Can He Do This??? DeLay supoenas Earle and Jury Foreman

[Taverner]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/12/delay.prosecutor.ap/index.html

Can someone actually supoena jurors during a grand jury investigation???

This just seems wrong...

[Sanity Claws]

1. The grand jury has ended

The right question is whether the target of the grand jury can subpoena jurors from the grand jury after it has ended.
I don't know.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. you personally can subpeona or sue anyone for anything.

If we took up a collection, we could sue the president for war crimes, or being a dick who hears voices.

Subpeoning records is the same. file an action and seek the docs. Whether any court will approve or accept them is another story. You may be subject to costs and fees, even sanctions.

Now, that said, prosecutors enjoy immunity (qualified and limited) for their actions. Judges have a complete immunity. and Special Prosecutors like Fitz have entire spelled out immunities, extremely broad.

[Cassandra]

3. It's certainly very creative.

Supoena jurors to do what? Testify in front of themselves? I'm not sure how that would work.

[Fridays Child]

4. It's an intimidation and disinformation tactic.

He wants to scare them and he hopes that, if he slings enough mud at them, something will stick.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Earl will come out clean

after all, he said he accepted the subpoena, even though it was done improperly. And then the one foreman was mad when asked if Earl had influenced him. Earl looks like he's cooperating, and he's letting the jurors bite into DeLay and his lawyers-a smart move, because the jurors are regular folks, not politicians. This will backfire on DeLay.

[benburch]

6. He is on very shakey ground here.

Unless he knows that he has a judge up the chain of appeal that he has bought off...

[Taverner]

9. Like, say Harriet Meiers?

Or Roberts?

[Jose Diablo]

31. Or Patricia Owens n/t

[Kagemusha]

7. Oh, Earle DID accept it?

I'd read that was not the case last night. Openly lying to the media about something like that isn't going to win many friends...

[Deep13]

12. He accepted delivery.

He did not accept its validity.

[Kagemusha]

17. That's not the point - Dick DeGuerin apparently said, "delivery"

and not "validity".

Since Earle would've had to have signed a document accepting the subpoena as if it was registered mail, there's no excuse. That has to be interpreted as bald-faced lying to the media about Earle's actions. That's severely unethical behavior. As I said, no excuse at all, even if somehow, Dick DeGuerin didn't know better. I just find that very hard to believe since it's kind of hard to confuse acceptance of a subpoena with rejection of a subpoena.

[Deep13]

19. Guess he's lying his ass off, then.

[Seansky]

8. talking about threating grand jurors...This does seem desperate

particularly since it obviously becomes public. Does he realize this will cost him even more supporters? It's like B going after Cindy for her "what is the nobel cause qs" Everyone tends to want to take the side of the just/fair...

[Deep13]

10. This is frivolous.

The court will quash the subpeonas. Even if the defense has subpeona power before the grand jury, neither the prosecutor nor the jurors are competent to be witnesses. Delay is trying to get Earle removed from the case by creating some kind of conflict of interest. Frankly, the effort borders on obstruction of justice. An innocent defendant would probably want to advance his defense in court on the merits, not obscure the issue by attacking the prosecutor.

[Shakespeare]

11. Earle will file a motion to quash....

...and it'll be granted.

[ewagner]

14. Agree

this won't hold up...

it's spin on Delay's part

it's a delaying (snarf) tactic on Delay's part.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

13. Seems like the prosecutor would not be subject to subpoena.

Imagine the mess if every criminal defendant could allege improprieties in the charges and then subpoena the prosecutor to go fishing. I imagine Earle will get this slapped down by the judge.

[NoPasaran]

15. HES STOCKING HIM !!!!1111

[Debi]

18. THIS IS HUGH !!!11111!!! n/t

[NoPasaran]

21. TRUTH BE DEMAND 1111!!!!111

[Debi]

23. ARE YOU SERIES???/////???

[BloodyWilliam]

26. You're all going straight to hell.

Hehe... :)

[Debi]

33. And you with us m'dear

cuz you know what we're talking about

[smartvoter]

24. NO MORE LEYES 1111!!!!1111

[lonestarnot]

29. "No more mishfits! 11111...1111111

[Debi]

16. Delay should be careful or Earle will go after him

for defamation of character. Delay's horeshit wrongful prosecution or whatever suit it is he's filed doesn't fly - an INNOCENT person usually files that AFTER they've been acquitted. When Earle prevails he should civilly go after Delay for his public slandering of Earle and misuse (abuse) of the judicial system to try to muddy the case against him. (this from the jackass who wants tort reform!)

[moobu2]

20. This is just a desperate political move.

These issues are normally brought up with the trial court judge.

[Mist]

22. This all reeks of total desperation on DeLay's part. The judge

will probably refuse everything DeLay's lawyer is pushing for. I hope, for good measure, DeLay and DeGuerin are slapped with fines for frivolous and time-consuming manuevering.

[Debi]

25. I forgot about frivolous lawsuits....anyone got the Texas Rules of Court

on hand? Would be nice to see if Delay's lawsuit could be thrown out and then his attorney admonished for garbage filings.

(I don't think the subpoenas will count, wouldn't they have been filed w/in the criminal case?) I'm not a lawyer, so I have no clue.

[lonestarnot]

27. Grand Jury proceedings are extremely secret. Don't think

they will get shit other than shit!

[GrpCaptMandrake]

28. Extensive discussion of this topic from last night

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5035004

This is a desperation ploy-cum-ass-covering tactic by the defense lawyer trying to create reversible error for the appellate court.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Yes he can and it is a desperation tactic

he wannts to force Earle to recuse himself by making him a witness

[Ksec]

32. Thats bullshlt

How can this ahole do this?

Thats wrong and should be changed. Only if theres proof positive and statements written as evidence of armtwisting by jurors , should they be allowed /