Michael Morris – In the Courts
I recently attended the trial of Jade Hicks (CR 09-1976 JH US District NM) for 2 felony assault counts, one of which alleges with a deadly weapon, to wit: beer stein, held in the US District Court in Albuquerque. This case gained some publicity as the beer stein incident during Oktoberfest 2007 at Holloman AFB. This case caught my attention when a relative of the Defendant informed me that the trial had been moved to Albuquerque from Las Cruces and not at the request of the Defendant. Thinking this odd I decided to attend the trial at the last minute. What jumped out at me during the trial and my initial review of other case documents was that the Government was lying to the judge about the words in its own evidentiary proffers brought by Assistant US Attorneys Shana Pennington and Jennifer Rozzoni in front of US District Judge Judith Herrera. The effect of these misrepresentations, when coupled with defense attorneys who appeared to merely to be in attendance at the trial, was a redefining of “No” into “Yes” trampling most existing law in most areas the tribunal trod. This is by no means my last word on this case – duh. What I urge the reader to focus on is not the guilt or innocence of the Defendant, but rather the means by which the prosecution secured the conviction in this case. If these tactics are ratified those of you concerned with your rights have one less concern in your lives.
