Retrial hearing puts prosecutor in hot seat
She calls defense lawyer suspect in case that fueled misconduct claim.By Craig Kapitan - Express-News
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Thornbro sat in an area of the courtroom where prosecutors rarely venture — the witness stand — as testimony continued Tuesday in what has become a long-running and politically charged hearing to request a new trial for a woman she helped convict.
Prominent members of the San Antonio defense bar have alleged the district attorney's office committed prosecutorial misconduct in January when, in the middle of the embezzlement trial of former hair salon employee Kathleen Pierce, it obtained a search warrant against her and her attorney, Tony Reyes.
State District Judge Raymond Angelini earlier this month heard two days of testimony for Pierce's motion for a new trial, including a national defense expert who said the search ruined the defendant's chance of getting a fair trial. Testimony in the on-again, off-again hearing is to resume again in three weeks.
