DWI case disappears in Collin County court system

The DA's office was caught in an outrageous abuse of power. If the voters elect the DA candidate annointed by the establishment we will be seeing a lot more of this and even more decisions based on politics/influence/corruption instead of justice and the public interest. If you like what happened in the "disappearing DWI case", you will love 4 years of political decisions by the establishment candidate. Collin County deserves better.

So the Collin County DA is helping out a friend instead of pursuing justice fairly. What's new about that? Willis is even more political than Roach, which is why Willis has so many political endorsements despite being fired from the DA's office for incompetence. If the voters want business as usual they will certainly get it with Willis.

I wonder how many other valid cases also "disappeared" in this way but escaped media scrutiny due to the DA's corruption. I can't believe this was the first time a case disappeared before a visiting judge. Disgusting! What scares me even more is that the establishment candidate for DA in 2010 will be even worse. Elect a politician and this is what you get.

Half the "people" in that office should be tarred & Feathered.

This stuff happens all the time. And it will continue until you demand that it stops.

Here's a great documented article regarding the problem.

One should also understand that DA's and other public servants such as cops in Texas routinely exercise "IMMUNITY" from prosecution for their crimes - in other words:

"They are above the law - because they ARE the law".

When did American's vote to allow OUR employees to be above the laws we ourselves are held to?

No Accountability
Why are bad prosecutors so rarely punished?
By Radley Balko | October 26, 2009

http://reason.com/archives/2009/10/26/no-acco...

( Now that the "lights" are finally, slowly heating up: could there be a reason why the cockroaches are now retiring behind the refrigerator …?)

SECOND COLLIN COUNTY PROSECUTOR 'RESIGNS' OVER ALLEGED DWI FIX

Last Wednesday, Collin County Chief Misdemeanor PROSECUTOR KERRIE WALKER RESIGNED her job at the District Attorney's office.

According to what trusted sources at the court house have told the Observer, HER RESIGNATION WAS NOT VOLUNTARY.

Last week, DA John Roach demoted Walker from Chief Misdemeanor Prosecutor to Misdemeanor Prosecutor, cutting her pay from $64,900/yr to $61,665.

The disciplinary actions come on the heels of a report by WFAA's Brett Shipp charging that Walker took over a solid DWI case from a subordinate, dismissed the witnesses and canceled the jury trial.

WFAA reported Saturday that, "Collin County District Attorney John Roach said that Walker's actions — and perhaps those of another prosecutor — appear to violate county policies."

THE OTHER PROSECUTOR IS LIKELY HER FORMER BOSS CURTIS HOWARD.

According to the WFAA story, DA John Roach's investigation continues.

Ms. Walker is the second prosecutor to be forced out of the District Attorney's office because of this DWI case.

Last month Assistant DA Brad Clements, a 2007 SMU Law School graduate, also resigned (sources tell the Observer he was asked to resign) after writing a letter BLASTING THE DA'S OFFICE AND COLLIN COUNTY JUSTICE SYSTEM for its disparate treatment of wealthy and indigent defendants.

SEE LETTER HERE (REALLY):

http://www.baumbach.org/cc/smu_prof.pdf

In his letter, Clements charged that Walker allowed a wealthy defendant to buy and scheme his way to an innocent verdict.

Clements intimated that Walker, who is a former Frisco Police officer, did so in part because she was applying for a job with the FBI and the defense attorney was her former boss and a former FBI employee.

The letter found its way to WFAA's Shipp who then broke the story in the media.

The Collin County Observer has covered this issue by presenting interpretations by both WFAA and of a local DWI defense attorney along with the Observer's own comments.

Believing that the DA's own policies may have set the stage for the DWI acquittal, The Collin County Observer has called on DA Roach to commission an investigation by an independent jurist who would be charged with finding and reporting on the facts of the case.

Source: The Collin County Observer

http://www.baumbach.org/b2evolution/blogs/ind ...

Bill wrote:

So the Collin County DA is helping out a friend instead of pursuing justice fairly. What's new about that? Willis is even more political than Roach, which is why Willis has so many political endorsements despite being fired from the DA's office for incompetence. If the voters want business as usual they will certainly get it with Willis.

