Breaking! Rubashkin Wants To Bar Agriprocessors Workers From Testifying Against Him

Rubashkin defense lawyers claim immigrant workers are "incompetent to testify as a matter of law" because of they want to go back home but can't until they testify.

If this legal 'reasoning' were accepted  by the courts, it would give employers carte blanche to abuse and rip off illegal workers – just like Rubashkin allegedly did.

Agriprocessor's ex-exec asks to bar plant workers from testifying
BY GRANT SCHULTE • Des Moines Register

Lawyers for an indicted Postville slaughterhouse executive asked a judge Monday to forbid the use of 32 plant workers as government witnesses because of lies they told to work in the United States illegally and pressure from federal authorities.

The former employees at Agriprocessors Inc. are included on a list of witnesses prosecutors may call in their case against former executive Sholom Rubashkin.

Rubashkin and other managers are scheduled to stand trial next month on 163 charges that include immigrant harboring, bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. Rubashkin's arrest followed a May 2008 immigration raid at his former plant.

Defense lawyers argued in court papers that the immigrants are "incompetent to testify as a matter of law" because of their desires to return home. Prosecutors kept many of the witnesses in the country despite their wishes to return to Guatemala, Mexico and other homelands.

"Most of the individuals entered the country with the hope of making a better life and not with devious intent," said the brief, written by defense lawyers Guy Cook and F. Montgomery Brown. "Each of these individuals, however, disregarded the importance of the truth in favor of personal interest from the moment that they left their homes to come to the United States."

Because of the experiences of each witness, defense lawyers said, "the 'truth' is and can only be what the government wants to hear."

Defense lawyers from the original mass court hearings in Waterloo have said the immigrants were treated humanely by federal agents and given adequate time to consult with their attorneys.

Rubashkin has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. Prosecutors have 10 days to respond to the motion in court papers.

Comments

[sage]

It's scraping the bottom of the barrel time.

[state of the Jews]

"Each of these individuals, however, disregarded the importance of the truth in favor of personal interest..."

Is he talking about undocumented workers, or the Rubashkin's, Amara, Levi, etal?

[State of Postville III]

It is scraping the bottom of the barrel that was filled with sweat and toil of these workers. This is as ridiculous as the gov't theory and antisemetism reasoning. Please acknowledge the criminal behavior rather than the "blame game." The Jewish population here generally believes it is the gov't who is after these criminals. Rationalization what you want the truth is the truth. Honest business practices would have prevented this mess. The town could heal but not with the cancer still simmering.

[sage]

SMR's legal staff are very close to crossing the line in the sand, that Judge Linda Reade laid out.

A few more of these piss-poor challanges may get them brought up on ethics charges.

[joe]

whats your problem why does every legal move that he tries to do gets you to make a nasty comment this is america and people get to try what every legal moves that they think will help them

[Pablo Faird]

The bottom line is that the lawyer is doing what he is being paid to do, this is how the legal system works in the US, and until they change it or until the judge throws these motions out based on ethics, there is nothing you can do about it.

[Hometown Postville]

One could say that SMR has the same motivations. How motivated is he toward telling the truth when the truth has potential to keep him locked up the rest of his life instead of snuggling back to his cozy home?

[Tonda]

As a defendant, he is free to have his lawyer explore any avenue that will help his defense.

The proscutor is free to counter and challange any defense motion.

The judge is free to rule in any manner that is within the laws of their jurisdiction.

The general public is free to laugh at, mock, ridicule, or otherwise discuss the absolute absurdity of the defense motions.

And laugh we shall...

[effie]

As a matter of law, that's not the definition of incompetent to testify. Denied.

[Proton Soup]

lots of people would rather be somewhere else than called to testify.

[justice seeker]

He's a bully and coward. He'll take a plea deal because he's afraid to do hard time married to a vengeful Guatemalan. He'll get a cushy ride in a minimum security joint for a couple of years, and the rest of the family will slink back to New York where they can continue their michief making.

[state of disgust]

wrong.
The family still owns Cottonballs, the real estate property and Hashem knows what else. They will stay in Postville as long as the family stays employed at the plant.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

I'm mentally exhausted now, and have been unable to find the blog post here on FM that discussed the willingness of the US government to grant the detained undocumented workers residency status because they were victims of labor law violations.

[Mr. Apikoros]

These attorneys, and I use the term loosely, are laughable. Denied, denied, denied.

[sage]

+++ The family still owns Cottonballs, the real estate property and Hashem knows what else. They will stay in Postville as long as the family stays employed at the plant.

Posted by: state of disgust | August 18, 2009 at 10:13 PM +++

Hi SOD,

An Agri worker posted earlier, that Friedman obtains his chickens from out of state suppliers.

Does this mean that Cottonballs is not a going concern or that Friedman has boycotted it for a chicken source?

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

I found the FM post I mentioned earlier here:
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/05/breaking-goverment-gives-former-agriprocessors-workers-humanitarian-visas.html

I haven't seen any news stories about the status of the 32 additional visa applications that were mentioned in that article. Assuming none of the 20 who were awarded humanitarian visas refused them and returned home, that gives the government 20 witnesses who agreed assist the government with relevant investigations.

I always figured the defense was going to try to keep any and all of the illegals from testufyng. I really have no feel for how the judge is going to rule on this motion. So far, however, this judge has denied more motions that granted them.

[Sam]

Ethics violations????

Can someone please specify which rule of the Professional Responsibility Code filing this motion would violate? Please, anyone?

If you can't specify such a rule then just sit back and shut up.

[justice seeker]

To State of disgust...they filed BK on the real estate holding some time ago

[Empire not cut up to what you think]

Sage
Agri Star still gets chickens from same sources "farmers" as it always has and yes some are from Iowa and some from MN. Cottonballs barns are empty until either Mr Freidman buys them from Rubashkins or a lease agreement is made between Rubashkins and Mr Friedman. I think something will be worked out eventually.

[Yerachmiel Lopin (FrumFollies editor)]

Rubashkin is such a Chossid, he doesn't want any of those poor workers to have be stuck in the US with permanent visas, when there are much better jobs in Central America. What a chossid, to do this for them even though he knows they lied. He is also doing this to spare them the terrible aveirah of giving false testimony. His chassidus makes me want to contribute to his pidyon shvuyim fund.
But it would be greedy of me to deprive all those other yidn of a chance to get the mitzvah.

I am eager to see what happens when the Novominsker Rebbe and his delegation shows up to say Yidn can't inform. It would be nice if there was a judge with the courage to say, I admire a man who is willing to spend a lot longer in jail to uphold his religious principles.