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Posted on 06/17/2003 8:31:34 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Attorney subpoenas 57 sex offenders
June 17, 2003 08:43 AM CDT
ODESSA, Texas - A defense attorney has subpoenaed 57 sex offenders in the trial of a man accused of an attack on a child.
Attorney Michael McLeaish is defending David Means of Odessa in a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon in Judge Tryon Lewis' 161st District Court.
Means is accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child in December 2002.
"Hopefully, it can be demonstrated to the jury that there are successful probationers out there," McLeaish said.
McLeaish said the names of those serving probation after being convicted of sex crimes were culled from the Texas Department of Safety's Web site, which lists convicted sex offenders by ZIP code. McLeaish said he found Odessa sex offenders through the site, which includes details of their crimes.
Means, 34, if convicted of the first-degree felony, could serve five years to 99 years or life in prison. But McLeaish said in that case, Means would be eligible for probation because he has no previous felony record.
http://www.oaoa.com/news/nw061703c.htm
Local attorney subpoenas 57 sex offenders
By Brian Rogers
Odessa AmericanMore than 50 convicted sex offenders are scheduled to appear today in the trial of an accused sexual offender in the Ector County Courthouse.
Criminal defense attorney Michael McLeaish said he subpoenaed 57 men who are serving probation after being convicted of sex crimes.
“Hopefully it can be demonstrated to the jury that there are successful probationers out there,” McLeaish said.
He said the names were culled from the Texas Department of Safety’s Web site, which lists convicted sex offenders by ZIP code. McLeaish said he found Odessa sex offenders through the site, which includes details of their crimes.
In the trial scheduled to begin today at 1 p.m. in Judge Tryon Lewis’ 161st district court, McLeaish is defending David Means, an Odessa man accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child in December 2002.
If convicted of the first-degree felony, Means, 34, could serve five years to 99 years or life in prison.
However, McLeaish said if Means is convicted, he is eligible for probation because he has no previous felony convictions.
McLeaish said he plans on showing the jury that the state and county programs are an effective way of dealing with sex offenders. Those programs include counseling, lie detector tests, psychological testing and other facets of close monitoring. McLeaish said he believes at least 47 of the 57 convicted sex offenders were given probation through a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office.
While he declined to speak about the details of the case, McLeaish said Means would not accept the plea bargain offered by the district attorney’s office. McLeaish said Means, if convicted, should be given probation in the interest of “justice and equality in sentencing.”
Ector County District Attorney John Smith said he expects a jury to arrive at its own decision for proper punishment in the case.
“The facts of that case will be presented to a jury, and they can make their own decision,” Smith said.
However, he said no two cases are alike. “If there are, in fact, 57 people on probation in those cases, I can tell you that there are 57 different situations,” Smith said.
Smith said he would stand behind any decision made by his office to probate a sentence. “Since I’ve been in office, I’ve had an attorney in this office dedicated to prosecuting the sexual assaults of children,” Smith said. “Those lawyers attempt to arrive at the proper punishment in those cases.”
He also said that if a jury makes a decision to give probation, “that’s the conscience of the community in that specific case.”
McLeaish’s maneuver has had a ripple effect. Courthouse employees have been fielding calls from some of the subpoenaed witnesses. Ector County District Clerk Janis Morgan said that by Monday afternoon her office had received about 25 calls from confused witnesses.
“They’re asking why they’ve been subpoenaed because they don’t know the defendant, and they don’t have any idea what this is about,” Morgan said. She said her office has referred the calls to McLeaish’s office.
“It only takes a minute to give them Michael’s number,” Morgan said.
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