Frisco DWI Lawyer & Attorney Blog : Collin County DWI Lawyer & Attorney : Hunter Biederman : Texas DWI Defense : Serving Collin County, Denton County, Dallas County

It was a sad day in Collin County. Yet another innocent person was convicted of a crime based on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of an admitted felon and child molester. On Friday, Judge Suzanne Wooten was convicted of 9 counts of bribery, money laundering.  Judge Wooten allegedly took money in return for a promise to give favorable rulings.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. In a county and era notorious for overzealous prosecution, observers might already be hardened to the notion of innocent people being convicted of crimes. 

- Nationally there have been 280 DNA exonerations.

- In Texas, 41 innocent lives have been exonerated from wrongful convictions due to DNA testing.

- In Collin County, even the Supreme Court says its OK to have the Judge and the prosecutor in a sexual relationship together during the prosecution of a capital murder.

A Lack of Substantial Evidence

Part of why I was surprised of this conviction is because I thought there was no way a guilty verdict would ever come from this case. I sat through parts of the trial and never saw any evidence that even remotely pointed towards guilt. 

The theory of the case was an odd one to me. In a county where no incumbent judge had ever been defeated, supposedly someone was willing to “bribe” a lawyer to unseat a judge, and reverse rulings already made on their case. The theory was further removed from reality considering Judge Wooten removed herself from the case and never made any rulings that aided the briber.

The prosecutor’s theory (an Assistant Attorney General brought in “AG”) was quite close to the plot of John Grisham’s The Appeal, where a Mississippi Supreme Court justice is pushed to the court to hopefully overturn a big corporate jury verdict. In the book, however, the judge to be didn’t know of the reason he was being placed on the court.

But the fiction in this case became hard reality for Judge Wooten. She now faces up to 20 years in prison. Along with the possible prison sentence she is also subject to the convicted felony tag, the loss of her job as a judge, and probable loss of her law license.

The AG’s theory of the case is that it didn’t matter if the Judge made the favorable rulings or not – the bribe was committed on acceptance of the offer. I guess that is true in theory. I offer to pay an elected official for some favor, they are guilty when they take the money, not when they do the favor. 

But a closer look at that idea would show that if the bribed person didn’t do the favor in return for the bribe, then it most likely wasn’t a bribe anyway. The briber in Wooten’s case certainly got screwed out of their $150,000 considering the bribed judge refused to even hear the case much less make favorable rulings.

A Lack of Faith in the Prosecutors

When I was a prosecutor in Collin County, nobody ever asked me how many innocent people I thought I convicted. As a defense attorney, I am constantly asked how many guilty people I get off. The general public perceives the greater “wrong” to be a guilty person getting away with a crime, not an innocent person getting convicted.

“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" ~William Blackstone, c.1760’s

Although not asked about convicting innocent people as a prosecutor, I thought about it during and after my prosecuting career ended.  The stock answer in my mind was that I never convicted anyone.   They either pled guilty, or a jury convicted them – never me.

My suspicion is that the AG in the Wooten case feels the same way. A jury convicted Wooten – not him.   Furthermore, the jury’s verdict justified this prosecution. 

Except this AG had even more to gain from a guilty verdict. This verdict cleared his name in an FBI investigation against him.   The problem with this outcome is that this prosecution could have been pushed forward out of a hope to clear his name – not for a prosecutor’s stated duty of seeing that justice be done.

Art. 2.01. It shall be the primary duty of all prosecuting attorneys, including any special prosecutors, not to convict, but to see that justice is done. 

At one point the current Collin County District Attorney tried to intervene and take the case back out of the hands of the AG. This was fought by the AG and eventually overruled by the visiting judge.

If a new, uninterested prosecutor were assigned to the case, the outcome might have become more reliable, and easier for me to believe.

Political Overtones

Much of the lack of faith in the conviction also comes from the political overtones in this case. An ousted republican incumbent judge, upset at a perceived Democratic challenger that smelled of “RINO.” (Republican In Name Only).   She was referred by the ousted judge as “active in the Democratic party.”

So here we have it, an AG working for the Republican elected AG’s office, prosecuting a perceived Democrat. If the undertones weren’t enough, during the trial the prosecution politics a focal point of their case. Questions were asked of how many Republic events Judge Wooten attended before running.  Not exactly subtle.

It had always been a joke that its illegal to be a Democrat in Collin County. Unfortunately this trial brings the joke into possible reality.

In The End . . .

In the end I am saddened by what seems on all accounts as yet another innocent person being convicted of a crime. If there was any chance at the public having faith in the jury’s verdict, it was lost a long time ago in the face of the overwhelming politics that plagued this case.

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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With the upcoming retirement of District Judge Robert Dry in the 199th, candidates have begun their preparations for seeking the Collin County District Bench.  So far, I have received two mailers from attorneys seeking the bench.  As new candidates pop up, I will add them here once I receive solid information that are running. ("Solid Information" generally means a public website or candidate contacting me directly)

ANGELA TUCKER                        

Angela Tucker has practiced civil, family, and criminal law. After spending four years as an Assistant District Attorney in Collin County, she opened her law office and currently is a solo practitioner at Angela M. Tucker, PC.

Mrs. Tucker has stated in the past she is, "committed to representing the people of Collin County by serving as the next [Judge]. To maintain high legal standards, it is imperative that we elect judges who have a strong work ethic, high moral standards, and diverse experience.”

Mrs. Tucker lives in McKinney with her husband James and two children.

Mrs. Tucker's campaign website can be found at www.angelatuckerforjudge.com

SHARON RAMAGE 

Sharon Ramage has been licensed to practice law since 1992. As a former social worker, Ms. Ramage has practiced law in many areas specific to protecting children since that time. From 1992-1997, Sharon served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Tarrant County, and was assigned to the Crimes Against Children Division from 1995-1997.

After resigning from the District Attorney’s Office, Ms. Ramage opened a private practice in Tarrant County, where she practiced special education law and family law. Since 2000, Ms. Ramage has worked in private practice in Collin County, primarily in the area of family law and adoption. Since 2003, she has also served as a Special Education Hearing Officer and Mediator for the Texas Education Agency, conducing special education due process hearings and mediating disputes between schools and parents.

“The totality of my experience -- criminal prosecutor, defense attorney, appellate attorney, family law attorney, mediator and hearing officer -- has prepared me for this position,” Ramage said. “I welcome this challenge and recognize the hard work that lies before me in seeking this position, as well as in the hard work and diligence required of the Bench.”

Sharon is married and the mother of two children adopted from China.

More information about Sharon can be found on her facebook page, Sharon Ramage for Judge.

BOB DRY

Son of retiring judge Robert Dry, Robert Dry, III (Bob) has also announced his intention to run for his father's bench through a facebook page.  

Mr. Dry Robert T. Dry, III joined the firm Gay, McCall, Issacks, Gordon & Roberts, PC, in 2005 upon graduation from South Texas College of Law. He practices Civil Litigation with the firm.  He was born and reared in Plano and is a graduate of Plano Senior High School and SMU.

www.dryforjudge.com

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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In an interesting filing, Greg Willis, the current elected Collin County District Attorney filed a "Motion for the Appointment of a New, Impartial and Disinterested Attorney Pro Tem" in the case against Judge Wooten.

In the filing, Willis explains that it was the previously elected District Attorney who had the conflict and no him.  He states:

Regardless of the existence of actual conflicts of interest, this prosecution is cloaked in the appearance of impropriety and should not continue on its present course.

Willis goes through the law favoring the right to terminate an attorney pro tem that was appointed at the request of his predecessor (John Roach).  He requests the termination "to avoid the appearance of impropriety and to preserve the public's confidence in the fairness of this prosecution."

He goes on to explain that recently filed documents by the attorney pro tem's (Assistant Attorney Generals Harry White and Brian Chandler) accused Judge Wooten of initiating an FBI investigation against former DA John Roach, and the attorney pro tems themselves.  

Based on this accusation, this would mean that White and Chandler are not disinterested and have a stake in trying to convict Judge Wooten.  Basically, if they convict Judge Wooten, it would justify their investigation, and clear their own names in their federal investigation.  This would be in conflict of the prosecutor's duty to see that justice was done.

John Pitchford, of the Collin County Observer, wrote a recent article, No Speedy Trial for Judge Suzanne Wooten, which talks about the latest on this case, along with detailed coverage of the back story.