On the contrary Bill, I don't think Judge Willis is a friend or admirer of Roach and his questionable and egotistical antics. I think Judge Willis understands the point of the position is Justice being served - not convictions at all costs - THE mantra of the Roach administration.

In any case good ridence to DA Raoch and his cronies.

NOW that DA Roach has thrown one embarrassing Collin County whistle blowing ADA and then Prosecutor KERRIE WALKER under the bus, one wonders aloud upon whom next Damocles’ sword will fall?

Shoes one wouldn't want to be wearing:

Those of “all around good guy” CURTIS HOWARD.

Has oh ever so loyal Howard now become an even greater liability for Mr. Roach?

They're both wearing the same suit, along with certain other Roach prosecutors, after all. Dress accordingly.

History, Oh History.

Ere so unceasingly, inexorably, repeated History!

Will Howard’s Collin County career be the next in the swirling swath cut down in Roach’s Night Of The Long Knives to save his “legacy” at all costs?

Only time will tell.

Is that not a criminal conspiracy? And all for a possible job with the FBI. Where has the integrity for justice gone. Lady Justice must be hidden in the basement or buried in a hidden grave.

citizen x wrote:

Is that not a criminal conspiracy? And all for a possible job with the FBI. Where has the integrity for justice gone. Lady Justice must be hidden in the basement or buried in a hidden grave.

Integrity and Justice for decades has laid buried in that basement filled with Roaches. Sh-t starts at the top of the hill and rolls downward until most if not all underlings are mired in it. Many even love it and long ago forgot the difference between Integrity and Justice v sh-t.

AT SUPREME COURT: CAN PROSECUTORS BE SUED FOR FRAMING DEFENDANTS?

Two American men WRONGLY IMPRISONED FOR 25 YEARS filed a lawsuit against prosecutors for FABRICATING EVIDENCE AGAINST THEM. The Supreme Court hears the case Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to consider an unusual question:

[ It’s unusual only because the answer should be obvious; but so telling of how crooked the legal system has become.]

DO AMERICANS WHO HAVE BEEN FRAMED BY UNSCRUPULOUS PROSECUTORS FOR CRIMES THEY DID NOT COMMIT HAVE A RIGHT TO SUE THE PROSECUTORS WHEN THE

Solicitor General Elena Kagan argues in a friend of the court brief that local, state, and federal prosecutors must enjoy absolute immunity from citizen lawsuits – EVEN WHEN THEY SENT INNOCENT MEN TO PRISON FOR LIFE BY FABRICATING INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE AND HIDING EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE.

At trial, the false testimony led to their convictions. They were sent to prison for life.

When the false testimony and other exculpatory evidence was discovered, the two innocent men, Curtis McGhee and Terry Harrington, were released after 25 years in prison. They filed a lawsuit against the prosecutors.

The question before the high court is whether the prosecutors can be held accountable in a civil trial or instead are entitled to absolute immunity from such lawsuits.

"If the allegations here are true,[the Iowa officials] ENGAGED IN PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT OF AN EXECRABLE SORT, INVOLVING A COMPLETE BREACH OF THE PUBLIC TRUST," Solicitor General Kagan writes in her brief to the court

ABSOLUTE VS. QUALIFIED IMMUNITY

Lawyers for Mr. McGhee and Mr. Harrington argue in their briefs that police officers who fabricate evidence do not enjoy such absolute protection from a civil lawsuit.

They say prosecutors who actively participate in the pre-trial investigation of a case must be held to the same standard as citizens, police officers, detectives, and agents, who can be sued if they violate clearly-established constitutional rights.

"WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FABRICATE EVIDENCE WITH AN INTENT TO USE IT TO DEPRIVE INNOCENT CITIZENS OF THEIR LIBERTY, THEY VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION," writes Paul Clement, a former US Solicitor General who is arguing the case for McGhee and Harrington.

