I'm sticking with government gun (Fast and Furious) and drug running.
Posted on 08/03/2015 5:11:31 PM PDT by don-o
A retired state district judge from Bosque County was appointed Monday to preside over the examining trial of a Hewitt biker — and potentially 19 others — arrested in the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout.
Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield, administrative judge of the 26-county 3rd Judicial Region, confirmed Monday that he appointed Judge James Morgan to preside over the examining trial of Hewitt resident Matthew Clendennen, which is set for Aug. 10.
Stubblefield said his order also gives Morgan authority to hear any of the 19 other cases involving bikers seeking examining trials to challenge whether there was sufficient probable cause for their arrests after the shootout that left nine dead and 20 wounded.
The judicial appointment became necessary after senior Judge Joe Carroll, of Bell County, recused McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson two weeks ago from presiding over Clendennen’s examining trial.
One other biker, Drew David King, of Dripping Springs, also has filed a motion to recuse Peterson, and Peterson said Monday he will allow Morgan to hear King’s case.
Peterson said he is planning to preside over the 16 other examining trials that are scheduled for his court unless any of the parties in those other cases object or file motions to recuse.
Justice of the Peace David Pareya, of West, has two examining trials set in his court and Waco Municipal Judge Chris Taylor has one set.
Clendennen’s attorney, Clint Broden, of Dallas, complained in his motion to recuse Peterson that the former Department of Public Safety trooper set unreasonably high bonds and said he was doing so to “send a message” about the gravity of the incident. He also complained that Peterson signed off on what Broden and others have called “cookie-cutter, fill-in-the-blank warrants” for the arrests of 177 bikers on identical engaging in organized crime charges.
Only three of the 177 bikers arrested remain jailed, and they have charges from other counties pending.
Besides Clendennen and King, the bikers who have requested examining trials include: Daniel Pesina, San Antonio; Mitchell Bradford, Gordon; Juventino H. Montellano, San Antonio; Joseph Ortiz, San Antonio; Richard R. Donias, San Antonio; Lawrence Garcia, San Antonio; John Guerrero, San Antonio; and Tom M. Mendez, San Antonio.
Also, John R. Wilson, Waco; Clayton D. Reed, Burleson; Matthew R. Folse, Dallas; Morgan J. English, Brenham; William H. English, Brenham; James A. Venable Jr., Mart; Royce Van Vleck, San Antonio; William C. Aikin, Talco; Jimmy Lee Pond, Austin; and Thomas P. Landers, Georgetown.
the railroad is coming off its tracks, so to speak
And still no coroner’s report...
Yup, no idea who was killed, who was wounded, and what county jail booked in 177 prisoners all at once.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictment_of_Rick_Perry
“Billy Ray Stubblefield, chief judge of Texas’ Third Judicial District, presides over the case...”
Not yet it isn't. I expect the judges who hear the examining trails to either find probable cause or cite the "statutory substitute" that appears in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. As long as the affidavit has the magic words, "affiant has good reason to believe, and does believe, that the accused has committed such offense" (and the cookie-cutter affidavits do in fact have those words), Texas doesn't require evidence that shows probable cause.
Art. 15.05. REQUISITES OF COMPLAINT. ...
2. It must show that the accused has committed some offense against the laws of the State, either directly or that the affiant has good reason to believe, and does believe, that the accused has committed such offense.
Broden will appeal. The Texas Criminal Code is unconstitutional.
Jackson called Waco police Detective Manuel Chavez as a witness to describe how the affidavits were drafted. To obtain the arrest warrants, Chavez swore before a judge as to their content. He testified Thursday that the document was written by prosecutors in the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office on the day of the shootout.
It's garden variety common for trial judges to have an attitude of "if you don't like the decision, you can appeal it," knowing that few defendants possess the resources or fortitude to do so.
That makes me sad. I do try to not be a cynic, but it's getting hard not to.
Looks like the fix is in.
This is a mistake.
“Retired” judges should stay retired.
..retired....judge??
University of Texas School of Law, awarded a J.D. in 1976. Retired as District 222 Judge in December 2010 or thereabouts.
No opinions registered in The Robing Room: TX State Judges
Denton v. Morgan, 136 F3d 1038 (1998).
Morgan was sued (and lost) a wrongful termination case, where Denton was fired in retaliation for being a whistleblower. Several Commissioners were sued, Morgan did not join the appeal of the loss.
Interim Hill County Sheriff Vows To Clean House - kwtx.com - April 2, 2015
Morgan was brought into a criminal case against a sheriff, when the usual judge recused due to familiarity with defendant sheriff.
Retired State District Judge James Morgan issued a temporary order Wednesday suspending [Sheriff Michael] Cox and naming Collins the interim sheriff. ...There must be a distinction between "suspended" and "removed." Cox asserts he is innocent of the charge of submitting another person's test results as his own.Under the Texas Local Government Code, elected officials such as county sheriffs may be removed from office only after a trial by jury, in which the county attorney represents the state.
27th District Court action with Visiting Judge James Morgan presiding, Oct 12, 2012. Busy courtroom, some 15 or so cases adjudicated.
Here is an item that I can't find the original source for. I have no idea what "Harvey" was accused of, what he did while out on probation, etc.
www.news-record.com, 22 Sept 2010
Had Morgan imposed Harvey's maximum 11-month sentence, he would probably have been in prison until next week.On Tuesday, Judge Morgan said he had "no recollection whatsoever" of the case and couldn't comment. ...
The case came before Judge Morgan on Oct. 27, 2009. Records show Morgan didn't punish Harvey for the violations but instead ordered him to remain on probation under the current terms.
Not a word on the 5 bikers that were “unarrested” in the early hours either...
>>> Not a word on the 5 bikers that were “unarrested” in the early hours either... <<<
It turns out that those five were Vietnam Veteran riders. They were grabbed by the Waco cops because the South Vietnam flag on their back patches was red and yellow — Bandido colors to the obviously limited minds of the police.
Apparently somebody figured it out early on and cut them loose.
I suspect that their release was contingent upon their silence since there’s been no comment from that direction.
The gag order covers witnesses too.
The only thing coming off the tracks is the criminal bike gang suck-ups attempt to aid your thug masters in avoiding justice.
I suggest you keep you pimpled little butt out of Texas if you don’t like our rules.
When all the crying and hair pulling is done, most of your criminal biker idols will be spending a lot of time working the Chain-gangs for the Texas Department of Corrections, couple of em might even get a turn on Death Row.
Bike gang to Chain gang, has a nice sound to it.
>>> The only thing coming off the tracks is the criminal bike gang suck-ups attempt to aid your thug masters in avoiding justice. <<<
Where the hell did you learn English?
That sounds like something from a North Korean propaganda ministry press release!
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