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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Congratulations to Scott Monroe for Winning and to Brad McCullouch for Running a Good Race


Congratulations to Scott Monroe in his victory in the election for 198th District Attorney. It was a hard fought election and was hell on both candidates and their families. I think everyone in Kerr County is relieved this one's over. I know I am. I'm proud to have supported Brad McCullouch and am, of course disappointed in the outcome, but that's how the system works. The voters have spoken. Whatever he decides to do I know he'll be successful at it. I hope he'll come over to the defense side, or as some call it, "the dark side." A lot of decent people get caught up in the criminal justice system. Some are completely innocent, many are good people who did something wrong but deserve a break and a second chance. Brad is a fighter and would be a great defense lawyer. ............... Some great news from Wilco Watchdog Jana Duty Defeats Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley In what most are calling the most expensive and contentious political race in Williamson County's history, Williamson County Attorney Jana Duty defeated Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley in the Republican Primary. ................ Where's Gary Larsen when you need him? Gary Larsen had the all time greatest series of cartoons in The Far Side. There's one where a teeshirt vendor is selling shirts with "I kicked Santa Anna's butt at the Alamo," with a sign that marks down the pric from $10 to $7 to $5 and so on as the Mexicans storm over the walls. Imagine what he could do with this: Serpent-handling pastor profiled earlier in Washington Post dies from rattlesnake bite Mack Wolford, a flamboyant Pentecostal pastor from West Virginia whose serpent-handling talents were profiled last November in The Washington Post Magazine , hoped the outdoor service he had planned for Sunday at an isolated state park would be a “homecoming like the old days,” full of folks speaking in tongues, handling snakes and having a “great time.” But it was not the sort of homecoming he foresaw. Instead, Wolford, who turned 44 the previous day, was bitten by a rattlesnake he owned for years. He died late Sunday.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Austin Cop Killer's Excuse; Ninth Circuit COA Goes to Hawaii


Austin cop killer pathetic excuse From the Austin American Statesman 4/23/12 24-year-old Brandon Montgomery Daniel in the fatal shooting of Austin senior police officer Jaime Padron, Daniel's mother, Mary O'Dell, the only family member who has spoken publicly since Padron's death, told the newspaper in a 20-minute interview last week that her son is highly intelligent but was increasingly overcome in recent months from the stress of a breakup with his longtime girlfriend and adjusting to a new life in Austin. She said on the night of Padron's death, her son had taken prescription anxiety medication and was not aware of his actions. "He has absolutely no memory of it," said O'Dell, who has visited her son in jail. ........ Boo-hoo-hoo, poor little Brandon. Why I'll never run for any office again The New York Times has dug up a story from 50 years ago about Mitt Romney supposedly bullying another student. "Mitt Romney returned from spring break in his senior year to find that John Lauber, a quiet, offbeat type, had bleached his hair blond. Mr. Romney, brandishing a pair of scissors, led other boys on a hunt for Mr. Lauber, teasing him and holding him down while Mr. Romney snipped off his long locks." Of course the NYT loves it because the other student later came out as gay. The reason we have such a poor field in most presidential elections is that qualified leaders like Colin Powell and David Petraeus don't want their reputations shredded and their families brutalized. BREITBART EXCLUSIVE: 9TH CIRCUIT TAKES PLUSH MAUI VACATION AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE, AS OTHERS CUT BACK by DAN RIEHL Judges from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, federal district and bankruptcy courts in nine Western states and two Pacific island territories, along with lawyers practicing in those courts, and court staff, will gather at the luxurious Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa from August 13 - 16, 2012 in what looks like a less than valiant attempt to ensure American justice is being served...at a cost to taxpayers of approximately one million dollars. .......... Wonder if they used the same travel agency as Ron Sutton.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Cameron County DA Indicted by Feds; Guadalupe Co. DA Protecting Rapist?


