Johnny Sutton (born 1960) is an attorney who served as
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
for the
Western District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has ju ...
from 2001 until 2009, and chaired the
. Sutton is known for the prosecution of
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...
agents
Jose Compean
José Alonso Compeán (born 1976) is a former United States Border Patrol Agent, convicted of shooting (wounding) a fleeing, illegal alien drug smuggler on the United States–Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on February 17, 2005, and of cover ...
and
Ignacio Ramos
Ignacio Ramos is a former United States Border Patrol Agent, who was convicted of shooting an unarmed illegal alien and drug smuggler on the United States–Mexico border. He was convicted of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly ...
. He is currently a partner with the law firm Ashcroft Sutton Reyes, LLC in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.
Background and education
Sutton grew up in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. He is the grandson
[ of ]World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
-winning St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...
manager Johnny Keane
John Joseph Keane (November 3, 1911 – January 6, 1967) was an American professional baseball manager and coach. He managed in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four complete seasons and parts of two others. Keane is perhaps best remembered for hi ...
. Sutton is a fluent speaker of Spanish.
Sutton graduated from the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
with a bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in International Business
International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale.
It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more ...
in 1983 and then earned a Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree at the University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...
in 1987.
Longhorns baseball
Sutton attended UT on a baseball scholarship and played for the Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
, where he was a two-year letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
under coach Cliff Gustafson
Cliff Gustafson (February 12, 1931 – January 2, 2023) was an American high school and college baseball coach who was, for twenty-nine seasons, the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, representing the University of Texas at Austin.
Early life ...
. His teammates at UT included future Major League pitchers Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...
and Calvin Schiraldi
Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and Ga ...
. Sutton spent three years as a backup second baseman,[ with just 50 at-bats in his career prior to the 1983 playoffs. On a hunch,] Gustafson put Sutton in the post-season line-up as a left fielder; Sutton hit .454 in the six-game tournament[ and was named regional MVP as the Longhorns went on to win the ]College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
.[ The 1983 team finished with a 66-14 record.][
In various interviews, Gustafson has named Sutton his all-time favorite player. "He sparked us to a regional win and continued to spark us through the national championship," Gustafson said in 1994. "Clemens and Schiraldi got all the hype, but Sutton was the key to the national championship run."
Recently, Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman, when asked who is most underrated University of Texas athlete ever, responded, "I would say A.J. Abrams in hoops, Robert Brewer maybe in football, Johnny Sutton in baseball."
]
Public service
Harris County
From 1988 to 1995 Sutton served as a criminal trial prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
in the Harris County District Attorney's Office in Houston, where he tried more than 60 first chair felony jury trials. In 1994, Sutton obtained the death penalty against Raul Villareal in the rape and murder of two teenage girls, Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. Four other death penalty verdicts were rendered in the case.
Bush administration
In 1995, Sutton accepted a position as criminal justice policy director for then-Governor George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, providing analysis and recommendations for proposed criminal justice laws for Bush to support or veto.[
Upon Bush's election as president in 2000, Sutton became coordinator for the Bush-Cheney transition team assigned to the ]Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
where he served as associate deputy attorney general
Associate deputy attorney general is a position in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in United States Department of Justice. The number of positions varies widely depending on the staffing discretion of the deputy attorney general, but in ...
, initially advising on U.S.-Mexico border issues.
United States Attorney
On October 25, 2001, Bush nominated Sutton for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has ju ...
, one of the nation's busiest criminal dockets, known for its high percentage of drug and immigration crimes and covering 68 counties including Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
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, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
and 660 miles of border. Sutton returned to Austin, where he oversaw a staff of 140 lawyers and a changing mission. Traditionally focused on border-related crimes, the U.S. Attorney's office increasingly focused on fighting terrorism.[
As U.S. attorney, Sutton prosecuted more than 400 prison gang members, including 19 members of the ]Texas Syndicate
The Texas Syndicate ( es, Sindicato Tejano, links=no) is a mostly Texas-based street and prison gang consisting of predominantly Mexican American membership. The Texas Syndicate, unlike the Mexican Mafia or Nuestra Familia, has been more associat ...
in 2004, and more than 100 public officials, including former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales
Daniel C. Morales (born April 24, 1956) is an American politician. He served as the 48th Texas Attorney General, Attorney General of Texas from January 15, 1991 through January 13, 1999, during the administrations of Governor of Texas, Governors ...
in 2003 on mail and tax fraud charges. Sutton also supported the buildup of federal resources, from 9,000 to 20,000 border patrol agents, on the Mexico border, and pushed for prosecution of illegal immigrants previously deported, instead of just those who had committed a serious felony.[
Sutton was appointed vice chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys on May 27, 2005.][ On March 28, 2006, Gonzales elevated Sutton to chair of the committee. In this role, Sutton frequently traveled to Washington to advise the Department of Justice on border-related issues and testify before Congress.][
John E. Murphy succeeded Sutton in an acting capacity until the nomination and confirmation of ]Robert L. Pitman
Robert Lee Pitman (born 1962) is an American attorney and jurist who serves as a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and former United States Attorney fo ...
