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Attorneys for the two men are pushing for a new trial, arguing the agents acted in self-defense. They also contend that the two were improperly charged with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory prison sentence of at least 10 years. The attorneys said that statute should not be app...
Jolly questioned whether Ramos and Compean would have been prosecuted at all if they had reported to their supervisors the shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, who was wounded on Feb. 17, 2005, near Fabens, southeast of El Paso.
Aldrete had ditched a van containing 743 pounds of marijuana and was trying to flee to Mexico when he was shot. At the scene of the shooting, Compean picked up his shell casings, and neither agent volunteered to supervisors that they'd fired their weapons.
"They are being prosecuted for hiding the crime," Jolly said, suggesting the prosecution "got out of hand."
Stelmach argued that there was balance in the treatment of the agents, saying the judge could have given them stiffer sentences on other charges besides the firearm offense, such as assault.
Supporters for the former agents have accused U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of malicious prosecution, saying the government stacked charges against the two. Sutton issued a statement Monday afternoon, saying the agents were prosecuted to uphold the rule of law.
"Some in the media and on the Internet have tried to portray agents Compean and Ramos as heroes but that narrative is false," Sutton said. "The actions of Compean and Ramos in shooting an unarmed, fleeing suspect, destroying evidence, and engaging in a cover-up, are serious crimes."
The appeals hearing buoyed the hopes of the agents' supporters, who packed the courtroom for arguments before the judges. The case has become a focal point for some border control proponents. Supporters have hailed the two men as "heroes" and "political prisoners."
A key factor in the case is the credibility of Aldrete's testimony, said Ramos' attorney, David Botsford.
At the trial, defense attorneys argued at least one of the agents spotted something shiny in Aldrete's hand, but he denied having a weapon.
Stelmach said the jury determined Aldrete did not have a weapon, "based not on the credibility of Aldrete Davila," he said, but on the agents' "total lack of credibility."
The judges raised pointed questions about the prosecution's deal with Aldrete, who was promised immunity for his activities on the day he was shot in exchange for his testimony against the agents.
Judge Patrick Higginbotham questioned the prosecution's attempts to block the jury at Ramos and Compean's trial from hearing information about evidence of another marijuana smuggling incident that allegedly occurred after Aldrete was shot, but before trial.
On Nov. 15, Aldrete was arrested in connection with a smuggling load from the fall of 2005.
The defense was not allowed to introduce evidence of the second load of marijuana at the agents' trial in U.S. District Court in El Paso in 2006.
Higginbotham said the jury may have been less inclined to believe Aldrete's assertion he was just a low-level mule, a courier with little knowledge of the smuggling business, if they knew about a second drug load.
Stelmach replied that the defense had the opportunity to prove that Aldrete was more than just a mule but failed to convince the jury.
Higginbotham countered that the jury never heard the supporting facts of the argument, since evidence of the subsequent smuggling attempt was ruled inadmissible.
Monica Ramos, Ignacio Ramos' wife, said she left court feeling optimistic. She's visited her husband every week at the federal prison in Phoenix, and said she is hoping the court will release her husband in time for the holidays.
The judges have up to 60 days to issue an opinion.
"I hope they will take a very close look at this case and see what went wrong," she said. "And by their line of questions, there's a good indication that they will."
T.J. Bonner, a Border Patrol agent who is president of the National Border Patrol Council, attended Monday's hearing and said two members of the panel were critical of the government's case.
"That's not a guarantee they will rule that way, but if I were betting on this, I wouldn't bet on Johnny Sutton's side," Bonner said.
''We're hoping that very quickly the Fifth Circuit will rule in favor of agent Ramos and Compean so they can be freed from prison. And the next step is to go after those responsible for wrongfully prosecuting them."
Chronicle writer James Pinkerton contributed to this report.
The California Highway Patrol issued a Sig-alert for the eastbound interstate Highway 380 connector to southbound U.S. Highway 101 near San Bruno, after an overturned big-rig caught fire early Monday.
At around 1:15 a.m., CHP officials and firefighters responded to a crash involving a big-rig on southbound U.S. Highway 101 at San Bruno Avenue, according to CHP officials.
CHP officials reported the big-rig was on its side and fully engulfed in flames.
At 1:28 a.m., CHP officials issued the Sig-alert, closing the highway connector. CHP officials initally estimated the connector would reopen around 3:30 a.m. but later updated that to 5:30 a.m. The road was finally opened around 7:30 a.m.
Five mass extinctions have occurred since life began on Earth. Are humans causing the next mass extinction? And what does evolutionary theory predict for the world we will leave to our descendants?
Police officers will not have to be made compulsorily redundant, a major report into their pay has recommended - despite a separate warning that 28,000 jobs must go.
A confidential memorandum to the Home Office from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), providing the most accurate figures yet about the full extent of the cuts facing policing in England and Wales, suggested 12% of posts would disappear.
