Border Blogs: Expressing our Border Culture

Mr. Lopez, Yesterday the US Attorney's office came down with 11 indictments against prominent members of El Paso's political community. Everyone knew all day long that it was going to be one of the biggest stories of the year. Knowing that, one would think that you would have taken the time to make sure that your usual shoddy product, with fact mistakes, typos, names misspelled, inaccurate quotes, etc., would not be the order of the day today. One would think that you would know the difference between the lawyers and the accused. Nope. That is too tall of an order for you. On page 11A, you have a list of "players" referring to the accused and on top of the description which includes the words, "charged with fraud, racketeering," you have lawyer Sib Abraham's picture, who is not accused of anything. He represents an accused person. Now you have published to the world that Sib Abraham is an alleged criminal, mug shot and all. Nice slander suit you may have there. I wonder what corporate would think? But you have been warned over and over again. Last year you and your reporter Darren Meritz, mishandled another one of Mr. Abraham's stories, the Kuchle case. You published that Mr. Kuchle was involved in the drug violence in Juarez when that was not the case AT ALL. A lawyer from Mexico City had to call you to correct your wrong and damaging publication. You are a menace. We have to write you about your terrible mistakes and your lies. This week a district court judge did. You and Marty Schladen were the butts of criticism on the radio, again, yesterday for your protective coverage of Veronica Escobar. When are you going to buckle down and run the shop correctly, starting with being there and then hiring talent. On a major news day, you were out to dinner with your family instead being at the paper burning the midnight oil, making sure things were done correctly. Not you. Steak first, facts second. Theresa Caballero Stuart Le ..

Below is an e-mail Stuart Leeds wrote to El Paso Times editor Chris Lopez regarding a story Lopez published today entitled "Paralegal, husband indicted in $1 million law-firm embezzlement." Read Stuart's e-mail to learn what Lopez and his reporter Maggie Ybarra intentionally left out of the story they published. After the e-mail, I have pasted Lopez' innacurate and slanted article so that you can compare information. RE: Paralegal, husband indicted in $1 million law-firm embezzlement‏ 7:57 AM Reply ▼ stuart leeds To chris lopez, milan simonich, mybarra@elpasotimes.com, Theresa McGill Mr. Lopez: How could you publish this story and not mention, not one time, the salient relationships, that by the way, the entire legal community and their families are aware of? This woman is being told she better plead to 40 years or else. And as Mr. Gibson correctly said, 40 years is more than what most murderers get. I would add, a lot more. So why the vehemence and the outrageous plea offer from Esparza? Because the alleged victims are his friends, political allies, and relatives of his lawyer, County Attorney Joanne Bernal. But then you should know all this. CA Bernal, Esparza's lawyer and friend who has made a career covering up for Esparza, is a close relative of complainant Bernal. Do you know what that relationship is, Mr. Lopez? And if you don't, why not? Shouldn't this have been a basic question asked and answered in your story? Oaxaca is the same Oaxaca on the Ethics Commission who votes continously to keep Joanne Bernal as the Commission's attorney thereby compromising the Commission's independence. This is a debate that has been raging for 6 months, a debate I am confident you know not one whit about. And as the editor of the newspaper, you don't care. The connections beteween the DA's office and the alleged victims are profound. Esparza should have disqualified himself from this prosecution. And as long as you continue to hire insipid reporting ..

Dorothy Jean McGill passed away on July 17, 2010, in the beauty and comfort of her home surrounded by her sister Mary Edwards and all of her five children who adored her. Her children, though living both near and far, considered it their greatest honor to walk alongside their mother, these last months, through the final mile marker in her life. She was 64 years old. Dorothy was born on October 27, 1945 in Denver, Colorado to Dr. Joseph John McGill, II (surgeon) and Dorothy Jean O'Grady McGill. She was number four of seven children. She is preceded in death by her father and by her sister Anne McGill Burford (Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency 1980-1981). Her remaining siblings are Mary Edwards of Severna Park, MD, Theresa Peace of Lincoln, NB, Veronica Urban of Santa Cruz, CA, Rosie Binge of Littleton, CO, and Joseph John McGill, III of Frisco, TX. Dorothy was a lifelong, devout Roman Catholic. She attended Mass daily, prayed the rosary, and was a patron of the Virgin and of St. Jude, often petitioning them for their mercy and intercession. At the age of seven, her parents took her to Mexico City where she celebrated her first Holy Communion at the main altar in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica. Dorothy was graduated from St. John the Evangelist gradeschool and St. Francis High School in Denver, CO. She was a champion swimmer and spring board diver, competing for years for the Denver Athletic Club. Through her family travels, she developed a life-long love for all things Mexican. She and her sisters as young girls spent many summers studying Spanish in Mexico City. Dorothy inspired in all of her children a great love for Mexico, its language and its culture. Dorothy attended her first year of college at St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. She did her second year at St. Joseph's College in Albuquerque, NM. She married in 1965 and divorced in 1988. She completed her college degree with a BA in Polit ..