"The framing of innocent American citizens for a crime they did not commit, lies at the core of what Congress sought to prevent in the Civil Rights statutes," Mr. Clement says in his brief.
LAWYERS FOR THE TWO PROSECUTORS COUNTER THAT THERE IS NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT "NOT TO BE FRAMED."

Since prosecutors enjoy absolute immunity from lawsuits related to the actions they take at trial, any false testimony cannot form the basis of a lawsuit against a prosecutor, they say.

Attorneys general from 27 states and the District of Columbia filed a friend of the court brief urging the high court to embrace this broader view of absolute prosecutor immunity.

However, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Cato Institute, and the American Civil Liberties Union argue for a lower level of immunity that offers prosecutors protection from lawsuits except when they have violated a clearly-established constitutional right.

NO CONFIDENCE IN JUSTICE SYSTEM

Mr. Herrmann writes: "We can imagine few rulings of this Court that would send a more negative message about American criminal justice than to permit prosecutors to frame American suspects for the murder of a police officer, ADMIT THE OUTRAGE, AND THEN WALK AWAY WITH IMPUNITY, AFTER THEIR VICTIMS HAVE WRONGFULLY SUFFERED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN PRISON."

The case is Pottawattamie County, Iowa, v. McGhee and Harrington.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1103/p02s18-usj ...

Every single day more and more of the endless documented cases of those in the “law enforcement system”; from cops, to prosecutors, lawyers and even judges; committing crimes – heinous crimes.

All betrayers of the public trust. Liars! Thieves! Predators!

Far too many cases to be “blown off” as “isolated incidents”(which is what these “people” want us to believe.

If you can’t see this is a serious systemic sinkhole of a problem – then surely you can’t see the forest for the trees……..

A "PERVERSE" POSITION ON PROSECUTORS FABRICATING EVIDENCE

[ Another great by GRITS 11/06/2009.

This case show the sad state of affairs in LE when Judges, Prosecutors and Crooked Cops use the law itself to protect themselves from their own crimes.( We the people should be so lucky.)

It’s so bad that the bizarre common sense evading question has been fought by petulant prosecutos all the way to SCOTUS. And you wonder why the people rightfully do not trust our legal system or those who lord over it ( and us?)

This case pretty much pulls back the curtain for all to see what REALLY motivates those in LE. JUSTICE? Hardly. Protect their asses and give themselves impunity to punishment for committing crimes - absolutely!]

--

" Wednesday the US Supreme Court held oral arguments on an important case regarding prosecutorial misconduct, where PROSECUTORS SOUGHT ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY WHEN THEY FABRICATE EVIDENCE TO FRAME A DEFENDANT if the information is used at trial.

It was a bit of a shock to read Neal Katyal, the attorney representing the Administration, tell the court that:

“ IF A PROSECUTOR KNOWS A POLICE OFFICER FABRICATED EVIDENCE AND PUTS IT ON AT TRIAL, THERE IS NOT A FIFTH AMENDMENT DUE PROCESS VIOLATION (P. 20)!!“

That's change we can believe in, baby! Yikes!!

The position before the court was to REJECT THE IDEA THAT US CITIZENS HAVE "A FREE-STANDING DUE PROCESS RIGHT NOT TO BE FRAMED," according to Katyal.

Justice Stevens dismissed that declaring, "There is no free-standing right. There is just a right not to convict a person with made-up evidence.

Katyal insisted to the court that WHILE A POLICEMAN OR EVEN A PROSECUTOR WHO FABRICATED EVIDENCE IN THE INVESTIGATIVE STAGE of a case had QUALIFIED IMMUNITY,

IF THE SAME PROSECUTOR PUT THE FABRICATED EVIDENCE ON AT TRIAL, THEY WOULD CONFER UPON THEMSELVES ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY for the act - an outcome Stevens referred to as "perverse."

I also thought it was interesting that Justices seemed fairly dismissive of the effectiveness of other sanctions against prosecutors. Sotomayor referenced "numerous studies we were provided that SHOW THAT AS A MATTER OF ROUTINE PROSECUTORS ARE NOT SANCTIONED FOR IMPROPER PROSECUTORIAL CONDUCT in the investigatory stage."

