Thread: Idiotic Jury orders rancher to pay nearly $100,000

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/ ... tation.php

Jury orders rancher to pay nearly $100,000 for accosting Mexican-American hunters

SIERRA VISTA, Arizona: An anti-illegal immigration activist accused of threatening to shoot a Mexican-American family of hunters with an assault rifle and using racial slurs against them was ordered to pay them $98,000 (€75,650).

A civil jury held rancher Roger Barnett only partly responsible, saying some of the blame lay with the man who sued and the man's father.

Ronald Morales and his father, Arturo, were with his two young daughters and their friend when Barnett confronted them near his Douglas, Arizona-area ranch and accused them of trespassing Oct. 30, 2004.

Morales' lawsuit claims they were legally crossing land Barnett leases from the state. The Moraleses are U.S. citizens of Mexican descent.
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Barnett, who claims to have detained more than 10,000 migrants in the last 10 years, denied threatening the hunting party. He testified that he only took out his AR-15 rifle because the adults in the group were carrying rifles.

Morales, a U.S. Navy veteran, said he felt justice had been served by the verdict.

"We came to court and spoke the truth, and the jury heard that truth," Morales said. "Hopefully this sends a message that you can't point a gun at little kids — or anybody for that matter — and then threaten to shoot them."

Barnett declined to comment, saying his lawyer advised him against speaking. His brother, Donald Barnett, expressed disappointment.

"In the Morales family, the father taught the son to trespass, and now the father's teaching the daughters how to trespass in blatant disregard for the law," said Donald Barnett, who was initially named in the suit but later dropped as a defendant. "I guess in this country, private property and a person's rights don't mean much any more."

The lawsuit was sponsored by the Border Action Network and the Southern Poverty Law Center, civil rights groups that have accused Barnett of acting as a vigilante and abusing illegal immigrants he detains on his ranch.

The family sued Barnett for assault, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury found in favor of all five plaintiffs Wednesday.

Morales said he asked the Cochise County Attorney to press criminal charges against Barnett, but was told no jury would convict him.

Isn't it strange that suddenly armed Mexican- Americans show up after Barnett has apprehended 10,000 illegal aliens.

It was a set-up! We are losing our rights!

The lawsuit was sponsored by the Border Action Network and the Southern Poverty Law Center,

I find it puzzling why these people are so eager to defend every Mexican irregardless of his guilt. It seems they feel they can get away with anything because these groups come rushing to their aid. What do they have to gain? Are they getting an attorney fee??

Even if he leases the land from the state it's still his land isn't it? How would they even know the legality of a ranchers land? Awfully steep fine for sure. You'd think he should get some pay for the 10,000 illegals he caught.

The really interesting thing here is that these very people have trespassed on this land more than once.

I wonder if this last time, they had done it for the specific purpose of a lawsuit. It would make sense, especially considering the groups behind this suit. Perhaps this was an entirely planned action knowing how he would respond.

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Another article about this written the following day:

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=47215

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

The really interesting thing here is that these very people have trespassed on this land more than once.

I wonder if this last time, they had done it for the specific purpose of a lawsuit. It would make sense, especially considering the groups behind this suit. Perhaps this was an entirely planned action knowing how he would respond.

.

No doubt!! Why did he have those young kids there? Notice a central point of the suit was how it "frightened the children." They were out to get him. If you read all the articles about this, they are basically bragging about how they "finally got him." This is just how low we have sunk.