Houston's US District Courts Where Facism Is Alive And Well

Robert Allen Stanford is being held without bail because he was considered a flight risk by US District Judge David Hittner. In all other major white collar fraud cases, the defendants have been granted bail. If we look objectively at people who have been able to escape a major Federal indictment and got to another country and live successfully, two names comes to mind in recent history; Osama Bin Laden and Kobe Alexander who now resides in Namibia. Kobe is free and lives in a luxury home. His wife sleeps with him every night. He eats good and belongs to the country club. But he is also a prisoner who cannot leave this dessert kingdom or he will be arrested by the US. One Bulgarian on bail broke free from his electronic monitoring system and disappeared for now. Several other high-profile white collar criminals made attempts at escape and were caught quickly.

Robert Allen Stanford knew he was in trouble way back in December, 2008. He had six aircraft at his disposal then including corporate jets. He had $100 million US in a Swiss bank account. He had a second passport. He could have easily vanished. Instead he stayed right in the US. When the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit was filed and he was served by the FBI with the suit, he surrendered his passport without prompting. He made several attempts to surrender to authorities before his actual arrest.

The Federal Courts in Houston are famous for brutal prison sentences and right-wing fascist judges whom Hitler would have been glad to appoint to the Nazi judiciary. What we are seeing is the viciousness of this bureaucracy taken to its zenith. These same judges routinely "rubber stamp" death penalty cases and allow the state of Texas to carry out more executions than any other state in the US. Let us hope that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses Judge Hittner and lets Robert Allen Stanford have his constitutional right to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty and bail.

My readers Robert Allen Stanford is being used a s a scapegoat to take attention away from all of the criminals on Wall Street who destroyed the world economy.

US hard line over risk of flight keeps Stanford hands tied
By Stacy-Marie Ishmael and Joanna Chung in New York,,Brooke Masters in London and Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: July 11 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 11 2009 03:00

Sir Allen Stanford, who is accused of operating a $7bn Ponzi scheme, has spent the past three weeks handcuffed, shackled and confined to a cell at a detention centre 48 miles north of Houston, Texas.

While awaiting trial on charges ranging from securities fraud to bribery, Sir Allen, sporting a bright orange suit, has only been allowed to speak to visitors - including his attorneys - through a protective glass barrier, under the watchful eyes of prison wardens.

It is a departure from his life as a tycoon, replete with private jets, yachts and wine cellars stocked with rare vintages.

But it is unusual because Sir Allen is a white-collar defendant.

It is routine in some prisons for people awaiting trial on charges involving violent crimes to be held in very restrictive conditions.

But most white-collar defendants have been allowed to remain free pending trial, as were the chiefs of WorldCom, Enron and Tyco.

Unlike most pre-trial detainees, Sir Allen is being kept in custody not because he is considered a danger to the community - a category that would justify physical restrictions - but because a US judge ruled that the businessman, who had many passports and residences around the world, posed a flight risk.

"Stanford has the motive, means and opportunity to leave the United States prior to trial," prosecutors argued in court documents.

They pointed to Sir Allen's "extensive international business and social contacts", his "access to huge sums of money" and the likelihood that, if convicted, he would face extensive prison time.

The closest parallel to Sir Allen's case could be high-stakes espionage cases, in which the defendants are generally highly educated with no history of violence, but are seen as flight risks.

They are traditionally kept behind bars pending trial and have a similar need to meet with their attorneys.

In several cases in the 1990s, the defendants were permitted to meet their attorneys in person without handcuffs.

For Sir Allen, however, this has not so far been the case, according to his attorney, Dick DeGuerin.

He said in court documents filed this week that "draconian" conditions prohibited any "effective and meaningful consultation" with his client.

Mr DeGuerin claimed that the visitation booth at the Joe Corley Detention Center forbade contact with his client and prohibited the passing of documents without the intervention of at least two guards to carry the papers from one side of the booth to the other.

While special arrangements may be made for a "contact visit" in a room with table and chairs, Mr DeGuerin said that he had been allowed only one such visit. Even then, Sir Allen was "shackled hand and foot - and the handcuffs shackled to his waist - thus making his review and signing of papers very difficult".

Lawyers and experts not involved with the case agree that Sir Allen is at a disadvantage in helping prepare his defence.

"Especially in a case like this where you have such complex financial transactions, it essentially becomes the white collar defendant's full-time job to go through documents,'' said Peter Henning, professor at Wayne State University Law School.

The court could yet determine conditions that would permit Sir Allen's release, other lawyers said, including restricting his movements to one county and forcing him to wear an electronic monitoring device.

But Philip Hilder, who represented Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins, said: "Unfortunately for him, it's a very high-profile case, and the government has taken a hardline stance.''

Coming on the heels of the Madoff fraud, officials are sensitive to the public scrutiny that is likely to accompany Sir Allen's case.

Mr Henning said: "You get one shot at a defendant like this. If he flees, you are never going to get him back.''
Posted by ohomen171 at 7/11/2009 10:23:00 AM 0 comments
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