He's a runner. He's a mountain climber. He's married to a native American woman, has four kids, and has
never lost a single count - not just a single
case, but a single
count - in
any case he has prosecuted.
And, he's a registered Democrat.
And now he's sending President George W. Bush's biggest campaign contributor to jail.
Who is this guy? The LA Times has the answer today:
John C. Hueston -- the federal lawyer who co-led the prosecution of former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth L. Lay -- has long been regarded as a formidable opponent in Southern California legal circles. [snip]
Hueston methodically dismantled Lay's defense and beat one of the nation's most successful trial defense lawyers, Daniel M. Petrocelli. [snip]
"Not only has he never lost a case, he has never lost a single count in a case," said Wayne Gross, a former colleague who is chief assistant U.S. attorney in Santa Ana. "He doesn't just win. He destroys the other side."
The article notes that although Jeff Skilling was acquitted on nine of 28 counts against him, Hueston's perfect record stands, because he was not primarily responsible for the case against Skilling; that duty fell to his associate, Sean M. Berkowitz.
It was no accident that Hueston, who worked out of the U.S. Attorney's office in Santa Ana, Calif., ended up on the Enron/Lay team:
Hueston specializes in public corruption and fraud. He was handpicked for the government's Enron team after a nationwide search of prosecutors, and was recommended by Debra Wong Yang, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.
He is said to have a special sensitivity to the protection of those less privileged:
Hueston's marriage to a Navajo Indian woman, with whom he has four children, also was instrumental in shaping his drive to protect the less-privileged against governmental or corporate corruption, former colleagues said.
"He and his wife have worked very hard to make sure that their children understand the culture of native Americans. They spent significant amounts of time on the reservation," Gross said.
Those who know him say he has his sights set on a federal judgeship. Based on this report, I'd almost rather have him working to bring down those guilty of malfeasance.