http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0508ruelas0508.html
Plea deal pits deportation against long fight, jail
May. 8, 2006 12:00 AM
Brad Reinhart walked over with a translator to explain the deal to his client. He could plead guilty to a felony, get out of jail immediately and be sent home to Mexico.
Or he could join the fight to toss out the charges, a battle that could mean several more months behind bars.
Roman Gomez had about an hour to decide.
The 23-year-old sat in the jury box of the courtroom, wearing black and white jailhouse stripes, handcuffed and shackled, pondering his options.
It was the first time Gomez had been to a Maricopa County Superior Court hearing without being accompanied by his 48 co-defendants. The group became legally entwined when a Maricopa County sheriff's deputy found them locked inside two vans in the desert southwest of Phoenix.
The state Legislature had passed a law designed to go after human smugglers. But the county prosecutor, a political neophyte elected on a promise to stop illegal immigration, interpreted the law in a novel way. He said the law could be used to charge the human cargo with conspiring in its own smuggling.
The ambitious prosecutor found a friend in a publicity-hungry county sheriff. The sheriff ordered his deputies to start arresting loads of smuggled immigrants if they came across them.
Both the sheriff and the prosecutor greeted Gomez and the others when they entered the jail, the first group to test the law.
That was back in March.
It took until May for a written plea deal to come to Gomez.
Reinhart booked a court hearing as soon as he could, even before knowing whether his client would take the plea. He wanted to give Gomez the options to act quickly.
The morning of the May 2 hearing, Reinhart met Gomez for the first time and explained the deal.
Plead guilty to felony solicitation of human smuggling and be sentenced to probation.
It meant release to immigration authorities who would most likely deport him. And, that felony conviction would virtually bar him from ever legally entering the U.S.
Or, gamble.
A group of attorneys from Los Angeles was going to battle the case on constitutional grounds. A hearing was going to be held in late May.
Either way it went, it was expected to drag out for months. But a victory would mean Gomez would be deported with a clean record, and knowing he would have helped everyone else in his situation.
Gomez was done with jail. He wanted out. He would take the plea.
Now it was time to stand before the judge. "The kid was scared to death up there," Reinhart said. "He was nervous, shaking."
The judge asked him if he understood what he was doing. Gomez said he did. The judge accepted the plea.
Gomez bent down on one knee and signed the agreement with his handcuffed hand.
He was the first to take the plea. Two others are set to take the same deal this week.
Reinhart last saw his client being led back to jail in handcuffs.
The county prosecutor theorized that defense attorneys in this case would conspire to keep their clients from taking the deal. That they wanted a "cause celebre" rather than justice for their clients.
Reinhart laughed at the idea of a conspiracy.
"I don't think anyone is withholding information," he said. Even if they wanted to hide the deal, "my guy went back to jail and told everybody about it."
The county will pay Reinhart $800 to $1,000 to be a public defender for hire. He has already received word he will be assigned a similar case.
There are close to 100 similar cases in the judicial pipeline. All will probably be offered the same plea.
"It's a most expensive way to give people incentive not to come back into the country," Reinhart said.
Reach Ruelas at (602) 444-8473 or richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com.