Justice Kennedy is usually the swing vote on the court and oft-considered the body's bellwether. He was the first justice to ask a question of Pottawatamie County's attorney.

In its entirety, his question was, "Your -- your case here is a polite way of telling us we wasted our time in Buckley v. Fitzsimmons.... I mean, we were just spinning our wheels in that case?"

HE LATER SUMMARIZED THE PROSECUTORS POSITION AS:

"THE MORE DEEPLY YOU'RE INVOLVED IN THE WRONG, THE MORE LIKELY YOU ARE TO BE IMMUNE?

THAT'S A STRANGE PROPOSITION."

Even though justices seemed sympathetic to the practical concerns raised by prosecutors, THEY ALL SEEMED RELUCTANT TO GRANT AN OFFICIAL GREEN-LIGHT FOR PROSECUTORS TO FRAME INNOCENT PEOPLE."

Is this all window dressing - or will things go forwards as usual with criminals continuing to hide behind their robes, suits and uniforms?

Time will tell - but there's not much optimisim from this vantage point.

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/

AUSTIN TX POLICE INTERNAL AFFAIRS DETECTIVE FIRED FOR TRYING TO SWAY OUTCOME TO FAVOR COP IN SHOOTING INVESTIGATION

November 5, 2009, 01:57 PM

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo today has fired an internal affairs detective involved in the investigation into the fatal shooting of Nathaniel Sanders II by a police officer, officials said.

Detective Chris Dunn sent an e-mail to fellow investigators and supervisors two days after the May 11 shooting that suggested they review the criminal histories of Sanders and two other suspects and possibly MAKE THE HISTORIES THE CAUSE OF THE SHOOTING.

“I am so smart I scare myself,” Dunn wrote, according to sources familiar with the e-mail.

[...apparently being a conspirator in a potential frame job is considered "smart" in some dark circles ...]

Independent investigators cited the e-mail in concerns that the investigation into the shooting by senior police officer Leonardo Quintana was biased.

Acevedo has since removed Dunn from internal affairs and opened an internal affairs investigation into his actions. Austin police policy requires investigators to maintain an impartial attitude.

(Kind of hard to believe or do when you still work for the same department, HUH?)

Acevedo is expected to discuss his decision in a news conference later today.
His decision comes the day after he suspended Quintana for 15 days for not activating his patrol car camera before approaching Sanders.”

[ NOW, tell us again why “expert witness” DPS Commander Albert Rodriguez who the Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals exposed for tampering and being involved in falsification to protect bad cops is STILL employed and NOT behind bars ?]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared...

The Framers on the Framers

Does the Constitution protect prosecutors who fabricate evidence?

[Excerpts from an excellent and on point article by By Dahlia Lithwick over at SLATE.]

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, at 7:17 PM ET

Former Solicitor General Paul Clement represents two wrongfully convicted defendants sent to prison on life terms for supposedly killing an ex-cop.

The men happened to be young black men.

They also happened to be COMPLETELY INNOCENT and were released after 25 years in prison.

The reason for their release? LE officials and prosecutors FRAMED THEM.

KNOWINGLY and ON PURPOSE.

The horribly wronged men sued.

When sued, prosecutors invoked the “we are above the law, because we ARE the law” immunity defense – an anachronism dating back to the days of feudal lords, tyrants , kings and queens.

These creeps lost in every lower court and have now taken the issue of “should CRIMINAL law enforcement and court personnel be immune from punishment – essentially, because of their job title”?

For the non-jaded people out there – this BS is the norm and goes on all the time with criminals working IN the legal system getting off scot-free, claiming they’re above everyone else - and above the law itself.

In other words they are “UNTOUCHABLES”.

---

Clement warns the court of the PERVERSE INCENTIVES it would create if the justices give prosecutors absolute immunity for everything they do, regardless of when it happens:

"Suppose you're a prosecutor. You've participated in misconduct before trial. You now have the decision to make:

OK, I was COMPLICIT IN THE FABRICATION OF THIS PERJURED EVIDENCE; SHOULD I PUT IT ON INTO EVIDENCE?

