Nick Jimenez

Cornyn seeks a new hearing for Soldano

Texas Attorney General John Cornyn is seeking a new sentencing hearing for Victor Hugo Saldano, who was convicted and sentenced to death for killing a Plano man in 1995.
   During the sentencing hearing, a clinical psychologist testified that Saldano was a continuing danger because, in part, he is Hispanic.
   Cornyn went before the U.S. Supreme Court to argue that Saldano's constitutional rights had been violated. The court sent the case back to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals where last month Cornyn argued again for the rehearing. He this week discussed the case with Editorial Page Editor Nick Jimenez. Cornyn's remarks have been edited for length.
   Jimenez: It is amazing that this case, with that kind of testimony, could have made it all the way up the state appellate court system and the sentencing still be upheld.
   Cornyn: The lawyer who was appointed by the bench to defend Mr. Soldano did not object the admission of testimony at the time of trial. When I first heard about it, I was aghast that that kind of testimony was being introduced in a case. I wanted to make sure that it had not infected more cases.
   As it turned out, we identified six other cases where the same kind of testimony was used.
   I'm grateful that this cancer, so to speak, has not spread any further and we were able to stop it when we did.
   Jimenez: Now your authority to intervene and acknowledge prosecutorial error before the U.S. Supreme Court is being questioned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
   Cornyn: Having been a judge for 13 years (Cornyn is a former justice of the Texas Supreme Court), I have great respect for the courts in general.
   But I do question the advisability of raising this question of authority on the court's own motion in what could be a very embarrassing conflict with the U. S. Supreme Court if they were in fact to hold that I did not have authority.
   This case shows the need for a little bit of detachment from the kind of local passions that some of these cases generate. I intend to make sure that the power of this office to do what we did is preserved.
   Jimenez: Are you finding public support for your stance?
   Cornyn: Even the district attorneys who perhaps objected to what I did in the Soldano case, none of them are willing to defend what the local prosecutor did in that case. Several of the big-city prosecutors testified in favor of the bills sponsored by Sen. (Royce) West that would prohibit the introduction of that kind of testimony in the future.
   We certainly can't have a justice system that has the confidence of the people if things like this are going to happen unchecked.
  

 
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