Migrant 'riot' charges dismissed again by El Paso county court judge
A county court judge dismissed 59 cases against migrants accused of participating in a border "riot" in April near El Paso's Lower Valley after ruling his court had no jurisdiction, officials said.
County Court of Law Judge Ruben Morales dismissed the cases against the migrants June 6, El Paso Public Defender Kelli Childress said.
"The judge ruled that it (filing of the charges) was done in a way that was improper with respect to constitutional and statutory procedure," Childress said. "None of these problems have been at the fault of the judge or my clients. It's been very frustrating to watch this happen over and over again. This is the third dismissal of these charges while these people have had to sit in jail for."
The migrants were originally charged immediately after the alleged riot. Those charges were dismissed on a similar ruling. The migrants were then reindicted twice, but the charges were dismissed again, including late last week.
The migrants were charged with riot participation in an April 12 incident. The migrants were accused of breaching concertina wire barriers and rushing at law enforcement officers to illegally enter the country in El Paso's Lower Valley.
More: El Paso county judge dismisses border 'riot' charges against 140 migrants
The migrants were scheduled to go to trial Monday before the charges were dismissed. The migrants still face federal illegal entry charges. It is unclear when the migrants will be transferred from state to federal custody.
The El Paso District Attorney's Office can still reindict the migrants on the charges for a third time.
El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks could not immediately be reached for comment.
Judge Morales ruled Monday the court had no jurisdiction over the cases since the El Paso District Attorney's Office improperly filed them.
Hicks denied that his office misfiled the indictments against the migrants, saying the files were improperly transferred to Judge Morales' court.
More: El Paso DA Bill Hicks plans to appeal second dismissal of 211 migrant "riot" cases
The dismissal comes after Childress had argued June 6 that the cases were improperly filed and accused the DA's office of withholding evidence from her.
Hicks denied the accusation stating Childress just needed to agree to a confidential agreement to access the evidence stored in a county digital filing system.
Childress has refused to sign the agreement stating the DA has no constitutional right to withhold evidence to force her to sign any agreement.
Hicks also has argued that Childress representing multiple migrants is a conflict of interest since she has to do what's best for each client, which could include the migrants blaming other migrants.
Childress has denied her office has any conflict of interest in representing a majority of the migrants.
The migrants were facing misdemeanor riot participation charges. The maximum punishment for those charges is 180 days in jail. The migrants have already been held in county jail for nearly 60 days.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas judge dismisses 59 migrant 'riot' charges in El Paso