WELL, LET'S SEE.

IF I DON'T PUT IT ON INTO EVIDENCE AND I COME CLEAN NOW, I'M ACTUALLY LIABLE FOR THE ARREST AND ALL THE PRETRIAL DETENTION.

IF I ACTUALLY INTRODUCE IT INTO EVIDENCE NOW, I'M SCOT-FREE."

Justice Breyer is worried that this rule will "discourage prosecutors from becoming involved in the witness-questioning process," which, in his view, acts as a "kind of check on the police."

But Justice SOTOMAYOR RETORTS THAT YOU ACTUALLY DO WANT A PROSECUTOR TO "FLINCH WHEN HE SUSPECTS EVIDENCE IS PERJURED OR FABRICATED."

IN FACT YOU WANT HIM TO DO MORE THAN JUST FLINCH. YOU WANT HIM TO STOP.

She adds that the two prosecutors in this case were never disciplined for their conduct.

Clement ends with a “nothing but net” three-pointer:

• "If the court's going to go back to first principles, let's look at the statute Congress passed in 1871.... This is one of the great civil rights statutes.

• I think it's clear, from this court's cases, that the police officer that engages in misconduct has committed a grave, grave constitutional violation and ought to be liable.

• I think the prosecutor who engages in the pretrial misconduct and then doesn't participate in the trial is just as liable as that police officer.

• And I can't think of a single reason why the only reason a prosecutor would get absolute immunity is if they not only participated in the pretrial misconduct, but completed the scheme by committing further misconduct at trial."

Mr. Clement, you’ve hit this long yet to be driven nail, upon which Justice’s toe has been stubbed for decades, right on the head and driven it home…….

http://www.slate.com/id/2234604/pagenum/2

DENIAL IF DUE PROCESS IN CURRENT COLLIN COUNTY CASE

My hope in posting here is to expose the egregious judicial misconduct & violations of the 14th Amendment in a current Collin County case involving a father of 2 young boys in Collin County. Concerned citizens, please assist us in forcing Judge Oldner to recuse himself so the imperial evidence can be heard, justice be done and 2 small boys be returned to their father’s custody, as originally mandated by the courts, but overturned by Judge Oldner without cause or reason, even in light of proven allegations of the mother’s sexual abuse and drug addition. All case details can be reviewed here: http://eoffian.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/66/

TEXAS STATE TROOPER SENTENCED TO OVER 7 YEARS IN PRISON FOR POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE OF 57 POUNDS OF COCAINE

November 10, 2009 8:18 PM

( " How ironic. How Hypocritical.

One of the largest (accidental) drug busts in the state of Texas.

And the criminal MAJOR drug dealer turns out to be:

A Texas Police Officer. " )

**

BROWNSVILLE — A Texas state trooper was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in federal prison.

A shackled and chained Jesus Rafael Larrazolo, 35, of Brownsville, appeared before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, who SENTENCED THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TROOPER TO 87 MONTHS IN THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS.

THE SENTENCE COMES NEARLY A YEAR AFTER LARRAZOLO WAS ARRESTED ON A CHARGE OF DEALING COCAINE.

A FOUR-YEAR VETERAN of the DPS, he apologized during the court the proceedings.

The PEACE OFFICER PLEADED GUILTY to one count in a federal indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute 26 kilograms, or 57 POUNDS, of cocaine on Jan. 15, according to court documents.

The drugs had a street value of $1.64 million.

Details of the plea agreement were unavailable because the document was a sealed by court order.

(“ Remember: We are not allowed to know….”)

Larrazolo was employed as a DPS trooper when Brownsville police and the FBI arrested him Nov. 21 last year in the parking lot of the Best Buy store in Brownsville as he loaded his car with cocaine.

Brownsville police were conducting unrelated surveillance when they saw Larrazolo with suspicious suitcases that turned out to contain cocaine, according to police.

Larrazolo, dressed in plains clothes, identified himself as a DPS trooper and displayed his credentials when arrested.

