“This is the second time since Friday a notice/order to appear within less than three days notice has been given. This order could very well cost him his job.” – Jake Carrizal’s lawyer
Houston attorney Casie Gotro heating up pre-trial fight with Judge
Waco – In a sweeping decision, the judge denied a motion to stay the first Twin Peaks trial pending his recusal and ordered the defendant to appear on Thursday, something his lawyer says could very well cost Bandido Jake Carrizal his job as a locomotive engineer.
He is the first of 155 defendants facing indictment and trial for murder conspiracy as a result of engaging in organized criminal activity on May 17, 2017 at Twin Peaks Restaurant.
19th Criminal District Court Judge Ralph T. Strother filed an order for Carrizal and his attorney to appear within minutes after Casie Gotro defied a previous order to report for a status conference he called for today, Tuesday, August 22, at 9 am on this case. She cited her motion to stay the proceedings and the motion for his removal from the case as her reason, and the fact that she has a responsibility to represent multiple other clients at Houston. The order to appear he filed is marked a few minutes after 10 am.
The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the mechanics and procedures to be followed during jury selection and at trial. Failure toappear and comply with this Order will result in the forfeiture of the Defendant’s bond and the isuance of a capias for his arrest. The Court reserves the right to take any further action permitted by law, including contempt and sanctions against the Defense, to enforce the Order of the the Court. – Judge Ralph T. Strother
Strother’s order is defective under the rules of both civil and criminal procedure, according to Carrizal’s lawyer.
“The order to appear doesn’t give Jake the standard “in any event” notice,” Ms. Gotro pointed out. “This order could very well cost him his job.” She cited Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21, which requires that any order civil or criminal requires a “bare minimum of three days; in many cases, depending on the type of proceeding, more notice is required.”
An application to the court for an order and notice of any hearing thereon, not presented during a hearing or trial, shall be served upon all other parties not less than three days before the time specified for the hearing, unless otherwise provided by these rules or shortened by the court.- Rule 21, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
Ms. Gotro also filed a motion for discovery under the Brady Rule requiring all exculpatory evidence that could lead to the acquittal of Carrizal. Such a motion requires the State to comply with the Michael Morton Law, passed following the finding of a Court that the prosecutor withheld evidence that proved the innocence of the defendant in the murder of a Georgetown woman. Her husband, Michael Morton, served more than two decades before a judge overturned his conviction and sentenced a District Judge who was acting as a prosecutor at the time of his trial to serve time in the penitentiary. He was stripped of his right to practice law and lost his position on the bench as a result.