As I write this blog, Jaime Esparza is busily re-picking a jury on the Renteria capital murder death penalty case. This is the case were little Alejandra Flores was abducted from Wal-mart and brutally killed by Renteria. A jury convicted Renteria of murder and then at the punishment phase chose to give him the death penalty over life in prison. Renteria's attorneys appealed the case based on error made by Esparza who personally prosecuted the case. The appeals court, which is normally loathe to overturn a verdict, in an unusual move, agreed with the defense and overturned the death penalty verdict and remanded the case back to the trial court for a second trial on the penalty verdict only. The appeals court made its decision due to inappropriate statements Esparza made in the punishment phase.
Now the community is having to pay for a second emotionally and financially costly trial because Esparza does not know or possess the skills to try a clean case that will withstand the appeals process.
Every good prosecutor knows that she must be very careful to stay away from evidence or conduct that will jeopardize the integrity of a trial. It is easy to get a guilty verdict when you play dirty and pull fast ones. The problem then becomes that the appeals courts will overturn the verdict because it was a product of a dirty trial. A skillfull and honest prosecutor knows where to go and where not to go. The name of the game is to never get greedy and to always protect the record from future attack. An honest and skillfull prosecutor can get a guilty verdict without resorting to dirty tricks.
You should know that when picking a jury for a death penalty case, the lawyers question each juror individually and sometimes for hours. The process takes days if not weeks and months. It requires hundreds of potential jurors to come in and be interviewed by both sides to see if the juror can be fair. It is an extremely lengthy process, as it should be. It is also extremely expensive as well as inconvenient to the jurors who are called in and have to leave their homes, jobs and families. Too bad Esparza couldn't do the Renteria case right the first time so we don't have to go through this ordeal twice. And to add insult to injury, this is not the first time Esparza has had to re-try a case.
If you look at Esparza's campaign finance report he has listed as a campaign expense taking the Flores jury out to eat. No pun intended, but is that Kosher? Esparza plays real loose with the rules and we get to pick up the tab when it backfires. It is also interesting to note that this is what he teaches his young attorneys to do and how to try and win a case. A few more years of Esparza and we will have created an entire generation of lawyers just like Esparza.
And on top of it all, re-trying a case at the punishment phase means that members of the Flores family will have to come in and relive and testify about their pain and grief ALL OVER AGAIN.
Elect a district attorney who knows how to try a clean case. Elect me, Theresa Caballero on March 4, 2008 in the Democratic Primary. Also, I will be constantly reminding you of the following: My inside sources at the El Paso Times say that Dionicio Flores is going to run a series of articles and editorials three weeks out from the election date blasting me. The Times and its puppeteers cannot afford to let me win because I don't play ball. I play fair. Make up your own mind. Don't be brainwashed. Tell everyone what Dionicio Flores at the Times is planning to do.
Now the community is having to pay for a second emotionally and financially costly trial because Esparza does not know or possess the skills to try a clean case that will withstand the appeals process.
Every good prosecutor knows that she must be very careful to stay away from evidence or conduct that will jeopardize the integrity of a trial. It is easy to get a guilty verdict when you play dirty and pull fast ones. The problem then becomes that the appeals courts will overturn the verdict because it was a product of a dirty trial. A skillfull and honest prosecutor knows where to go and where not to go. The name of the game is to never get greedy and to always protect the record from future attack. An honest and skillfull prosecutor can get a guilty verdict without resorting to dirty tricks.
You should know that when picking a jury for a death penalty case, the lawyers question each juror individually and sometimes for hours. The process takes days if not weeks and months. It requires hundreds of potential jurors to come in and be interviewed by both sides to see if the juror can be fair. It is an extremely lengthy process, as it should be. It is also extremely expensive as well as inconvenient to the jurors who are called in and have to leave their homes, jobs and families. Too bad Esparza couldn't do the Renteria case right the first time so we don't have to go through this ordeal twice. And to add insult to injury, this is not the first time Esparza has had to re-try a case.
If you look at Esparza's campaign finance report he has listed as a campaign expense taking the Flores jury out to eat. No pun intended, but is that Kosher? Esparza plays real loose with the rules and we get to pick up the tab when it backfires. It is also interesting to note that this is what he teaches his young attorneys to do and how to try and win a case. A few more years of Esparza and we will have created an entire generation of lawyers just like Esparza.
And on top of it all, re-trying a case at the punishment phase means that members of the Flores family will have to come in and relive and testify about their pain and grief ALL OVER AGAIN.
Elect a district attorney who knows how to try a clean case. Elect me, Theresa Caballero on March 4, 2008 in the Democratic Primary. Also, I will be constantly reminding you of the following: My inside sources at the El Paso Times say that Dionicio Flores is going to run a series of articles and editorials three weeks out from the election date blasting me. The Times and its puppeteers cannot afford to let me win because I don't play ball. I play fair. Make up your own mind. Don't be brainwashed. Tell everyone what Dionicio Flores at the Times is planning to do.
on December 12, 2007, 8:36 am
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