tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post116666061209999053..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Blog debate: Should/does Dallas DA have "open file" policy?Gritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166815426327631842006-12-22T13:23:00.000-06:002006-12-22T13:23:00.000-06:00There's the rub. Trying to get the public or the l...There's the rub. Trying to get the public or the legislature to care about the rights of the accused until it's them in the dock (Pardon the British reference). No one seems to care either about indigent defense until it's their poor child, cousin, parent, spouse (take your pick) who's in jail or detention. Then they're all for having a lawyer appointed to represent them or their loved one.<BR/><BR/>It's one thing that adult defendants are faced with trial by ambush, but how many people realize that one of the juvenile justice reforms of the 90s was to put them under criminal (ie, not entitled to squat) discovery rules instead of the broader civil discovery rules juvenile cases were tried under prior to that? All the while the fiction is recited that juvenile cases are 'civil' in nature. Fortunately, most juvenile prosecutors I've known have an open file policy, but that's just one county and not required by law. So endeth my rant for now...John D. McLauchlanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13139882286711891724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166799282311427532006-12-22T08:54:00.000-06:002006-12-22T08:54:00.000-06:00Jamie, to be fair that use of the word "broader" w...Jamie, to be fair that use of the word "broader" was the reporter's paraphrase. Moore's quote said "Here's my file, you're welcome to everything in it."<BR/><BR/>What I took from the story was that they'd do something similar to Tarrant. Mind you, I haven't seen Tarrant's policy, but if you read <A HREF="http://dallasobserver.com/blogs/?p=1993" REL="nofollow">this Unfair Park piece</A>, the attorneys who practice in both counties seem to think it's a lot better than Dallas.<BR/><BR/>you're right, most folks would be shocked, and are, when it's them in the defendant's chair.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166795306528014132006-12-22T07:48:00.000-06:002006-12-22T07:48:00.000-06:00I find the use of the phrase by Ms. Moore saying s...I find the use of the phrase by Ms. Moore saying she anticipates implementing “a broader open file policy” interesting. “Broader?” Shouldn’t “open file” mean everything? <BR/><BR/>As long as you have prosecutors deciding how “broadly” to open their files to the defense, you will still have problems.<BR/><BR/>The only real long term solution here is a statute mandating that prosecutors copy everything in their file and give it to the defense lawyer. Follow that up with a statutory prohibition against the introduction of anything related to “things” not turned over to the defense, and you’ll have prosecutors tripping over themselves providing discovery.<BR/><BR/>Folks out in the general public would be shocked (they always are when I tell them, anyway) that the defense does not have a right to everything in the State’s file.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://blog.austindefense.com" REL="nofollow"> Jamie</A>AustinDefensehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517001297095830247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166739736546456402006-12-21T16:22:00.000-06:002006-12-21T16:22:00.000-06:00This all explains, yet again, why we once said "ne...This all explains, yet again, why we once said "never get caught in Texas."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166735566266559352006-12-21T15:12:00.000-06:002006-12-21T15:12:00.000-06:00Houston is worse than any other city in Texas. The...Houston is worse than any other city in Texas. The Prosecutor's office should have to follow the same rules, but they seem to think they are there own country and can do whatever they wish. There is not telling how many innocent people they have sent to prison due the the DA of Harris County and he should be sitting on a bench in some priosn himself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166702491518394592006-12-21T06:01:00.000-06:002006-12-21T06:01:00.000-06:00My a name is Anita I came to the realization of th...My a name is Anita I came to the realization of the broken down Texas Prison System when my 16 year old son was charged with murder on May 14, 2005 and then with the aide of juvenile detention officers on May 29, 2005 my son was let out. He was found on June 11, 2005 sitting on bench at a High School in San Diego, California. He was extradited back to Abilene, TX two weeks later after Governor Rick Perry signed his ticket back to Texas. He was certified to stand trial as an adult on December 19, 2005 and was transferred to the Taylor County Jail and incarcerated amongst adult men. So my nightmare begins into a journey that enlightened me into the racial disparities of the Texas legal System. I started collecting stories while waiting to visit my son at the Juvenile Detention Center, and any where else I had the opportunity to, my son was also collecting stories when one day he met Moishe a 15 year old youth whom was brought in to the juvenile detention center on July 11, 2005 and was also being charged with murder. One day Moishe was visiting with his mother Deborah when my son in his desperate plea for help screamed thru the air-duct vents where Moishe and Deborah sat visiting "Call my mom! Call my mom!" Deborah and Moishe astonished as to what they were hearing she scribbled the number on her arm. That’s when two determined mothers joined forces and the WEST TEXAS BEAT was established. With the assistance of the Southeastern Christian Association www.southeasternchristianassociation.org a nonprofit, human rights organization based in Houston, Texas. The national president is Dr. LeRoy Gillam with his Executive Assistant Zena D. Crenshaw, presently a lawyer before the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Executive Director of National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc. (NJCDLP) as well as The American Whistleblowers' League, a project of NJCDLP. [See: www.government-insiders-forum.org] Her own record of being professionally disciplined for publicly alleging judicial misconduct is a subject of www.focus-on-indiana.org Zena is also an administrator for The High Grass Council which manages the national "Speak Up" campaign featured at www.wespeakup.org. Our journey began into the broken down desperate lives of mother’s, sisters, brothers, and families that had been torn apart by the cruel Texas system of manufacturing our children into the dark and intricate world of incarceration. A web-site for the residence of Taylor County Tx was established to collect the many horror stories throughout the “Friendly Frontier”. www.westtexasbeat.net. On October 11, 2006 a lawsuit was filed in the Northern District Court of Texas under Moishe Curtis Turner by his mother and next best friend, Deborah Johnson and Juan Manuel Albarado by his mother and next best friend Anita Guajardo, challenging the long sitting District Attorney James Eidson in his personal capacity and not as District Attorney of Taylor County and his Closed File Policy. Moishe Curtis Turner (black youth) was certified to stand trial as an adult on October 19, 2005 and transferred to the adult County Jail in Taylor County Abilene, Tx where he has been denied his education and put in lock-down behind tobacco many times; he is still awaiting his trial. Juan Manuel Albarado (hispanic youth) was certified to stand trial as an adult on December 19, 2005 and transferred to the adult County Jail in Taylor County Abilene, Tx where he has been assaulted twice by adults and put in lock-down continuously for tobacco; he is still awaiting his trial.<BR/> ____________________ <BR/>Anita GuajardoManuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12856555338078843124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1166664264234765662006-12-20T19:24:00.000-06:002006-12-20T19:24:00.000-06:00Great coverage Scott. You got to the bottom of th...Great coverage Scott. You got to the bottom of this mess very fast - and from Austin!Mike Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18111524970633256292noreply@blogger.com