Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
2/16/2018 12:18 PM
Donna Kay McKinney
Bexar County District Clerk
Accepted By: Jessica Alvarez 2014CR5591-W1
GROUND ONE:
Defense Counsel were constitutionally ineffective due to their failure to call Dr. Paul Reed
as a witness who would have offered testimony to refute the opinion of Bexar County Medical
Examiner Jennifer Rulon ("ME" or"the ME") regarding the cause of the death of the
complainant.
This case centered on a three vehicle incident that resulted in a collision between the side of the
vehicle Frances Hall was operating and the motorcycle the complainant/decedent Bill Hall was
operating. The exact cause of this incident is still very much in doubt so the first defense theory
was that Frances Hall was not responsible for any collision. What is known is that the complainant/
decedent, Bill Hall, was riding a motorcycle, Frances Hall was driving a 2007 Cadillac ESV, and
the Aggravated Assault complainant, Bonnie Contreras, was driving a 2013 Super Charged Range
Rover. The ME offered her opinion that died as the result of a homicide that occurred as the result
of"multiple blunt force injuries." The ME based her opinion on nothing but a police report that she
herself described as"confusing." The ME did concede the fact that a trauma surgeon would have
more insight into any other potential causes of the complainant's death such as the treatment
provided to Bill Hall, his pre-existing conditions, and the fact that the Bi]] Ha]] was airlifted from
the scene without first having chest tubes inserted to help drain air, blood and any floods from the
area around the lungs. Specifically, when asked about the insertion of chest tubes prior to airlift the
ME testified as follows: "You need to ask a trauma surgeon that question, whether they would
prefer EMS putting chest tubes in in the field or waiting till they get to the ER so trauma surgeons
can do it. That's not a question for someone who does autopsies. That's a good question for a
trauma surgeon."
Dr. Paul Reed is an Emergency Room Physician who was retained by Frances Hall to
render an opinion regarding the cause of death of Bill Hall. Dr. Reed prepared a very detailed
chronology of the post-accident treatment of Bill Hall from the time of the vehicular accident to
his death. Dr. Reed concluded that Bill Hall's cause of death was respiratory and not the result of
any hemorrhagic cause. Specifically, Dr. Reed referred to the care Bill Hall received as"Pretty
shoddy," and stated as follows: "On reviewing the medical records provided by the coroner, UH
and AirLIFE it appears that Mr. Hall was alert and oriented though in respiratory distress and
shock at the time of injury and up until he decompensated and was intubated shortly after dust off
with AirLIFE. His VS and injuries combined with the fact that he was taken to altitude with
oneumothoraces su22:est that his vitals first decompensated due to a tension pneumothorax
... He [Bill Hall]would have required a great deal of care and time to recover from his injuries.
However no catastrophic injuries were identified on the coroner's report of the autopsv .
.. . however the VS recorded and the amount of blood product administered do not correlate. His
labs. historv. and presentation all pointed to a respiratorv rather than hemorrhagic cause
for his shock and eventual arrest." ( emphasis added). In sum, Dr. Reed's opinion would have
refuted the opinion of the ME and been of tremendous benefit to Frances Hall. The full
chronology and the conclusions of Dr. Reed are attached to the Memorandum of Law filed in
support of this Application and incorporated as if fully set forth herein.
Based on the testimony of the ME and the dispute over how the accident even occurred, the
testimony of Dr. Paul Reed would have made a tremendous difference in the outcome of the trial.
At a minimum, the testimony of Bill Hall would have allowed Frances Hall to receive a jury
instruction regarding concurrent causation. The decision to refuse to call Dr. Paul Reed as a
witness was made by Jean Brown over the objection of the petitioner, and Mrs. Brown's decision
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GROUND TWO:
Defense Counsel was constitutionally ineffective due to her failure to elicit key exculpatory
evidence from witness James Gonzalez regarding prior damage to the vehicle driven by the
Aggravated Assault complainant Bonnie Contreras.
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GROUND FOUR:
Defense Counsel Alan Brown was constitutionally ineffective because he was found
sleeping at least twice during the course of the trial.
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