.
Prosecution of Compean and Ramos
Sutton is perhaps best known for his prosecution of former Border Patrol
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties.
Name and uniform
In dif ...
agents Jose Compean
José Alonso Compeán (born 1976) is a former United States Border Patrol Agent, convicted of shooting (wounding) a fleeing, illegal alien drug smuggler on the United States–Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on February 17, 2005, and of cover ...
and Ignacio Ramos
Ignacio Ramos is a former United States Border Patrol Agent, who was convicted of shooting an unarmed illegal alien and drug smuggler on the United States–Mexico border. He was convicted of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly ...
for misconduct[ following the shooting and wounding of Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, a narcotics ]smuggler
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
who had illegally crossed the Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
border near Fabens, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Compean and Ramos were convicted of assault with serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights charge, in addition to obstruction of justice charges. In October 2006 they were sentenced to twelve years and eleven years and one day, respectively.
Sutton drew criticism from some politicians and anti-illegal-immigration activists, especially on talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
and the Internet.[ ]CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
anchor Lou Dobbs devoted more than one hundred broadcast segments to the case.[ Deputy Attorney General ]Paul McNulty
Paul Joseph McNulty (born January 31, 1958) is an American attorney and university administrator who is currently the ninth president of Grove City College. He served as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States from March 17, 2006, to Jul ...
, asked in 2007 whether Sutton's job was in danger over controversy associated with the case, said "No." Sutton told the ''Texas Monthly'', "All people have heard is that two American heroes are in prison for doing their job and that a drug dealer has been set free. If those were the facts, I'd be furious too. But the evidence is overwhelming that these guys committed a very serious crime." On January 19, 2009, President Bush commuted the sentences of both Compean and Ramos, effectively ending their prison term on March 20, 2009.
"House of Death" case
According to ''The Observer (UK)'', in August 2003 the U.S. Department of Justice was informed that a paid informant for Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE) had participated in murders carried out by a drug cartel in Juarez, Mexico, operating out of a condo in Juarez where a dozen people were tortured, killed, and buried in the backyard. The informant was, at the time, cooperating in an ongoing cigarette-smuggling investigation. As Sutton was U.S. Attorney for West Texas, this information passed through his office to Deputy Assistant Attorney General John G. Malcolm. The DoJ decided to allow ICE to continue working with the informant rather than act on the information about the murders. Eventually, Mexican police uncovered and raided the house, and exhumed the bodies. This was not the first narco-cemetery to be discovered in Mexico, but due to the number of bodies (and the controversy surrounding ICE knowledge of cartel operations), the event became publicized and known as the "House of Death
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
" case. Sutton later filed an indictment against a cartel lieutenant, Heriberto Santillan-Tabares, for drug trafficking and five murders, though the murder charges were later cancelled by Sutton in a plea bargain. Sutton was criticized afterward by some observers, including University of Texas-El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...
law professor Bill Weaver, for not taking action to shut down the operation earlier and recommending the DoJ refrain from commenting to the media about the case. On April 19, 2006, Sutton announced a plea bargain arrangement with Santillan including a 25-year jail sentence, with no murder charge or plea included. Furthermore, Sutton was criticized by former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is an American politician, academic, and conspiracy theorist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American ...
for approaching journalist Bill Conroy in an alleged attempt to dissuade him from covering the story: McKinney admonished Sutton for "an attempt ... to intimidate a journalist who has reported facts that are embarrassing to him".
Other casework
In addition to Morales, Sutton's notable cases included prosecution of two San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
city council members and two lawyers on charges involved in a bribery scheme related to a city contract, obtaining convictions in 2005. Other widely covered prosecutions included an El Paso counterfeiting ring, a Permian Basin heroin and cocaine operation, the leader of an Austin-based illegal immigrant smuggling organization, and Kickapoo tribal leaders accused of embezzling $900,000 in casino and health-care revenues for personal and political use.
On October 8, 2018, the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
confirmed the university had hired Sutton to investigate claims that Texas State Senator
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...
Charles Schwertner
Charles Jeffrey Schwertner (born May 29, 1970) is an American orthopedic surgeon and politician from Georgetown, Texas. He has served in the Texas State Senate since November 6, 2012, after having represented House District 20 in the Texas House ...
sent lewd messages and pictures to a graduate student at the university.
The Ashcroft Firm
Sutton resigned as the U.S. Attorney effective April 19, 2009. He announced on April 24, 2009, that he had joined the Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
office The Ashcroft Firm, chaired by former U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...
, to be known in Texas as Ashcroft Sutton Ratcliffe, LLC. Sutton's focus at The Ashcroft Group is corporate representation and compliance, strategic planning
Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals.
It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the st ...
and risk management.
References
External links
Johnny Sutton
official bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Johnny
1961 births
Living people
Texas lawyers
American prosecutors
University of Texas at Austin alumni
University of Texas School of Law alumni
People from San Antonio
People from Houston
United States Attorneys for the Western District of Texas