I do find it amusing that this motion is "State of Texas  v. Hon. Suzanne H. Wooten" in the header.  I've never seen a prosecutor refer to a defendant as "Honorable."

Yes, although that is the proper way to address a judge it seems out of place.  But then again, I've never read documents on a Judge indicted under suspicious circumstances.

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About a month ago, I wrote an article Crime Victim Dies of Complications, detailing a certain tree planted in front of the courthouse to commemorate crime victims.  I took a picture showing that the tree had apparently died and been cut down.

I also found it interesting that no one puts up wrongly accused / convicted trees around the courthouse -- that might actually cause a jury to think twice about convicting someone. 

.

Regardless, it would seem that the tree has sparked new life after (and probably because of) my article.  Despite the tree dying and being cut down, someone moved the sign, and placed it in front of another tree instead.  This other tree is now purported to be the crime victim tree dedicated in 2007.

Based on the sign and press releases from that time, they say "this tree," (singular) although it is possible they planted two trees.  I wasn't invited to that ceremony, so I cannot be sure.  But I think there is some fraud going on here. . .

One thing is for sure:  The local bird population is not in favor of this new fake crime tree.

If anyone has any information on this coverup, please alert the authorities.  Well, I guess not, as I suspect the locals are in on the coverup. 

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A few days ago, the State filed a motion to dismiss the cases against the Collin County District Clerks cases.

It should be noted that all cases were dismissed "without prejudice."  This means that the charges could be re-brought against the District Clerks, or other charges can be brought against them as well.  If a case is dismissed "with prejudice," no charges can be refiled.

The McKinney Courier Gazette quoted special prosecutor John Helms as saying

"I made the decision not to pursue the original charges that the original prosecutors brought," he said. "That does not mean I won't pursue charges that I might want to bring instead, but right now, it's just one decision --- that I do not intend to pursue the original charges that the prosecutors were pursuing."

The crux of the cases against the clerks is that they were falsifying time records ("blue book time") which may or may not have been in order to campaign for the election of the next potential District Clerk.

The case seemed already in trouble, and was then exacerbated by the realization that the District Attorney's office had an arguably similar program that employees were given time off, "off the record."

This, of course, led to the filing of  the State's Disclosure of Evidence Favorable to the Defense by the Assistant District attorney, who then was charged with Tampering with a Governmental record for that filing. That indictment was quickly quashed, and no new charges have surfaced (or are thought to be coming at all).

It appears that "Indictment Fest 2010" is beginning to come to a close.  Just one major political case left, the charges against Judge Suzanne Wooten.  That "bribery" case, and I use that term quite loosely, is set for June 20, 2011.

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It appears a local crime victim has dies of injuries.  Reports are unclear as to whether the death is related to injuries sustained from the initial crime.

I snapped this photo recently of the "Crime Victim Tree" planted just outside of the new Collin County Courthouse.

As you can see, the tree has been removed and all that remains is a bit of the stump below.

When this sign was first erected, it was met with what I would call,  "non-vocal minority" resistance.  Why would we want potential jurors coming in from a parking lot to jury duty to walk by a sign talking about crime victims?

Maybe to poison the potential jurors?  Maybe just someone from the Government's side not being sensitive to the whole "innocent until proven guilty" premise.

I find it funny that no one seems to be jumping to put up a tree dedicated to the wrongfully accused.  How about a DNA cleared victims tree?  We could plan one, for say, each wrongfully convicted year a man spent in jail here in the DFW area.

Nah... that would take up too many parking spaces.  According to the Innocence project, Dallas alone is up to 20 wrongful convictions by men who have served a total of 250 years in prison for crimes they hadn't committed.

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Today, Gregory Davis, Collin County's First Assistant District Attorney filed a "State's Disclosure of Evidence Favorable to the Defendant."  This is commonly known as a "Brady Material." Brady material, in short, refers evidence favorable to the defense that is known by the State. The State is required to turn this evidence over.  Brady material is often the source of heated debates including what is, and is not, Brady material.  Brady material requirements stem from the US Supreme Court case of Brady  v. Maryland. 

Today's filing goes on to detail some specifics regarding the State's High-Five program.  I previously reported on this program and detailed the shocking similarities to behavior alleged in the District Clerk's case. This stemmed from the District Attorney requesting a new way to code this time off which was denied by the County Commissioners.

The filing states:

1. Approximately 40 employees of the Collin County District ~
Attorney's Office were awarded paid leave in the form of"High Five" leave since January 1, 2003. The Criminal District Attorney awarded the leave in amounts ranging from one to eight hours.  The supporting documents show that the paid leave time was awarded for meritorious conduct. The undersigned has found no evidence that any paid leave time was awarded for electioneering or political activity.

2. A timekeeper in the Collin County District Attorney's Office allegedly had an "off-the-record agreement" with a person in the Collin County Human Resources Department to alter employees' time records.

3. At least two timekeepers in the Collin County District Attorney's Office altered employees' time records to reflect that employees were at work when they were actually on "High Five" leave.

4. A timekeeper in the Collin County District Attorney's Office believes that "everyone" in the county was altering employees' time records, including persons in the Collin County Human Resources Department.

5. Per a department spokesperson, the Collin County Human Resources Department had no knowledge of the "High Five" leave program prior to June 2,2010.

6. Per a department spokesperson, the Collin County Human Resources Department instructed all timekeepers to accurately report county employees' times.

7. An undetermined number of scheduling requests for investigators in the Collin County District Attorney's Office were destroyed without the knowledge of the Criminal District Attorney or the undersigned.

Mr. Davis further states, "While the undersigned believes that much of this newly discovered evidence will be held to be inadmissible at trial, he believes disclosure of this evidence should be made to ensure full compliance with Brady v. Maryland."

Analysis:

This certainly seems to lend credibility to my previous article of the similarities in the High-Five program and what the District Clerks were doing.

So this begs the heated question, "What is the question?"  What must the state prove?  Not just the behavior, but that behavior must actually be a crime.

Mr. Davis' filing seems to suggest the reason for the time off is what is in question.   (I think if this question was posed months ago, that wouldn't be the issue).

It would seem that the State planning on arguing it IS ok for an elected official to give time off on their own made up program.  It IS ALSO OK to lie about that to human resources and say those workers were there when they were not.  But apparently it is a Felony if during their time off they decide to campaign.

The filing seems to make this distinction by the line, ""[t]he undersigned has found no evidence that any paid leave time was awarded for electioneering or political activity."

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The Short Answer? Admit to doing the exact same thing the people charged did.

I have never had a case where a prosecutor has stood in front of a large group and admitted to driving while intoxicated -- or any other crime for that matter. 

But that seems to be exactly what the elected District Attorney in Collin County recently did. No, he did not admit driving while intoxicated, but instead stood in front of the county commissioners and asked for assistance on properly "coding" his Hi-Five Paid Time Off program.  A program that on its face seems to be doing the same thing he accuses Six Collin County District Clerks of doing. Taking time off from work with the permission of their supervisors, but putting in with the county that they were actually present so they can be paid.

From the Commissioners Agenda below:

The request started off innocently enough. DA John Roach was asking for was a way to change the computer coding of employees time off.  Apparently he had already asked HR to do this, but they refused to make the change.

DA Roach explained the program: A supervisor or manager recommends an employee for a certificate that allows some time off. The recommendation is reviewed by manager, division chief and ultimately by me personally (John Roach).  The employee "might get an hour off or two hours off "and they must take it within a certain amount of time, usually 30 days. They must get their managers approval, then fill out a scheduling request. That lets us (The DA) know when they’ll take the time off.

Cynthia Jacobson (HR's appointed official) told the Court Commissioners that they only make the change with these programs are approved by the Court.  And this program has not been approved by the court.

The meeting then took on a much different tone.  The commissioners seemed very disturbed by the elected DA coming up with his own time off compensation program.

One Commissioner asked, "The application should reflect our policies. Do we have policy where people get time off for rewards?"  The question seemed rhetorical, because from the way the meeting went, it was clear that no such program exists within the county.  There are policies in place that dictate time off, and this isn't one of them.

The commissioners not only refused to change the computer coding, but refused to accept that it was OK for the elected DA to start his own paid time off program.

In response to the District Attorney's statement, "if I have someone doing a really good job, I should have the discretion to reward them for it," the commissioner responded with a resounding, "I disagree."

