The sharpshooter who wasn't

To contact us Click HERE
A DPS sharpshooter in a helicopter aiming to take out the tires of a fleeing pickup truck missed and killed two undocumented immigrants in Hidalgo County, causing the local DA to request that DPS quit shooting at fleeing cars from helicopters. The term "sharpshooter" seems misplaced in describing such an episode; mere "shooter" would be more accurate. Notably, the Houston Chronicle reported, "a nationally known use-of-force expert has said he had never heard of a U.S. law enforcement agency with a similar policy." Compare this episode to an Austin case where an officer was recently fired for shooting at a fleeing vehicle. After the US Supreme Court issued Tennessee v. Garner back in the '80s, most local law enforcement agencies changed their policies on shooting at fleeing vehicles and DPS' approach seems like an odd, outdated throwback.

MORE (11/03): DPS now says the agency employed this tactic for fear that the speeding truck would soon enter an area with schools where children might be endangered. The audio from the chase was released to the media, and it cuts both ways. To DPS' credit, it contradicted earlier reports that DPS troopers were able to tell that people were in the back of the truck. The troopers involved in the chase declared, mistakenly, that "bundles" (i.e., drugss) were under the tarp. OTOH, I just listened to the audio clip up to point of the shooting and nobody ever mentioned schools or children. If that was part of the decision making process, as DPS now asserts, it wasn't discussed by any of the DPS personnel actively involved in the chase.

DPS has asked the FBI to investigate the incident, so stay tuned. This ain't over. 

AND MORE: One more notable aspect to the audio file keeps nagging at me. Dispatchers asked repeatedly right after the shooting whether there were any injuries, whether they should send an ambulance, etc., to which personnel at the scene responded with six minutes of radio silence on the subject. After someone on the ground finally answered, yes there were injuries, the dispatcher sarcastically asked if in the future "can we call him on the phone if he's not going to answer the radio?" Can you imagine those intense six minutes? What goes through a trooper, game warden or police officer's mind as the dispatcher's question rings out, unanswered over the radio - "Are there any injuries?" "Do you need an ambulance?"- all the while with the bodies of two sniper victims laying in the back of the truck? The living vehicle occupants had bailed at the 9:30 mark on the audio, and at least one had already been caught before the eleven minute mark; on-the-scene personnel confirmed the injuries at the 17:12 mark. Were there officers at the scene - troopers or perhaps from the game warden or other agencies - who could or should have seen these injured folks but delayed responding, perhaps panicked at their mistake over the cargo? There were 10 to 12 units at the scene, one officer estimated. Wouldn't somebody have looked in the truck bed that minutes earlier they thought was carrying a dope load? Those are the sorts of questions, one supposes, the FBI will be burrowing into soon.

Fifteen of 250 men executed under Rick Perry faced death declaring innocence

To contact us Click HERE
The Texas Tribune this week published an infographic providing comprehensive data about each of the 250 executions under Governor Rick Perry's watch, the most recent of which occurred on Halloween. One of the information elements included was each of the offenders' last statements, which this morning I examined in some detail. Many Texas capital offenders faced death silently; others said goodbye to family and friends. Some prayed or recited scripture. A significant number expressed repentance and/or begged forgiveness from victims' families. But a significant minority of those 250 men faced death declaring their innocence - 15, to be precise, or six percent, by Grits' count. Those were:

2001: Mack Hill
2002: Robert Coulson, Richard Kutzner (“If Mr. McDougal had allowed the DNA evidence, I would be exonerated”), William Chappell
2004: Cameron Todd Willingham
2005: Luis Ramirez
2006: Derrick Frazier
2007: Roy Pippin
2008: Gregory Wright, Elkie Taylor
2009: Willie Pondexter
2011: Cary Kerr, Steven Woods
2012: Keith Thurmond, Jonathon Green

That list excludes those who claimed innocence by self-defense, including only those who said flatly some version of "I'm innocent," "I didn't do it," "They got the wrong guy." Some suggested alternative suspects, begging to tell victims' families who really did it just before the needle went in.

Todd Willingham is on that list, claiming his innocence and cursing his ex-wife to the bitter end. Carlos DeLuna predated it. Those are the two names one most frequently hears associated with claims that an innocent person has been executed. And Grits wouldn't be surprised if many or most of those claiming innocence on their death-bed (I guess a gurney is a bed) turned out to be lying, for reasons as twisted as their acts, or at least more culpable than they claim, even if I can't understand the motive for dissembling at that late hour. But all of them? At that final, moment of truth?

Of course, Grits has argued that the public wouldn't reduce its support for the death penalty even if it were definitively proven that an innocent person had been executed, but that's a debate for another day. In the meantime, let me know your opinion in the comments: What are the chances Texas executed an innocent person on Rick Perry's watch?

Victim recants child abuse allegations vs. former SA police officer

To contact us Click HERE
The latest possible Texas innocence case to make the news involved an ex-cop convicted of child molestation. A victim recantation calls into question the sexual-assault conviction of a former San Antonio police officer, the SA Express-News reported ("After 13 years in prison, ex-cop may be innocent," Nov. 3). The article opened:

For the past 13 years, retired San Antonio Police Officer Frank Navarijo, 73, has sat in prison — serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of repeatedly raping a 5-year-old female relative.