Spending cuts will result in 12,000 police officers and 16,000 civilian staff losing their jobs, police chiefs predicted.
But the first part of a major review into police pay and conditions by Tom Winsor announced that compulsory redundancies would not be required in the short-term.
The report recommended scrapping bonuses for chief constables and superintendents, implementing a two-year pay freeze and ending overtime pay for backroom staff working at the weekend in return.
But officers will also be able to choose when they take their bank holiday leave and will receive an extra ten per cent of basic pay for every hour worked between 20:00 and 06:00. Maternity pay is to be extended from 13 to 18 weeks.
"We struck a tough but fair settlement for the police in the spending review but with a record budget deficit, we are in extraordinary circumstances," home secretary Theresa May said.
"With three-quarters of the police budget spent on staff, changes to pay and conditions have to be part of efforts to protect police jobs, keep officers on the streets and cut crime."
Some police forces will be affected more than others by the cuts because of the percentage of their funding taken from Whitehall, where the 20% spending reduction comes from.
West Midlands police receives over 86% of its funding from central government and so its funding will be cut by 18%, the Guardian reported.
"We will have fewer staff, the same or more demands, and will need to incentivise staff to produce higher quality," Greater Manchester police Chief Constable Peter Fahy told the newspaper, which obtained a copy of the Acpo memo.
The 28,000 figure is not as drastic as the 40,000 job losses predicted by the Police Federation last year, but will nevertheless spark alarm in police forces up and down the country.
"Everyone will support sensible reforms but it's important the government works with the police on reform rather that picking a fight with the police as they tried to do last week," shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said.
Barcelona will take a 1-0 lead over ManchesterUnited into next week’s second leg of their Champions League quarter-final after a 12th-minute Luke Shaw own goal gave them victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
United’s best chance of the first half fell to Diogo Dalot but the Portuguese made a mess of a fine Marcus Rashford cross, heading harmlessly across the goal from close-range.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team had struggled to get a foothold in the game during the opening 45 minutes but they were much improved after the break, applying plenty of pressure without creating any clear chances.
Toyota Etios, Ford Figo, Chevrolet Beat, Nissan Micra and Skoda Yeti have all created a buzz among consumers months ahead of their official launch. Cars like Maruti Swift, Chevrolet’s Cruze and Beat, Ford Figo and Honda Jazz have even garnered sizeable pre-launch bookings.
In a departure from the norm of keeping new cars under wraps till their official launch, manufacturers now not only showcase upcoming cars aggressively but also accept bookings in advance.
“We have done pre-launch bookings in only two cars — Cruze and Beat — so far but the response has been overwhelming,” said P Balendran, vice-president, General Motors India.
Mostly, it is the newer players like Toyota, Skoda, Ford, Honda and Nissan, who have chosen this route of creating awareness. Heavyweights like Maruti, Hyundai and Tata continue to follow the traditional way of keeping a new car under wraps till the launch.
Recently, Nissan embarked on a similar activity for its upcoming maiden small car Micra, and despite having only 11 operational dealerships, it has managed to garner over 1,500 bookings. The company also kickstarted its media campaign over a month prior to its launch.
“We are confident now that this booking trend will continue to improve as we move closer to the start of sales in middle of July,” said Kiminobu Tokuyama, managing director and CEO, Nissan Motor India.
Skoda, which will launch a compact SUV, Yeti, and Toyota, which will launch its small car Etios later this year are also taking the products on a whirlwind tour of the country.
“Showcasing a car before it is officially launched and sharing product details with customers is a very healthy trend,” said Thomas Kuehl, board member (sales and marketing), Skoda India.
At the summer TCA press tour in August, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl faced a barrage of questions about the network’s culture just days after the first story about allegations of past sexual misconduct against CBS CEO Leslie Moonves came out. At the same event, Kahl also revealed that the network was in preli...
A lot has changed since then. Moonves was fired after an investigation following more stories about alleged inappropriate behavior, and The Big Bang Theory producers opted to end the series after 12 seasons when co-lead Jim Parsons indicated he would not continue.
While CBS, along with a couple of other networks, is not doing do an executive session at the winter TCA, Kahl answered some programming questions, addressing the end of Big Bang Theory, possible replacements and spinoffs, as well as the fate of the Murphy Brown revival, which couldn’t quite measure up to the high expe...
DEADLINE: Did the pending departure of Big Bang put additional pressure on your development to find a new big multi-camera hit?
KAHL: I think it’s big priority every year to find a big multi-cam that develops into a big hit. We are always looking for the “next one,” and that would be the case again this year.
DEADLINE: There has been speculation that spinoff Young Sheldon would succeed Big Bang on the schedule next season. Have you made the decision?
KAHL: That won’t be made until May when we are doing our scheduling meetings. We are gratified to have a show doing as well as Young Sheldon but there are never any guarantees about time periods or where thing are going to end up on the schedule.
