# kangaroo fucking court **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 18, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901 "2006-10-18T06:54:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/21 "2006-10-18T15:21:53Z")
Fight it! Go to the media, call the ACLU, scream it from the mountaintops. You got royally screwed and you can’t let Sherriff Buford T. Justice get away with it. Then, to really get them back, run for sherriff! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/22 "2006-10-18T16:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=Mince] As **mhendo** indicated above, this a bit of hyperbole. I get that. However, for it to merely _seem_ like it happens every other week, it still must happen quite frequently. [/QUOTE] Well, you’ve already been given three examples in this thread, and it seems that those came with almost no effort whatsoever. Of the three cases offered, i knew about two of them already (the Tulia and Donna cases). The fact that i knew about both of these places off the top of my head, without even needing to Google “Texas police corruption” or anything like that, is suggestive in and of itself, don’t you think? I can’t speak for **Apos** and what he may or may not have read about the Texas justice system, but as someone who reads quite a lot of news, i know that i’ve seen numerous mentions of Texas police and courts in unflattering circumstances during the six years i’ve lived in the US. Maybe not every couple of weeks—which you’ve already acknowledged as hyperbole—but often enough for me not to be surprised when i read a story like the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/23 "2006-10-18T17:10:17Z")
**jimbeam** , my heart breaks for you. What you’ve been through and what you face ahead must be both terrifying and infuriating. I, too, think you need to fight this. I wish I knew a good Texas attorney who could help you. Perhaps someone else here knows of someone and can give you a referral. **Minty Green** , are you still around? That said, I hope you won’t mind if I giggle just a little at your screen name in relation to your story? 🙂 As for Mr. Defensive **Mince** , is the frequency of these examples of police corruption in Texas enough to support the (acknowledged) hyperbolic statement **Apos** made? [ > [@](#): > > ``` > * **McAllen, October 2005** : Immigration Customs Enforcement inspector arrested for allegedly taking bribes to [url="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txs/releases/October2005/051004-Martinez.htm"]let drug shipments through his lane](http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2006/04/border-corruption-runs-amok-new-cash.html) at a border checkpoint. > * **McAllen, October 2005** : Three Rio Grande Valley City cops arrested for allegedly taking [bribes to escort drug runners](http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/407/thisweek1.shtml) through their jurisdiction. > * **Brownsville, December 2005** : Cameron County Sheriff convicted of accepting bribes and using deputies to [escort drug runners](http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txs/releases/December2005/051213-Cantu.htm) through the county. > * **Laredo, March 2006** : Senior Border Patrol Agent and his brother sentenced to 20 and 17-1/2 years respectively for accepting bribes to [allow drugs through a border checkpoint](http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/389/thisweek1.shtml). > * **Harlingen, March 2006** : A state corrections officer (prison guard) was caught at a border patrol checkpoint with [21 pounds of marijuana in his spare tire](http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/428/thisweek1.shtml). > * **El Paso, March 2006** : US authorities announced they will [extradite rather than prosecute](http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2006/04/snitch-whose-crimes-were-tolerated-by.html) an informant who murdered 12 people in Juarez while working for Immigration Customs Enforcement. > * **Zapata County, April 2006** : Deputy commander of the Laredo Multi-Agency Narcotics Task force was [indicted](http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2006/04/on-texas-side-too-corrupt-cops-operate.html) for allegedly [directing agents](http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2006/04/drug-enforcement-broken-down-on-border.html) away from trafficking routes, helping smugglers store drugs, and giving out confidential police information. > * **El Paso, April 2006** : Former Special Agent in Charge of the entire El Paso FBI division (2001-2003) [indicted](http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2006/04/cartels-corrupted-top-fbi-official-in.html) for allegedly taking bribes from a cartel-affiliated Juarez racetrack owner who was his informant. > * **Edinburg, April 2006** : Five brothers including one current Edinburg police officer and a former McAllen police officer arrested on [drug trafficking