The Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly, But Progress is Made

A Texas jury, after a brief five-day trial, is set to receive $27,000 each due to a delayed lawsuit against a county sheriff that took almost two years to unfold.

The twelve jurors, plus two alternates, will collectively pay out $375,000 sourced from taxpayer funds. This follows the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming that former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody hid evidence related to a black man who died while in custody. This information emerged on Wednesday.

As per a ruling made by Judge Karen Sage on July 13, jurors received a payment of $20 for their first “day of work” and $58 for subsequent days, even while they weren’t in the courtroom. The judge instructed them to stay impartial throughout the 457 days that the trial was on hold.

Interestingly, despite not being present, jurors were told to act as if they were simply recessed for the evening and not to discuss or read up on the case during the extended break.

“Honestly, this is one of the most poorly handled prosecution cases I’ve seen,” commented defense attorney Rian Johnson.

He criticized the Travis County District Attorney’s Office for what he termed a “basic failure,” suggesting that even a first-year law student would understand the situation better.

In his view, the prosecution’s attempts to shift blame onto the county attorney and the sheriff for merely performing their duties were unconvincing.

Both Chody and County Attorney Jason Nassour faced charges during a brief trial in 2024, accused of destroying or concealing recordings related to the 2019 death of Javier Ambler, who tragically suffered heart failure while being filmed in custody, according to prosecutors.

The incident was recorded during an episode of the reality series “Live PD.” The sheriff’s office contended that they had a contract with the show’s parent company that allowed them to delete the footage after 30 days. This footage depicted Ambler pleading, “I can’t breathe” and “Help me!”—phrases reminiscent of Eric Garner’s last words during his own tragic situation in 2014.

Prosecutors asserted that both Chody and Nassour should have taken action to secure the footage before it was deleted, but the defense countered that doing so would breach federal laws.

The tumultuous trial kicked off on August 15, 2024, but only managed to last three days before prosecutors sought to stall proceedings. Judge Sage did not approve this request. When the defense appealed, the trials were paused until the appellate court came to a decision.

Ultimately, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case on July 1, bringing an end to this nearly two-year saga.