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  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Border agent charged with killing immigrant pleads not guilt

    Border agent charged with killing immigrant pleads not guilty

    BISBEE, Ariz. -- U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett pleaded not guilty to a charge of fatally shooting an illegal immigrant in January.


    Corbett's trial will begin sometime in December.

    He is accused of killing Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, of Puebla, Mexico just north of the border.

    Earlier this month, a Cochise County judge found there was enough evidence for Corbett to stand trial on charges of second-degree murder, negligent homicide and manslaughter.

    Corbett has been on administrative desk duty at the patrol's Naco station since the Jan. 12 shooting.

    http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6957967
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  2. #2
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    Border Patrol agent asks federal court to take over murder case
    Aug 30, 2007
    TUCSON, Ariz. -- A U.S. Border Patrol agent charged in state court with second-degree murder for the shooting death of an illegal immigrant has petitioned to have his case shifted to federal court.


    Attorneys for agent Nicholas Corbett filed notice in U.S. District Court in Tucson asking that the federal courts take jurisdiction over the case, and on Tuesday filed a notice in Cochise County Superior Court removing the case to federal court.

    Cochise County prosecutors may or may not oppose the petition, called a notice of removal. U.S. District Judge David Bury, to whom it has been assigned, could review and deny the request or approve it after a hearing.

    In the petition, Corbett's lawyers claim his actions were necessary and proper to perform his duties as a federal law enforcement agent. As such, he is immune from state prosecution under the U.S. Constitution, they assert.

    Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer and prosecutor Gerald Till did not immediately return calls Thursday seeking comment. Sean Chapman, one of Corbett's lawyers, said he could not comment because of the pending motion before a federal court.

    Corbett pleaded not guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide charges filed in connection with the death of 22-year-old Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, of Puebla, Mexico. The incident occurred Jan. 12 as Corbett was patrolling the border east of Naco.

    Corbett, 41, told supervisory agents he had shot Dominguez Rivera after the man threatened him with a rock. Witnesses, however, said Corbett shot him without provocation.

    After a lengthy investigation that included FBI and forensic reports that reportedly contradicted Corbett's official account of the events, the Cochise County Attorney's office charged him with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide.

    At an Aug. 6 preliminary hearing, a county judge dismissed the first-degree murder charge but ruled there was enough evidence to proceed to trial on the remaining three charges.

    Walter Nash, a prominent Tucson criminal defense lawyer, said it's extremely common to see such a motion filed when federal law enforcement officers face trial in state courts.

    "I can't remember a case where that issue has not been raised, immunity and the business of transferring it to a federal court," he said.

    Since the issue involves interpretation of federal law, attorneys feel that federal courts deal with it more frequently and offer a better forum to debate it, Nash said.

    In addition, if there are really strong emotions in a smaller community concerning the case, the lawyers will want to get a more diverse jury pool by moving the case to a larger city, he said.

    "You always run into an issue when having a small jury pool of not getting enough diversity. I think lawyers think when they get a much larger pool that it's easier for them to find people without a predisposition about the case."

    http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7006240
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  3. #3
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    Border agent's case could move to federal court
    By Brady McCombs
    Arizona Daily Star
    Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.30.2007
    A trial for a U.S. Border Patrol agent facing murder charges could be headed to a federal court in Tucson. Sean Chapman, a Tucson attorney representing agent Nicholas Corbett, filed a motion last week in the U.S. District Court of Arizona petitioning for the case to be moved from Cochise County Superior Court.
    The motion cites the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, basically arguing that a state court has no jurisdiction over a federal officer who is performing his duties.
    The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge David C. Bury, who has yet to schedule a hearing to address the motion.
    A copy of the motion was filed in Cochise County Superior Court earlier this week. The Cochise County Website says, “no further proceedings are anticipated in Superior Court.â€
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  4. #4
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    Federal judge sets hearing date in border agent's case
    Sep 1, 2007
    By Ted Morris
    Herald/Review
    HEREFORD — Nicholas W. Corbett, the U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of murdering an illegal immigrant, will face a federal judge at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 24. in the U.S. Courthouse in Tucson.

