$1.7M Settlement in Case That Exposed DA's E-Mail
A $1.7 million settlement was approved today in a federal civil rights case that led to the exposure of a Texas prosecutor’s personal e-mail and his eventual resignation.
The Harris County commission unanimously OK’d the settlement with Sean Carlos Ibarra, 37, and Erik Adam Ibarra, 28, as sheriff’s deputies were scheduled to testify later this week in their civil rights trial, reports the Houston Chronicle. The two brothers contend that they were wrongfully arrested by deputies as they filmed a drug raid at a neighbor’s home—and their own subsequent arrest—in 2002.
Their discovery request for District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal’s e-mail led to the disclosure of romantic messages that he had reportedly sent to his secretary and other embarrassing personal e-mail, as discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts. Rosenthal last month agreed to resign but was still being paid, at last report, pending the appointment of his successor.
