A series of hearings were held closely together such that a number of prisoners (about eight) went before Judge Garcia prior to Rick's turn. However, Rick did not enter the courtroom until shortly prior to his turn. In the meantime, attorney Robert Gorence showed up, claiming to CFJ members that Rick's mother (in another state) hired him. CFJ provided evidence to Gorence that shows a number of email communications between Rick and CFJ as compared to the email that is the subject of the criminal complaint. The latter email was from a different account, a hotmail account of rb_nm@hotmail.com  It was quite suspicious because hotmail is an easy account to spoof, Rick's initials are actually rh, not rb as in the email account, and Rick's normal email account is an msn.com account. Two CFJ Board members offered to be character witnesses for Rick.

Later Rick entered the courtroom. Although every one of the earlier prisoners was clean without signs of mistreatment and clad in clean clothes, Rick clearly had not had a shower or change of clothes for two days since prior to his arrest. His left cheek was swollen and gray is if he had been beaten, and it appeared that he did not even have a chance to comb his hair. He appeared to be in shock. He was shackled at his wrists and ankles, with a long chain connecting the two, causing him to have to shuffle to walk to his seat. Nevertheless when he saw CFJ members there, he broke into a huge smile.

Robert Gorence convinced Rick to waive his right to a preliminary hearing, thereby insuring that the judge would make a finding of probable cause that Rick sent the threatening email for which he was accused. Gorence did so without first securing from the U.S. a deal in which Rick would then be released from jail until trial. Criminals going before him in the courtroom, including an admitted armed bank robber, secured such an agreement from the judge. Every defense attorney CFJ has contacted is shocked to find that Gorence gave up Rick's rights to an evidentiary hearing without in return securing such a release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paula Burnett called an FBI agent to the witness stand. During the course of the questioning (both examination and cross-exam), the following information was disclosed:

• The agent never actually contacted Judge Nash to determine whether she was aware of the threatening email allegedly sent by Rick or whether she was in fear. Instead, NM Supreme Court Chief Justice Ed Chavez told the agent that Nash told him she was afraid. (For you legal types, that's hearsay two persons removed.) In addition, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White told the agent that Nash told him that she was afraid (ditto on the hearsay).
• The FBI did not check the registration of the gun that was allegedly found in Rick's automobile when he was arrested. The agent stated, however, that there was no indication from the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department that the gun was illegal. (It is still true in our country that possession of a legally-registered gun is no crime.)
• The FBI used a former employee of Rick's employer who "wishes to remain silent" as their source of allegations regarding Rick's work status in their statement. They did not contact Rick's employer.
• The FBI agent had not seen the $3000 that was allegedly on Rick's person when he was arrested; it had apparently been in the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department's possession since confiscation.
• Gorence asked the judge to release Rick to his relative's home in another state with an ankle bracelet. However, Gorence did so while in the same breath stating that he understood why the judge would consider him a "dangerous" person. An onlooker would have great trouble determining whether Gorence was an attorney for the defendant (Rick) or the petitioner (the US).
• At the end of the hearing, Judge Lorenzo F. Garcia ordered Rick to stay in jail pending trial, which could be months away. Rick Hermann, a 24-year software engineer with his employer who has never had any trouble with the law whatsoever, remains a federal prisoner.
• CFJ was able to visit Rick in the Torrance County Detention Center (which has some federal cells) the following Thursday (Jan 17). At that time, we learned from Rick that he did not receive a shower for six days after he was arrested, and he still had not been shown a copy of the threatening email of which he had been accused - eight days and two hearings after his arrest.