Cameron DA indicted on corruption charges By Lynn Brezosky BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos was arrested Monday along with former law partner Eddic Lucio after an indictment on federal racketeering charges. Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Cameron-DA-indicted-on-corruption-charges-3540167.php#ixzz1uDWTldg0 Is Guadalupe County DA Heather McMinn protecting a rapist? An article by John MacCormack in the San Antonio Express-News tells the sordid story of a sexual predator who may be protected by the Guadalupe County DA Heather McMinn and Assistant District Attorney Kristy Stone. Despite numerous complaints by different women and an audiotape of a sexual assault, the alleged rapist is still on the street. "District Attorney Heather McMinn did not respond to a series of questions, including whether she has recused herself from the case, whether a special prosecutor will be appointed or whether Sanchez is receiving special treatment. Josie Williams, who is Gonzales' boss, said that sometime in 2010 Sanchez introduced McMinn to her as “my good friend,” when the prosecutor was visiting his office as a customer. Williams said she saw McMinn visit several times after that. Gonzales' lawyer, James Millan, said he is more concerned about an apparent conflict involving Stone, the assistant district attorney who, on April 17, decided not to have Sanchez arrested. According to court records in both Caldwell and Guadalupe counties, Stone, while in private practice, represented Sanchez as a defense lawyer in matters related to a DWI case in 2010. “When Kristy Stone went over to the police station, she knew she was disqualified as soon as she saw who it was. She's automatically disqualified,” Millan said." Cameron County District Judge and District Attorney Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos was arrested Monday along with former law partner Eddic Lucio after an indictment on federal racketeering charges. Federal prosecutors accuse Villalobos of taking more than $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for using his prosecutorial discretion. He was indicted after a years-long investigation that has netted several local attorneys and former officials. Attorney in Corruption Case to Report to Prison An attorney convicted in the Abel Limas corruption has been ordered to report to federal prison next month. Joe Valle of Harlingen is to report to the facility in Bastrop on June 7. Valle confessed to bribing former Cameron County state district judge Abel Limas and receiving money for referring a case. Valle was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars. Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Cameron-DA-indicted-on-corruption-charges-3540167.php#ixzz1uDWTldg0 Austin cop killer pathetic excuse From the Austin American Statesman 4/23/12 24-year-old Brandon Montgomery Daniel in the fatal shooting of Austin senior police officer Jaime Padron, Daniel's mother, Mary O'Dell, the only family member who has spoken publicly since Padron's death, told the newspaper in a 20-minute interview last week that her son is highly intelligent but was increasingly overcome in recent months from the stress of a breakup with his longtime girlfriend and adjusting to a new life in Austin. She said on the night of Padron's death, her son had taken prescription anxiety medication and was not aware of his actions. "He has absolutely no memory of it," said O'Dell, who has visited her son in jail. ........ Boo-hoo-hoo, poor little Brandon. Why I'll never run for any office again The New York Times has dug up a story from 50 years ago about Mitt Romney supposedly bullying another student. "Mitt Romney returned from spring break in his senior year to find that John Lauber, a quiet, offbeat type, had bleached his hair blond. Mr. Romney, brandishing a pair of scissors, led other boys on a hunt for Mr. Lauber, teasing him and holding him down while Mr. Romney snipped off his long locks." Of course the NYT loves it because the other student later came out as gay. The reason we have such a poor field in most presidential elections is that qualified leaders like Colin Powell and David Petraeus don't want their reputations shredded and their families brutalized.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Shelby County TX DA Asset Forfeiture Scam Update


I found an interesting website based in Louisiana, Lincoln Parish News Online, that has an article How Texas District Attorneys Operate. It reports that a federal judge has certified a class in a lawsuit against the Shelby County DA Lynda K. Russell and other officials who ran an asset forfeiture scam out of Tenaha in East Texas. One constable is under investigation for ripping off drugs and selling them. Another got caught planting illegal bugs. Tenaha was the subject of an hour long investigative report by CNN Anderson Cooper/360, after which they visited our fair cities of Kerrville and Junction.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Cameron Co. DA Indicted; Prosecutorial Immunity