During that same hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Lancaster asked that Larrazolo be held without bond because of FEARS HE WOULD FLEE TO MEXICO.

Federal authorities previously said the man’s relatives in Mexico were powerful and wealthy enough that he would be in a position to safely hide out and avoid prosecution.

Larrazolo has been in federal custody without bond since his November 2008 arrest.

http://www.themonitor.com/articles/brownsvill ...

POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR FELONY DRUG DISTRIBUTION, OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT, AND MISDEMEANOR THEFT

LONGMONT — Longmont police on Thursday arrested a fellow officer on felony drug distribution, as well as misdemeanor official misconduct and theft of less than $1,000.

Officer Jack Kimmett, 54, was being held Thursday night at the Boulder County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

“JACK KIMMETT HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVANT IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR ALMOST THREE DECADES,” Longmont Public Safety Chief Mike Butler said Thursday evening.

( " LOL " )

According to an arrest warrant affidavit for Kimmett, a man on parole claimed that the officer was a “dirty cop” who routinely provided the parolee’s wife with Vicodin.

The woman cooperated with investigators and set up a meeting with Kimmett in Roosevelt Park on

Wednesday, according to the affidavit; Special Enforcement Unit officers watched as the two met and then retrieved Vicodin from the woman after the meeting.

Kimmett, who worked a day-shift patrol, is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and the outcome of the criminal case, Butler said.

http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp...

MPD TICKETS MAN FOR HONKING AT STOP SIGN RUNNING COP
Thursday, 12 Nov 2009, 9:46 PM CST
McKINNEY, Texas - A driver says a McKinney police officer pulled him over because he honked his horn. He says he honked because the officer ran a stop sign and almost hit him.
He thinks there's video to prove it. But FOX 4's Saul Garza reports its video the city doesn't want you to see.
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/mckinney+man...

^^^
Welcome, good McKinney citizen, to the reality of how the MPD actually operates, from the chief on down. You’ve successfully fallen through the looking glass and now see the charade that is the McKinney Police Department.

The essence of Officer Jason Norton’s statement as you relate in the above video, that the “exempt” lettering on the squad’s license plate “means the MPD does not have to obey the law” is nothing new.

Your claim of retaliation against you by the MPD is nothing new.

Clearly after months and months of the MPD’s “internal investigation” has been long over. Yet Chief Kowalski following his usual pattern of “keeping their doings on the down low”, apparently is saying the investigation continues – into whether a cop ran a stop sign.

Surely it’s because they’ve hired eminent scientist Steven Hawking to study the matter and he’s a busy man. It is rather odd though, that after your complaint the charges against him were dismissed about 30 minutes latter and you say you were told that the officers involved would be disciplined. Seems like the “investigation” has long been over doesn’t it, chief.

And of course the MPD just sidesteps, as is their wont, both State and Federal Freedom of Information Acts and refuses to let it’s employers (we, the public) see the dash-cam video, which apparently must be the graveman proving the cop did in fact run the stop sign.

The department and it’s chief even thumbs it’s nose at the media. Par for the course.

Again good McKinney citizen, welcome to world of truth about the MPD.

Know that you are not alone and do follow through on the law suit, as have others before you and others who will do so, until this sham of a department is exposed.

And Chief Kowalski, if you and your department has done nothing wrong, and if you and your department actually serve the public – what is it you have to hide from us?

It's a simple, common sense question, chief.

McKinney Cop Abuses Authority with Horn Honking Ticket

Not Wise to mess with Texas. No pun. Officer Jason Norton and other Bubba cops are in the Spot Light, Horns honking and lights are flashing. Nothing you can do about it either. I hope that really torques your jaws. You guys should go ahead resign and move to Amarillo where other smart ass cops go when they are exposed! Chicken shit is not Chicken Salad. Once again rouge cops action's has overloaded their collective asses. Good enough for you Big Shots! McKinney's finest, yeah right! Can't wait to see the movie!
I bet they hate the Internet and postings like this that expose them. It might break some of the "Back the Blue, No Matter What" rules. I bet they would love to trim off the 1st Amendment from the U. S. Constitution. LMFAO