Rafael Suarez

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Charge:	Assault - Aggravated (including causing bodily harm)
Sentence:	5 years
Years Imprisoned:	2.75
Year Crime:	1996
Year Convicted:	1997
Year Cleared:	2000
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Arizona
County or Region of Crime:	Cochise
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Rafael Suarez was wrongly convicted in 1997 of aggravated assault and sentenced to five years in prison. Suarez' lawyer had information prior to his trial that multiple eyewitnesses could establish Suarez tried to break up the fight he was charged with being a part of initiatating, However Suarez' attorney, Ed G. Distel, didn't subpoena the exculpatory witnesses. In April 2000 Suarez' post-conviction petition for a new trial was granted based on the ineffective assistance of his trial counsel. Suarez was released on bond pending either a retrial or the dismissal of the charges. The Cochise County District Attorney's Office declined to retry Suarez, and filed a motion to dismiss the charge against him, which was granted in August 2000. Suarez filed a lawsuit against Distel for malpractice. Distel failed to defend against the lawsuit, and in 2002 Suarez was awarded a $1,045,500 default judgment. Suarez was unable to collect because Distel, who had been disbarred, had no assets and had filed for bankruptcy."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"The Cochise County District Attorney's Office declined to retry Suarez, and filed a motion to dismiss the charge against him, which was granted in August 2000."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	32
Age When Released:	35
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"A Matter of Convictions, By Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit, October 31, 2007"
Information Location 1:	http://www.espressopundit.com/2007/10/a-matter-of-con.html
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Rafael Suarez

Charge:

Assault - Aggravated (including causing bodily harm)

Sentence:

5 years

Years Imprisoned:

2.75

Year Crime:

1996

Year Convicted:

1997

Year Cleared:

2000

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Arizona

County or Region of Crime:

Cochise

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"The Cochise County District Attorney's Office declined to retry Suarez, and filed a motion to dismiss the charge against him, which was granted in August 2000."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

32

Age When Released:

35

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"A Matter of Convictions, By Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit, October 31, 2007"

Information Location 1:

http://www.espressopundit.com/2007/10/a-matter-of-con.html

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: