EDWIN ALEJANDRO GARCIA - 3 Months (2008) - Prescott AZ

PRESCOTT
- A judge on Thursday denied a defense motion to dismiss the death
penalty in a fatal child abuse trial because, the defense attorney
argued, it is unsafe to go to the defendant's hometown in Mexico to find
evidence that would help his case.

Cesar Garcia-Soto, now 29, was arrested in February 2008 and charged with first- and second-degree
murder and two counts of child abuse in connection with the death of his 3-month-old son.

Sedona firefighters were called to his
apartment on Sugarloaf in the Village of Oak Creek the night of Jan. 23,
2008, and discovered the child, Edwin Alejandro Garcia, was unconscious
and not breathing. Garcia-Soto was the only adult at the apartment.

Edwin was taken to St. Joseph's hospital in Phoenix, where he died three weeks later.

Doctors said he had "highly suspicious" injuries: a fractured skull and pelvis,
according to YCSO investigators, and a broken arm and several broken
ribs that appeared to be a result of older incidents.

Deputies also arrested the child's mother, Gladys Yamileth Rodriguez-Paz, who was
not home at the time of the 911 call, saying she could have acted to stop the abuse.

The couple's other two young children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

Rodriguez-Paz pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse in 2008 and was sentenced to a year in prison.

The motion addressed Thursday was filed in May 2009. In it, Garcia-Soto's
attorney, John Napper, argues that, because this is a death-penalty
case, he is obligated to undertake "an exhaustive investigation into the
history and life of Mr. Garcia-Soto," but the fact that Garcia-Soto is a
Mexican citizen means that would have to take place in Mexico.

"The United States State Department has issued a warning asking all American
citizens not to travel to the portion of Mexico (Cuidad Juarez in
Chihuahua) where Mr. Garcia-Soto was raised," Napper wrote.

He quoted American Bar Association guidelines stating that defense teams
"must conduct in-person, face-to-face interviews" with key witnesses in capital cases.

Since the defense team cannot travel to Cuidad
Juarez to accomplish those interviews, Napper said, he asked the court
to preclude the state from seeking the death penalty or to delay the
penalty phase of a trial if his client is found guilty.

In September, Deputy County Attorney Steve Young filed a response in which
he said "counsel for the defendant is merely required to discover all
reasonably available mitigating evidence," and that Napper did not cite
any law that gives Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Celé Hancock the
authority to dismiss the death penalty. Therefore, Young argued, the
motion should be denied.

Thursday, in Hancock's court, Napper
argued that they "have conducted as much of a mitigation investigation
as we can within the confines of the U.S.," but that "the overwhelming
majority needs to be done in the Republic of Mexico."

"Mr. Garcia-Soto's family is in the crosshairs of a cartel," he said,
claiming that at least three members of the family have been kidnapped or killed.

"We are now on year four of this case, and by your
logic, we may never get the mitigation from Juarez," Hancock said. "The
problem we have here is that, in Arizona, the penalty phase (of a trial)
shall begin immediately after the guilt phase.

"What you are asking is for the penalty phase to be indefinitely stayed. I don't see that as acceptable," she said.

Hancock did acknowledge that the theoretical discussion did assume Garcia-Soto
would be found guilty, "but we haven't even gone to trial yet."

She said Napper's argument that his team could not collect all the
mitigating evidence possible was a slippery slope: "Who is to say that
if we don't have the money to travel somewhere" that wouldn't also be
used in a similar argument, she asked.

"We must go forward with this case," she said, and denied both the motion to dismiss the death
penalty and the motion to delay the penalty phase if Garcia-Soto is found guilty.

With that in mind, Napper said, he had informed his
client that "I intend to call no witnesses during the penalty phase of
this trial. None. The penalty phase will be non-existent because I
refuse to participate in a farce."

Hancock adjourned court without commenting.
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=99715

1 of 2 attorneys in VOC death penalty case allowed to quit

9/5/2013 3:12:00 PM
By Scott Orr, Contributing Reporter/Daily Courier

PRESCOTT -- One of the two attorneys representing Village of Oak Creek man Cesar Garcia-Soto in his death-penalty murder case has been allowed to withdraw for medical reasons, according to court documents.

Garcia-Soto, 31, was arrested in February 2008 on charges of first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse in his 3-month-old son's death. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Three weeks before his arrest, on Jan. 23, 2008, Yavapai sheriff's deputies were dispatched to an apartment on Sugarloaf in the Village of Oak Creek at the request of Sedona Fire District. Emergency crews had found 3-month-old Edwin Alejandro Garcia unconscious and not breathing.

The child was flown to St Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix where he later died. The baby's father, Cesar Soto Garcia, 26 at the time, was the only adult who was with the baby when it stopped breathing.

The baby's mother, Gladis Yamileth Rodriguez Paz, was at work when the 911 call was made.

The hospital reported that the baby had a broken arm and several broken ribs that appeared to be from earlier injuries and were described by the hospital as "highly suspicious."

Cesar Garcia-Soto was placed under arrest for providing false information and for having two felony warrants issued by Maricopa County for assault and kidnapping.

Child Protective Services was called and the couple's two other children were taken by CPS that night.

Along with the earlier injuries, it was found the baby also had a fractured skull and associated brain trauma and a fractured pelvis.

According to CPS, the other two children also show signs of "chronic neglect."

Phoenix lawyer Dennis Jones, the second-chair attorney in the case, filed a motion last month indicating that he had developed a vision problem "that limits (his) ability to effectively represent Mr. Garcia-Soto" and that he would not be accepting new clients.

Superior Court Judge Celé Hancock granted the request and the public defender's office will assign a new attorney to the case.

