Wife of Texas Justice Indicted Once Again on Arson Charges

Judiciary

Wife of Texas Justice Indicted Once Again on Arson Charges

Posted May 1, 2008, 07:06 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina has been indicted again on arson charges in a fire that destroyed the couple’s home.

Francisca Medina was charged with felony arson, but Justice David Medina was not charged in connection with the incident, report the Houston Chronicle and Texas Lawyer.

A grand jury in January had ignored the recommendations of prosecutors and indicted Francisca Medina on an arson charge. The prior grand jury had also indicted David Medina on a charge of fabricating evidence based on a letter he gave investigators. A judge dismissed the charges the next day, ruling the indictments were invalid because they were issued after the district attorney’s office improperly extended the grand jury’s term.

Chuck Rosenthal, who was the Harris County District Attorney at the time, had claimed evidence in the case was insufficient, but grand jurors responded that Rosenthal was motivated by political favoritism.

Assistant Harris County district attorney Vic Wisner said new evidence in the case warranted a second grand jury presentation.

Francisca Medina’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, said he was shocked by the indictments. "There is no evidence that Fran Medina had any reason to burn her home, much less that she did it," he told Texas Lawyer. "She was watching TV when her son told her there was an explosion and the garage was on fire."

Before the new indictment yesterday, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by members of the prior grand jury who had sought permission to discuss the evidence they heard, the Chronicle reports.

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