charges](http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2006/04/dea-sting-nabs-nuther-valley-cop.html). > > ``` Here’s a nice little story: [ > [@](#): > > **JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INDICTS FORMER FRIO COUNTY, TEXAS > DEPUTY SHERIFFS ON CORRUPTION AND CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS** > > \ > > The indictment alleges that the three former deputy sheriff’s conducted unlawful traffic stops of motorists in an attempt to extort money and steal property from individuals. Additionally, the government alleges that the defendants set fire to a mobile home and stole firearms from an evidence room of a local police station. ]([Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice](http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2001/October/528cr.htm)) More: [ > [@](#): > > In 1997, six former law officers from Texas were indicted on drug trafficking and corruption charges for smuggling more than 1700 pounds of marijuana into the country. In July 1994, Hidalgo County Sheriff Brig Marmolejo Jr. was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for taking $151,000 in bribes for allowing a drug trafficker to have special privileges in jail. Also that year, a federal investigation in nearby Zapata County resulted in drug-related convictions of the former county judge, sheriff and county clerk. In 1995, former Hidalgo County Judge J. Edgar Ruiz and several other county officials were indicted on charges of awarding county business to favored companies for more than $30,000 in kickbacks. (Arrillaga, 1997) > > \ > > In Houston, Texas, internal affairs Sgt Adres Reza and his girlfriend were arrested and charged with the kidnapping of a Pasadena businesswoman. She was the wife of another Houston police officer. Reza stated that he could get away with the kidnapping because he was a police officer ([http://www.civiliansdown.com/copcrimes%20page%201.htm](http://www.civiliansdown.com/copcrimes%20page%201.htm)]([http://www.iejs.com/Policing/police\_corruption.htm](http://www.iejs.com/Policing/police_corruption.htm)), 2002). In 1992 Lorraine Adams and Dan Malone of _The Dallas Morning News_ won a Pulitzer Prize for their series of reports on the extensive misconduct and abuses of power of police in Texas. And while I’m sure these examples could be said to be exceptions to the rule, given the vast number of police there are in the entire state of Texas, I do believe that they appear with enough frequency to justify the _feeling_ that it _seems like_ a bi-weekly occurrence. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/24 "2006-10-18T17:48:15Z")
Shit like that makes me think Texas ought to be cut loose from the Union, and put on the Axis-of-Evil nation list. BTW, how did they know your plates were from McAllen,TX? Do you have one of those stupid license plate frames (actually illegal in many jurisdictions) that says McAllen on it? Ditch it. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/25 "2006-10-18T18:15:54Z")
Others have said it better than I have. No, I can’t provide a cite for every single week going back several years, but not only have I read countless stories of a basically corrupt and non-functional justice system, but I’ve ever read Texans and former Texans describe it as such. Texas is also notorious for “drunk or sleeping” (i.e. completely incompetant) defense attorneys. Real due process is just not as respected as much in Texas as elsewhere. For all we know, jimbeam could be leaving out key facts about his case (no offense to jimbeam, but none of us have the ability to confirm any of it). But it certainly rings true with other stories I’ve heard. These small town police forces make a lot of money on railroading out of towners, in part to justify their own salaries. They basically pull people over for no reason and try to find some way to make money off of it asap. It’s absolutely no surprise that key evidence exonerating him mysterious disappeared. And I’ll bet there isn’t even any hint of IAB or recrimination over that sort of misconduct. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/26 "2006-10-18T18:18:35Z")
You have to go to A.A.? You have to give up three evenings out of every week to deal with your “alcohol problem”? What do you say when there’s nothing to talk about? Unless you’re not telling the whole story, it’s beyond ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/27 "2006-10-18T18:18:35Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] Shit like that makes me think Texas ought to be cut loose from the Union, and put on the Axis-of-Evil nation list. [/QUOTE] Did you read the link in **Trunk** ’s post? Cut loose New York and add them to the axis of evil? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/28 "2006-10-18T18:19:08Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] Shit like that makes me think Texas ought to be cut loose from the Union, and put on the Axis-of-Evil nation list. BTW, how did they know your plates were from McAllen,TX? Do you have one of those stupid license plate frames (actually illegal in many jurisdictions) that says McAllen on it? Ditch it. [/QUOTE] I don’t know about Texas, but many states license plates are designed so that that it is apparent what county the car is from. In Ohio they use number coded stickers on each plate. In Indiana they use the plate number themselves, so that the first 2 digits of the plate number indicate what county the car is from. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/29 "2006-10-18T18:24:19Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] You have to go to A.A.? You have to give up three evenings out of every week to deal with your “alcohol problem”? What do you say when there’s nothing to talk about? Unless you’re not telling the whole story, it’s beyond ridiculous. [/QUOTE] I have a large problem with this. My Brother had to go through AA meeting for his DUI and AA is seriously tinged with religion. The whole Court ordering you to AA meeting seems to violate the “spirit” of separation of church and state. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/30 "2006-10-18T18:27:11Z")
[QUOTE=zamboniracer] I don’t know about Texas, but many states license plates are designed so that that it is apparent what county the car is from. [/QUOTE] Texas plates do not indicate where the vehicle is from, but the registration sticker placed in the window does indicate what county the vehicle is registered in. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/31 "2006-10-18T18:50:19Z")
[QUOTE=Mince] Help youself. It’s way too crowded here anyway. But where will you go? Choices, choices. [/QUOTE] Way ahead of you. I left the US about 45 days ago. I do not plan on returning. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/32 "2006-10-18T19:27:39Z")
You most certainly have grounds to sue. Requring people to go specifically to AA has many times over been found to be a violation of SOCAS. We’ve had this debate before, but I think AA’s approach to alcohol treatment is criminally flawed anyway, and further compromised by the fact that it accepts such forced membership. ---
**Author:** ![jimbeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/858c86/32.png) [@jimbeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbeam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/33 "2006-10-18T19:29:06Z")
The car has a dealer’s sticker on the trunk. You can’t legally have anything that covers the plate in Texas. The car IS gone now. I just had it for a little while and it was a cop magnet. I should’ve just outran the little bastard. It had a huge fuel injected IROQ Z28 monster under the hood. BUT I was legal so I just pulled over like a good boy and let em fuck me in the ass. I even blew the breath test because I was sober and new it was all a mistake. Said so on the interrogation video and the cop actually agreed it was possible. Guess why the tape HAD to vanish? I had a lawyer (court appointed) but like I said, I’m busted. The shit I went through with my wife’s accident (ie:medical and legal expenses) took everything we worked for. I’ve got a couple of acres of land left but the rest is gone. This is just icing on the cake. Also for whatever reason and not allowed in court was the fact that the chickenshit little cop has gone through three or four jobs in as many years. When asked why, the prosecution objected and it was considered not relevant. He had been with Crockett PD for 8 months at that time (thus the “rookie” reference) Yeah, I’ve left some shit out. Like when the jailer asked why I was arrested and he said I didn’t look or act drunk to him. How about the fact that my car was inventoried and shit was destroyed in the search. How about the fact that despite the scant testimony of the two officers at the scene they contradicted each other on some aspects and simply forgot or denied other points. Cop number two was following the senior officers lead. Yep you heard me, the backup cop had less time than the arresting officer. He clearly didn’t want to be there and absolutely perjured himself on the stand. But then both of them did. Without the tape, it was just my word against theirs. How about Crockett has a strict NO DRUGS campaign and my profile was just what they were looking for. A big bust would’ve exonerated the little prick for whatever reasons he can’t keep a job. Oh, **Shayna** I get the joke… but the usename came in honor of my father. He passed away this summer after a long bout with cancer. I had been caring for him (feeding tubes, giving meds, baths, etc) he was a longtime, 32 years, member of AA and Jim Beam was his favorite. When he drank of course. Personally, I prefer Cuervo Gold but not at 5 o’clock in the morning. I don’t know how long I have to appeal. I need to find out. But in a little hick fucking town what makes anyone think it’d be any different next time. Change venue? How