So if the elected District Attorney feels it is OK to come up with his own paid time off program, why is it not OK for the clerks office to do the same?  He charged six clerks with felonies for doing just that.

Here is the major problem I see with the State's case against the clerks.  Even if they did exactly what the District Attorney alleges (and they might very well have), do those actions constitute a crime?  The clerks supposedly padded their time in the office when they were not actually in the office.

According to the District Attorney paying someone for time off when they are not in the office is legal. But apparently only if they are his employees, not employees of the District Clerk's office.  Perhaps it is because the clerks didn't first come up with a name as cool as the "High Five" program.

If you would like to view the video, click on the video picture above.  You can click on the agenda item below the video to jump to that portion of the commissioner's meeting.

Also, for those not normally dealing with Collin Courts, this is the District Clerks office that was accused of wrongdoing -- a different office than the County Clerks office.

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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This one clearly goes in the "politics" category.

The sitting judge of the 380th District court has been indicted.  Judge Suzanne Wooten, who defeated incumbent Charles Sandoval has been charged with seven counts.  This includes Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity (a favorite of the "Special Crimes" division of the District Attorney's office.  The underlying offense and the other counts are for bribery.

Bribery, PC 36.02 is a 2nd degree felony, carrying with it a punishment of up to a $10,000 fine and up to 20 years in prison.

This investigation of Judge Wooten has been the subject of much debate, and has been called out by many as politically motivated.  It also comes at an interesting time, immediately following the investigation by a grand jury of the District Attorney.

Let's try and go through the quick version for those who don't have a lot of time to read all the articles:

Judge Wooten, a private practice attorney decided to run for Judge in the 380th District Court.  The sitting judge in that court, Charles Sandoval, had been in the spot for quite some time.  This was all on the republican ticket, because generally there is no democratic opponent.

Judge Wooten won the election (Judge Sandoval has since done some fill in work in Dallas, and was the subject of D Magazine's article "The Worst Judge in Dallas County: How did Charles Sandoval, the worst judge in Collin County, wind up sitting on a Dallas bench?)

Apparently quite soon after, the Collin County DA began investigating her.   This was confirmed in DA John Roach's press release.  His press release and subsequent statements have asserted that the Attorney General has been handling the case, and not his prosecutors.

This, of course, caused Wooten's attorney to cry foul.  Especially when one grand jury's term was over, and Judge Roach asked to reconvene it. This naturally caused Wooten's attorney to claim Roach "Lost His Mind."

Then (partially simultaneously) a grand jury began investigating Roach and his office.  With all of the "high profile" and mostly failed prosecutions, the grand jury began looking at his actions.  Former FBI agent Terry Hart was appointed as a special prosecutor pro tem.  After this news is when the DA released his press release.

Roach then proceeded to pull all the indictments from the grand jury empaneled by Wooten, to "resubmit them" to another grand jury.

Which leads us to today -- the indictment of Wooten. Along with three co-defendants, James Spencer, Stacy Cary, and David Cary.

I haven't seen it on the Collin County Website, but it should be there soon.

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Congratulations to Scott Becker on his appointment to the 219th District Court in Collin County.  The appointment was announced on the Governor's website today.

Mr. Becker won the Republican Primary election and was set to take office (no democratic opponent) on January 1, 2011.  However, current sitting Judge Henderson recently announced his retirement.  Most people around the courthouse assumed he would be appointed to the bench, but until today nothing was official.

Mr. Becker's appointment is to begin on October 5, 2010, and expire at the end of the term January 1, 2011 (when he will become the elected Judge).

Mr. Becker is an assistant district attorney in the Collin County District Attorney’s Office. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Collin County Bar Association and Collin County Young Lawyers Association. Becker received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and a law degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law.

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Well, sorry about the crude posts, but I thought my readers would want to know what was going on live in this case.  After speaking with some courthouse workers (who actually had to work and didn't have time to sit in the courtroom), I decided to "live blog" from my iPhone at the last minute.  It was a frustrating experience, and I promise to bring a laptop or at least iPad next time.

The quick background:

6 District Clerks in Collin County were indicted on on charges of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity.  After setting PR bonds, the presiding judge of the court, Judge Rusch removed himself from the case, but the District Attorney did not.  Visiting District Judge Nuns was assigned to the case, and today all six clerks formally pleaded "Not Guilty."

The clerks are alleged to have .  We know this because the District Attorney took the odd step of filing 13,000 pages of evidence with the court within 3 days of the case being indicted.

This move led to one of the defense attorney's filing a motion to restrict the trial publicity, and subpoenaing Bill Baumbach of the Collin County Observer, Ed Housewright of the Dallas Morning News, and Danny Gallagher of the McKinney Courier Gazette.  I never wrote on my blog about the case before today, and was not requested to appear.  I just showed up because I felt left out (and had to be across the hall on a case anyway....)

I erroneously guessed that this hearing was about a motion to change venue, but it was not.  The attorney involved was truly asking the judge to ban the media from the case -- a move that was obviously not granted by the court.

Judges do have the right to restrict attorneys involved in the case from speaking to the press, but of the press from reporting.

Summary of Today's Proceedings:

TESTIMONY:

A lot seemed to occur in today's hearings.  First, testimony was taken from all three reporters.  Bill Baumbach arrived with his attorney and was asked about how many articles he wrote, and about his readership.  He was also asked questions that he could not answer, in regards to whether or not he thought a fair jury panel could be found on the trial.  As a reporter and not an attorney, obviously he had no clue.

Ed Housewright came equipped with his own lawyer as well, presumably supplied by the DMN.  His attorney objected to his even testifying, and brought a stack of caselaw to backup their position.  Regardless of the objections, the judge required him to answer a couple of questions, but they were pretty simply and only about how many articles he wrote and about his readership.

Danny Gallagher was also called to the stand and similarly testified his articles and readership -- as far as he knew.

All three reporters were questioned by Greg Davis, first assistant to the District Attorney as well.  All three stated that their wish was to continue reporting on this case, as they always do with any case that they feel the public would care about.

Bill Baumbach made a particularly interesting statement about how this case, above any, is most important to report on, considering this is a public corruption case, and the public has the right to know what is going on.

THE RULING:

The judge denied the motion to restrict the reporters from reporting.  He similarly denied the motion to restrict the attorneys or witnesses from talking to the press.  That statement to about 10 seconds, but his follow up took several minutes.  He very plainly stated that he would not be pleased if they talked to the press, regardless of his denial of the motion.  He asked that a "gentleman's agreement" be reached between the State and the Defense to not talk to the press. 

The defense then brought up one of the underlying issues, the roundabout way of talking to the press through case filings.  I was quoted earlier in the DMN as saying that the filing looked to me to be nothing more than a press release.

Greg Davis from the DA's office explained during the hearing that he always files all his discovery, so there might be a record of it to show what is turned over.  While I don't doubt that he files all discover sent to the defense, I feel quite comfortable that in the past 7 years at the office, the state has never filed a "notice of overt acts" within 3 days of a case being indicted.  Much less a 13,000 page document.

If someone wants to call me out on that, and show me another example, I'll retract every word and stand corrected.  But I doubt that will happen.

It was agreed at the hearing that outside of business records (those must be filed with the court to be admissible), future discovery type documents will be shown to the court before filing.

TRIAL DATE:

The next bombshell in the hearing came in regards to a potential trial date.

The underlying issue is what District Attorney administration will be handling the case.  John Roach had announced he will not seek re-election, and the election will be in November.  Republican candidate Greg Willis will be facing Democratic candidate Raphael De La Garza for the position.  Mr. Willis is considered the front runner considering the Republican leanings of the county. (Disclosure Note: I supported Greg Willis in his bid for the republican nomination)

The new DA will take over after January, and with administration change often comes a change in the assistant district attorneys.  This can especially occur with the top positions, like those who would be trying a big public corruption case.  Perhaps the defendants feel they will have a more sympathetic ear with an incoming District Attorney who was Cleared of all charges after being pursued by those who are trying this case. 

THIS IS A SPECIAL CASE:

I guess this is a special case, with special treatment.  You see, this was simply the first appearance on the case.  In general, a normal criminal (felony case) gets about 3-4 settings before a decision is made of whether or not to go to trial or plea.  I guess this special case circumvented that because the judge is already contemplating trial dates.

I don't doubt that a trial is where this case is headed, but it seems pretty unusual for that decision to be made on day one. 

