Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Feldman to rescuers' rescue?

Ex-high court justice aids the defense of pair charged with smuggling immigrants.

CLAUDINE LoMONACO

Tucson Citizen

The former Arizona Supreme Court justice hadn't argued a criminal case in nearly 40 years.

That changed yesterday when Stanley G. Feldman, regarded as a national leader in law, stepped into a courtroom to help defend two young humanitarian volunteers charged with smuggling illegal immigrants.

"Do these people look like coyotes to you?" Feldman asked outside the federal courthouse after the hearing, referring to defendants Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz. "Do they look like they're smugglers? What smuggler ever called first to say 'we're taking people for medical treatment' and then put placards on their car, announcing what they're doing?"

Sellz and Strauss, both 24, were arrested near Arivaca on July 9 while driving three illegal immigrants to a medical clinic at a Tucson church. The two were volunteering with No More Deaths, a group that gives humanitarian and medical assistance to migrants in distress.

Feldman, who has been practicing civil law in Tucson since retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, said he got involved with the case last fall when Magistrate Judge Bernardo P. Velasco asked him to meet with Sellz and Strauss and make sure they understood the details of the government's plea agreement.

Feldman said he offered his services once he heard the duo's story.

During his tenure as chief justice from 1992-97, Feldman is credited with modernizing the Arizona justice system and raising the court's reputation nationwide, said Charles Ares, a former UA law school dean.

Yesterday, the courtroom got quiet when Feldman approached the bench during a hearing. His presence seemed to disarm even U.S. District Court Judge Raner C. Collins.

"How should I address you?" Collins asked.

"Anything better than 'hey, you' would be appropriate," Feldman quipped.

During the hearing, Feldman told Collins that the case against Sellz and Strauss should be tossed out because there was no evidence that the pair acted with "intent to further illegal entry," as the law requires.

Even if somebody knowingly transports an illegal immigrant, it must be done with the intent to further the illegal entry into the country in order to constitute a crime, Feldman said.

Transportation for humanitarian or medical reasons does not constitute smuggling, Feldman said, citing past cases.

The immigrants who were transported by Sellz and Strauss said they were sickened by drinking dirty cattle tank water. Volunteers reported seeing at least one of them, Emil Hidalgo Solis, vomit repeatedly.

"What if it had been a 10-year-old or a 5-year-old throwing up blood and bleeding from the rectum?" Feldman said. "According to the government's case, you should not be able to take them for medical treatment."

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