Judge nixes prosecutors' bid to go to Cuba to hear witnesses in Posada Carriles case
Too late, too costly and too iffy, judge says [image: (fot4)]<http://miamiherald.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b26169e20147e0ee07a8970b-pi>El Paso Judge *Kathleen Cardone *has denied federal prosecutor's bid to travel to Cuba and interview Salvadoran terrorists Francisco Antonio Chávez Abarca and Otto René Rodríguez Llerena on the matter of Luis Posada Carriles' impending trial, set to begin Jan. 10. (For background, read our Dec. 22 blog item *"Confessed terrorist sentenced to 30 years" *Also, our Dec. 18 item *"Posada attorneys reject*..."; our Dec. 6 item *"Another bomber escapes execution" *and related items.) In a ruling issued Tuesday <http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/2010/12/judge-no-cuba-trip-for-prosecutors.html>(Dec. 21), Cardone writes: "Upon due consideration, the Court finds that no exceptional circumstances exist nor do the interests of justice require taking these depositions in this case. The governments request is onerous and untimely as it comes very late in this case, approximately five weeks prior to trial, three weeks prior to trial when considering [Posada Carriles'] timely Response filed on Dec. 16, 2010. "Further, the depositions are to take place in Cuba, a country which has no formal diplomatic relations with the United States, and has previously refused defense counsels requests for permission to visit as part of their preparation for this case. [...] "The government has known of the existence of Rodriguez and the information he allegedly possesses for many years, having interviewed Rodriguez in December 2006 and January 2010. That the government seeks to take these depositions now, when it did not seek to do so previously, raises serious doubts about the existence of exceptional circumstances. "And, while it is certainly possible that intervening events could have changed the governments need for the introduction of Rodriguezs and Chavezs deposition testimony, the government has not set forth any explanation as to why it requires these depositions now when it did not in [image: (ott)]<http://miamiherald.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b26169e20148c6f8192a970c-pi>February 2010. "The Court finds it unusual, and important to note, that the government has not actually represented that it has received permission from the government of Cuba to depose Rodriguez. The government only avers that the government of Cuba would consider making *Otto Rodriguez *available for deposition to be taken in Havana, Cuba. "That the government of Cuba would 'consider' making Rodriguez available is far from a commitment and is an insufficient indication that this deposition would ever take place, let alone take place prior to the rapidly approaching trial date. Thus, even were the motion timely, the Court would be reluctant to grant it because the request is premised on a contingency, and because preparation would be onerous to both the Court and defense counsel, especially in light of the short time to trial." [image: (chz)]<http://miamiherald.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b26169e20147e0ee2b0c970b-pi>In a footnote, Cardone adds: "Indeed, as to *Chávez*, the [prosecution] affirmatively represents that the government of Cuba will not make Chávez available to the prosecution to take his deposition. Thus, the [prosecution's] request, at least as to Chávez, strikes the Court as somewhat bizarre." To read the entire document, access the blog Along the Malecón, here<http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/2010/12/judge-no-cuba-trip-for-prosecutors.html>. I am indebted to blogger Tracey Eaton for making it available. Renato Pérez Pizarro. Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2010/12/judge-nixes-prosecutors-bid-to-go-to-cuba-to-hear-witnesses-in-posada-carriles-case.html#more#ixzz18yjTuajE [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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