Today, the judge announced that he would like the case to be tried in Mid-November, a date that seems ludicrous to anyone who regularly practices complex criminal law.  Especially in light of the discovery hearing that was announced would be on September 27.

So here's the scenario.  Discovery hearing on September 27.  State must turn over the discovery by ____ (whatever is ordered -- 7 days? 10 days?).  So that brings us to the first week of November.  So then what, the attorneys get about a week to prepare for trial?

All the attorneys on the case are respected local defense attorneys, many of which have thriving practices.  It would be not only difficult, but almost impossible to prepare for a case of this magnitude in that short of a period of time. 

OTHER ISSUES:

A few other issues were brought up as well, but I'm getting tired, and don't think they are too ground breaking -- at least not yet.  Those issues where:

• Whether or not the state is required to put in the charging document that the amount in controversy is being aggregated.
• If the defendants are planning on seeking severance. (If they want to try the cases separately instead of with all the co-defendants).  I know I wouldn't want to be in a trial with the "big fish" if I was the "little fish", nor vice-versa.  Nor would I want some other attorney asking questions or saying things that hurt my case.
• If it is proper to plead this case with several counts on the indictment instead of returning several separate indictments.

A note to my readers:  Sorry I've been absent on posting for a while!  Thanks to everyone who wrote me or mentioned they missed my postings.  But don't worry, I have a whole series on ethical issues I've been observing lately......

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passed for a future time is taking up is whether or not the defendents get the grand jury testimony.

The defendants also askes for the state to reveal their sources of who thy got their information from.  the state opposed that.  a discussion was had of whistleblowers vs a criminal drug informant.  the judge is going to look into this further.  the parties will probably brief the judge in the future as to their arguments about this.

The judge will rule on this on Sep 27th. 

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All clerks charged were arraigned on the charges and all naturally pled not guilty  Although it wasnt taken up now, but was alluded to was that some of those charged may ask to have the trials severed so that they might all be tried together.

there was also a question by the judge as to whether or not the state needs to put that they are aggregating the $ amounts to calculate the thefts.  personally, Im not sure if that is accurate or not.  The judge also spoke about if they were all tries together, the need for a reeeealy big courtroom.

the judge talked about trial this year vs next year. presumably the defendants want a trial next year vs this year.  because of the change in administration and DAs maybe not being employed anymore.  The juge said that he thinks the trial should be THIS YEAR! 

This is so thise charged can gt a speedy resolution and the citizens can get an answer of hwat will happen to the clerks office.  Plus tht way new DAs dont need to try the case and get up to speed.  Judge is saying he is shooting for MID NOVEMBER.

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Well, the hearing is now over and bith sides rested and closed.  the judge ruled that the arguments dont override the first amendment rights of the press and denied his motion to reatrict the press.  regarding the lawyers and witnesses talking to the press, thats not restricted either.  but the judge said he recomends them not talking to the press but not ordering it.

hes asking for a "gentlemen's" agreement not to talk to the press (judge).  saying it will not be taken as positive by the court. And he may change this current ruling .  but in the judges statement he said 'i will be extremely unhappy' if the lawyers talk directly to the press.

Walpole brings up he massive filing which I was quoted about in the DMN about. The 13,000 page filing.  i said hat t looked more like a press release than a true filing .  hes asking for discovery reaponses not be filed with the court.  judge said he hasnt read it.

Greg Davis maintains hat he files all discovery with the court so here is a record of whats filing.  the judge agreed with Mr Davis.  mr. walpole argues its really just a press release.  Hes asking for future discoery not to be filed.

the judge ruled that anything not business records be ahown to he court before being filed.

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I stand corrected. I'm siting in the hearing now.  Part of the motion was about restricting the press in this case.  I figured this was just about a change of venue.  But so far the only questions asked are about how many articles have been published and the circulation. 

So far, Bill from the CCA has testified. He spoke about his articles and his circulation. Righ now Ed Housewright from the DMN is teatifying over his lawyers objection to his circulation.

Please excuse the typos .  i'm typing this on an iphone.

I have heard the term "motion to restrict press" mentioned which seems absurd in a PUBLIC CORRUPTION trial.  I dont see a problem with restricting the lawyers from talkjng to the press, but you cant stop reporters from writing about it.  which is why i felt the need tk write about this live.

Daniel Galliger is testifying now about how many articles were published and his circulation 

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The Collin County Observer first broke the story of the looooong investigation of one of the sitting judges in Collin County.  (The other judge investigation was already dismissed).

For most news stories, the story would be about the wrongdoing of the judges being investigated.  But once again, for Collin County, the focus seems to be on the accusers -- the Collin County District Attorney's office. 

You see, the CCO and I have chronicled the empty prosecutions and misguided policies of the DA's office in the past:

- Targeting Judges?
- Collin County DA Denies Citizen From Pleading Guilty
- DMN -Collin drug defendant wants to plead guilty to judge, but DA won't let him
- Court releases Willis Grand Jury report
- Arguing against a new trial in case where judge and (FORMER) District Attorney that they had previously been in an adulterous affair.
- Courthouse commandos receive order: "Return to Barracks"
- Allegations of fraud between Dallas County Sheriff Bowles and jail contractor Jack Madera. All indictments were later tossed out because the charges in the indictment were not criminal offenses
- Indictment of two Defense Attorneys - later dismissed.
 

The CCO's story, "The DA vs. the Judge" or "In re: Grand Jury Proceedings" was followed up today by an article by Ed Housewright in the Dallas Morning news.  Ed's article, "Collin County DA's investigation of judge taking too long, ex-prosecutors say" details the yearlong investigation which has so far culminated in nothing.

The article quotes myself and two other former prosecutors who were all critical of the happenings and investigations by the office.

Unfortunately it would seem we are faced with the DA who cried wolf.  The accusations seem to come so often, that when real corruption does actually come up, I'm afraid no one will notice.

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Frisco City Council has an upcoming contested Election.  Looks like there will be a debate by the candidates tomorrow at Hall Office Park (right near where our offices are located). Wednesday, April 21st, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Hall Office Park Conference Center located at 2401 Internet Blvd.

The Candidates for Frisco City Council, Place 4:

David Prince - a certified public accountant seeking a second term

Jim Joyner - a veterinarian and a former member of the City Council

John Keating - works in financial services

The Candidates for Frisco City Council, Place 2:

Jeff Cheney - a Realtor and owner of North Star Property Management and Frisco-Online

Matthew Herrera - a national account manager and 14-year resident of Frisco

Tony Walsh - a mortgage broker

Voting Takes Place on May 8, 2010.

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Congratulations to the new (almost) judges of Collin County. 

- Scott Becker will become the next District Judge in the 219th replacing retiring Judge Henderson.
- Jay Bender will become the next judge of Court 6.
- Lance Baxter will become the next judge of Court 3 (assuming he is able to win the general election against Democratic candidate Sajeel Kahleel.)
- David Rippel will become the next judge of Court 4.

Looks like those with short last names starting with B (Becker, Bender, Baxter) had the election covered.  I am pleased this will even out our Judiciary with the overwhelming majority of late letter alphabet judges to take office, the W's.  (Willis, Willis, Wheless, Wheless, and Wilson).  Maybe one day in the future we can elect a middle of the road last named judge in the N-O range. . . .

And before anyone starts to get on me, this in no means was a commentary on the Judges, just thought it was interesting that we seem to elect and appoint judges in groups of letters. . . .

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Always nice to see the Dallas Morning News reporting on Collin County justice issues.  (Even nicer when they quote me). 

This case was first reported by the CCO, and then a lengthy response and explanation of the law was made by me. 

Basically, the guy wanted to plea guilty and let the judge punish him.  The DA refused to allow that, which left him but one option.  Plea Not Guilty, and elect the judge to sentence him. At that point, there is a sham trial, which involves about 60 citizens (in this case, possibly 240 citizens, because there were 4 charges), a judge, bailiff, prosecutor, and defense attorney who could all be doing better things with their time.  After the sham trial, the judge sentences the defendant, just like he was asking for in the first place!

Unfortunately, this concept does not seem to bother the District Attorney.  That or we are both arguing different issues.  I say we are arguing different issues, because in the article, the response doesn't seem to address the issue/point the article and I sought to make:

Roach stands by his policy to adhere to the law that allows him to refuse to let judges accept pleas without his consent. Even though the law allows Blackburn to be sentenced by a judge after a jury trial.

