Mercy's Hearing-Larry Powell's recap & CBS 11's news story-OK to Cross Post

[Guest guest]

There was another court hearing today, and, once again, Larry Powell tells it

much better than I could. He's given me permission to forward his website

column entry to you. It's from www.ReadLarryPowell.com, and if you don't check

his site out every day, you really should.

 

TV channels 4, 5, 11, 33 and 23 (Univision) and a reporter from The Dallas

Morning News covered the hearing today. NBC 5 had a good story at 5 p.m., and

CBS 11 did the following story on their 6 p.m. newscast.

 

Please click the link below. It speaks for itself!

http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=19832 (AT) ktvt (DOT) dayport.com

 

The next court date is a hearing on August 17 at 9 a.m., and trial is still set

for September 24.

 

Thanks for your continued concern and interest. Jonnie

 

July16, 2007Today's Mercy hearing...

 

The Mercy Case was before a judge again today.

 

The state and the defense, probably until the case actually goesto court on

Sept. 24, will argue over motions to admit or motions to bar all sorts of things

in the animal cruelty case

 

DeShawn Quatrail Brown is accused of burning and fatally injuring Mercy the Pit

Bull.

 

At the noon hearing in Judge Mike Snipes' Criminal District Court No. 7, the

defendant, Mr. Brown, was in the courtroom with his attorney, Dan Wyde and

co-counsel Lee Westmoreland.

 

And, in anticipation of something TV-newsy occurring, so were a handful of TV

reporters and cameras. They set up their cameras in the back of the courtroom.

After the hearing they would move their operations to the hallway -- more on

that in a moment. Print reporters were present, too.

 

Animal supporters, for the most part, sat on the left side of the aisle and the

defendant's mother sat on the right, a few rows from the rail..

 

It was not a packed courtroom, but it was a large crowd for a motion hearing --

these " motion events " don't usually draw cameras and put backsides on the

benches..

 

Just about the first thing out of the chute today was the state's offer of a

plea bargain to Mr. Brown: 8 years in state prison and a $2,500fine. Assistant

DA David Alex made the offer in open court and the judge explained to the

defendant and the courtroom that Mr. Brown was in no way compelled to take the

offer. He is, the judge emphasized, presumed innocent and it is his right to

have a trial. So,when asked if he wanted the deal, Mr. Brown opted for a trial.

 

He could face 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine for a third degree felony

animal cruelty conviction -- or he could be found not guilty.

 

I'm not certain that, if found guilty, he would be eligible for probation under

Texas law since, according to testimony at a bond revocation hearing a couple of

weeks ago, he is already on probation in another state for an armed robbery

conviction.

 

The lawyer/judge work today involved making sure everybody was happy with their

" discovery " requests. The judge appeared satisfied that the defendant was

present --he had missed the last hearing (which, incidentally, had been the

first under Judge Snipes in this case).

 

Coincidentally, the defendant's mother, a youngish woman who,bless her heart, no

doubt would rather have been somewhere else, was sworn in as a witness,

Assistant District Attorney David Alex made the request. That puts her on the

prosecution's witness list, but that's just a formality. Her testimony will

decide whose " side " she is on.

 

She probably would have been a witness at some point in the case,but this gets

her into the legal loop and, as the judge told her, she is nowprohibited from

discussing the case with other witnesses. This might make things awfully quiet

at family dinners.

 

So, here's the skinny on legal action today: All the lawyers will play nice with

each other and cough up info to which each side is entitled, Mr.Brown will

continue to appear in court for hearings, there will be a pre-trial hearing

Sept. 20 to clean up last-minute motion issues or plea-bargain offersor other

things and the trial will begin on Sept. 24.

 

One issue not addressed was the defense request to see the financial records of

Operation Kindness, the shelter that had custody of the injured dog. Operation

Kindness' attorney Randall Turner was present and willing to discuss the issue

with the court. But the judge said he'd get to it at a later hearing.

 

In the judge's defense, these things never run as quickly as you hope and the

judge had recessed another case to make time for this case today.He was already

being pressed to keep his court running smoothly and on time.

 

That just about did it for the courtroom action -- i.e., where things REALLY

count in a case.