Indicted Cameron DA urged to quit By Lynn Brezosky BROWNSVILLE — District Attorney Armando Villalobos, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. House District 34, was indicted on corruption charges Monday stemming from a federal criminal investigation. Villalobos was arrested Monday along with Eduardo “Eddie” Lucio, his former law partner. The indictment is tied to a deep-reaching, multiagency investigation into a web of corruption involving former state District Judge Abel C. Limas and a list of already-convicted courthouse players ranging from a bail bondsman to lawyer and former state Rep. Jose Santiago “Jim” Solis. It charges both Villalobos and Lucio with one count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Indicted-Cameron-DA-urged-to-quit-3543724.php#ixzz1uN3A3uYW Why I left Houston Four teens arrested in fatal carjacking of Houston dad our teens have been charged with capital murder in the fatal carjacking of a Houston man who was stabbed and shot in front of his wife and daughter last weekend. Victor Quevedo's family had pulled into the parking lot of the Miramar Apartments, in the 13100 block of Bissonnet in far southwest Harris County, around 11:45 p.m. Saturday when at least four attackers ambushed their car and demanded money. After a brief struggle, one teen shot the 40-year-old father and another stabbed him with a knife, according to a probable cause affidavit. The attackers fled with a small black backpack adorned with flowers. It belonged to Quevedo's teen daughter. Two cellphones, but no cash, were inside. Ex-Cowboy Terrell Owens joins Dr. Phil, discusses fathering four kids to four women The show’s most emotional moments came during Dr. Phil’s opening conversation with Owens. Owens claimed that the past two years, which included him being “taken advantage of financially” and losing his grandmother, have been some of the roughest of his life. Owens broke down in tears when talking about his grandmother’s expectations for him. “She wanted me to be the best person I could be,” Owens said.... Reminds me of a client I was appointed to defend who thought he should get probation because he had five kids to support, by four different women - and he hadn't paid a dime in child support. Errant prosecutors seldom held to account By Barry Scheck SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN In February, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson affirmed the finding of state District Judge Sid Harle that there was probable cause to believe former Williamson County prosecutor Ken Anderson had violated the criminal laws of Texas by disobeying a court order to disclose evidence pointing to the innocence of Michael Morton, who in 1987 was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. A court of inquiry will now try Anderson on these charges. The case against Anderson (who is now a state district judge and denies wrongdoing in the Morton case) made national headlines because, as a recent article in the Yale Online Law Review thoroughly documents, our system rarely disciplines, much less brings criminal charges against, prosecutors who have engaged in acts of intentional misconduct. Far too often, prosecutors, who wield enormous power over our lives, aren't investigated at all, even for intentional misconduct that has led to a wrongful conviction, much less "harmless" intentional misconduct in cases in which the d defendant was guilty. Harris sheriff keeps pace of firing misbehaving officers By James Pinkerton The Harris County Sheriff's Office continues to fire deputies and other employees for having sex with jailed inmates, using illegal drugs, employing excessive force or using their position to steal from the public, according to disciplinary actions obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Monday, May 7, 2012

