Posting Convergence
[Guest post by DRJ]
It’s not often that two unrelated posts come together but I think I’ve found an example.
Last week I posted on an Austin case in which “Austin defense lawyer Adam Reposa tarnished the dignity of the judicial process by making a lewd gesture in court.” As a result a judge sentenced Reposa to 90 days in jail for contempt of court.
In late March 2008 I posted on a Fifth Circuit case from Austin in which “the family of a teenage girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on MySpace.com asked a federal appeals court … to revive their lawsuit against the social networking Web site.”
Friday the Austin-area man in the MySpace case was sentenced to jail for injury to a child in connection with his sexual assault of the 14-year-old girl he met at the internet site:
“A Buda man accused of sexually assaulting a then-14-year-old Bowie High School student after meeting her on MySpace pleaded guilty Friday to injury to a child under a plea bargain that calls for him to spend 90 days in jail.
Pete Ignacio Solis was 19 in 2006 when he met the girl on the popular online social networking site. His lawyer contends that Solis did not force the girl, younger than the legal age of consent in Texas, to have sex. “
In addition to the Austin nexus, there’s another link between the two cases:
“With the deal, Solis avoided mandatory sex offender registration for the rest of his life.
“I am frustrated that consensual teenage sex winds up with a sex offender registration” for seven years, said Solis’ lawyer, Adam Reposa.”
Oh, and one more interesting convergence: Both Solis and Reposa were sentenced to 90 days in jail.
– DRJ
Ninety days for a Class 2 felony? Not bad. This guy is a good lawyer. Unless the “sexual assault” was merely “first base”.
Comment by nk — 4/19/2008 @ 11:35 am
It was reported to be a sexual assault. Reposa was disappointed the defendant would have to register as a sex offender during probation but, in most Texas cases, defendant would have to register for life. And let’s face it, pleading this down to injury for a child and getting only 90 days is unusual.
Another interesting aspect is that the judge required the 90 days to be served over several years - I think it is about 10-20 days a year - so defendant remembers what he did.
Comment by DRJ — 4/19/2008 @ 11:56 am
Weird convergence indeed. I’d say Reposa is a much better lawyer for securing 90 days for sexual assault of a 14 year old than the lawyer representing Reposa who secured the same time for a wanking gesture. That should certainly be punished by a weekend in jail perhaps, but 90 days in jail is ridiculous. I think an appropriate punishment would be 90 days suspension of his bar license, but there’s really no way to coordinate that type of thing between the state courts and the state bar.
On the plus side, if Reposa fails his appeal and spends significant time in jail, he could always bring a bunch of business cards and build up his client base.
Comment by Aplomb — 4/19/2008 @ 12:14 pm
I had a somewhat similar case. The judge found my client guilty strictly in accordance with the law but sentenced him to “work release” — he spent his weekends in jail. There was a lot “the victim is no angel and not truly a child either” involved.
Comment by nk — 4/19/2008 @ 12:21 pm
Aplomb, I agree.
Shhh, NK. Good job but don’t let any feminists hear you say that.
Comment by DRJ — 4/19/2008 @ 1:09 pm
Actually, Carlos Garcia is one of the best lawyers I know. He is working on the Yogurt Shop Murders, which as many of you may know is the biggest crime in Austin’s history. I have heard people claim that I have not learned anything from this episode and that is not true. When you are charged with contempt, don’t ask your buddy to squeeze you in between Capital Murder pre-trial hearings. Ha!!
Comment by adam reposa — 4/19/2008 @ 8:39 pm
Moral of the story? You can get away with a lot of things in life, but one thing you can’t get away with is pissing off a judge.
Who here didn’t know that already? Hands?
Comment by Eric — 4/19/2008 @ 9:00 pm
adam #6,
You sound to me like a very talented, dedicated and energetic lawyer. Some advice FWIW. Credibility is everything in the courtroom. Whether it’s before a judge or a jury. Appear more dignified, more prepared to try your case, more knowledgeable than the judge himself. A poor judge will be intimidated by it. A good judge will appreciate it.
And what the hell were you thinking when you did the thing that got you held in contempt?
Comment by nk — 4/19/2008 @ 9:47 pm
I wasn’t thinking then, but I am being railroaded now!! Look I try every DWI I can no matter how bad the facts because you will get less time from a jury than if you plead guilty. Free bite at the apple. This judge is very lenient on punishment, but she does not make it easy to get a day in court. I had a jury out on a .105 breath test case where my client got in a wreck and urinated on himself. During deliberations I told the judge “I don’t know” meaning about the verdict and she said emphatically “what you client who blew over the limit and peed on himself might be guilty!” Jury acquitted. She looked absolutely exasperated on March 11 from my mere presence when I arrived from Dallas, and we go into court where the RECORD shows that the first thing she tells my client is “you have been in since November” (he was sitting out 7 months state jail on an unrelated case but had all the time he needed–judgementproof). POINT–judge knows the max can’t hurt him. Then proceeds to tell my client –there are pros and cons to having a trial, I try to tell him that there is no con you have all the time in the world “Mr. Reposa be quiet, Mr. Prosecutor please read Mr. XXXXXXX the offer. So I whisper in my clients ear “Make them pick a jury, they will dismiss your Fucking marijuana weak ass bullshit DWI where you were stopped for inspection stickers!” the the prosecutor “Judge let the record reflect Mr. Reposa is still whispering in his client’s ear!” That is when I made the gesture, under the bench I thought. “I saw that says the Judge!” Now she goes into court and says “He looks me in the eyes, makes the gesture and rolls his eyes” Then why does the record say “I saw that” Because they want me out of practice. C’mon CCA. Simply she and I don’t get along. She introduces me to jury panels as a young lawyer, I stand up and ask the record to reflect I have tried over 50 DWI jury trials. She thinks I am disrespectful, and I won’t make any more public comments. Again c’mon CCA
Comment by adam reposa — 4/20/2008 @ 6:25 am
Thank you for replying. FWIW, I think a judge participating in a plea agreement, except for approving or disapproving a sentencing recommendation, is a very, very bad idea. Sorry that you were the lightning rod for the things that could go wrong with such a procedure.
Comment by nk — 4/20/2008 @ 7:01 am
Thx. This has the entire defense bar divided in Austin. All the down and dirties are ready to get down and dirty over a judge and prosecutors trying to remove a defense lawyer and all of the ivory towers who have seen me climbing up the tower want me gone because of my brash style and coarse attitude. But at the end of the day my client won’t have a DWI conviction! Even if it costs me my license, the state is not going to delay the trial 3 months until he has served his state jail sentence and then get him to plead just to get out of jail! Not on my watch
Comment by adam reposa — 4/20/2008 @ 7:09 am