Posted on 07/01/2015 5:10:55 PM PDT by Prolixus
A Dallas attorney who represents Hewitt biker Matthew Clendennen filed an emergency appeal Wednesday seeking to lift a gag order a judge imposed in Clendennen’s case on Tuesday.
Clint Broden, in his emergency petition for writ of mandamus filed with Waco’s 10th Court of Appeals, argues that because his client has not been indicted, 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson had no jurisdiction to impose a gag order, which bars Broden, prosecutors, witnesses and police officials from publicly discussing Clendennen’s case.
The gag order violates Clendennen’s right to free speech and the judge’s findings to adopt the gag order are “insufficient to establish that any unidentified pretrial publicity in this case has risen to the level that it poses an imminent and severe harm to a fair and impartial trial,” Broden’s petition says.
Broden argues that, given the unique nature of the case, “which has 176 identical companion cases,” a gag order is likely to be ineffectual and is not the least restrictive means to prevent harm, the petition says.
“Whether real or perceived, there is a noxious odor surrounding the investigation by the Waco police and the McLennan County District Attorney’s office with regard to the Twin Peaks shooting and the wholesale arrest of 177 motorcyclists based on identical, fill-in-the-name criminal complaints,” Broden claims in his petition.
The petition charges that Johnson abused his discretion by imposing the gag order.
While Broden argues Johnson has no jurisdiction in the case, his appeal contains no jurisdictional questions regarding the judge’s granting of his request for a copy of video from the Twin Peaks franchisee of the May 17 shootout in which nine bikers were killed and 20 others were wounded.
The judge, however, placed the release of the video under a protective order, preventing Broden from making the video public.
Broden complains in his emergency petition that Johnson’s gag order does not cover the parties in the other 176 biker cases; the attorneys, including the DA’s office, in the other 176 cases; law enforcement as it relates to the other 176 cases; and witnesses in the other 176 cases.
Also, Broden’s motion says, the gag order is not clear if it covers statements relating to a federal civil rights lawsuit Clendennen filed in Waco’s U.S. District Court and does not cover a Dallas County lawsuit filed by Don Carlos restaurant against Twin Peaks over loss of business after the shootout.
In response to Clendennen’s emergency appeal, the 10th Court could:
Deny the petition outright,
Seek a response from all interested parties, giving them time to file their responses, and/or
Issue a temporary order to instruct the judge not to enforce the gag order until the court considers the responses and rules.
If the 10th Court denies the petition, Clendennen then has the option of filing similar pleadings with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin.
...because his client has not been indicted, 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson had no jurisdiction to impose a gag order...
If the police have done nothing wrong, they shouldn’t have anything to hide.
Good catch.
I wonder if we’ll ever get to see the autopsy reports.
>>> ...because his client has not been indicted, 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson had no jurisdiction to impose a gag order... <<<
More and more Interesting every day!
Where have I heard that before?
It’s not all hidden. The mass arrest of 177 people and holding them on $1,000,000 bail is absolutely wrong. The Waco PD has admitted to firing 12 rounds of .223 caliber bullets from their military grade, high powered, M4 assault rifles into a busy shopping area’s parking lot. Many people would find fault with that if only the MSM would push that aspect of the event.
On the other hand, for example, an answer as to what were the M4 armed police aiming at and did they hit their targets is still a mystery.
Despite the paucity of facts, we do have enough from the police ALONE to raise serious questions.
In the immediate aftermath, Swanton said that they basically saw it coming. Yet, several days later, Stroman informs that his men were SITTING IN THEIR VEHICLES.
Later still, we get an affidavit (constructed from videos per internal references) that there were signs of impending conflict on the site, before the first shot was fired and while the Waco PD was SITTING IN THEIR VEHICLES. Stroman stated that his men got out of their vehicles AFTER the first shot.
The Waco PD has scrubbed their previous updates from their facebook and now have a judge putting a gag order on the attorneys.
These factors point to, at the very least, a poorly prepared and executed operation. I believe that they all know that and are hoping it will somehow just all blow over.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and more, I don’t even know what to say.
I want to thank all those posting these stories to keep us up to date on the goings on in Waco.
The actions of the police. alone, make the entire case against them. by the words of their [figurative] mouths, they are convicted.
Does any layman that is capable of independent thought think that if any of the videos would have cleared the police, that they would have been on every media outlet the next day?
Not until they have been doctored to clear the police.
Well, for one, it is what they tell the people on COPS when they object or hesitate to answer when they say, “Can we search your car?” The police always respond with, “If you got nothing to hide, why do you object”?
Well, usually - the gruberment prosecutors & their armed enforcers are saying that to the peasantry...
Ooo! Ooh! [Raise hand, big smile] If it's a quiz, pick me, officer! Pick me!
Because the Founding Fathers would have objected! You got something against the Founding Fathers, officer?
Wonder when the Tom Sawyer whitewash crew is going to show up on this thread?
I just want to know the truth....
everyday they hide stuff, the smell gets stronger.
I just want the truth.
Or find out who is/was charged with murder and who was wounded. Also why was there enough police there to arrest 177 before anything ever happened. That's 5 greyhound bus loads of prisoners.
Putting all your dying hopes on some ambulance chaser who is peeing on the Judge’s back while trying to convince him its raining, are ya? Defying gravity is a tough job.
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