Friday, his accuser recanted. For now, Navarijo remains in Bexar County Jail.

The now 20-year-old Texas State University student's outcry and subsequent testimony during the 1999 trial were lies fed to her by her manipulative grandmother, the woman testified Friday as Navarijo's attorneys asked state District Judge Maria Teresa Herr to recommend that the jury verdict be overturned.

Herr is not expected to issue a recommendation for months to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will ultimately decide the matter.

“I just wanted to set the record straight,” the woman said. “For whatever reasons, which I do not know, she (the grandmother) hated (Navarijo). She did have a fair amount of control over me.

“From what I remember, she ... would basically sit there and tell me, ‘This is what (Navarijo) did to you,'” the woman continued. “It happened gradually, over time as I grew up.”

Yikes! An ex-cop convicted of child molestation wouldn't have had an easy time in prison. Definitely a habeas petition and possible innocence case to watch in the coming year. See the full story for more details.

Trista Sutter's silhouette by Dr. Franklin and Cindi Rose by E.D. Woods

To contact us Click HERE

Trista Sutter’s sculpting by Dr. Franklin and Cindi Rose

Lucky for the Bachelorette’s and Bachelor’s that Erica Rose’s father is famous plastic surgeon Dr. Franklin Rose, and her mom is noted silhouette artist, Cindi Rose. It makes the contestants and winners look and stay beautiful. Recently, the first reality Bachelorette, Trista Sutter, met up with Bachelor legal star, Erica Rose, and discussed her wanting an updated look. Although Erica thought Trista looked beautiful, she referred her to her father (who would never operate on his family). Trista had been admiring Emily Maynard’s plastic surgery, and did not want to be Bachelorette history. For her first meeting, in Franklin Rose’s hometown, Aspen, Colorado, Trista drove in from Vail. The petite beauty was met by Franklin and Cindi Rose.

As always, Cindi took out her surgical scissors and in a minute sculpted the world’s darling’s profile. Trista loved it, and signed it with her good-valued signature. Trista commented that her children would love Cindi Rose’s artwork. Her real concerns however was, a drop of fat, droopy eyes, and breasts that were not what they were pre-children.

Franklin Rose, a board-certified MD, who studied at Yale, Manhattan Eye and Ear, and Baylor College of Medicine, booked the soon to be 40 year-old at his doctor owned surgical center, First Street in Houston, Texas.

Trista got small breast implants, and the tired look erased from her lovely blue eyes with upper and lower eye lifts. In her pre and post-op photos it appears that she may have had liposuction. Word is that there is a room in The Rose Home devoted to patient care, and that after a luxurious stay at First Street Hospital (with culinary meals and wait staff), patients recover with Cindi Rose’s low-fat, organic nutritious meals and care. No wonder, the most beautiful men and women in the country get on Bachelor and Bachelor Pad, they have a connection—Erica Rose’s father. Unlike what people would think, Erica’s perfect size 4, 5’ 8” figure is natural. Her mother and grandmother where former beauty contest winners, and it is a natural for Erica. Read Life & Style Weekly to see Trista’s before and after plastic surgery photos and decide yourself, if she did or did not also have liposuction. I think somewhere there is also word that there could be a book coming out about parenting, and being in love, penned by no-other than America’s darling, Trista Sutter!

YOU ARE INVITED to Karen and Roland Garcia's Annual Halloween Bash and Light Show - Sat. Oct. 27th, 2012

To contact us Click HERE
YOU ARE INVITED to Karen and Roland Garcia's Annual Halloween Bash and Light Show - Sat. Oct. 27th, 2012
Can you believe it’s Halloween again!  Ready for some scary fun?!
You and your guest are invited to Karen and Roland Garcia’s Annual Halloween Bash and Light Show on Saturday, October 27th from 7:00 p.m. to midnight at their home, 46 East Rivercrest, Houston, TX 77042.   Costumes are preferred.  The light show will start at 8:30 p.m., with different shows every hour.   You will not want to miss it!  There will be tricks, treats, food, drinks, a photo booth, silhouettes, astrology readings, complimentary valet for parking, and more.    Contributions in any amount are encouraged at the door, but are not required, to the Holly Rose Ribbon Foundation, a nonprofit organization which provides help for uninsured and underinsured cancer patients of all ages and genders including psychological support, alternative wellness treatments, free reconstructive surgery and free wigs in the US and globally. 

Please RSVP your attendance and the name of your guest to Patty Finch at finchp@gtlaw.com or call Patty at 713-374-3544.  We look forward to seeing you on October 27th!
Hope you can come!!

Roland Garcia
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig, LLP | 1000 Louisiana Street | Suite 1700 | Houston, TX 77002
Tel 713.374.3510 | Fax 713.754.7510 | Cell 713.598.6284 GarciaR@gtlaw.com | www.gtlaw.com

False confessions and 'corroboration inflation'

To contact us Click HERE
Forensic pscyhologist Dr. Karen Franklin has a thoughtful post on the effects of false confessions on experts' analysis of evidence and on legal actors in the justice system. Yes, she says, false confessions have "produced profound miscarriages of justice," but:

What if, once police elicit a false confession from a suspect, it contaminates everything and everyone in touches -- from the prosecutor, the judge, and even the suspect's own attorney all the way to the fingerprint identification and even, perhaps, the DNA match?

