DA Drops Arson Charges Against Wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice
Prosecutors have dropped arson charges against the wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina.
Francisca Medina had been charged in a 2007 fire that destroyed the couple’s home, but prosecutors say experts can’t rule out the possibility that electrical problems caused the blaze, according to the Associated Press and the Houston Chronicle.
Medina’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, told the Chronicle that two defense experts collected more evidence than the fire marshal’s office, and it indicates an arson fire, although the findings aren’t conclusive. A form filed by the Harris County District Attorney’s office said experts for both sides couldn’t rule out the possibility of an electrical cause.
A grand juror who sat on a panel that indicted Medina, Steve Howell, told the Houston Chronicle in a separate story that he was disappointed by the dismissal. “I would like to have a jury hear the facts,” he said. Howell said new information about a possible electrical cause would have had little influence on him because of other information heard by grand jurors.
Howell and five other grand jurors lost a lawsuit seeking permission to discuss evidence they heard in the case.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
