Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Grand Jury Indicts Chaney & Gonzales in TX!
#1
Texas Grand Jury Indicts Cheney and Gonzales on State Charges

And a grand jury in Texas has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in private prisons in Texas. The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it. The indictment cites Cheney’s investment in Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in South Texas. Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately run prisons.

...stay tuned!
Reply
#2
Peter Lemkin Wrote:Texas Grand Jury Indicts Cheney and Gonzales on State Charges

And a grand jury in Texas has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in private prisons in Texas. The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it. The indictment cites Cheney’s investment in Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in South Texas. Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately run prisons.

...stay tuned!

Problem is it's a federal crime, with a State Grand Jury indictment, State Court jurisdiction. The Supremacy Clause- below- may also be implicated here.
But it's a fine start, good that someone is trying to indict these bastards.
But I see this particular case going nowhere.
Dawn

The Supremacy Clause is the common name given to Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, which reads:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Supremacy Clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land." The Constitution is the highest form of law in the American legal system. State judges are required to uphold it, even if state laws or constitutions conflict with it.

An early example of the Supreme Court ruling that a state law violated the constitution under the Supremacy Clause came in the landmark McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), wherein the court ruled that the state of Maryland could not tax the Second Bank of the United States, establishing the principle that the states could not tax the federal government.

While the Supremacy Clause specifically says that "all Treaties made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the land", certain treaties are regarded as “self-executing,” that is, independently enforceable, while others are not considered enforceable as domestic law unless Congress has enacted implementing legislation, or "non-self-executing."

Treaties must comply with the Constitution.[dubious – discuss] However, the treaty-making power of the President is broader than the law-making power of Congress. The Supreme Court ruled in Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920) that pursuant to a treaty with Britain, the United States President, with approval of the Senate, could regulate the hunting of migratory birds, even though Congress had no independent authority to pass such legislation.

There's been some debate (and fear) as to whether or not some of the basic principles of the United States Constitution, such as the country's system of government or Bill of Rights could be affected by an ambitious treaty. Since the constitution states that a treaty has supremacy over "any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding," it has been argued that the potential for abuse is present.[dubious – discuss] In the 1950s a constitutional amendment known as the Bricker Amendment was proposed in response to such fears; it would have mandated that all US treaties not conflict with the existing powers granted to the US government. Subsequent legal precedents, notably, Seery v. United States, 127 F. Supp. 601 (Court of Claims, 1955) and Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1 (1957), ultimately established some of the limitations sought by the Bricker Amendment.

PGE. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, 461 U.S. 190 (1983) is a Supreme Court case that lays out a variety of tests that may be used to determine if state statutes are superseded or preempted by federal legislation.
Reply
#3
Dawn, Understood all you said.....here is some more info.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/20/d...s_indicted
Reply
#4
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.


Buzz up!
Vote for this story!
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Ferguson MO grand jury no bills the officer that shot Michael Brown Drew Phipps 23 13,113 08-04-2015, 05:36 AM
Last Post: Albert Doyle
  Jury finds Duggan killing lawful David Guyatt 3 3,517 09-01-2014, 03:28 PM
Last Post: David Guyatt
  Protests at Federal Building in Chicago Activists "Will Not Participate in" Grand Jury Magda Hassan 1 3,196 28-01-2011, 08:48 AM
Last Post: Peter Lemkin
  Tom DeLay GUILTY: Jury Convicts Republican In Money Laundering Trial Myra Bronstein 3 3,977 25-11-2010, 11:07 AM
Last Post: Myra Bronstein
  First trial without jury in 350 years David Guyatt 2 3,915 31-03-2010, 06:28 PM
Last Post: Jan Klimkowski

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)