That is the troubling thesis raised by Saul Kassin, a pioneer in the psychological study of false confessions, in an article in the current issue of the American Psychologist.
 
"Corroboration inflation"

Research shows us that such a contaminating effect is plausible. For example:

• Fingerprint experts who were told the suspect had confessed were more likely to change their opinion and make an incorrect match, as compared with experts who were told the suspect was already in custody at the time of the crime
• Polygraph examiners were significantly more likely to opine that an inconclusive chart showed deception when they were told the suspect had confessed.

Such findings may extend to other forensic science that requires subjective judgments, Kassin argues, including comparative analyses of ballistics, hair and fiber, shoeprints, tire tracks, handwriting and even DNA.

See the rest of the post for more and also an abstract of the academic article she based it on.

Travis County demonstrating efficacy of personal bonds v. commercial bail

To contact us Click HERE
The Austin Chronicle's Jordan Smith has an extensive piece on Travis County's expanded use of validated risk assessments and personal bonds under Travis County's adult probation chief Geraldine Nagy ("Your word is your bond," Oct. 12), which included these notable figures:

In 2010, Nagy's pretrial services staff screened more than 40,000 defendants in the Travis County jail, to determine who might be eligible for a personal bond. Only a discrete class of defendants is automatically ineligible – including those charged with capital crimes and those who've violated parole or forfeited a previous bond. In all, roughly 32,000 of those screened made it to a full-fledged pretrial investigation, for which staff collects references, conducts a background check, and considers a variety of issues – including employment status and family support – that might suggest whether a defendant will show for court or be rearrested. The agency then makes a recommendation to the courts about whether the person should be granted a personal bond. In 2010, 63% of defendants released pretrial were released on personal bond. That same year the agency posted a court failure-to-appear rate of 13% and a rearrest rate of 14%, according to annual reports the agency is required to file. In contrast, that same year defendants released on commercial bond failed to appear in court 20% of the time, according to information collected by Travis County.

Nagy believes the FTA and rearrest numbers will shrink with the introduction in November of a research-based risk-assessment tool, designed and validated specifically for Travis County defendants, in order to help her staff more objectively determine a person's likelihood of success if released on personal bond. "That's really consistent with all the research on decision-making. ... These tools do significantly better than just the person" making a decision, Nagy says. "Making a pretrial decision without risk assessment is like playing golf in the fog."

Attorneys for bail bond companies, who were quoted extensively in the story, claimed their failure to appear (FTA) rate was lower - more like 2% compared to the county's 13%. By contrast, Smith reported, Travis County calculated that clients of commercial bail companies posted failure to appear rates of 20% and 17% in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

From a mathematical perspective, it makes sense to me that, used widely along with a validated risk assessment, personal bonds would have lower FTA rates. In general, most people will just show up for court, especially if pretrial services supports that tendency with a multimedia program of reminders (phone calls, texts, emails, snail mail, etc.). If the risk assessment can accurately identify folks who are likely to show up anyway, then the bail-bond industry's client pool would consist of people judged by pretrial services to pose a higher risk of flight. Thus, if used widely, you'd expect the FTA rate for bail bond clients - almost by definition, if the risk-assessment instrument is doing its job - to be higher than the lower-risk folks judged eligible for release on their own recognizance. But until Travis County began issuing personal bonds for the majority of defendants (63% in 2010) released pretrial, creating a large enough pool to make a valid comparison, one could only speculate: Someone had to test the theory and document the results. Now Nagy has demonstrated it can work.

One also can see outlines of potential legislative reforms suggested in the story, at a minimum requiring bail-bond agents to produce reporting and documentation on their clients' outcomes comparable to the records published by pretrial services. I've been around these blocks for several years and agree with Nagy that the lack of reporting on the commercial bail side often frustrates any serious mathematical analysis of county-level outcomes. This is a long-standing issue affecting many counties, and generating public data sufficient to make apples to apples comparisons between bail-bond companies and pretrial services could be an important first step toward shifting the debate from the sort of animated hype and misinformation put out by the bail-bond attorneys quoted in the story to a discussion animated by data and outcomes. Hype aside, what works? Is there data to prove it? Nagy's suggestion to require bail agents to submit reporting comparable to reporting requirements for pretrial services is to me a stroke of genius: That would resolve a lot of the confusion surrounding the elusive apples to apples outcomes for pretrial services and commercial bail. ("'Data data, data,' he cried impatiently, 'I cannot make bricks without clay.'")

Excellent reporting from Jordan Smith (read the whole thing), and I hope Dr. Nagy succeeds in making Travis' expanded use of personal bonds a model for its sister jurisdictions around the state. Folks in other Texas counties should pay heed: When administered through a validated risk assessment, personal bonds don't reduce the likelihood defendants appear in court - which after all is the purpose of bail - and save huge sums in reduced incarceration costs at county jails.