Preferential Treatment?
POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 6:01pm
UPDATED: Friday, October 22, 2010 - 6:45am
Some DWI suspects are treated differently than others to the point where it's unfair. That's what a local defense lawyer claims.
Tonight, he's reacting to two DWI cases dismissed against El Paso police officer Alberto Madrid. The lawyer says the case against his client should be dismissed too.
"I represent someone who's not a police officer and I believe there's insufficient evidence in that case as well," said criminal defense attorney Stuart Leeds. Leeds' client is accused of driving while intoxicated. It's the same charge El Paso police officer Alberto Madrid was hit with twice. But the way the DA's office handled the case, Leeds says, was preferential.
"My question is, well how come they're not dismissing the case on my client," he said.
Here's the reason we've been given; officer Madrid's case was dismissed because prosecutors couldn't prove Madrid had driven the car under the influence. Police found him seated behind the driver side steering wheel with the car running. Madrid also refused a sobriety test.
"My client was also parked in a parking lot at the time," Leeds said.
But in the case of Leeds' client there are differences. He claimed the gears in his car weren't working but his car had somehow backed into another vehicle. His client also agreed to giving a breath sample.
"What happened in another case frankly isn't relevant to the case at hand to that jury," said District Attorney Jaime Esparza. While he can't comment on Leeds' specific case, he says his office prosecutes everyone the same.
"Whether or not you are a police officer or you are, have, some other profession, it doesn't really factor in to whether or not we'll dismiss the case," Esparza said.