"I don't think it's a waste of taxpayer money for fellow citizens to make a determination about whether a person is guilty of a criminal offense."

The point the article and I sought to make is that the DA cant stop a judge from sentencing a person.  They jury serves no purpose, and is not needed to make a determination of guilt -- because the defendant conceded to his guilt.  

Below is the entire text of the article:
____________________________________________________

Collin drug defendant wants to plead guilty to judge, but DA won't let him

06:37 AM CDT on Monday, March 22, 2010

Robert Blackburn wants to tell a judge that he's guilty. But the people charged with punishing him – the prosecution – won't let him.

When visiting Judge John McCraw tried to allow Blackburn to plead guilty to drug possession charges, saying taxpayers should not have to pay for unnecessary trials, the ruling set off a flurry of legal maneuvers in which the Collin County district attorney's office asserted its right to demand that a jury hear the case rather than let him plead guilty to the judge.

"We're not up here just going through the motions," District Attorney John Roach said. "We have reasons for everything we do – our reason has to do with the promotion of justice."

The spat between judge and district attorney has created a stir in legal circles and the blogosphere. But Roach says the brouhaha over forced jury trials in Collin County, which has arisen occasionally in other counties, is due to "defense lawyers that don't like being made to go to trial."

Roach declined to discuss the Blackburn case, citing pending litigation. But in a peculiar twist due to Texas law, if Blackburn goes to trial, he can demand to be sentenced by the judge, putting the case back where it started after considerable taxpayer expense. Blackburn's attorney is promising to take the issue to the Supreme Court to allow his client to plead guilty to a judge.

Roach said his office doesn't think it is an "honest process" to accept open pleas in which the accused pleads guilty to the judge and the judge decides the punishment without approval by the prosecution.

"A lot of time the defendant and the state, it's just a wink and nod and forcing the judge to decide what the punishment should be," said Roach, who also is a former judge.

Despite the hallowed American right of defendants to face a jury of their peers, 99 percent of criminal cases in Texas never go to trial. Guilty pleas are the grease that keeps the system moving, because it would break down if everyone entitled to a jury trial demanded one.

Texas is one of a handful of states that allow jury sentencing; most leave that task to a judge. But in the few states that do, if you demand a jury trial, you get jury sentencing. Texas is the only state that allows the defendant to choose who sentences the guilty – judge or jury. Only if a Texas defendant pleads guilty to a jury must he or she be sentenced by the jury.

Juries generally are considered less predictable than judges when it comes to punishment.

And in Texas, like many other states, prosecutors must agree to a defendant's decision to waive a jury trial and go before a judge.

Though it is unusual for prosecutors to demand trial when the defendant wants to plead guilty, it's not unheard of.

"It's costly, but it might serve some educational purpose for the public to air the facts," said Nancy King, law professor at Vanderbilt University. "It's a way to test the proof, if there's some doubt about whether the offense actually occurred."

Shannon Edmonds, government liaison for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, said a trial also might \enable the judge to "learn something new in that trial he wouldn't have learned otherwise," and give the victim "their day in court, which they don't get to do if there's a plea."

But judge shopping – by the defense or the prosecution – is always a possibility.

In Blackburn's case, McCraw thought he saw just that. In his December ruling, McCraw accused the district attorney's office of "forum shopping for a particular judge to fix the punishment."

Assistant District Attorney John Rolater, who is handling the Blackburn case, denied it in court.

Attorneys cannot request that a case be assigned to a specific judge, but they can try to gauge a judge's calendar to see when he or she will be presiding.

Hunter Biederman, a Collin County defense attorney who was in court the day McCraw accepted Blackburn's plea, said efforts by prosecutors to avoid certain judges are outrageous.

"If we're going to elect our judges, who are supposed to be neutral magistrates, why are we going to take that [sentencing] power away from them?"

Roach said his office does not target specific judges as some allege. "That's an ignorant statement," he said. The law says prosecutors are entitled to demand a jury trial "and it doesn't make any difference what our motives are."

Rolater also pointed out in court that without a trial, a judge could give Blackburn deferred adjudication in which the accused's record is wiped clean if he or she completes this special probation. Authorities said Blackburn, 27, tried to swallow the evidence and scuffled with an officer. He faces four felony counts.

Prosecutors opposed deferred adjudication in Blackburn's case. But McCraw called that argument a "straw man" because Blackburn did not request deferred adjudication.

"The state wants to control who sets the punishment hearing," McCraw said. "Is that what the fight is about here?"

Biederman, who wrote about the twists and turns of the Blackburn case extensively on his blog, mentioned other reasons the district attorney's office might insist on trials in cases in which defendants want to plead guilty, including giving rookie prosecutors courtroom experience or inflating the district attorney's conviction rate for political purposes.

Roach dismissed those ideas as well, pointing out that young attorneys cut their teeth in misdemeanor court, not felony court, and saying his office doesn't need to "pump up" its conviction rate.

"I'm hired by the people of Texas to try criminal trials – that's what we do," he said. "Who wants an idiot for the district attorney who won't work to try a case?"

When McCraw allowed Blackburn to plead guilty over prosecutor's objections, he said, "I would submit the United States Constitution allows a defendant the right to enter a plea based on the court's request."

McCraw cited "judicial economy" in his ruling, saying the county should not have to pay for up to four jury trials at a cost of about $5,000 per trial when the defendant is willing to plead guilty.

Other costs related to any trial – attorney fees, costs to jurors' time – also would be incurred.

An appellate court overruled McCraw, citing the state law that says the case must go to trial because the prosecutor and judge must consent to the waiver of a jury trial and saying Blackburn failed to "specifically raise a constitutional argument for this court to address."

Blackburn's attorney, Michael Curran, said he is filing a motion asking the appellate court to rehear the issue. If he loses in state courts, as others challenging the law have done, "This thing can go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court," he said. "I intend to take this as far as I can."

Roach stands by his policy to adhere to the law that allows him to refuse to let judges accept pleas without his consent. Even though the law allows Blackburn to be sentenced by a judge after a jury trial.

"I don't think it's a waste of taxpayer money for fellow citizens to make a determination about whether a person is guilty of a criminal offense."

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Recently, a questionnaire was sent out to the candidates for Collin County Court at Law Judges along with the Justice of the Peace candidates.  The questions were put together by myself, the Collin County Observer, and McKinneynews.net.   Most candidates answered and below is their responses which all came in within the deadline we gave (one week).  If others return their answers, I will update this post to add them at that time.  I already know of one candidate, Shawn Ismail who we got mixed up with through email (sorry Shawn), and is planning on completing the questionnaire soon.

Collin County Courts at law hear criminal and civil cases.  A County Court at Law is court of general jurisdiction, hearing both civil and criminal law cases with a heavy emphasis on criminal cases. The criminal cases filed in a county court at law are misdemeanors -- those criminal offenses that carry a maximum punishment, upon conviction, of not more than 1 year confinement in jail.

Civil jurisdiction in a County Court at Law is generally invoked in lawsuits that involve controversies up to $100,000.  A County Court at Law also has appellate jurisdiction over cases appealed from justice of the peace and municipal courts.

Justice of the Peace courts hear Class C Misdemeanors (traffic citations, toll violations, truancy cases, public intox, bad checks, etc),and civil cases with a maximum of $10,000 in controversy.

The questions posed are  below:

1. What current or past judge do you most want to inspire your approach to judicial
excellence, and why?

2. What has been the greatest accomplishment in your legal career? In your personal life?

3. What, if anything, would you change to improve the procedures and efficiency of the
court you are seeking?

4. Do you feel that ALL citizens have equal and adequate access to justice in our
county? How would you improve that access?

5. Collin County tracks indigent defense dollars ordered by each judge. What effect
would that reporting have on your decisions to order that the county pay for a
defendant’s defense?

6. What do you perceive as the greatest obstacles to justice in Collin County?

7. Incarceration is the most expensive criminal sanction available. How would that fact
affect your sentencing decisions?

8. Without commenting on a specific case or type of cases, should Collin County
explore more or different types of alternative sentencing? What do you think works?
What would you like to try?

9. Recently a Dallas judge made the news when he replaced a white juror with a
minority one in a capital trial where the jury was all white and the defendant was not.
Do you believe it is important for a minority defendant to have a jury that contains
minority members?

