Johnson vows to weed out loser cases, prosecute the assaultive
Waco – Which lever do you pull, which button to push when it comes to ridding a jurisdiction of a DA bent on criminally negligent practice?
Barry Johnson, a hometown barrister Texas “Monthly” labeled one of the state’s “super lawyers,” says he’s willing to answer the question, but it will take time, thought, intensive study.
After all, the situation is very rare.
But he’s got news for the motorcycle enthusiasts targeted by the Twin Peaks prosecutors and their boss, elected DA Abel Reyna.
“If elected, job one will be to assemble a staff of experts on probable cause, indictments, discovery – every aspect of criminal litigation. We will work to evaluate every single charge.
“The goal will be to eliminate the cases with no valid basis in fact.”
The way he says it, it makes one believe he means it.
He points to the 100 civil rights cases filed in Austin’s U.S. District Courts, the pending 154 criminal cases awaiting trial by jury, the face that the taxpayers ultimately will be left holding the bag to indemnify Abel Reyna, a man he says “made a horrible mistake” when he became a witness in each and every one of the indictments.
“That nullifies his ability to serve as prosecutor.”
It was Reyna’s decision to stop the police investigation and have a detective with no personal knowledge of the 177 “fill-in-the-blank” affidavits that do not cover the essential elements of a charge.
He recites the well-known “four corners” of the instrument prepared for a Magistrate’s signature in any criminal proceeding. 1) Venue and date, on or about; 2) name of the accused; 3) probable cause; 4) elements of the offense.
The affidavits presented to the Grand Jurors who indicted Twin Peaks defendants lack the elements of probable cause and the elements of the offense.
That is something that can be straightened out.
“Reyna has too much of a vested interest,” he declared.
Furthermore, a Court Of Inquiry scheduled for a future date to determine if Manuel Chavez engaged in perjury when he signed the affidavits and if Abel Reyna committed aggravated perjury “is probably the best way” to handle it. When Reyna lied on the witness stand about the admonishment he claimed he gave Chavez to familiarize himself thoroughly with all the elements of the alleged offenses he committed a felony crime; Chavez committed a misdemeanor when he signed an oath stating he has personal knowledge of the offenses, something he later recanted.
When recalled to the witness stand, Chavez later denied any such conversation took place.
For starters, that’s his best thinking on how the mechanisms of the law will work to remove Reyna from the legal scene as anything other than a defendant.
In mentioning it, he praised Dallas lawyer F. Clinton Broden, who has successfully petitioned a Dallas District Judge for the inquiry on behalf of his client.
As to describing other means, he has to work on it.
“But there is one way the voters can act and get Reyna out of there,” he said. “Vote him out.”
We look forward to his video statement explaining the various legal procedures available. That one will take time.
We have plenty of that.
So mote it be.
- The Legendary
FOR A GOOD TIME, CLICK HERE:
http://www.barryjohnsonforda.com/