Johnny Sutton (born 1961) was a lawyer who served as US Attorney for the Western District of Texas from 2001 to 2009, and chaired the United States Attorney General's Advisory Committee. Sutton is known for the prosecution of United States Border Patrol agent Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. He is currently a partner of the Ashcroft Sutton Ratcliffe, LLC law firm in Austin, Texas.
Video Johnny Sutton
Background and education
Sutton grew up in Houston, Texas. He is the grandson of the St Louis Cardinals manager who won in the World Series, Johnny Keane. Sutton is a fluent Spanish speaker.
Sutton graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in International Business in 1983 and subsequently obtained his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Texas School of Law in 1987.
Maps Johnny Sutton
Longhorns Baseball
Sutton attended UT on a baseball scholarship and played for Texas Longhorns, where he was a two-year letterman under coach Cliff Gustafson. His teammates at UT include future pitchers Major Roger Clemens and Calvin Schiraldi. Sutton spent three years as a second baseman reserve, with only 50 at-bats in his career before the 1983 playoff. With a hunch, Gustafson put Sutton in the post-season line as a left winger; Sutton reached.454 in a six-game tournament and was named regional MVP when Longhorns went on to win the World College Series. The 1983 team finished with a 66-14 record.
In various interviews, Gustafson has named Sutton his favorite player of all time. "He sparked us into regional victories and continued to spark us through the national championship," Gustafson said in 1994. "Clemens and Schiraldi got all the hype, but Sutton is the key to organizing a national championship."
Recently, Kirk Bohls of Austin American Statesman, when asked who the most underrated University of Texas athlete, replied, "I would say A.J. Abrams in the circle, Robert Brewer maybe in football, Johnny Sutton in baseball."
Public services
Harrison
From 1988 to 1995, Sutton served as a criminal prosecutor at the Harris District Prosecutor's Office in Houston, where he tried more than 60 first court crimes trials. In 1994, Sutton received the death penalty against Raul Villareal in the rape and murder of two teenage girls, Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. Four other death sentences are granted in this case.
Bush Administration
In 1995, Sutton accepted a position as director of criminal justice policy for Governor George W. Bush, providing analysis and recommendations for the proposed criminal justice law for Bush supporting or vetoing.
After Bush's election as president in 2000, Sutton became the coordinator for the Bush-Cheney transition team assigned to the Justice Department where he served as Deputy Attorney of the Association, initially advising on the US-Mexico border issue.
United States attorney
On October 25, 2001, Bush nominated Sutton for US Attorney for the Western District of Texas, one of the busiest busiest countries, known for the high percentage of drug and immigration crimes and covers 68 counties including Austin, San Antonio, El Paso and 660 miles border. Sutton returned to Austin, where he oversaw the staff of 140 lawyers and changed missions. Traditionally focusing on border-related crimes, the US Attorney's Office is increasingly focused on combating terrorism.
As a US lawyer, Sutton sued over 400 prison gang members, including 19 Texas Syndicate members in 2004, and more than 100 public officials, including former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales in 2003 over allegations of postal and tax fraud. Sutton also supports the buildup of federal resources, from 9,000 to 20,000 border patrol agents, on the Mexican border, and encourages prosecution of illegal immigrants previously deported, not just those who have committed serious crimes.
Sutton was appointed deputy chair of the US Attorney General's Advisory Committee on May 27, 2005. On March 28, 2006, Gonzales appointed Sutton to the committee seat. In this role, Sutton often traveled to Washington to advise the Justice Department on border issues and testify before Congress.
Prosecution Compean and Ramos
Sutton is probably best known for his prosecution of former Border Patrol agent Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos for offenses after the shooting and injuring Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, a drug trafficker who illegally crossed the Mexican border near Fabens, Texas. Compean and Ramos were convicted of attacks with serious bodily injuries, deadly gun attacks, the release of firearms in relation to violent crimes and civil rights demands, as well as contempt for the demands of justice. In October 2006 they were sentenced to twelve years and eleven years and one day, respectively.
Sutton drew criticism from some illegal anti-immigration politicians and activists, especially on talk radio and the internet. CNN anchor Lou Dobbs devotes over a hundred broadcast segments to the case. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty asked in 2007 whether Sutton's work was in danger over the controversy associated with the case, saying "No." Sutton told the Texas Monthly: "Everyone has heard that two American heroes are jailed for doing their work and that drug dealers have been released.If that is a fact, I will be very angry, but the evidence is very strong that these people committed very serious crimes. "On January 19, 2009, President Bush changed the sentences of both Compean and Ramos, effectively ending their term on March 20, 2009.
case "House of Death"
According to the Observer (UK) , in August 2003 the US Department of Justice was informed that informants paid for Immigration and Customs (ICE) had participated in the killings committed by drug cartels in Juarez, in a condominium in Juarez where dozens of people were tortured, killed, and buried in the backyard. The informant, at the time, was cooperating in an ongoing smuggling investigation into cigarettes. Since Sutton was the US Attorney General for West Texas, this information was passed through his office to Assistant Deputy Attorney General John G. Malcolm. The DoJ decides to allow ICE to continue working with informants rather than acting on information about the killings. Finally, Mexican police found and raided the house, and dug up the bodies. This is not the first narco grave found in Mexico, but because of the number of corpses (and the controversy surrounding ICE's knowledge of cartel operations), the event was published and known as the case of "House of Death". Sutton then filed charges against a cartel lieutenant, Heriberto Santillan-Tabares, for drug trafficking and five murders, although the alleged killing was later canceled by Sutton in a plea bargain. Sutton was criticized later by some observers, including University of Texas-El Paso law professor Bill Weaver, for not taking action to shut down previous operations and recommending the DoJ refrain from commenting to the media on the case. On April 19, 2006, Sutton announced a bargaining agreement with Santillan including a 25-year prison term, without charge of murder or defense. Furthermore, Sutton was criticized by former Women's Congressman Cynthia McKinney for approaching journalist Bill Conroy in an alleged attempt to block her from covering the news: McKinney rebuked Sutton for "an attempt... to intimidate a journalist who has reported embarrassing facts to her. ".
Other jobs
In addition to Morales, Sutton's famous cases include the prosecution of two San Antonio city council members and two lawyers for alleged involvement in a bribery scheme linked to a city contract, gaining confidence in 2005. Other widely covered prosecutions include the El Paso forgery ring, Permian Heroin basin and cocaine operations, leader of the Austin-based illegal immigrant smuggling organization, and Kickapoo tribal leaders accused of embezzling $ 900,000 in casinos and health care revenue for personal and political use.
The Ashcroft Firm
Sutton resigned as US Attorney effective April 19, 2009. He announced on 24 April 2009 that he had joined Ashcroft Firm, headed by former US Attorney General John Ashcroft, to be known in Texas as Ashcroft Sutton Ratcliffe, LLC. Sutton's focus at The Ashcroft Group is the company's representation and compliance, strategic planning and risk management.
References
External links
- Johnny Sutton's official bio
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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