An illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to murder is suing Alabama officials, claiming the defense he received at taxpayer expense was inadequate.
The federal lawsuit has some of the defendants scratching their heads.
"There seems to be something wrong when an illegal immigrant can file something with the judicial system when he was illegal to begin with," Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said in Dothan.
Cenobio Sanchez is the lead plaintiff in what he hopes will become a class-action lawsuit on behalf of indigent defendants who have had court-appointed attorneys in Houston County. His attorney, Stephen Etheredge, said the case could have statewide impact because several counties are looking at adopting Houston County's system of indigent defense.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages, but Etheredge said the real aim is to get a better system in place for representing poor people who can't afford a lawyer.
In Houston County, two attorneys are on contract to handle indigent defense cases for each circuit judge.
Sanchez, 42, of Gordon was charged in 2007 with the stabbing death of his roommate during an argument over the volume of a radio. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to murder and possession of a fake Social Security card and a fake federal work permit. He was sentenced to 40 years for the murder and an additional five years for possession of the forged instruments.
He is suing the governor, the administrator of the state court system, and several Houston County officials. A second plaintiff, Tina Mikel of Cowarts, is also listed in the suit. She pleaded guilty to a drug charge. They are seeking to be representatives in a class-action lawsuit.
Sanchez argues that his defense was inadequate because his court-appointed attorney had a private law practice in addition to her county work and was handling 329 felony cases in 2008, plus 53 non-felony cases. He says that far exceeds the levels recommended by legal groups. He complains that his attorney lacked time to meet with him and investigate his case before trial. He says Houston County's system forces people to plead guilty because they know their attorneys will be poorly prepared if they go to trial.
His court-appointed attorney in the murder case, Valerie Judah, said Sanchez wanted to plead guilty because he thought the judge would order him returned to Mexico rather than sentence him to an Alabama prison.
Judah said she and other contract attorneys in Houston County have heavy caseloads. "But we have good win-lose ratios," she said in a phone interview Monday.
After pleading guilty, Sanchez went back to court in Houston County, contending that he lacked adequate legal representation when he entered the plea, but a Houston County judge rejected his argument. Sanchez is appealing .He is currently confined at the Easterling Correctional Facility in Clio, about 30 miles north of Dothan.
Phillip Rawls can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/PhillipRawls
Source: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/08/illegal-immigrant-sues-alabama-over-legal-defense
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