Here Comes the Judge!--Judge Arditti Returns to Bench Following Acquittal

Judge Regina Arditi (pic) returned to her West Texas courtroom following her acquittal on bribery and corruption charges.  This is the Associated Press account from the Houston Chronicle website: 

"A suspended judge expects to be back on the state district court bench in El Paso a day after her acquittal [on] corruption charges.  Regina Arditti returns to her judicial duties Thursday after El Paso County jurors acquitted her Wednesday of two bribery counts, two counts of [abuse] of official capacity and one of prohibition applicable to trading.

Prosecutors had accused the judge of agreeing to hire state District Judge Manuel Barraza's sister as court coordinator in return for Barraza agreeing to hire Arditti's son as a bailiff. Barraza also was charged in the case, but those charges were dropped when he was sentenced to five years in prison in July in a federal bribery case. [Judge Barraza] was reindicted [on state charges] and is scheduled for trial May 23[rd.]_____________________________
Bet this judge has a new outlook!  A wee bit more empathy for the criminally-accused, perhaps?

Can You Hear Me Now?--Indiana Ear Biter Acquitted of Battery

A New Castle, Indiana man was acquitted by a Henry County Jury of felony battery in an incident from April Fool's day 2009 involving a road scrape with a local area cyclist.  According to the account at the IndyStar.com, Curtis A. "Alan" Cross (mug shot) bit off more than a sizeable chunk of ear Jeffrey Guffey's ear lobe.  Here's a sizable chunck of Douglas Walker's report from the Muncie, Indiana Star Press:

"Cross, 44, had been charged with a Class C felony, carrying a standard four-year prison term, in an attack, on April Fool's Day 2009, on Jeffrey Guffey. Authorities said Cross attacked the 32-year-old Guffey, who had shouted at the defendant to slow down as he drove on East 20th Street at what Guffey said was a high rate of speed.

According to a police report, Cross told officers he became angry, stopped his pickup truck and confronted Guffey after the alleged victim held up his middle finger as Cross drove past.  The defendant also maintained Guffey threw the first blow in their fight, an allegation Guffey strongly denied. After negotiations on a plea agreement in the case broke down last September, defense attorney Joseph Lansinger filed a motion maintaining his client had used 'justifiable reasonable force' in his encounter with Guffey.

'It doesn't matter how the fight ended,' Lansinger told jurors in his closing remarks Wednesday. 'It matters how the fight started.  It doesn't matter why (Cross) got out of the car,' the attorney said. 'That's not illegal. ... (It was) beyond dumb, but it wasn't illegal for him to do that.'

Lansinger also noted that immediately after losing a portion of his ear, Guffey rode his bicycle to his mother's house, rather than calling police or seeking medical treatment. Why would a person who's just been attacked not call police? he asked.. .. .[the prosecutor]  maintained Cross was not 'entitled' to claim he had acted in self-defense.

'If anybody's entitled to self-defense, it's Jeff Guffey, all 110 or 115 pounds of him,' he said. 'None of this would have happened had the accused just gone on.' Guffey's torn left ear has been restructured by a surgeon and now resembles a fully formed ear, albeit significantly smaller than his right one.

Last September, Guffey told The Star Press he was not in favor of a proposed plea bargain that called for Cross to be placed on home detention.  'I don't wish jail on anybody,' Guffey said, 'but he bit my ear off.'"
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Here's a perfect example of what we've been talking about in terms of proof of all elements of a crime being necessary for a conviction.  The defense attorney deserves a big "thank you," are you listening Mr. Cross?

Dacula Drug Haze Killing--an Acquittal

Kent Alexander, a former minor league pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization died of knife wounds on December 8, 2007.  Monday a Gwinnet County, Georgia jury after a 3 hour deliberation, acquitted his widow, Laurie of the charges she murdered her husband. 

The report at the Atlanta Journal Constitution is astounding.  The back story is even more amazing.  It is cliche` to say that truth is stranger than fiction, here's the evidence for the adage. 

This is a blawg, not a crime blog, but every once you come across a crime story that has everything, in this case a jury that may have thought that Kent Alexander might have needed a little stabbing.  Judge for yourself: 

"The marriage of Laurie and Kent Alexander was in tatters – rocked by adultery, lies, debt, prescription drug addiction and alcoholism. It all came to a head on Dec. 8, 2007, when 44-year-old Kent Alexander, a former Chicago Cubs minor league baseball pitcher, was found dead of a knife wound on his kitchen floor. Laurie Alexander, 47, is on trial for murder in Gwinnett County this week, accused of stabbing her husband in the abdomen after she caught him sending text messages to a married lover.

'This case is about a marriage that was in turmoil,' Assistant District Attorney Rich Vandever told the jury during his opening statements Tuesday.

Alexander told police she took two prescription anti-anxiety pills after arguing with her husband and went to bed. She said she remembered nothing until she came downstairs to find her husband dead on the floor the following morning.  No one disputes that Kent Alexander's life was spiraling out of control. He recently had been fired from his job as a medical recruiter after a supervisor discovered he was drinking on the clock and swapping prescription pills with co-workers. Defense attorneys say he drank as much as a liter and a half of vodka every other day.  He had a blood alcohol level of .341 -- over four times the legal limit to drink and drive -- - when he died, according to prosecutors. His wife also was heavily medicated much of the time, having suffered injuries in a car wreck about a year prior to the alleged slaying and having undergone two recent heart surgeries.  Defense attorney Jeffrey Sliz said there are many questions surrounding Kent Alexander's death. It could have been a drunken accident, a suicide or a case of self-defense, but it was not a murder, Sliz told the jury.  'My client is not guilty of any of these offenses,' Sliz said."
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This case came with built in "reasonable doubt."