    U.S. District Judge David C. Bury signed the order Thursday for a status hearing and pretrial conference. The order was filed Friday in his court in Tucson. Bury will preside over the hearing and conference.

    The Corbett case docket also shows that his case has been “referred by random assignment to (U.S.) Magistrate Bernardo P. Velasco,â€
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  5. #5
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    Border Patrol agent's lawyer wants to bar testimony from dead man's family
    The agent is accused of second-degree murder in January shooting of Mexican man
    By Kim Smith
    Arizona Daily Star

    Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.05.2007
    The attorneys for a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of second-degree murder don’t want relatives of the victim to testify during the agent’s upcoming trial in U.S. District Court.
    Nicholas Corbett’s attorney, Sean Chapman, filed a motion Tuesday asking U.S. District Court Judge David C. Bury to preclude the testimony of Francisco Javier DomĂ*nguez Rivera’s brothers and sister- in-law.
    According to the motion, any testimony offered by the three would be questionable because they’ve been influenced by the Mexican government and the possibility of a civil lawsuit against the U.S. government.
    Corbett is accused of fatally shooting Rivera, 22, about 150 yards north of the border, between Bisbee and Douglas on Jan. 12. Corbett had been trying to detain DomĂ*nguez Rivera and the other three, all of whom had entered the country illegally.
    Once the U.S. Attorney’s Office has a chance to file a written response, a date will be set to argue the motion orally.
    Corbett’s trial is scheduled to begin in February in federal court in Tucson.

    http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/204784
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  6. #6
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    Prosecutor: Witnesses should be allowed to testify against U.S. Border Patrol agent

    Oct 12, 2007

    By: Associated Press

    SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. -- Three illegal immigrants who were present when a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot their companion should be allowed to testify in the agent's murder trial, a prosecutor said in a court filing.

    Lawyers for Agent Nicholas Corbett asked a federal judge to bar the migrants from testifying. They wrote in a court filing earlier this month that anything the migrants said would be questionable because they've been influenced by the Mexican government and the possibility of a civil lawsuit against the U.S. government.

    In a response filed this week, Deputy Cochise County Attorney Gerald Till asked the judge to deny the request.

    "The defendant is asking this court to determine the competence of the witnesses and to prevent them from testifying," Till wrote. "This is a completely unfounded legal argument, and totally without merit."

    Corbett, 39, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the Jan. 12 shooting death of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, a 22-year-old from Puebla, Mexico, who was crossing into the U.S. with the three survivors.

    Corbett has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer says he was acting in self-defense because he was attacked by Dominguez while trying to apprehend him and his companions just north of the border. The case was originally filed in Cochise County court but was transferred to federal court because he is a federal law officer.

    Defense lawyer Sean Chapman's filing contends that the witnesses -- who include the victim's two brothers and a woman -- were influenced by the Mexican consul, who was allowed to interview them before investigators probing the incident.

    Till's response noted that the three had already been interviewed by a detective when the consul arrived and gave substantially the same statements in later interviews He also said physical evidence corroborates their version of events.

    Corbett's trial is set for trial Feb. 26.

    http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10 ... _12_07.txt
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  7. #7
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    Cochise County Hires Former AG to Prosecute BP agent
    November 8th, 2007 @ 7:59am
    by Associated Press

    Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods has been hired to prosecute a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused in the fatal shooting of an illegal immigrant.

    Along with Woods, the Cochise County Attorney also hired attorney Tyrone Mitchell and private investigator Lee Rappleyea to help in the prosecution of Agent Nicholas Corbett. Mitchell is a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice.

    County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer told county supervisors Tuesday that with the retirement of the county's two senior attorneys in January and the loss of another prosecutor in December he needed to hire the outside prosecutors to prevent the case from overwhelming the office.

