Post by Critique on Jan 1, 2007 3:21:25 GMT -5
CA: DA blasts judge for sentence given to illegal immigrant (3 years for sex with 13-year-old)
12/14/2006
by NormsRevenge
Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels blasted a local judge on Thursday for giving a lenient sentence to an illegal immigrant in the name of saving taxpayer money.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Richard Oberholzer sentenced Jose Richard Leiva to three years in prison in October for having sex three times with a 13-year-old girl. This happened while Leiva was on probation for a misdemeanor conviction of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
“In my 30 years as a prosecutor, I thought I had seen every conceivable example of judicial wackiness, but I was wrong,” Jagels wrote in a press release posted Thursday on his Web site.
The Kern County Probation Department recommended Leiva be sentenced to 10 years in prison. But Oberholzer believed that this would burden taxpayers. He gave him the lowest possible term, reasoning he would be exported back to his country of origin after being released from prison, according to a transcript of the sentencing hearing, which Jagels posted on his Web site.
“This is a serious offense,” Oberholzer said, according to the transcript. “And I expect him to be deported. I’m not in a position where I want to have to support him for the next five or six years or however long it takes to get him out of here.”
Deputy District Attorney Chris Staiger argued to the judge that illegal immigrants can easily return to the United States after deportation and asked for a stiffer sentence.
“The problem is that deportation is not final,” Staiger said. “If we could guarantee he wouldn’t be back, I would agree with Your Honor. The problem is that we know that our border is porous. We know that we will probably see him again.”
Oberholzer argued that if Leiva returns, he would return to custody.
Jagels and Staiger were not immediately available for comment.
Leiva’s attorney, Nelson Castro, said he believed Leiva deserved to receive the lowest term because the relationship was consensual and he did not have a criminal record except for the misdemeanor.
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753789/posts
12/14/2006
by NormsRevenge
Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels blasted a local judge on Thursday for giving a lenient sentence to an illegal immigrant in the name of saving taxpayer money.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Richard Oberholzer sentenced Jose Richard Leiva to three years in prison in October for having sex three times with a 13-year-old girl. This happened while Leiva was on probation for a misdemeanor conviction of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
“In my 30 years as a prosecutor, I thought I had seen every conceivable example of judicial wackiness, but I was wrong,” Jagels wrote in a press release posted Thursday on his Web site.
The Kern County Probation Department recommended Leiva be sentenced to 10 years in prison. But Oberholzer believed that this would burden taxpayers. He gave him the lowest possible term, reasoning he would be exported back to his country of origin after being released from prison, according to a transcript of the sentencing hearing, which Jagels posted on his Web site.
“This is a serious offense,” Oberholzer said, according to the transcript. “And I expect him to be deported. I’m not in a position where I want to have to support him for the next five or six years or however long it takes to get him out of here.”
Deputy District Attorney Chris Staiger argued to the judge that illegal immigrants can easily return to the United States after deportation and asked for a stiffer sentence.
“The problem is that deportation is not final,” Staiger said. “If we could guarantee he wouldn’t be back, I would agree with Your Honor. The problem is that we know that our border is porous. We know that we will probably see him again.”
Oberholzer argued that if Leiva returns, he would return to custody.
Jagels and Staiger were not immediately available for comment.
Leiva’s attorney, Nelson Castro, said he believed Leiva deserved to receive the lowest term because the relationship was consensual and he did not have a criminal record except for the misdemeanor.
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753789/posts