Jones and John Napper have attempted to be released from the case several times, saying they are obligated to undertake "an exhaustive investigation into the history and life of Mr. Garcia-Soto," but that investigation would have to take place in Mexico, and "the United States State Department has issued a warning asking all American citizens not to travel to that portion of Mexico."

Napper said he did not want to send someone else to Mexico to do the investigation because he found it "morally and ethically repugnant" to put anyone at risk.

Hancock refused to allow them to withdraw and the Arizona Court of Appeals declined to accept jurisdiction.

Napper then asked Hancock for permission to file, ex parte, or for the judge's eyes only, information on "what (Garcia-Soto) believes an adequate mitigation investigation in Mexico would reveal." Napper said that information would prove that his client is prejudiced by his attorneys' unwillingness to travel to Mexico.

The prosecution is against allowing him to file what it called a "secret" document.

In a reply, Napper said a consulate officer from the U.S. State Department told him that, while the situation in Nuevo Casa Grandes has improved, it is still dangerous.

Hancock delayed last week's scheduled court appearance, when she was slated to rule on the motion, until a replacement for Jones could be appointed and brought up to speed on the case.

http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubsectionID=1&ArticleID=56074

Arizona judge considers drafting lawyer for murder case

Associated Press
Thu Dec 5, 2013 4:08 PM

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A judge is considering whether she can require an attorney to involuntarily represent a murder defendant whose death-penalty case has been stalled in Yavapai County Superior Court by a lack of a second defense lawyer.

Judge Cele Hancock has asked lawyers to present legal briefs on the representation issue, The Daily Courier reported Thursday.

Cesar Garcia-Soto, 31, is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in the 2008 death of his 3-month-old son.

He has one of two lawyers required for a death-penalty case but the second stepped down because of illness, and public defender Dean Trebesch says he’s been unable to find a qualified replacement willing to work with John Napper on the case.

Trebesch says lawyers are concerned about low pay and getting involved in the case itself. That’s because of the legal mess that could result if Napper refuses to handle a penalty phase for Garcia-Soto.

Napper has said he won’t travel to Chihuahua, Mexico, to investigate Garcia-Soto’s background or send someone else there to investigate Garcia-Soto’s background.

He cited State Department warnings about travel to that part of Mexico and said it would be “morally and ethically repugnant” to risk anyone else.

Napper has tried several times to withdraw from the case, but Hancock has turned him down. The judge last year told Napper that she’d report him to the State Bar of Arizona for possible disciplinary action if he refuses to take part in the penalty phase of the trial, if his client is convicted.

Trebesch said attorneys don’t want to become part of the case because it could become a quagmire if Hancock ends up reporting Napper to the State Bar.

Hancock said she was “a little bit irritated” that her statement was being taken as a threat.

Deputy County Attorney Paul Ahler said the court and the prosecution “are being held hostage in this case,” and he asked Hancock to appoint a second attorney.

Hancock said she would need to research whether a judge could involuntarily appoint a lawyer.

“When I hear that ‘we can’t find anybody,’ and that’s it, I don’t know what the defense wants us to do,” she said.

Ahler said a plea offer was on the table, but Napper was not convinced that he could negotiate without his co-counsel in place.

“I’m doing my best,” Napper said, “walking through a minefield that I can’t see the end of.”

http://www.azcentral.com/news/arizona/free/20131205arizona-judge-considers-drafting-lawyer-for-murder-case.html

Defendant gets new lawyers, letting death penalty case move forward

1/22/2014 6:00:00 AM
Scott Orr, The Daily Courier

PRESCOTT - After two years of legal wrangling and a situation that caused a stalemate in Cesar Garcia-Soto's death-penalty murder case, the lead defense counsel has found a way to quit the case.

Garcia-Soto, 33, was arrested in February 2008 and charged with first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse in connection with the death of his 3-month-old son.

A problem arose in January 2012, when Garcia-Soto's court-appointed attorney, John Napper, refused to travel to the part of Mexico where Garcia-Soto lived at one time to conduct interviews. "The United States State Department has issued a warning asking all American citizens not to travel to that portion of Mexico (Cuidad Juarez in Chihuahua)," he said, adding that he felt it would be "morally and ethically repugnant" to risk anyone from his staff.

But because rules require a lawyer to undertake "an exhaustive investigation into the history and life" of death-penalty clients, and Napper said he couldn't do that, he tried several times to withdraw the team from the case.

Superior Court Judge Celé Hancock turned him down each time, saying that she did not want someone else to have to start the case from scratch.

Last year, Napper said in court that he would not take part in the mitigation phase of the trial if his client were found guilty, calling it a "farce," and Hancock said that if he refused to do so, "the court is duty-bound to report such action to the State Bar of Arizona."

Then, in September, Napper's co-counsel, Dennis Jones, citing a medical problem, requested that he be allowed to quit the case. Hancock allowed it.

After Napper's "farce" comment, Public Defender Dean Trebesch couldn't find an attorney willing to be Napper's second-chair - a requirement in a capital case - because, he said, no one wanted to get into a legal quagmire if Napper did end up the subject of a report by Hancock to the bar.

"When I hear that 'we can't find anybody,' and that's it, I don't know what the defense wants us to do," Hancock said.

Trebesch ordered a new attorney to take over for Napper so the case could move forward. Taking Napper's place will be Phoenix attorney Michael Terribile, who has been working with Napper and is familiar with the case. Treasure VanDreumel, also of Phoenix, will take the second chair.

This "substitution of counsel" took the decision out of Hancock's hands - by law, she can't do anything about it - and made it possible to fill the second chair role relatively quickly.

http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1086&ArticleID=127650