DeLay seeks new judge in money-laundering case

[racaulk]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/21/delay.court.ap/index.html

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Rep. Tom DeLay appeared in court Friday for the first time since indictment, but arraignment on conspiracy and money laundering charges was delayed pending a hearing on his request for a new judge in the politically-charged case.

DeLay, who has stepped aside at least for the time being as House majority leader, did not speak during the brief court session, and was not called on to make a plea.

But at a news conference shortly afterward, he attacked the prosecutor in the case as politically motivated, and said, "I will absolutely be exonerated."

Inside the courtroom, Judge Bob Perkins told defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin that "the best way for me to handle" the request for a new judge would be to defer further proceedings.

<--snip-->

[INdemo]

1. Tom Delay will walk..

these charges will be dismissed Why? pretty simple..now he gets a Republican Judge.......The media will build this up like it was a life and death story....

[bunny planet]

4. Unless he manages to get one of the Republican judges he's bought

and paid for already, he could get another judge who will have had it with his illegal shenanigi. Remember the Republican judge who ruled against the fundies in the Terry Schiavo case. I think there are a lot of Republicans who would like to get out from the yoke of Hot Tub Tom too. He can't be well liked even among his own.

[tsuki]

21. Maybe, he will just get a Republican judge who takes his job

seriously, not politically.

[meganmonkey]

13. What makes you think he 'gets a Republican judge'?

Especially since Tom Delay's lawyers are flat-out lying about Move On?

[Uben]

2. Let me guess...Harriet Miers NT

n/t

[Botany]

3. Go for it Tom

because according to you and your lawyer it is:

1. Ronnie Earle's fault
2. Democrats' fault (will not say the word democratic .... punk)
3. MoveOn.org's fault
4. the judge's fault
5. the criminalization of politics fault (gee, I remember monica & the b.j.)


Dig your own grave & jump in ...... (the Abrahamof stuff is still pending)
"They" have the checks Tom ...... should have taken the deal.

[rodeodance]

5. lets go judge shopping.

[bunny planet]

6. Yup.

Hi Botany!
:hi:

[Botany]

12. If I was the judge and DeLay & his lawyer questioned my fairness .....

"Well you can use that on appeal if you wish but I will hear this
case and do my job fairly. Next motion."




Bunny Planet did you see this?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5121806

[bunny planet]

17. Dayam I couldn't listen to most of Mama's broadcast today.

I'll be podcasting later. Thanks for the heads-up Botany.
BTW, it's been a long time since you've mentioned I'm your favorite KOEB/EDV (forget what the second one stands again, estrogen .....? vixen)

[snappyturtle]

7. Whine.....

if you listened to the reason Delay wants a different judge it's politics. He says the judge gave money to Moveon.org which sells t-shirts with Tom Delay's mug shot on them. Go to Thinkprogress.org to read its article on the subject. Think Progress links to Moveon.org to PROVE they do not sell such shirts!!! Poor Judge Perkins
seems unaware of this!? If Delay is SO innocent, as he claims, why does Judge Perkins pose such a threat? It seems to me it would be in Delay's best "innocent" interest to win in such a court rather than a rabidly Repub one. Guess Tommie Boy needs more time to cook the books.

[kurth]

8. DeLay is politicizing the judiciary

It's doubtful that his motion will go far. Like Ronnie Earle, Perkins has a reputation for coming down hard on both Democrats and Republicans.

[Norquist Nemesis]

18. This tactic of DeLays just might bite him in the ass!!

DeLay's Defense of "It's the DEMONcats; They're persecut'n me. WHaaaaa!" vs. a simple "the truth will be told and facts will show I am innocent of all charges" cannot gain favor with the judge. A good judge is fair and follows the rules of law, regardless of political affiliation.

Nice to hear Perkins seems to be a fair and honest judge. :)

[henslee]

9. Earle had to see this one coming. Frankly, the request is an insult

to the judge. I think it reeks of desperation. I am not worried. I think enough of the proverbial can of beans will be opened that all sorts of crap will come out no matter the judge or venue. These guys stink and everyone will soon know it.

[indypaul]

19. If Delay's attorney made

those comments (lies) in his motion for new judge. One can
only hope that Earle will make judge aware of this and let
the judge deal with it. Not a pretty picture for attorney
to lie to the court.

[preciousdove]

10. Judge shopping (and buying) is TX SOP isn't it? n/t

[tridim]

11. Will Delay be able to hand pick his jury too?

To make sure they are all hard core Republicans?

This is a total mockery of the justice system, and should not be legal. Yet apparently it is. I call BS.

[twaddler01]

26. it SHOULDNT be legal

...