McCullouch's response to Monroe accusations; Changed Name Undone


CAMPAIGN UPDATE: In response to Mr. Monroe’s accusations of marital infidelity: “I think it is preposterous that my opponent would actually generate such untruths- that have interestingly popped up right after the straw poll results and on the eve of early voting. I will admit to any sin, but I will never admit to something I did not do. Also, I want to thank the hundreds who have called to say, ‘it’s going to be okay. You can get through this.’ This is politics at its nastiest form- that I would never suspect could happen in our great community. For any part that I have played in negative campaigning, I apologize to the citizens.” “I will admit to his allegations of divorce but certainly NOT because of marital infidelity. I’m sure my opponent could hand you the court orders to substantiate this. It’s not something I have ever hidden from and is a part of my testimony.” “In fact, kneeling on the floor of a hotel room in Jackson, MS in 2001, in the days following divorce is when and where I became a Christian. The only positive side of this is that I have become more and more dependent on my Savior every day. Mary Beth and I have been happily married for 6 years and we have a precious 3 1/2 old daughter.” “I would encourage my opponent to end his campaign strong. It’s literally anybody’s election. At the start of this campaign I will be the first to admit, I was a longshot. I was not born and raised in Kerrville, Texas. In June, my wife and I will have only lived in Texas for four years. But, I have been a full-time prosecutor for eight years- in two jurisdictions, and I am licensed to practice in both the state courts of two States, and in front of the Federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Even though at the beginning I was the longshot candidate, I believe we can and will win. These last few days before early voting will be spent only on positives. That is the American way, and I want everybody to know if I lose this race it will be with dignity and honor- not by throwing stones.” ............. By popular demand, I'm reposting the link to the Scott Monroe traffic stop DVD. I will extend the same courtesy - I'll print word for word any comment he wants to make about the stop. ......... Back to Judges and Lawyers Hall of Shame I got several questions and complaints about my short-lived change of this blog's name. I feel a little like Coca-Cola when it changed its product's name to New Coke. I have a good readership that's taken a lot of time and effort to build, so I'm going back to Judges and Lawyers Hall of Shame. The race between Scott Monroe and Brad McCullouch just gets nastier and nastier. I think McCullouch needs to make a public statement denying the accusations. Ignoring them is given the impression that they are true. Only the people involved know the truth. If asked who I want to see elected, I would say that even if the rumors are true, I've heard rumors of similar conduct by Monroe, but have no evidence, and if I did, the race is so divisive and ugly I wouldn't want to throw more gas on the fire. That said, based on the traffic stop dvd and the fact that he's backed by the same machine that has made the 198th District a disgrace for the last ten years, I'll take a chance that the outsider will not be corrupt.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Taking down a crooked drug dealing gun running sheriff


I just watched a 60 Minutes episode about a crooked sheriff in Whitley County, KY that could have come out of an episode of Justified. I highly recommend watching this. Corrupt Kentucky sheriff brought down by reporters May 6, 2012 4:00 PM When two small-town newspaper reporters in Kentucky began investigating the corrupt local sheriff, they not only got headline stories. They also got death threats. Byron Pitts reports.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Junction in the National News Again


Kids 'meow' at teachers; are forced to crawl By John MacCormack About all that is certain regarding the bizarre situation with fifth-graders in Junction is that when the teacher tells you to hush, responding with meows isn't the brightest idea.... Upset Junction parents are venting on Facebook, the city police have opened an investigation, and the school administration is in full emergency mode, taking complaints from parents and calls from out-of-town reporters. And the Texas Rangers are being called in to sort it all out.... According to the account given to Molina by her daughter and confirmed by other sources, some of the fifth-graders were being loud and rowdy in the halls Wednesday. In response to warnings from their teachers, some of the students responded by meowing, she said. Molina said she understands four teachers and about 50 kids were involved. But what began as a plan to have the kids run a few laps on the school track to straighten them out apparently escalated into compulsory crawling and meowing, she said. “They want to act like cats, they should be treated like cats, and meow,” was a remark she said her daughter attributed to one teacher. Afterward, she said, some kids visited the school nurse. ............ You can't make this stuff up, folks.

New Blog Name and Attitude


I've changed this blog's name because I believe this area's legal and political climate has improved so much that it's not a fair characterization. Most of the judges in the Hill Country are decent, ethical, hard-working men and women.I respect most of the prosecutors, defense lawyers and civil lawyers. I realized that some readers have the impression that I don't respect the legal system, the judiciary, law enforcement, police, and the other institutions that make the system work. When I started this blog this area had a statewide reputation - a bad one - because of the scandals in the 198th DA office and court. The people responsible for those are gone. I'm tired of thinking about the bad times, tired of writing about them, and except for a book I'm writing, I'm moving on. I've tried cases in most of the 198th and 216th Districts at all levels from Justice Courts to the District Courts and my clients and I have been treated fairly and courteously. The same is true in the federal courts in San Antonio and Austin. We in America have the best legal system in the world, and we have good people in the Hill Country. This DA race has had me, and a lot of other people, upset and angry. It's not worth it. It's just politics. Whoever wins, life will go on. I'll still write about things that need attention but negativity won't be the focus.