CLOSING ARGUMENTS TODAY IN BARRAZA TRIAL

EL PASO -- Lawyers for state judge Manuel Barraza put on a defense
that lasted just four hours Tuesday, then watched as prosecutors
struck back with a witness who said Barraza sought sex from her as
payment for a legal bill seven years ago.

Barraza, 54, is fighting for his judicial career and his freedom
against federal charges that he made a deal with a former client in
which he would unjustly help her in a cocaine case in return for money
and sexual favors. Barraza had been the judge of a state drug court
for only three months when FBI agents arrested him in April 2009.

Prosecutors brought in a woman from Barraza's distant past to try to
show that he sought sexual favors at another time in his career.

Gretchen Garcia, who said she was about 22 when Barraza represented
her as a lawyer, said she faced misdemeanor theft and marijuana
charges. Barraza got the charges against her dropped by getting her
enrolled in a pretrial diversion program for first-time offenders.

They had lunch together, then went back to Barraza's law office on
Alameda, she testified.

"He was sitting at his desk and I was sitting across from him," Garcia
said. "Then he said, 'You can pay me $350 or you can jump my bones.'
"

Garcia said she got scared, grabbed her papers and left. She testified
that she did not think Barraza was joking.

"I didn't see a smirk or a smile," he said. "He wasn't trying to come
on to me because I was attractive. It was for payment."

She said someone from Barraza's office later called asking that she
pay her $350 bill. She refused.

Under cross-examination, Garcia said that she did not know she had to
pay Barraza for legal representation. She acknowledged that even
though they were together in his car and at lunch, he did not make a
single sexual advance toward her then.

She said she did not report Barraza to the Texas Bar Association, the
El Paso Bar Association or anyone else.

"You decided to wait until now to say something, correct?" said Ken
Del Valle, one of Barraza's lawyers.

After Garcia finished testifying, both sides rested.

In total, prosecutors called 13 witnesses. They also played 14 audio
and video recordings for the jury, and introduced 24 e-mails between
Barraza and someone he thought was a woman he had met on behalf of a
defendant charged in a cocaine case. But FBI Special Agent Ricardo Ale
actually sent e-mails to Barraza in what the government said were
sexually suggestive exchanges.

Barraza's defense team called seven witnesses, including his sister,
Sally Mena. She testified that she worked with Barraza for 27 years in
private practice and helped him close his law practice after he won
election to a district court judgeship in November 2008.

She said she referred dozens of his pending cases to other lawyers.
This was intended to counter government witnesses who said Barraza
continued to practice law -- at least in one case -- after taking
office as a judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Frank Montalvo will give the jurors
instructions this morning. After that, lawyers for the government and
defense each will have up to an hour to make closing arguments.

Montalvo told the jurors that they would probably start their
deliberations by early afternoon.

Barraza is charged with three counts of wire fraud, deprivation of
honest services and making a false statement to federal agents. Each
count carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but Barraza has
a clean record and was an attorney in good standing for 30 years.

His former lawyer, Gary Hill, said prosecutors offered Barraza a plea
bargain that would have put him in prison for as little as 33 months.
Barraza rejected the deal in favor of going to trial.