GUILTY TX - PFC Vanessa Guillen, 20, Fort Hood military base, items left behind, 22 Apr 2020 *arrests* #4

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AmandaReckonwith said:
@Cryptic, I did not know that they wouldn't be able to win a lawsuit. The family was awarded the active duty death benefit.
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Yes, winning and collecting on a law suit against a government entity is extremely difficult, and at the federal level, could well be impossible.

I think they need to agree to be sued before the lawsuit can even be placed. Likewise, they cannot be forced to pay any award.

As a side note, sovereign immunity came up in sex abuse legislation in Colorado.

The Colorado legislature was considering waiving the statute of limitations on sex abuse by churches and other private entities.

A Catholic Bishop then pointed out the irony that the same legislature had categorically refused to waive governmental sovereign immunity in potential lawsuits stemming from sex abuse that occurred at any state or local run schools, youth programs, sports leagues etc.
 
National news show features Vanessa Guillen case

Reported by Andrea Canning, the feature included interviews with Guillen’s sisters Lupe and Mayra Guillen, mother Gloria Guillen, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, Maj. Gen. Donna Martin, commander of U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Guillen family attorney Natalie Khawam and more.
The special also featured Jasmine Caldwell of KCEN TV, who reported on the case.
During the interviews, Lupe Guillen brought allegations against Fort Hood that the post was a major hub of sexual abuse and murder. More than anything, the story emphasized the #Iamveanessaguillen tag to embrace a culture of sexual harassment in the military.
The Army was slow to find the clues after Guillen was reported missing in April.
“Because we knew her car was in the parking lot we absolutely searched her car,” said Martin. But “there were no signs of blood in the arms room.”

The bolded part... Khawam has repeatedly said there was blood all over and that it would have taken major cleanup.
 
Trial Delayed Again for Woman Linked to Vanessa Guillen Slaying

Aguilar's hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 19, according to officials from the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Waco Division.

Her rearraignment -- where she can choose to change or keep her plea of not guilty -- is set for Jan. 5.

If Aguilar continues to maintain her innocence, then jury selection will begin before the trial on Jan. 19.

Judge Alan Albright ordered the trial to be reset again following a request by Aguilar's defense team for extra time to prepare their case.
 
Niner said:
Snip from article:
The Houston Chronicle reports that a U.S. District Judge Alan Albright approved the postponement for 22-year-old Cecily Aguilar to January 19, 2021, after the defense requested additional time. The prosecution did not contest the postponement.

and this article:

Alleged accomplice accused of helping hide Spc. Vanessa Guillén's body gets postponement

has:

A Killeen woman accused of helping her boyfriend hide the body of Spc.Vanessa Guillén will not appear for an anticipated plea hearing Tuesday in Waco. A federal judge there on Monday granted Cecily Aguilar, 22, a postponement until Jan. 5 for her rearraignment, the first opportunity defendants have to change their automatic “not guilty” plea to “guilty.”

Which one to believe...
74x46px-LL-59c83b81_question-marks.gif


and @Seattle1 - I have your name as a "go-to" person... it's a Federal case now. Can you access that? TIA if you can & help out with the next court date - either 1/5 or 1/19?

edited to add: Federal Court #6:20-mj-00141-JCM/human corpse / #6:20-cr-00097-ADA-1/tampering
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Actually, both dates apply: re-arraignment on the charges is Jan 5, 2021 and the Jury selection process begins Jan 19, 2021.

I also think we can expect additional delays here but that's just my opinion.
 
Cryptic said:
I doubt it.

A potential lawsuit would have to be placed against the federal government. All levels of government, local, state and federal enjoy strong sovereign immunity from lawsuits.

At the federal level, that immunity is probably absolute. Thus, a meaningful lawsuit maybe impossible to place.

Governments can agree to enter into settlements for a variety of motivations, including fairness, avoidance of bad publicity, cost savings, and political pressure. Actually forcing them to pay a settlement, however, is extremely difficult and at the federal level, it could well be impossible.

I am also generally aware that it would be extremely rare, or perhaps never happening for the DOD and the various military branches to agree to pay settlements beyond the military death benefit as they would be subject to endless lawsuits for every training death and every battle death.

In the end, my guess is that the military is going to offer the active duty death benefit, then the matter will be financially closed as far as they are concerned.
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AmandaReckonwith said:
@Cryptic, I did not know that they wouldn't be able to win a lawsuit. The family was awarded the active duty death benefit.
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Never say never:

Guillen’s story and her family’s pleas for justice have driven several members of Congress to consider legislation that would allow service members to file lawsuits in cases of harassment or assault, Manning said.

Due to the 1946 Federal Torts Claims Act and the 1950 Supreme Court ruling known as the Feres Doctrine, active-duty service members cannot pursue civil lawsuits against the Department of Defense or individuals in service, she added.

Most recently, Stayskal, who is a Green Beret working at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, worked with Khawam to pass a provision in this year’s national defense budget that allows those on active duty to file medical malpractice claims against the government. In his case, Stayskal’s terminal cancer was misdiagnosed by military doctors, he and Khawam said.

Nonetheless, VG's family, on behalf of the Estate of VG, are not barred from filing a wrongful death lawsuit against defendant CA and possibly the Estate of AR.

I don't think we've heard the end of VG and the widespread negligence at FT Hood that contributed to her death.

MOO

Family of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen works with Tampa lawyer to pass legislation in her name
 
Seattle1 said:
Due to the 1946 Federal Torts Claims Act and the 1950 Supreme Court ruling known as the Feres Doctrine, active-duty service members cannot pursue civil lawsuits against the Department of Defense or individuals in service, she added.

