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DPS commander coached law-enforcement witnesses, says 5th Circuit opinion

In an opinion (pdf) issued Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's ruling that the DPS Commander in charge of the department's Training Academy improperly coached Harris County Sheriff's deputies before their depositions in a Sec. 1983 civil rights suit. The ruling came in the same case that took down Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal after he deleted subpoenaed emails and ultimately resigned in disgrace. In this new decision, the Fifth Circuit ruled on findings of misconduct against three state's attorneys.The court partially sustained sanctions against two assistant county attorneys (who were defending two Sheriff's deputies), dismissed them against Harris County ADA Scott Durfee (who represented Chuck Rosenthal), and of course there's no legal penalty at all for the DPS Commander who allegedly coached witnesses and may have given "false testimony," according to the opinion...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 31, 2009 (boomark / email).