Patricia Hernandez vehicular homicide trial moved back again
Date Thu Mar 3, 2005 3:40 pm | Topic: Law
| Just as the ever delayed March 7 trial of Patricia Hernandez for vehicular homicide deaths of her two nieces was to come to pass it has been again delayed. At Tuesday's pretrial hearing Judge Kevin Sweazea ordered a two day motions hearing to be conducted on April 13 & 14. This hearing marks the first real opportunity for the defense to test the scientific validity of the wild and baseless claims made by former state toxicologist Sarah Kerrigan in connection with this case. At this hearing a new face will emerge. That is the face of David Mills a veteran state toxicologist whose name is now appearing in the same place on the stationery as Sarah Kerrigan’s did before her departure. It will be enlightening to see if Dr. Mills will put his career and reputation on the line to support Kerrigan’s agenda.
If Mills were, in fact, in agreement with Sarah Kerrigan that the “minimal level” (Kerrigan’s words) of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) that was present in Hernandez blood after the crash supports a finding of intoxication rendering her unable to safely drive then why a 2 day hearing? Kerrigan’s Testimony at the preliminary hearing was carefully worded and orchestrated by the District Attorney to bamboozle Magistrate Judge Santiago “Jim” Naranjo specifically not addressing the issue of the kind of intoxication spelled out in the statute. This was not surprising considering that fooling Judge Naranjo is as difficult as throwing a sheet over one’s head to convince Scooby Doo that one is a ghost. In the wake of Kerrigan’s disingenuous statements we have compiled quite a rolodex of forensic toxicologists. Not one agrees with Sarah Kerrigan.
It is important to understand Sarah Kerrigan in order to understand why she would lead the slowish folks at the DA’s office and Magistrate Jimbo astray. Ms. Kerrigan has, until recently, been motivated by an uncontrollable desire for publicity. Reading Ms. Kerrigan’s writings it becomes clear that she is more than willing to contradict herself when it suits her. In fact it would not be unfair to characterize a compilation of Kerrigan’s writings and testimony as resembling a schizophrenic’s diary or simply a case study in the absence of scientific integrity. Kerrigan, who has written that a man who buys a woman a few drinks and ends up in her bed is categorically a rapist, is a slave to her agenda and will stop at nothing to aggrandize herself. Her actual commitment to her work came into doubt when she simply quit her job and moved on when her significant other left his national laboratory job to take a job with Exxon Mobil in Texas with Kerrigan now working as a freelance scientist from her home in Houston. It is all about Sarah. If her lies are revealed in the upcoming hearing she should be brought back in irons to answer for this travesty she has manipulated. It will never happen since Wellborn is stoneless.
It is disappointing that DA Clint Wellborn has allowed his pride to stand in the way of an objective look into the facts of this case deciding to pursue this case as a reckless homicide the result of half a joint hours prior to the crash. A deeper analysis might show an entirely different set of circumstances. Wellborn, much like Ms. Kerrigan, regularly employs the foolish technique of deciding the outcome then inquiring only to prove his initial supposition. Time and time again this tactic has led to confused juries acquitting the guilty. One would think that he would have learned his lesson by now. Unfortunately Wellborn has been schooled from a young age to skew his evidence to imprison. More unfortunate for this man is that juries seem to have become smarter while he continues to pursue the dirty tricks that used to work for dirty cops in years gone by. Then again when was the last time you saw a news story critical of his performance?
We are patiently waiting to see how the EDC will cover this latest turn of events when they able to respond in two more days in their antique media. It is likely Socorro’s original “Defenseless Chicken” will write whatever Bruce Burwell tells them. I would not waste the half a buck.
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This article comes from Mountain Mail Country Online - Socorro, Lincoln & Otero Counties New Mexico
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