Opening Brief Filed in the Patrick Kelly Appeal

On November 13, 2009, Mr. Volberding filed in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston a 65-page opening brief for Patrick Kelly and presented a longer supplemental brief with a motion urging the court to accept and file the supplement brief as well.

The brief raises 43 serious points of error, including the suppression of evidence by the State of Texas, and the denial of Kelly's right to confront government witnesses who claimed they conducted a thorough two-year investigation with evidence that a couple named Margie and John Cantrell fabricated the abuse claims and manipulated the children.

The brief also challenges the practice of the trial court to recognize an "investigator exception" to the hearsay rules, which permits any government official who plays an investigative role in a case to testify to all he heard from other witnesses, children, CPS workers, and other government officials. Moreover, under the "investigator exception" to hearsay, government officials were permitted to testify as experts that Kelly is clearly guilty and the children's allegations are entirely accurate.

To see a list of all 43 points of error raised in Kelly's brief, click here.

If you are an attorney or someone following the Mineola Swingers' Club cases and would like to see the opening brief - redacted to remove the children's names - please email Mr. Volberding for a copy. You must agree not to disseminate the children's names if you are able to identify them. (Obviously, it is inappropriate to identify the children publicly, except in court documents and only to the extent necessary to address their testimony.)

If you have comments or questions about the Mineola Swingers' Club trials, or if you have relevant information or evidence pertaining to John and Margie Cantrell, please email Mr. Volberding.

Click to read all blog entries relating to the Mineola Swingers' Club case.