[Blaq Dem]

14. Poor Tommie. Too bad we always can't have what we want.

lol

I'd like this country to be controlled by progressive liberals.
I'd like for the Katrina evacuees be taken care of well.
I'd like gun lobbyists go somewhere and shoot themselves.
I'd like everyone have free healthcare and education.
... so on and so forth

[Ganja Ninja]

15. DeLay’s Lawyer Lies About MoveOn

Tom DeLay’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, claims that the judge presiding over DeLay’s criminal case in Texas, Bob Perkins, should be disqualified. A central part of his claim is that an organization that Perkins has donated to in the past, MoveOn, is selling t-shirts with Tom DeLay’s mug shot:

DEGUERIN: The latest thing on MoveOn.org’s website, they are trying to raise money by selling t-shirts with Tom DeLay’s mug shot on the t-shirts. And I just don’t think that it looks right for the judge sitting on Congressman DeLay’s case to have contributed to an organization such as that.

According to MoveOn’s Washington director Tom Mattzie, this claim is false. Mattzie told ThinkProgress this morning that MoveOn has “never sold any t-shirts with Tom DeLay’s mug shot” on their website or otherwise.


http://thinkprogress.org/2005/10/21/delay-lawyer-smears-moveon/

[SledDriver]

16. How about a "trial by ordeal"?

As an alternative to the whole court thing for DeLay, why not subject him to a trial by ordeal? Then it won't matter if the judge in the case is Repug or Dem.

Let's say, for example, we drop him into a pool of hot lava -- if he sinks, he's innocent, if he floats, he's guilty, if he burns to a crisp, our bad. :evilgrin:

[DaveColorado]

20. I am from Austin and my family knows the Perkins

I went to school with Judge Bob Perkins' son.

They are decent and honest people, and Judge Perkins would give Delay a fair hearing despite the fact that he is a Dem.

[Mend]

22. delay is trying to exhibit power right from the get-go....

if he can bully the judicial system and get on top now, he will walk. They should tell him to go shit in his hat. Can you imagine the rest of us picking our judges?

[AgadorSparticus]

23. I think this is such a bad move on his part. Very arrogant and offensive

and I can't imagine the court system taking kindly to this. There is an ego everywhere and I think he just stepped on too many toes. It will be interesting to see how the TX court system will respond to such contempt of court.

[tanyev]

24. Okey dokey.

So does that mean any judge who has ever donated to Republican causes could be removed from a case in which a Democratic politician was indicted? Now who's criminalizing politics?

[truthisfreedom]

25. i hope he gets a new judge. a hard-core Democrat who's in the perfect

position to get to the bottom of this, and expose the truth, and bring the bugman to justice.

[TexasBushwhacker]

27. You get a jury of your peers ....

not a judge. I don't think he really has a legal leg to stand on. What's he going to do, request that the judge be GOP? Fuck him!

[flaminbats]

28. What if Clinton had demanded Ken Starr be replaced by a Democrat?

Something tells me that Majority Whip Tom Delay, one person who had the power to push for a different prosecutor, would have actively supported this!! :sarcasm:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

32. Jury selection should be interesting

I would assume this argument will be extended to the voir dire of potential jurors as to their political affiliation. Delay will not only want a Republican Judge and venue in a Republican county, but I imagine he will try to get a Republican jury. He may run into problems in this regard, however, because a potential juror has the right to refuse to disclose how they voted in an election conducted by secret ballot and attempted forced disclosure of someone's political affiliation could violate their first amendment right of association. Of course, if a juror gave money to a political campaign and that contribution is public information, I would bet that Delay will try to disqualify any potential jurors on that basis as well. If this case goes forward to trial, I expect that it will only serve to further divide the country by making justice itself a matter of politics.

[Eric J in MN]

29. "DeLay Appears in Court in Money Laundering Case"

What a sweet headline.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/22/politics/22delay.html?hp&ex=1129953600&en=2c2e3f82c6422ca5&ei=5094&partner=homepage


AUSTIN, Tex., Oct. 21 - Representative Tom DeLay entered a criminal courtroom on Friday to face for the first time his nemesis, the Texas county prosecutor who has charged him with money laundering and conspiracy, but the proceedings were brought to a halt almost as soon as they began.

Representative Tom DeLay speaking to one of his attorneys during his appearance today at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Tex., where he has been accused of conspiracy and money-laundering.

The judge in the case, Bob Perkins of the 331st Judicial Criminal District Court, said he was temporarily putting the prosecution on hold in light of a defense motion demanding that he recuse himself because he was a Democrat who had made recent donations to the Democratic Party and to Democratic candidates.

"I should have stayed in Italy," Judge Perkins said, drawing a taut smile from Mr. DeLay and laughter from others in the audience who had gathered to see Mr. DeLay make his first court appearance in Austin, the state capital. The judge was on a European vacation last month when the first of two indictments was brought against Mr. DeLay, forcing him to step down as the Republican majority leader in the House.

Before conducting any substantive business in the case, Judge Perkins said he was referring the question of his impartiality to the presiding administrative judge of the region. The administrative judge, B. B. Schraub, a Republican appointed by a succession of Republican and Democratic governors, will be asked by Mr. DeLay's lawyers to determine if Judge Perkins should recuse himself. Judge Schraub's office said he expected to hold a hearing on the case within two weeks.

[Straight Shooter]

30. So if Judge Schraub says Judge Perkins can stay on the case

will the right wing go into a feeding frenzy over him, too?

[Eric J in MN]

31. Probably. It seems to me that any judge will have political beliefs.

If it's unfair to the defense for a Democrat to be the judge, then it's unfair to the prosecution for a Republican to be the judge.

[Xipe Totec]

33. If Delay Wins this one,

Does that mean that only Republican judges can judge Republicans, and only Democrat judges can judge Democrats?

How do we handle cases before the Supreme Court? Must all Republican judges recuse themselves when Roe v Wade comes up again?

[Gyre]

34. I don't see him getting much time.

But conviction for any crime of moral turpitude will destroy him politically, I hope.

Gyre

[Tiggeroshii]

35. it came from

Trying to dispute the charge, to trying to dispute the charges to trying to subpoena the prosecutor to trying to replace the judge. If he wasn't successful with the prior attempts, what makes people think he will be with this one? So silly

[Judi Lynn]

36. DeLay judge seeks hearing on motion for his removal

Oct. 22, 2005, 12:48AM

DeLay judge seeks hearing on motion for his removal
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Attorneys for Republican Congressman Tom DeLay want a new judge to preside over his criminal trial, saying the Democratic judge is too partisan to give him a fair hearing.

On Friday, State District Judge Bob Perkins asked the regional administrative judge for a hearing on the removal motion after DeLay's lawyers said Perkins' political donations to Democratic groups do not "pass the smell test" of an impartial judiciary.

DeLay's lawyers said Perkins' 34 donations totaling $5,185 to Democratic groups in the past five years make him too biased to hear DeLay's case. No hearing date has been set.

"It seems to me that this is going to be continuing to be an issue any time there's a Democratic judge and a Republican defendant or vice versa. So we probably need to get some hearing on that by the presiding judge of the region," Perkins said.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3408196
(Free registration required)

Oct. 21, 2005, 11:58PM

DeLay judge unlikely to be pulled
Donations to Dems not a solid case in Texas for bias, experts say
By JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - In a state that elects all of its judges in partisan elections, Congressman Tom DeLay could have trouble arguing that the judge assigned to his case should step aside because he donated to political parties and candidates.

"There's no district judge in the state of Texas who is not either a Democrat or a Republican. I don't know that you're entitled to a judge who won a primary that your client shares," said Keith Hampton, an Austin criminal defense lawyer.

But DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said the motion to recuse state District Judge Bob Perkins isn't because Perkins is a Democrat, but because the veteran judge has made political contributions to causes and persons opposed to DeLay.

"I don't care whether we get a Republican judge or a Democratic judge," said DeGuerin. "This is about getting a judge who hasn't been heavily politically active in contributing to causes and races opposed to Tom DeLay."

Legal experts agree that showing partisanship is not enough. They say DeLay, who is facing charges that he violated laws barring corporate donations to state candidates, must convince a court that Perkins has a personal bias against him.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3408415

[OKNancy]

37. Kick

:kick:

[Tiggeroshii]

38. DeLay Appears in Court in Money Laundering Case

AUSTIN, Tex., Oct. 21 - Representative Tom DeLay entered a criminal courtroom on Friday to face for the first time his nemesis, the Texas county prosecutor who has charged him with money laundering and conspiracy, but the proceedings were brought to a halt almost as soon as they began.

The judge in the case, Bob Perkins of the 331st Judicial Criminal District Court, said he was temporarily putting the prosecution on hold in light of a defense motion demanding that he recuse himself because he was a Democrat who had made recent donations to the Democratic Party and to Democratic candidates.

"I should have stayed in Italy," Judge Perkins said, drawing a taut smile from Mr. DeLay and laughter from others in the audience who had gathered to see Mr. DeLay make his first court appearance in Austin, the state capital. The judge was on a European vacation last month when the first of two indictments was brought against Mr. DeLay, forcing him to step down as the Republican majority leader in the House.

More http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/22/politics/22delay.html

[ixion]

39. I wonder what the reaction would have been if

A democrat had asked that a republican judge recuse himself simply because he was a republican.

How do you think the MSM would have handled that? They make light of it here, and seem to regard the motion as credible, rather than a bogus ploy.

[greekspeak]

40. It would be on breaking news, and every analyst in on the circuit would

be on, slamming and damning. They would be stirring up the Shrub base with reports on every tiny infraction the indicted party had perpetrated--from the tack on teacher's chair back in '60 to the parking ticket last week. Every time someone on the case took a shit, it would be breaking news. None of this cutesy little human interest crap. There would have been no special trip over for a favorable mug shot--the MSM would have made sure of that. There would not be all this crap with the lawyer getting on camera to spout off, nor would the indicted get his say like DeLay.

[zann725]

41. No doubt, he seeks a judge that accepts "laundered money" for favorable

verdict.