DEADLINE: Have you had conversations with Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros TV about a potential second Big Bang spinoff?
KAHL: Nothing formal. The ball is in squarely in their court. If they want to talk to us about it, we are here to listen.
DEADLINE: Any other series you are looking to spin off for next season besides FBI?
DEADLINE: You have given early renewals to four freshman series. Murphy Brown was not among them. What are the odds of it coming back?
KAHL: It definitely remains in the mix for possibly returning next season, along with several other shows.
DEADLINE: Looking back at how Murphy Brown was rebooted, would you have done anything differently?
KAHL: Creator Diane [English] and Warner Bros came to us with a vision for the show. We were excited for the vision and put it on very true to what Diane wanted to do. We are very proud of the show, and as I said it remains in contention.
DEADLINE: What about MacGyver? Would it continue without George Eads?
KAHL: It’s doing terrific work for us on Friday night at 8 PM, which is a tough time slot, and certainly remains in contention for next year.
DEADLINE: And Mom? Are you optimistic that it would return for Season 7?
KAHL: We would love and expect to have Mom back.
DEADLINE: CBS made major strides in diversity last development season. Do you expect a pilot slate that is as inclusive this year?
KAHL: At the time when questioned we said that diversity was not a one-time effort, it’s an all-the-time effort. You will certainly see inclusivity in our pilots going forward from this point.
DEADLINE: CBS is making its biggest unscripted push in years this season with several new series, led by World’s Best, which premieres after the Super Bowl. What are your expectations?
KAHL: We’ve been successful with very, very long-running reality shows. We made the commitment to try and find the next generation of hits while we still have some strength in that area so the cupboard is not empty when you try find these new shows. Hopefully we can make noise and have some new franchises to put on the...
DEADLINE: What is the current work environment and morale at CBS?
KAHL: I don’t think it’s any secret that last year was a difficult year, and I think the company and our CEO Joe Ianniello have really redoubled their efforts to make CBS a premier place to work in our industry, and those efforts are tangible and are moving forward.
Most moms and dads favor "intensive" parenting, regardless of their financial situation, a study found. But that ideal might be out of reach.
Helicopter parents, lawnmower parents and tiger parents are so last year. Now, there's a new kind of parenting approach to analyze, emulate or criticize — depending on who you are.
Parents today overwhelmingly want to be "intensive" parents, according to a Cornell University study.
They shell out serious money so their children to do sports, music and other extracurricular activities. Maybe several at once.
Moms and dads want to be involved with their kids at all times.
And they do it whether or not they realistically have the time or money to do so.
Whether parents are wealthy or financially struggling, married or singe, male or female, 75 percent of them favor the intensive parenting style, said researcher Patrick Ishizuka, a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University.
"This points to exceptionally high standards for how parents should raise their kids. It suggests that parents are experiencing significant pressure to spend great amounts of both time and money on children,” Ishizuka said in a news release. "It’s remarkable just how widespread support is for intensive parenting, in te...
The study surveyed more than 3,600 parents who were nationally, economically and demographically representative.
Participants were presented with hypothetical scenarios in which parents interacted with children aged 8 to 10. In the stories, parents took either an intensive parenting approach or a natural growth approach. Participants then ranked the fictional parent’s behavior from excellent to poor.
In these scenarios, parents in the survey arranged their child’s participation in extracurricular activities, played with them at home and asked them to share their feelings and thoughts. When the child misbehaved, parents wanted explanations and a chance to talk it out.
The parenting style sounds like helicopter parenting on steroids, in which parents are defined as hovering, setting their child's schedule and mitigating risk and failure.
More: What type of parent are you? Lawnmower? Helicopter? Attachment? Tiger? Free-range?
Parents taking this approach favor setting rules for their children's safety, but allow flexibility to play independently or with friends. Parents are far less involved in their children’s activities. They don't negotiate in the way that intensive parents do and prefer to give clear directives on what's expected in ter...
In a nut shell: A child complains of boredom. An intensive parent signs the child up for an extracurricular activity. The natural growth parent tells the child to go outside and play.
The study doesn't shed any new light on the fact that parents want to spend more time in their children's lives. They've been doing that since the 1960s, Ishizuka points out.
Where the study breaks new ground is finding that intensive parenting has become the ideal model whether parents have the time or money to make it a reality.
So where could that leave parents with few resources and great expectations?
Feeling like they're failing their children.
NEW YORK Microsoft is continuing its attacks on Apple products as overpriced with a new Web campaign for its Zune portable media player.
The spot promotes Zune Pass, Microsoft’s music service that offers unlimited song downloads for $14.99 per month. “One costs a lot and one costs a little,” Moss says.
MDC Partners’ Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which won the Zune assignment last November to add to its work for Microsoft Windows Vista, did the campaign. Its earlier work, starring rapper Common, focused on turning PCs into “music discovery” machines.

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