10. When a judge’s sense of justice appears to be at variance to the strict application of
the law, what approach should an ethical judge take to resolve the conflict?

11. Do you believe that our system of partisan election of trial judges should be
continued? How can it be improved?

12. Tell the voters one thing about yourself that isn’t on any website, nor discussed at
any forum.

Below are the candidates answers:

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     Recently, a collaborative effort was made to get a questionnaire answered by the candidates for Collin County District Attorney.  All candidates in the Republican contested primary returned our questionnaire.  (The Democratic candidate has not responded).

     I thought one way for me to add my commentary is to take what I see as the best answer from each question (sometimes shortened), and post them here.  As was promised to the candidates, the full text of their answers appears at the bottom of this article.

     I hope none of the candidates take my comments too personally.  I consider all three friends.  This is a great race because it is not about who is qualified versus who is not, but rather which is the best from three qualified candidates.  _______________________________________________________________________

BACKGROUND For #1– Right now there are 3 attorneys per misdemeanor court (1
chief, 2 others), and 1 Misdemeanor chief over it all. There are 3 “teams” of
attorneys for District Courts. I believe there are 3 attorneys staffing 3 courts on
one team, and 2 attorneys staffing 2 courts on the other team. Additionally, there
are 4 attorneys in the crimes against children section, 6 in “special crimes” (civil
and criminal), 5 in appeals, and 3 in Juvenile. (These numbers might be slightly
off, but are generally correct.)

1. What do you think about the current structure/staffing of the ADAs? Would
you shift attorneys around?

Best Answer: Greg Willis

     I believe the present District Attorney’s Office staffing matrix lacks a sufficient
number of prosecutors in the individual courts. There are currently seven district
courts hearing criminal cases. Staffing these courts with two permanently
assigned assistant district attorneys will increase efficiency. A felony chief
prosecutor will supervise two or three of these court teams depending on the
respective caseloads for the individual courts. These changes will provide law
enforcement and defense attorneys more access to prosecutors, as well as for
more consistency in handling cases without the need for additional staff and
connected growth in the budget. Additionally, I plan to implement a program of
rotating misdemeanor prosecutors into the felony division before they are
promoted to a chief’s position within the Misdemeanor Division. These
assignments will not only provide these prosecutors with felony trial experience,
but also give them practical experience within the intake and grand jury sections.
The benefits for implementing this specific program are many, not the least of
which is providing better qualified and more experienced misdemeanor court
chiefs to supervise and train new prosecutors who are responsible to handle
misdemeanor cases in the Collin County Courts at Law.

Why This Is The Best Answerr: All candidates addressed the problems with the "team method" of prosecutors currently implemented. However, Mr. Willis' answer addresses the misdemeanor chiefs. One of the things I envied about the Dallas DA's office is that they will make an attorney a felony prosecutor before becoming a misdemeanor chief. This helps the prosecutor gain perspective on what cases are important, and what cases are not. It also allows them to be better prepared when training new attorneys -- a crucial aspect of the office.

2. What do you think about the criminal special crimes section? Would you make changes in that section, and if so, specifically how?

Best Answer: Jeff Bray

     In addition to taking over the Special Crimes division, I will change it's
orientation and responsibilities. It is supposed to be a white collar crime section, but it
seems to have drifted over the years to a major fraud/catch-all division. It has also
caused quite a bit of controversy. The Specialized Crime division of the Dallas County
D.A.'s office handles all felony white collar crime cases, starting with a loss value of
$1500. These cases, and these victims, need an experienced white collar prosecutor just
as much as the large cases, but the Collin County Special Crimes division only handles
cases with a loss of at least $20,000, and even then sends many eligible cases to the trial
teams for prosecution after they are indicted. Unless a case goes through the standard
intake process, it should be tried by the prosecutor that prepared it. I believe this division
will be able to handle the cases that need special crimes attention even though we would
be giving up a prosecutor to the new trial team. The section may also handle the same
type of "special" cases it has handled in the past, including investigations of local
attorneys and officials, but these will either be handled by me or under my direct
supervision. If there is any negative impact from one of these investigations or
prosecutions, I will be directly responsible and answerable to the involved parties, the
press, and the voters.
Further, as a former special prosecutor for a neighboring county, I will not
hesitate to call in a prosecutor from another office to take over an investigation if my
office could be perceived as having an improper bias.

Why This Is The Best Answer: Mr. Bray has the edge in experience in complex special crimes investigations.  I like the fact that his face will be part of the investigations and keep him motivated to do the right thing.  Jeff also knows of some cases starting out in that division, then transferring out, and has vowed to stop that practice.

3. Will you get in the courtroom and actually try cases? Why or Why Not?

Best Answer: Jimmy Angelino

     Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a politician who will just sit behind a
desk drawing a paycheck. I am the only candidate in this race who has extensive jury
trial experience, with over 190 jury trials taken to a verdict as a prosecutor. Of the cases
I took to trial, I had a 98% conviction rate. I am a skilled prosecutor and I don’t think I
should just shelve those skills, but I have to balance that with the time commitment
managing and training will take up.
Because of that, especially at the beginning, I do not expect to be in the
courtroom trying cases on a daily basis. Not to mention there are plenty of excellent
prosecutors who need to be left to do their jobs. I do however expect to second-chair
trials occasionally in order to help our junior prosecutors develop their trial skills,
especially in the misdemeanor courts. Training and mentoring the Assistant District
Attorneys will be a priority for me.

Why This Is The Best Answer: Conviction rate doesn't mean much to me.  Any attorney can win all of their cases if they pick the right one.  Plus, there are many cases that you shouldn't be winning in the  interest of of justice.  However, I like the fact that he singles out the misdemeanor division to sit in on cases and help out.  Mr. Angelino's background with trial and DWI prosecution would be helpful to new attorneys.

4. In general, what changes would you be making if you became District Attorney?

Best Answer: Greg Willis

     First is my commitment to make the just prosecution of criminal cases the number
one priority of the Collin County District Attorney’s Office. I will permanently
assign prosecutors to the individual courts. Assistant district attorneys will take
ownership of their cases as I implement a new protocol that not only gives each
prosecutor more discretion over their individual cases, but also broadens the
authority of chief prosecutors. My administration will work hard to build interagency
relationships with law enforcement throughout Collin County to increase
our investigative and prosecution effectiveness. My administration will also
create an on-call system, making veteran prosecutors available to Collin County
law enforcement officers on a 24 hour / 7 days a week basis as we strive to make
the pursuit of just results the guiding principle of the District Attorney’s Office.

Why This Is The Best Answer: Both Bray and Willis discuss giving individual prosecutors more discretion by making cases their own.  I have thought and blogged about that being a major problem within the office.  However, Willis also writes about the implementation of an "on call" prosecutor to assist law enforcement.  I think this would be a welcome addition by local law enforcement agencies.

5. Right now, only three people in the District Attorney’s office have authority to dismiss a case. The misdemeanor division chief for misdemeanor cases, the first assistant for felony cases, and of course, the elected District Attorney. What do you think of this policy? Would you allow misdemeanor court chiefs and or felony court chiefs to dismiss cases they feel should be dismissed?

Best Answer: Greg Willis

     I believe those individual assistant district attorneys assigned as court chiefs
should have my support in the day-to-day operations of their courts. Those
individuals must demonstrate integrity, professionalism and wisdom in order to
justify occupying this very important role. Any prosecutor working with me in
that capacity will have the ability, when justice requires, to reduce charges, reduce
sentence recommendations and in appropriate cases, dismiss charges.

Why This Is The Best Answer: Both Willis and Angelino propose allowing misdemeanor prosecutors to dismiss or reduce charges.  However Angelino prefaces it by saying that there is less of a need when proper screening of cases occurs.  I think that is a myth.  No office (on a misdemeanor level), can ever "properly screen"  all the misdemeanors that come in.  Unless Mr. Angelino is proposing that all DWI cases that come in will come in with videos that are watched before the filing of the case (what can show a rightful on non-rightful arrest), there can never be "proper screening" of cases.  Mr. Willis gets the nod on this question by unequivocally stating his answer. It also shows the benefit from #1, allowing misdemeanor chiefs to first gain experience felony prosecutions before starting that  position.

6. Current DA John Roach recently proposed using funds to purchase weapons and body armor for the Investigators in the office. What do you plan on doing with these weapons, and will your investigators continue to train to be a emergency security staff for the court?