Theresa Caballero Attorney at Law 300 E. Main St., Suite 1136 El Paso, TX 79901 915.565.3550 915.562.5250 fax Stuart L. Leeds Attorney at Law 1715 Wyoming Ave, El Paso, Texas 79902 July 7, 2010 Mr. Steve Ortega. Esq. El Paso, TX 79901 Dear Mr. Ortega: We understand that you will be reporting to the courthouse tomorrow to comply with your obligation of representing an indigent person accused of a crime. We have a copy of a letter you sent to the council of judges seeking to be released from that obligation. The rule, as you know, is pay $600 and be relieved of the duty, or keep your money and take the criminal case, which you will be paid for. Many lawyers who do not practice criminal law and who feel that they would not possess the requisite skills to represent a person in a criminal case pony up and pay the $600. Despite your written protests that you have “never handled a criminal case and do not feel comfortable morally or professionally doing so,” it appears that you will stick with your cash and take the appointment. This is a grave responsibility. Criminal cases are the most severe in our system. A person stands to lose his freedom, his right to bear arms (affecting his right to protect himself and his family), his right to vote, his right to hold office, his right to serve on a jury, his right to seek certain occupations, his right to compete for certain school loans. Everything is at stake for an accused person. How can you educate your children if you are in prison or a convicted felon? Generations of people stand to be harmed and pay the price for a criminal conviction. That is why the burden of proof in a criminal case, beyond a reasonable doubt, is the highest burden in American law. Another important point is that everyone who walks into court is presumed innocent and is absolutely entitled to that presumption and absolutely entitled to an attorney who will fight tooth and nail to preserve that presumption. Defenda ..

Here is an op-ed that Stuart leeds and I wrote and that appeared today, July 4, 2010, in the El Paso Times rebutting an op-ed City Reps Steve Ortega and Robert O'Rourke wrote about a case Stuart Leeds and I won last week. The case involved El Paso Police Sgt. Louis Johnson brutalizing our client, lying about it and the City Reps. Susie Byrd, Steve Ortega, Robert (Beto) O'Rourke an Mayor John Cook covering up for the problem. Details show complexity of case, weakness of DIMS in justice system By Stuart Leeds and Theresa Caballero \ Guest columnists Posted: 07/04/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT Last week, a jury returned in an hour with a not-guilty for our client. They then took the unprecedented step of writing a collective letter calling into question the El Paso Police Department and District Attorney Jaime Esparza's DIMS arrest program. City Reps. Ortega and O'Rourke wrote an op-ed condemning the court process, the basis of the jury's verdict and the jury's opinion. Here is what they omitted. It was Thanksgiving and our client was outside his apartment when his life changed forever. El Paso police Officer Louis Johnson had been dispatched to a domestic disturbance when he saw our client littering. Johnson, who was training Officer Moreno, totally abandoned the wife-beating call and became fixated on our client. Within minutes, Johnson had brutalized our client, entered his apartment without authority, and pulled his gun on the terrorized family. Johnson then arrested my client. Instead of taking him to a judge as per the law, Johnson called the district attorney, who said arrest him for assault on a peace officer (felony); here is the bond amount; don't take him to a judge before you take him to jail. That's too time-consuming. Skip the judge. This way, you get to be investigator, "victim," bond-setter and judge all at once. It's great. It's called DIMS. Reps. Ortega, O'Rourke, Byrd and Mayor Cook have consistently funded DA Esparza's DIMS despite ..