A minor trespassing case gives Gov. Greg Abbott's border initiative its first courtroom win

[TexasTowelie]

by Jolie McCullough, Texas Tribune


BRACKETTVILLE — After spending eight months in a Texas prison, Lester Hidalgo Aguilar walked into a small-town community center near the United States-Mexico border on Monday and waited for his trial to begin.

Sitting in a vast, warehouse-like chamber, he listened for hours as a team of attorneys winnowed down a jury pool of about 75 local residents to six. After a lunch break, Aguilar, the jury and a swarm of county employees and attorneys from across the state moved into the local courthouse to hold trial.

The court proceeding was a big event in this 1,600-person town in Kinney County, a rural border region about 100 miles west of San Antonio. With the popular local restaurant closed, a gas station clerk had to step behind the counter of the Subway during the courthouse lunch rush to help an overwhelmed employee whose coworkers were part of the jury pool.

In another time or place, such a spectacle wouldn’t be thought of for a case like Aguilar’s. After all, the 39-year-old was accused only of a misdemeanor: trespassing on private ranch land.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/10/texas-border-migrant-trespassing-trial/

[CurtEastPoint]

1. what a colossal waste of EVERYONE'S time, money, energy. And how fucking hateful.