Best Answer: Jimmy Angelino & Greg Willis & Jeff Bray

    You can read all the full answers linked at the bottom to this question.  I didn't find this questions to be a major differentiator of candidates.

Why This Is The Best Answer: All three answered pretty similarly.  That they aren't going to create a SWAT team out of investigators.  They would seek out the advice of local law enforcement to see how they could best be utilized.

7. Do you have any plans to expand or develop alternative/deferred sentencing programs? What programs have you seen or heard of that you would implement?

Best Answer: Greg Willis

     Yes. The current system is bloated with criminal cases that would be more
appropriately handled by diversion out of the courts and into an alternative
program of rehabilitation. I would favor diversion for youthful, non-violent
offenders with a demonstrated desire to change their behavior in exchange for
keeping their record clear. This means I will expand the current divert program
within the misdemeanor division and create a felony diversion program.

Why This Is The Best Answer: Mr. Willis goes the furthest in saying he'd like to expand to felonies.  I give Mr. Angelino a close second on this one.  I'm not sure if Mr. Angelino agrees, although he stated he wanted to expand the current diversionary system.  I would have liked to hear the candidates opinion on the current system (which is rarely used, and riddled with problems in my humble opinion).  Mr. Bray wont commit to saying what if any programs he'd use until he learns more which makes sense. However, I think that all candidates running for DA should have already researched or experienced programs that worked.

8. What lessons should the Collin County District Attorney learn (if any) from Dallas County’s experience with their Innocence Commission?

 Best Answer:  Greg Willis

     When the Dallas County District Attorney became aware that innocent individuals
had been convicted and incarcerated, he moved swiftly to rectify these injustices.
Such actions are completely consistent with Texas law -- a district attorney’s
paramount duty is to seek justice. As District Attorney it will be one of my
priorities to make sure that Collin County prosecutors and all of our law
enforcement agencies take full advantage of the important lessons we have
learned from uncovering and studying the kinds of problems that led to those
wrongful prosecutions and convictions of all those innocent individuals, who have
now finally been exonerated.

     Beyond the grave injustice to the wrongfully convicted, a credible criminal justice
system simply cannot tolerate the number of violent criminals who (as a result of
charging and convicting innocent citizens) were never prosecuted, but rather were
allowed to remain at large to commit additional crimes against our citizens.
After meeting with the various law enforcement agencies these past few months, I
am confident that the professionals at all levels of the Collin County criminal
justice system sincerely want to be respected by their peers and by the public for
performing their duties aggressively by zealously investigating and prosecuting
criminal offenses, while at the same time diligently protecting the rights of our
citizens.

Why This Is The Best Answer: All candidates give good answers to this question.  I don't know that there is a "right answer" to this question.  I think that good hiring and creating an atmosphere of it being OK to do the right thing is key.  Through Mr. Willis' answer, I get the feeling that this would be accomplished. 

9. Do you believe our indigents are well served and fairly treated in our “Indigent Defense Plans”? What changes to the plans might you recommend to the Board of Judges?

 Mr. Willis gave a REALLY long answer with links to studies, etc. -- You can read the entire text below. However, one line struck me as the most telling:

"I believe an emphasis should be placed on working to keep well qualified defense attorneys involved with the programs and removing those with records of inadequate representation."

Why This Is The Best Answer: Truth is, this question was designed more to get at the core of the candidates ideals than to find real answers to the problem (if any).  The judges are the ones in charge of the Indigent Defense Plan, however the DA certainly sees what works and what doesn't.  I think quality of court appointed lawyers is always an issue, and some attorneys don't treat it with the respect it deserves.  Mr. Willis being a judge and seeing a plethora of court appointed and retained attorneys in court and trial gives him some insight that others may not have. 

10. Would you bar defendants from open pleas before a judge if a plea agreement can not be reached, or would you reserve the right to object if you thought the judge might be more lenient than your plea offer was? Which level of prosecutors in the office would be allowed to make this decision?

Best Answer: Greg Willis & Jimmy Angelino

WILLIS (partial answer): "The decision to waive a jury trial on behalf of the State is not a decision that can be lightly made and must be evaluated on a case by case basis. Certainly, it is not my intention to universally bar defendants from open guilty pleas to the Court but every case must be independently evaluated on its particular merits. . . If the question asked is whether I will predicate a decision to request a jury trial solely on whether or not I believe we can obtain a greater sentence from a jury, my answer to this question is no.

ANGELINO (full answer): In general, I believe defendants who want to plead guilty to the charge against them, should be allowed to enter a guilty plea. This is because guilty pleas avoid the necessity of a trial which takes up the time of the jury members and extra cost to the taxpayers. The DA’s office should generally not bar defendants from entering open guilty pleas, except for extraordinary circumstances.

Why This Is The Best Answer: I thinks these two answers explain for themselves why they are the best answers.  Judges are also elected, and sometimes we need to allow the elected judges to make the decisions on punishment.  It is also a GROSS waste of money and time to have a "sham" trial, just to allow the prosecutor to get another win at trial, when a person wanted to plea guilty in the first place.

Jimmy Angelino's full responses are here

Jeff Bray's full responses are here

Greg Willis' full responses are here

Full Disclosure: I have been a supporter of Greg Willis' campaign. Although I haven't "campaigned" for him, I have sent in a donation to his campaign.

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County District Attorney Q & A
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• 296th District Court
• JP - 4
• District Clerk

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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Recently, we sent out 10 questions to the DA candidates. I will go back and analyze some of the answers soon.
Unfortunately, my blog platform is having problems, and I am not able to edit these post very well right now. As soon as it's back up, I'll add more. Below is the first article by the Collin County Observer publishing those answers. ---

District Attorney candidate questionnaire responses

The Collin County Observer, in a collaboration with the Frisco DWI Lawyer's Blog recently sent all four District Attorney candidates a 10 question form designed to give the voters an insight both into the plans each candidate has for operating the DAs office and their approach to criminal justice.

The Collin County District Attorney is responsible for prosecution of all criminal cases in the county. The DA runs a large operation, divided into ten divisions. These divisions are: Intake/Grand Jury, Misdemeanor Trial, Felony Trial, Family Justice (crimes against children section, domestic violence section), Special Crimes, Appellate, Hot Checks, Investigations, Operations and Victim/Witness Assistance. The DA also may represent the County in civil cases.

The DA's office has 116 employees and its 2010 budget is $10,775,827.

The questionnaire contained 10 questions. The first 5 involved the organization and operation of the department:

1. What do you think about the current structure/staffing of the ADAs? Would you shift attorneys around?

2. What do you think about the criminal special crimes section? Would you make changes in that section, and if so, specifically how?

3. Will you get in the courtroom and actually try cases? Why or Why Not?

4. In general, what changes would you be making if you became District Attorney?

5. Right now, only three people in the District Attorney’s office have authority to dismiss a case. The misdemeanor division chief for misdemeanor cases, the first assistant for felony cases, and of course, the elected District Attorney. What do you think of this policy? Would you allow misdemeanor court chiefs and or felony court chiefs to dismiss cases they feel should be dismissed?

The next question addressed the recent attempt by DA John Roach to arm a "Rapid Response Team" with automatic weapons and riot gear:

6. Current DA John Roach recently proposed using funds to purchase weapons and body armor for the Investigators in the office. What do you plan on doing with these weapons, and will your investigators continue to train to be a emergency security staff for the court?

And the last 4 questions with policies affecting the administration of justice:

7. Do you have any plans to expand or develop alternative/deferred sentencing programs? What programs have you seen or heard of that you would implement?

8. What lessons should the Collin County District Attorney learn (if any) from Dallas County’s experience with their Innocence Commission?

9. Do you believe our indigents are well served and fairly treated in our “Indigent Defense Plans”? What changes to the plans might you recommend to the Board of Judges?

10. Would you bar defendants from open pleas before a judge if a plea agreement can not be reached, or would you reserve the right to object if you thought the judge might be more lenient than your plea offer was? Which level of prosecutors in the office would be allowed to make this decision?

As of the deadline at midnight on Sunday 3 of the candidates had returned their completed questionnaires:

James Angelino's responses are here

Jeff Bray's responses are here

Greg Willis' responses are here

The questions are specific and so the responses are long. The Observer offers this in-depth look at each of these candidates in the hope that the discerning voter will gain valuable insight into the plans and philosophy of each of these well qualified candidates.

