Millie Thompson with Antonio Buehler, an Austin activist videographer she represented in a case of depicting cops in an act of brutality
Waco – An Austin attorney intends to file a memorandum of law in support of the disqualification of elected Criminal District Attorney Abel Reyna and his staff that alleges “conflicts of interest, bias, prejudice, and acts of professional misconduct,” including the failure of his two co-counsel in the current prosecution of Bandido Jake Carrizal to provide the defense with exculpatory evidence of their interviews with federal law enforcement “against Reyna.”
Millie Thompson represents Paul Landers, an Austin business man and motorcycle enthusiast who serves as the state coordinator for the Confederation of Clubs and Independents, in his indictment for engaging in organized criminal activity at an ill-fated meeting of that organization that resulted in his arrest among 177 other defendants, the death of 9 men and wounding of 20 others at Twin Peaks Restaurant on May 17, 2015.
In her legal memo, Ms. Thompson alleges, “Michael Jarrett, who interviewed with federal law enforcement officials against Reyna within the last 5 years regarding the preferential treatment of defendants in exchange for campaign contributions, failed to provide the defense with Brady notice of those acts of politically motivated prosecutorial bias. Amanda Dillon also interviewed with federal law enforcement on those allegations, and she failed to provide the defense with Brady notice of Reyna’s politically motivated prosecutorial bias.”
The two prosecutors, who serve as lead and second chair in the trial team currently at bar in the Carrizal case and are slated to prosecute Landers, are guilty of shielding Reyna due to his financial interest in the 154 indictments, according to the complaint, as are all other members of the DA’s staff.
Precedent setting cases hold that it is the duty of prosecutors to obtain justice, not just to seek convictions. This among numerous other citations propound allegations including engaging in ex parte communication with 19th Criminal District Judge Ralph T. Strother in order to serve a warrant of search on her client Landers, political opportunism in dismissing cases against political campaign contributors, and other forms of influence peddling as the reasons supporting the across the board request for disqualification of the DA and his staff in the Twin Peaks cases.