Most recently, Stayskal, who is a Green Beret working at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, worked with Khawam to pass a provision in this year’s national defense budget that allows those on active duty to file medical malpractice claims against the government.
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This is very interesting information.

There are two components to a truly successful lawsuit:
1.) the ability to place the lawsuit.
2.) the ability to actually collect an award.

Though the federal government may give up "1" via legislation. My guess is that they will never give up their ability to use sovereign immunity to decline an ordered pay out in regards to "2".

For example, this individual's family has an attorey suing the National Park service for 270 million dollars. They evidently have "1". My guess is that the NPS still has the ability to negate "2" and is not worried.

The family of a woman decapitated by a loose fence is suing Arches National Park, saying an $8 padlock would have prevented her death
 
Cryptic said:
This is very interesting information.

There are two components to a truly successful lawsuit:
1.) the ability to place the lawsuit.
2.) the ability to actually collect an award.

Though the federal government may give up "1" via legislation. My guess is that they will never give up their ability to use sovereign immunity to decline an ordered pay out in regards to "2".

For example, this individual's family has an attorey suing the National Park service for 270 million dollars. They evidently have "1". My guess is that the NPS still has the ability to negate "2" and is not worried.

The family of a woman decapitated by a loose fence is suing Arches National Park, saying an $8 padlock would have prevented her death
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I agree that the government is not likely to let go of the 1946 Federal Torts Claim Act that has served them very well to prevent "2" or collection but there is and always will be the possibility of an Act of Congress and/or legislation that serves to "fund" a judgment award (*i.e., and/or any other word for payment).

A good example is when legislation created a fund to compensate the victims of the 911 attack. Another example is the new provision in this year's defense budget noted in my post above that will enable a way to compensate a soldier with a malpractice claim against the government.

I have no doubt there have been countless payments by the US Government albeit not referenced as a judgment award. In other words, a dollar is a dollar. If it walks like a duck...

ETA: * payment

MOO
 
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Seattle1 said:
I agree that the government is not likely to let go of the 1946 Federal Torts Claim Act that has served them very well to prevent "2" or collection but there is and always will be the possibility of an Act of Congress and/or legislation that serves to "fund" a judgment award. A good example is when legislation created a fund to compensate the victims of the 911 attack. Another example is the new provision in this year's defense budget noted in my post above that will enable a way to compensate a soldier with a malpractice claim against the government. I have no doubt there have been countless payments by the US Government albeit not referenced as a judgment award. In other words, a dollar is a dollar. If it walks like a duck...
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Those are very good points.

As you illustrated, legislation can, in effect, force the Federal government to fund compensation. I also like your "if it walks like a duck...." reference as it fits the scenario completely.

The only a portion that I disagree with is the possibility that there have been a large number of legislative "de facto" pay outs.

In contrast, I think the actual number of de facto pay outs has been very, very small. Every state in the union would be vulnerable to large numbers of sex abuse pay outs.

Yet to my knowledge, no state has waived their sovereign immunity (Colorado legislature categorically refused). Likewise, my bet is that state level de facto pay outs via legislative action for sex abuse have been very few.

In short, I don't think Congress is interested in facilitating de facto payments from Uncle Sam for fear that pay outs to a few will lead to armies of 1800 Sue Then attorneys demanding pay outs for an endless line of others. Better to nip it in the bud and make legislative pay outs very rare and very difficult.
 
In an October speech, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said the loss of Spc. Vanessa Guillen — a Fort Hood soldier who was found dead two months after she went missing — had been felt widely. He said it pushed the Army to refocus on the needs of soldiers and their families.

"This year's series of events has hardened our resolve to create enduring change," McCarthy said. "Her loss has been felt in our formations and across the nation at large. We must be accountable and we must act."

While advocates say the new policy represents progress, they also question its staying power. Some, like Diana Danis, doubt the Army will ever come forward with specifics.

"They're putting a rule in place, which they kind of have to do," she said. "Because they looked terrible. It always looks terrible when it's more important to find a rifle than it is to find a person."
Tragedies At Fort Hood Have Led The Army To Rethink Its Response When Soldiers Go Missing
 
Hi all- I am not sure how I go about sharing this and this may be flagged. I am a member of a FB group that shares things “found in walls and other hidden things.” A post today has described finding a full set of women’s army fatigues tied together with a blanket and shoes in the bottom of a pond in Austin, Texas. A family magnet fishing found it. The name on the fatigues is Martinez and I immediately thought of Krysta Martinez who advocated for Vanessa and mysteriously died in a “car accident” after speaking of harassment she endured. May be nothing may be something?
Police were alerted and seem to not care about the find. I suggested they contact the FBI.
 
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Megnut said:
14 Fort Hood soldiers fired, suspended over violence at base
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That is good to hear. When harassment and looking the other way is institutionalized and the norm, only drastic actions can help re-build the culture. The change in policy from immediate AWOL to "Absent-Unknown" for 48 hours is also good, allowing there to be searches or investigation to help determine if someone is a victim of foul play before jumping to conclusions.
 
Megnut said:
14 Fort Hood soldiers fired, suspended over violence at base
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Wow!

"In a sweeping condemnation of Fort Hood's command hierarchy, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation.
He also ordered a separate probe into staffing and procedures at the base's Criminal Investigation Command Unit, which is responsible for investigating crimes on Fort Hood."

I really admire Vanessa's family for pushing to have all this done. They said they would not give up and they meant it!
 
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