictment alleges that Cheney's personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, gives him culpability in alleged prisoner abuse.
The grand jury also charged Lucio with illegally profiting from prison consulting fees.
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Vote for this story!