Guerra fighting to lift judge's ban

EDINBURG - Juan Angel Guerra, with less than a day remaining as Willacy County district attorney, said he is fighting a precedent that threatens the Texas constitution.

Guerra went back to the Texas 13th Court of Appeals on Tuesday seeking to lift a judge's order that bars him from re-indicting Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials.

Guerra, whose fourth term in office expires today, filed a motion to lift state District Judge Manuel Bañales' order that bars him from re-indicting Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, a private prison operator and other officials.

"This is setting a real bad precedent," Guerra said. "If we allow this dilemma, then we are allowing the courts to dictate who should be indicted and who should not be indicted. They are undermining the grand jury."

A three-judge panel on Monday dismissed Guerra's first motion because it was improperly filed.

In his motion, Guerra argued Bañales' order strips him of his authority under the Texas Constitution to prosecute criminal cases.

Bañales ruled on Dec. 10 that Guerra's bias against Cheney and the other officials prevented him from fairly prosecuting the cases.

Attorneys argued Guerra's bias would lead him to persuade the grand jury to re-indict their clients.

So Bañales removed Guerra as prosecutor in the cases, appointing attorney Alfredo Padilla to serve as special prosecutor to determine whether there's evidence to support Guerra's accusations.

Last month, Guerra led a grand jury to indict Cheney and the other officials, claiming their involvement in the private prison industry led to negligence that caused the murder of an inmate in a Raymondville prison in 2001.

Bañales threw the cases out of court days later.