    ``The office would be compromised if we handled this case ourselves,'' Rheinheimer said. In addition, he said none of the attorneys left on staff are familiar with prosecuting cases in federal court.

    Corbett is charged with the second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera in January. Although charges were originally filed in state court, the case was transferred to federal court for trial, now set for February.

    Corbett is accused of fatally shooting Rivera, 22, just north of the border U.S.-Mexico border near Bisbee on Jan. 12. He has pleaded not guilty.

    Corbett had been trying to detain Dominguez Rivera and three others who had entered the country illegally.

    Corbett's attorney declined to comment on the new prosecution team.


    http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=641236
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  8. #8
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    Agent’s attorneys request materials from prosecution
    By Jonathon Shacat
    Herald/Review

    Published on Saturday, December 01, 2007

    BISBEE — An attorney representing a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with murdering an illegal immigrant is asking the prosecution to produce material that is favorable to the defendant or affects the credibility of the state’s case.

    Nicholas Corbett, 39, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide of a 22-year-old Mexican named Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera.
    Advertisement

    Sean Chapman, the lead defense attorney representing Corbett, filed the motion for disclosure of the information on Friday in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

    “Evidence is material as long as there is a strong indication that it will play an important role in uncovering admissible evidence, aiding witness preparation, corroborating testimony, or assisting impeachment or rebuttal,â€
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  9. #9
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    Tucson Region
    Mexicans' testimony against border agent won't be excluded
    By Arthur H. Rotstein
    The Associated Press
    Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.18.2007

    TUCSON — A federal judge said Monday that he won't exclude eyewitnesses' testimony from the trial of a Border Patrol agent accused of fatally shooting an illegal immigrant near the border.

    At a pretrial conference, U.S. District Judge David C. Bury said he won't bar testimony from Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera's two brothers or the girlfriend of one brother, denying a motion from attorneys for Agent Nicholas Corbett.

    The defense contends that the Mexican government influenced the three, saying a consular official was present to question the three before law enforcement officers did so after the Jan. 12 shooting between Bisbee and Douglas.

    Lead defense lawyer Sean Chapman also said the brothers and the woman have received benefits from, or arranged by, the Mexican government that include legal status to remain in this country pending Corbett's trial.

    Corbett is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 26 on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. Corbett, who was trying to take the four into custody as they tried to run back to Mexico to avoid being caught, has pleaded not guilty.

    Corbett says he acted in self-defense. According to investigators, he told colleagues he shot at a man who looked like he was going to throw a rock.
    Dominguez's relatives told investigators Corbett fired while pushing Dominguez to the ground, according to documents released by prosecutors.

    The case was transferred to federal court from Cochise County Superior Court.

    Defense and prosecution lawyers both also asked Bury to send a detailed questionnaire to prospective jurors before the start of jury selection seeking to determine biases and prejudices.

    But Bury said he was concerned that sending out a questionnaire three weeks before trial might only generate more problems — causing prospective jurors to look for stories.

    Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, who was hired to prosecute Corbett, and Chapman both told the judge they believed potential jurors were more likely to be forthcoming in answering written questions aimed at determining biases or prejudices than in responding openly and fully to a judge's questioning.

    "My experience is that people who have feelings they cannot get over are reluctant to express that to" a judge, Woods said.

    "They're not as reluctant to say that in answer to a questionnaire."
    Bury said he will question each possible juror individually outside the hearing of others in the jury panel to get at their feelings about publicity and border issues.

    http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/216676
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  10. #10
    Senior Member SecureTheBorder's Avatar
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    How does Border Patrol expect to attract more recruits when their men are being charged with murder for doing their jobs? If an agent can go to prison due to the testimony of three illegal alien witnesses, the border will never be secured. Mexico is neutering our BP with these tactics of harrassment through the legal system, which they shouldn't even be allowed to use.

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