Another side of attorney Marc Victor

Who is the man behind the Elizabeth Johnson case… and what’s he like outside the courtroom?

Lin Sue Cooney talks with attorney Marc J. Victor about the Elizabeth Johnson "Baby Gabriel" case and his defense of her and goes behind the scenes to see who Marc Victor is.

Marc Victor is a Criminal Defense attorney in Chandler Arizona, but is not like other attorney's. Marc Victor is a man of many sides, as well as being an attorney, he also hosts his own radio show, 'The Attorney For Freedom Show' and a politician. Marc Victor ran in the Arizona Senate race of 2012 and received over one hundred thousand votes. Although it was not enough to win, he has a very large base of support and will be running again, this time as a Congressman in CD9 against Kyrsten Sinema.

Marc victor is a family man who is married with five children. He enjoys riding his custom Harley Davidson motorcycle when he is not busy fighting for freedom.

Lin Sue Cooney sits down with Marc Victor for a one-on-one and finds out, Who is the man behind the Elizabeth Johnson case… and what’s he like outside the courtroom?

See the full interview below:

Lin Sue Cooney Interview

Elizabeth Johnson's attorney speaks out on Baby Gabriel case

http://www.azfamily.com/video/yahoo-video/Elizabeth-Johnsons-attorney-speaks-out-on-Baby-Gabriel-case-152667935.html

“National interview with Marc J. Victor regarding the Elizabeth Johnson “Baby Gabriel” case”

 

“National interview with Marc J. Victor regarding the Elizabeth Johnson “Baby Gabriel” case”

Channel 5 Interview Baby Gabriel Case

Update in Baby Gabriel Case

Judge tosses evidence in ‘Baby Gabriel’ case

PHOENIX (CBS5/AP) -

A key piece of evidence in the trial of the mother of an Arizona baby missing for more than two years was thrown out of court early Monday morning.

Twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth Johnson has pleaded not guilty to charges of child abuse, kidnapping and custodial interference in the case of her missing son, Gabriel, who was 8 months old when he went missing.

Johnson, of Tempe, has been jailed without bond since January 2010, a month after her son disappeared in Texas.

On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Paul McMurdie ruled that admissions Johnson made about killing her son to a detective from San Antonio, TX, in a Phoenix jailhouse interview in May of 2010 violated her Sixth Amendment rights because she was questioned without an attorney present. Her attorneys also didn’t know the interview was going to take place.

There was also some question as to whether a detective from another state has the legal right to question a suspect about a case in Arizona. The ruling means the statements Johnson made to the detective can never be introduced in court.

Also, Victor said the detective abused his power to convince Johnson that he was working for her and not the state of Arizona.

“She could even testify and say something radically different and they still couldn’t use that statement to impeach her,” said her attorney, Marc Victor.

Victor said the state can only now rely on physical evidence in the case.

He called the ruling a ”big victory” for him and his client.

McMurdie declined Johnson’s request to dismiss the case based on the constitutional violation.

McMurdie is allowing Victor to work with the jail about changing the requirements for Johnson during jailhouse interviews.

Johnson is shackled by her hands, feet and crotch for interviews now. Victor said he feels the confinement restricts her comfort level during their meetings. The judge is allowing the Victor to seek some release of the shackles, hoping that will ease Johnson’s nerves.

Victor is Johnson’s fourth attorney, but he said he is confident that he will be her last.

Johnson first said she smothered Gabriel and put him in the trash. She later recanted and said she gave the baby to a couple in San Antonio.

The baby has never been found and police still don’t know if he’s dead or alive.

Johnson had been declared mentally unfit for trial but a psychologist said in December that she is now competent.

http://www.kpho.com/story/17459539/mom-of-az-baby-missing-since-09-to-be-in-court

Statement by mom of missing AZ baby can’t be used

PHOENIX — Jurors won’t get to hear a statement by the mother of a missing Arizona baby in which authorities say she told a police detective that she killed the boy in Texas, a judge ruled Monday.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Paul McMurdie issued the ruling regarding the upcoming trial of Elizabeth Johnson, 25, saying her constitutional rights were violated when a San Antonio detective interviewed her in a Phoenix jail without her attorneys being there or even knowing about the interview.

“It was inappropriate, and I would go so far as to say an un-American-type of thing to do,” Johnson’s attorney, Marc Victor, told reporters after the hearing, which Johnson chose not to attend. “This is a real slap in the face of the Constitution and our justice system.”

A San Antonio police spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment about the ruling.

McMurdie declined a request by the lawyer to dismiss all the charges based on the constitutional violation.

Johnson has pleaded not guilty to child abuse, kidnapping and custodial interference in the case of her missing son, 8-month-old Gabriel.

Investigators said Johnson drove the boy to San Antonio from Tempe in December 2009, stayed about a week then took a bus to Florida without him. She was arrested Dec. 30 in Florida and returned to Arizona.

Gabriel has never been found, and police still don’t know if he’s dead or alive.

During an hourslong interview with San Antonio police Detective Jesse Salame in a Phoenix jail, Johnson said she killed Gabriel, authorities have said.

Victor said Salame used coercion to get Johnson to make the statement and that his tactics included getting her shackles removed, comforting her throughout the interview by patting her shoulder and leg, and saying that her defense attorneys weren’t looking out for her and didn’t have the same kind of power he did.

Victor also said Salame only recorded parts of the interview and at the time, Johnson was still viewed as mentally unfit. She has since been found competent to stand trial and assist in her own defense.

“This is the kind of thing you would expect to see in a Third-World country,” Victor said. “This is not the kind of thing you would expect to see in the justice system in Arizona.”

Johnson has provided conflicting stories about what happened to Gabriel. Police say she texted the boy’s father that she killed Gabriel and put his body in a trash bin. She later recanted and said that she gave him to a couple in San Antonio.

Johnson’s statement to the boy’s father, Logan McQueary, could be used at her trial.

McQueary, who detectives do not suspect in the boy’s disappearance, also was in court Monday in a separate case. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of theft and was sentenced to a year of probation.

Tammi Peters Smith, a north Scottsdale woman who had been seeking to adopt Gabriel from Johnson, is set to be in court Tuesday for opening statements in her trial on charges of felony forgery and conspiracy to commit custodial interference related to Gabriel.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765569066/Statement-by-mom-of-missing-AZ-baby-cant-be-used.html