do I present possibly destroyed evidence? Like I said earlier, the tapes were referred to in pretrial, so it’d be in the minutes… My lawyer viewed the tapes but didn’t get copies. The prosecutor claimed they NEVER existed. The judge wouldn’t allow reference to them, since they “never existed”. Despite the evidence from pretrial. My lawyer couldn’t testify of course. It’s just fucked up all the way around. I agree we can make our own hell… But, I didn’t start this fucking curse. I just want it to end and every time I try gettin back up on my feet… SHIT lookout… the fuckin sky is falling. That’s how I feel. It’s NOT imagined, it’s fucking real. All this shit has happened and just recently. Fuck Job, he had an easy time IMHO. There’s more but damn, I didn’t mean for this to be a rant about other crap. Anyway, y’all might want to stay clear. Just in case this shit is contagious. It seems to affect everyone close to me. There’s nothing I can do about all the “natural” shit out there BUT this illegal fucking shit is what’s eating at me. I’ve always been a fucking standup and be counted, speak out and help others kind of guy. I’ve always been part of the community and never took shit from nobody but I swear it’s plied up pretty deep lately. These cocksukers and their gestapo fucking tactics are just wrong. But then I think our rights have pretty much gone out the fucking window since 911. Although, this small town shit has been around forever. It didn’t just start. I just don’t get how a jury can not see reasonable doubt at least. I know people are often lazy and it was late in the day when they left to decide. The fucking prosecutor drug it out to the last damned minute . Started out first thing in the morning and closed at nearly 6pm. Everyone was fucking wore out and wanted to go home. They took less than ten minutes. AND I know at least one jury member saw WTF was going on. She kept shaking her head whenever the prosecution’s BS started. Shit, I better stop before y’all get the butterfly net. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/34 "2006-10-18T19:41:13Z")
You guys will love [this](http://www.monsterfm.com/justice/roach.htm). It’s the story of a hard on drug offenders Texas DA. ---
**Author:** ![jimbeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/858c86/32.png) [@jimbeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbeam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/35 "2006-10-18T19:42:43Z")
and YES the AA 3 times a week was absolutely court ordered. My higher power GOD as I understand HIM and Our Father who art in Heaven etc, etc, are ALL aspects of AA. Even though it claims to be “non-religious” it is absolutely a spiritual organization and constant referrals to GOD and prayer is at every meeting. Not that there’s anything wrong with folks and their religions or people’s belief in GOD either BUT BUT BUT BUT WTF makes the court think it’s got the right to ORDER me to church/AA or else I go to jail? BTW, AA isn’t crazy about the idea either. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/36 "2006-10-18T19:49:35Z")
It doesn’t have the right. If you contact the ACLU, they will sue the judge on your behalf. ---
**Author:** ![jimbeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/858c86/32.png) [@jimbeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbeam)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/37 "2006-10-18T20:08:29Z")
Oh and to clear up any confusion about the plates…YES the car had a dealer tag on the trunk BUT I had recently got the car and had NOT transferred the title yet. So, the plates came back on the police radio from McAllen, Tx. not in my name (red flag to law enforcement) I explained all this to them at the time and it wasn’t a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/38 "2006-10-18T20:22:09Z")
Go the the ACLU, fight this with everything you’ve got. Also, after consulting the ACLU, maybe start the red tape to move out of Texas depending on what they say if they take up your case. (They most likely will…) At the least, find a counselor that actually listens and go to them regularly to help you deal with the added stress so you don’t implode. Good luck, I’ll send some good thoughts your way. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/39 "2006-10-18T21:54:49Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] As for Mr. Defensive **Mince** , is the frequency of these examples of police corruption in Texas enough to support the (acknowledged) hyperbolic statement **Apos** made? [/QUOTE] Absolutely. Leastwise it’s a very good start. But there is no _defense_ here. You are being presumptuous. I merely asked for evidence supporting his claim. Turns out it wasn’t so hyperbolic afterall. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901/40 "2006-10-18T22:16:41Z")
This guy’s style seem a little…familiar to anyone else? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-fucking-court/376901.md?page=3)