Alex Sanchez - Jan 6 Bail Hearing

From:    "Political Prisoner News" <ppnews@freedomarchives.org>
Date:    Sun, January 3, 2010

- 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered Judge Real to reopen the
Alex's bail hearing.
- New Bail Hearing is set for January 6th at 10 a.m. Downtown Los Angeles.

After reviewing Alex's appeal for bail, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals has ordered Judge Real to reopen the bail hearings and make
his decision based on "findings of fact." The new bail hearing has
been set for January 6th at 10 a.m. in the Federal Court House Downtown.

To deny bail the government must prove by a "preponderance of
evidence" that Alex would be a flight risk and provide "clear and
convincing evidence, that no condition or combination of conditions
will reasonably assure the safety of the community."

The decision by the 9th Circuit to reopen the hearing validates our
protests that Alex was denied a fair hearing.  While this is not yet
reason for celebration as Alex must again sit before the 84 year old
Judge Real, it is a direct challenge to the government to provide
more than hearsay and innuendo.

Hopefully this decision by the 9th circuit will prove to be more than
a symbolic gesture of equality.

Come show your support for Alex by joining us at his bail hearing
this Wednesday, January 6th at 10:00 a.m. at the Federal Courthouse
in downtown Los Angeles.


In peace & justice,

We Are Alex

NEXT ALEX SANCHEZ BAIL HEARING JANUARY 6th
By Tom Hayden

Responding to an admonishment by the federal appeals court, Judge
Manuel Real has set a new bail hearing for Alex Sanchez at the
federal court in downtown Los Angeles at 10 a.m. on January 6,
leaving little time for legal preparations.

Judge Real is not expected to alter his denial of bail for Sanchez,
but simply make new findings consistent with the 9th Circuit's
requirements issued December 22. Those requirements are that Real
"accept and consider" evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt" that
Sanchez would be a danger to the community if released on bail, and
the "preponderance of evidence" in determining whether Sanchez would
be a flight risk.

The problem for Sanchez is that the 9th Circuit order only requires
that Real "consider" such evidence. Real is widely regarded as
hostile and arbitrary, and has been admonished or reversed many times
before by the higher courts. Currently he controls both the bail
hearing and the trial itself, which virtually guarantees that Sanchez
will not be released for over a year unless the 9th Circuit intervenes.

Of particular interest is how the judge will find that Sanchez is a
danger to the community "beyond a reasonable doubt." Hundreds of
letters demanding bail for Sanchez have been filed with the court,
insisting that his gang intervention efforts at Homies Unidos help
maintain community peace rather than violence. As to whether the
preponderance of evidence indicates Sanchez is a flight risk, the
judge must consider the fact that over two million dollars in
property and funds has been proferred by Sanchez supporters,
including a pledge by a former LA FBI director, Thomas Harper, to
personally ensure that the defendant makes his scheduled court appearances.

At the previous bail hearing, Judge Real dismissed the letters of
support as having nothing to do with the issues of danger and flight
risk, although the vast majority of the letters spoke directly to those
issues.

The judge also dismissed a lengthy affadavit by Fr. Gregory Boyle,
SJ, as "irrelevant", and refused to allow the priest to take the
stand. Fr. Boyle, the nationally-recognized founder of Homeboy
Industries, offered a detailed refutation of charges against Sanchez
made by LAPD anti-gang officer Frank Flores. Since no evidence has
been offered showing Sanchez conspired in a 2006 gang killing in El
Salvador, the LAPD's Flores attempted to argue that gang members
spoke in code on wiretapped phone calls. Fr. Boyle dismissed Flores'
interpretations as absurd efforts to create evidence that did not exist.

Though the LAPD's Flores was presented as an objective expert, his
testimony on the wiretaps failed to include exculpatory evidence
showing that Sanchez was a former member of Mara Salvatrucha who was
inactive at the time of the phone calls. Sanchez maintains that he
intervened only on several of 2006 phone calls [the FBI has tens of
thousands of recordings] after learning that his life was being
threatened and rumors spread that he was collaborating with the FBI.
When cross-examined, Flores had no explanation for his omission of
the recorded evidence that Sanchez was a former member who left the
gang life to found Homies Unidos in the 1990s.

If there is "reasonable" evidence that Sanchez was an inactive former
gang member, the prosecution's conspiracy claim that he is a
currently-active shotcaller leading a double life  - and therefore a
present danger - falls apart.

TOM HAYDEN is a former California state senator and author of Street Wars.


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