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My Demons Were Real:
Constitutional Lawyer Joseph Calamias Journey
Published by Arte Pblico Press
My Demons, written by former career diplomat and El Paso
Herald-Post reporter Bob
Ybarra is, of course, about Joe Calamia, El Pasos eccentric,
boisterous, and one heck of a
constitutional lawyer (1921-2009). More than that, its about a
son of immigrants raised in El
Pasos impoverished Segundo Barrio who combined his rough and
tumble street fighter
ironically with a Don Quixote idealism in search of an
impossible dream -- a more perfect
union with full respect of the Constitutions Bill of Rights.
World War II battle tested he was
one of many such men who, armed with new worldly experiences and
a subsequent law degree
went after status quo; in Joes case fighting those real demons
of expediency at the expense of a
defendants constitutional rights.
More than a lawyers biography, Demons is a history of the
evolving criminal justice
system in El Paso in the context of the national trends in
search of a more perfect protection of
the bill of rights. Joe was the researcher, the strategist and
at times the barrister in some pretty
heavy McCarthy era communist trials in El Paso in the 1950s and
a fighter against corrupt
county officials, overzealous law enforcers, and quick to
convict judges. His cases chronicled
national constitutional law developments covering defendant and
voter rights, all with an El Pasoflavor that included bizarre
events related to the Kennedy assassination, civil rights matters
in
periods of great social change and racial strife in the United
States. His cases successfully
challenged the Texas grand jury selection system which allowed a
Mexican-American to go free
24 years after his conviction of raping a white woman and the
Texas candidate filing fees that
allowed the impoverished political activist Chuy de la O run for
mayor.
Ybarra uses his news writer skills, acquired during the heyday
of Calamias career in his
eight years as the Herald-Posts federal courthouse reporter and
investigative reporter dealing
with the major political and social changes occurring in El Paso
at the time influenced by the
Warren Court decisions and the national unrest of the late 1960s
and early 1970s. His first hand
contact with leaders and power brokers allowed him to present a
colorful view of the various
national and local events and personalities involved in the
constitutional issues that Calamia was
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safeguarding in the various court battles: starting with the
County Sheriff in a public corruption
case; mixing it up with big time lawyers and a federal judge in
the infamous communist trials of
the 1950s and that once ostracized pro-labor movie, The Salt of
the Earth; taking on
unpopular defendant rights battles in the civil rights and
restless youth era of the 1960s; and in
his later years, still fighting those demons of judicial
expedience at the expense of defendant
rights.
Finally, research and publication ofMy Demons costs were covered
by the Texas Bar
Foundation, El Paso Bar Foundation, El Paso Bar Association, El
Paso Legal and Charitable
Foundation, El Paso Mexican American Bar Association, El Paso
Womens Bar Association,
City of Houstons Arts Alliance and the College of the State Bar
along with individual
contributors.
April 2011
For Further Information Contact
Bob Ybarra
(915) 587-5072
[email protected]
ARTE PBLICO PRESS is the nation's largest and most established
publisher of contemporary andrecovered literature by U.S. Hispanic
authors. Its imprint for children and young adults, Piata Books,
isdedicated to the realistic and authentic portrayal of the themes,
languages, characters, and customs ofHispanic culture in the United
States. Based at the University of Houston, Arte Pblico Press,
PiataBooks, and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage
project provide the most widelyrecognized and extensive showcase
for Hispanic literary arts and creativity. For more information,
pleasevisit our Web site at www.artepublicopress.com.
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