 

After the hearing, the TV people set up their cameras near the courtroom door in

hopes of getting the attorneys and the defendant on video.

 

Mr. Wyde came out of a back hallway door after a few minutes and all the TV

people grabbed their cameras off the tripods and rushed to where he was

standing.

 

A question in which a TV guy stumbled across the word " defendant " and appeared

to be confused (but probably wasn't) sparked Mr. Wyde into a somewhat

condescending discussion of constitutional law and how a person is presumed

innocent until proven guilty. This went on for a while and, bless the TV people,

they were polite and listened to his spiel. After all,they didn't want to

interrupt him and have him shut off the interview. There was some give-and-take

but the lawyer won the round -- sort of...I supposed he could always try to buy

the tape of the hallway session and turn it into a TV ad showing him lecturing

on the rights of a defendant not to be tried in the media. That'll play with

some people -- potential defendants with bank accounts, for example.

 

One question he was asked was why didn't his client take the plea bargain. And

he responded, " Why would Mr. Brown accept 8 years [in prison]if he is innocent? "

 

Mr. Wyde also took a little time to complain about trying cases in the media.

Speaking to the TV people, he suggested that they'd see that his client had

already been convicted in some " clippings. " A somewhat ticked TV reporter told

him, essentially, he needed to complain to the people who created the clippings.

I think she meant " talk to the print people, not us. "

 

The attorney also made a reference to a " change of venue " in the case, but this

seems somewhat unlikely since cases with afar higher profile are tried in

Dallas-- you only have to find a dozen jurors who swear that they'll pay

attention to the testimony and nothing else and that they'll give a defendant a

fair hearing..

 

One of the reporters asked about talking to Mr. Brown -- getting the defendant

on film --and the question was brushed aside.

 

So, the session ended and Mr. Wyde went back into the back hallway. The

reporters took their cameras back to the original place down the hall and, as

everyone was distracted by that, Mr. Wyde and his co-counsel raced Mr. Brown out

the hallways door and down a stairwell. Some of the TV camera people were swift,

but not swift enough to catch the foxy attorney and his crowd.

 

There are, at times, innocent people who would prefer not to look into the

camera and say, " I didn't do it. "

 

OK, so all that ended and the TV crews set up again to interview Randall Turner,

the Operation Kindness lawyer. He was asked about the defense motion to seek

financial records from the animal shelter that had become the focal point of

donations and, the defense thinks, got tips regarding Mercy's attacker.

 

Without lecturing the TV people about constitutional rights, the congenial and

charming Mr. Turner, who also is president of the Texas Humane Legislation

Network, said the motion " seems harassing to me " and an invasion of the privacy

of donors. He also said he had no problem submitting the names of people who had

provided tips in the Mercy case.

 

All of that will be ruled on at a later date.

 

OUR SUMMATION: Ladies and gentlemen, what we are watching here is a judge

overseeing attorneys who are putting together a recipe for a trial. Both sides

have their own ingredients list -- the judge rules on whether an ingredient is

too spicy or too sweet. Then, on Sept. 24, they turn on the heat and things

begin to really get cookin'.

 

The state will have to prove that (a) a crime occurred and (b)that the accused

is guilty of committing that crime. The defense has to prove nothing. But it is

the defense's job to demonstrate that nothing the state says is true. Again, the

defense has to prove nothing, but it does have to persuade the jury that the

state has the wrong person on trial.

 

THE VICTIM, THE LAWS: Come Sept. 24, when Judge Snipes gavels the case underway,

the victim will not be in the court. She died not long after she was attacked..

This pup, Mercy, burned and bewildered, died while undergoing treatment.

 

Mercy's ashes were spread in a memorial garden on the grounds of Operation

Kindness.

 

Texas, finally, has laws that say the lives of animals mean something, that you

can't torture them and that you can't treat them as inanimate objects. This case

could be seen as symbol of the hard work that went into making those laws a

reality.

 

July16, 2007

 

Jonnie England

Executive Director

Operation Kindness

3201 Earhart Drive

Carrollton, TX 75006

972-418-PAWS

www.operationkindness.org

 

STOP ANIMAL ABUSE...FOR MERCY'S SAKE.