Dean Kinder's Arraignment

Today at 8:30 a.m., an historic event took place. Current El Paso Police Officer and former police union vice-president, Dean Kinder, was formally arraigned on his criminal charges of Aggravated Perjury. These charges are a direct result of an investigation by a Court of Inquiry. According to El Diario today, there are no records that ever, in the history of El Paso, have charges resulted from a Court of Inquiry into government corruption before. These charges are unprecedented.

Dean Kinder's criminal arraignment for lying under oath took place in the 409th District Court presided over by the Honorable Sam Medrano. According to a court room observer, Judge Medrano treated Dean Kinder the same way he treats all other criminal defendants. Good for Judge Medrano. The Judge brought Kinder before the bench, had him raise his right hand to be sworn in, informed Kinder in open court that he was being charged with Aggravted Perjury and then took Kinder's plea of "not guilty" (a plea of not guilty is customary at the arraignment, especially for criminal defendants out on bond like Kinder is). The State of Texas was represented not by its elected official Jaime Esparza but by Special Prosecutors, local attorney Mario Martinez and former Judge of the 120th, Judge Robert Dinsmoor. Jaime Esparza cannot do his job and represent the State in this matter since he put Kinder on the stand and vouched for his testimony; this is the same testimony Kinder is now being prosecuted for giving. Kinder is represented by CLEAT attorney Jerry Cichon. To this day, Esparza refuses to admit that he made a huge "mistake" regarding Kinder.

Is the police department trying to bully the Special Prosecutors to protect Kinder? According to the court room observer, he heard Judge Dinsmoor tell Attorney Cichon that he had received a request from the police department asking for a transcript of the Grand Jury testimony that resulted in Kinder's indictment. Judge Dinsmoor told the union attorney that he would not be handing that transcript over since it is confidential. It is well established law, and the police department knows it, that Grand Jury proceedings are secret. So what is the purpose of the "request?"

Also present and looking unhappy was police detective Diane Kinder, wife of Dean Kinder. She spent part of the proceedings glaring at the court room observer who has followed this case since the beginning. Does Diane Kinder think that dirty looks are going to scare the public off at this point? Have the Kinders and the police department not learned that attorney Ed Hernandez has worked too hard to see that justice is done to allow his supporters to be bullied at this point?

The Press: Today, El Diario reporter Alberto Ponce de Leon wrote an article advising the public that the Kinder case was set for arraignment. Why was there no mention of this by Dionicio Flores in the El Paso Times? Does Mr. Flores at the Times believe that this historic event is not newsworthy? Does Mr. Flores believe that the English speaking public does not need to know this information? Or does Mr. Flores believe that his readers do need to know this information but he is just not going to tell them?