The Observer thanks each of these gentlemen for taking the time to submit thoughtful answers to our questions. Our readers can look forward to further analysis and discussion of these issues in both The Collin County Observer and the Frisco DWI Lawyer's Blog.

Bill

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With the current election season in full swing in Collin County, many Judicial and District Attorney candidates are vying for the endorsement of local community groups.  I find this process fascinating.  The hope, of course, is that if you as a voter share the same ideals as these groups, maybe you will vote for the candidate as well.

I have been noticing candidates touting some of these endorsements, and I’m not positive what to make of all of these groups. I assume the law enforcement groups (Police Associations), are choosing candidates they either know personally, or think will be pro-law enforcements having criminal law backgrounds. But some of the other groups perplex me more.

I have started to wonder not only what affect these groups may have on voters, but also the strength and legitimacy of these groups. Assuming all groups are legitimate, I wonder how many a)members comprise the group, and b)who makes the endorsement decisions? If a group is 3 members large, is touting their endorsement really any better than listing 3 local attorneys who support you? Or if a group is 1,000 members, but just the president decides on the endorsement, is that a strong endorsement?

Another question that I wonder about is the overlap of membership in some of these groups. For instance, Collin County Conservative Republican’s website links to Curtis Rath’s endorsement list. (Curtis, like me, is big on prefacing our blogs with disclaimers. And I appreciate his candidness : “This endorsement is simply my personal opinion based upon the information that I have read and heard over the last few weeks. There were no formal interviews. And, remember, that my opinion and a nickel will get you exactly five cents.”)

I don’t know anything about any of these endorsing groups personally (outside of some individual endorsements, or attorney endorsements). Information on the groups has been pulled is from their websites and candidate websites. I did my best to find all the endorsements. I also don’t think any candidate did anything wrong by seeking, being endorsed by, nor touting the endorsement of any of these groups

ATTORNEY ENDORSEMENTS

I personally believe these are some of the strongest endorsements you can get. Obviously as a local practicing attorney, I am biased. But I know many of the candidates and have worked with many of them. I think those working with and against you as an attorney can make a strong statement of endorsement. Most candidates have lists of attorneys supporting them. Unfortunately, without really digging in and spending a lot of time, the general public doesn’t and can’t know if these are lawyers that practice in the County, or practice the type of law the Judge/DA Candidate will be handling. For instance, I practice Criminal Law and have a good deal of cases in Collin County. Yet I have looked at some candidate’s lists of endorsements, and don’t recognize a single attorney’s name. For a judge that will be handling primarily criminal cases in a county, or presiding over a death penalty case in a District Court, that worries me.

POLICE ASSOCIATIONS

Several Collin County Police Associations have endorsed Judicial and DA candidates.

Collin Counties Deputies Assn.: 219th: Scott Becker, CC2: Sharon Ramage, CC3: Barnett Walker, CC6: Jay Bender, DA: Greg Willis

McKinney Police Assn: 219th: Scott Becker, 296th: Keith Gore, DA: James Angelino

Plano Police Assn: 219th: Scott Becker, 296th: John Roach, CC3: Barnett Walker, CC4: Linda Wynn Drain, DA: Jeff Bray, JP-4: Kelly Adley

Allen Police Assn: 219th: Scott Becker

Frisco Police Assn: 219th: Scott Becker

Prosper Police Assn: 296th: Keith Gore

TEXAS HOME SCHOOL COALITION

THSC PAC promotes and endorses candidates who advance and defend home schooling. THSC asks candidates for a response to a questionnaire before making endorsements for the election.

THSC’s list of endorsements include, 219th: Scott Becker, 296th Keith Gore, CC2: Sharon Ramage

COLLIN COUNTY CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS

I recently joked that this group name is akin to saying the same word three times. Because as the primary election has shown us, if you are in Collin County, you are electing a Republican, and the candidates sure battle each other to assert how conservative they are.

The Collin County Conservative Republicans organization “exists to promote conservatism in the tradition of our Founding Fathers and It exists to bring Republicans together to discuss Republican platforms. [They] are devoted to upholding the values and ideals of the party; to bring back our core principles.

They endorse For DA: Greg Willis, 219th: Angela Tucker, 296th: Keith Gore CC2: Jerry Lewis CC3: Barnett Walker, CC4: Linda Wynn Drain & David Rippel CC6: Don High

CURTIS RATH of MCKINNEYNEWS.NET

Curtis writes a blog and column for McKinneynews.net.

His personal endorsements include, DA: Greg Willis, CC2: Jerry Lewis, CC3: Lance Baxter CC4: Linda Wynn Drain CC6: Terri Green 219th: Angela Tucker 296th: Keith Gore, JP-4: Mike Yarbrough

COALITION FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT

The Coalition for Better Government is a “core group of seven citizens organized with the intent to form a representative cross-section of Collin County, Texas Republican leaders with the intent of bringing to bear both our individual and collective influence to encourage, support and endorse current and potential candidates for public office.

Although I cant say their endorsement is particularly strong, being as they are a group of seven members, I applaud them for making that information public. With a website and blog, it would be easy for them (or any group) to mask the size and intentions of the group. They even list their membership on the website, making their endorsement and purposes transparent.

CFBC endorses, DA Greg Willis, 219th: Angela Tucker, 296th : Keith Gore, CC2: Jerry Lewis, CC3: Lance Baxter, CC4: Linda Drain & Matthew Goeller, CC6: Jay Bender, JP-4: Kelly Adley

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• 296th District Court
• JP - 4
• District Clerk

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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Although I have mostly been writing about Collin County politics, I thought I'd add an article that came out recently on the District Attorney race in Denton County.  (Frisco is a mixture of Denton and Collin!)

Local attorney Brent Bowen is challenging the incumbent in the Republican primary.  Below is an article from the Dallas Morning News.

Candidates tout experience, heritage in DA race

Leadership is a key issue in the Republican race for Denton County district attorney: Incumbent Paul Johnson believes he has provided it for the office, while his opponent, Brent Bowen, thinks he can fill a leadership void.

Both men believe their backgrounds make them good leaders. Johnson points to his history as a self-made man, and Bowen proudly says he is a fourth-generation lawyer, with all those ancestors graduating from the Washburn School of Law in Kansas.

Johnson is running for the second time, having defeated his former boss, Bruce Isaacks, in 2006. This is Bowen’s first run at an elected position.

Johnson said he has streamlined the intake process that brings cases from police agencies to a grand jury for possible indictment.

The previous administration called individual officers with each agency to present their cases to a grand jury, he said. He has asked larger agencies to designate one officer to present all cases, keeping more officers on the street and fewer lining the courthouse walls waiting for their time to speak.

He has reduced the percentage of cases declined for prosecution from 43 percent to 15 percent, he said.

“And when we decline a case, that officer gets a telephone call telling them why we declined it,” Johnson said.

He has met with 38 police chiefs in the county, and they appear to be happy with his policies, he said, and he has saved the county money by refusing to take a vehicle allowance and by cutting a paid intern program in the office. In all, he has returned $200,000 to county commissioners in line-item budget items, he said.

Johnson said his home life growing up was not good but he never used that as a reason to do wrong.

“Life’s not fair, but you can’t use it as a crutch,” he said. “Whatever you choose, it’s on you.”

He started in the trenches as a misdemeanor prosecutor and moved up through the ranks.

“Prosecutors come to me for advice because they know I’ve done it all. That’s part of leadership,” Johnson said.

Bowen said the message he has received from county law enforcement agencies is that there is a “serious lack of leadership” in the district attorney’s office.

“They’re not really happy with the current administration,” Bowen said. “The officers I’m talking to are saying they are not told why their cases are dropped, and the police chiefs say they have no access to the current administration.”

One thing Bowen said he would immediately advocate is a drug court.

In 2007, the Texas Legislature mandated that each county with a population greater than 150,000 have a court set aside for drug cases, he said.

“We don’t have a drug court. There is a high percentage of felony cases that are drug-related,” Bowen said.

Bowen also would like to see drug and alcohol evaluations of defendants take place before plea agreements are entered. He wants to tailor probation terms to meet the circumstances instead of simply using “cookie cutter” probation agreements.

He also wants to update technology in the district attorney’s office, he said. The clerks’ offices have moved to a paperless system, so cases are available to lawyers at any time from laptop computers. The district attorney’s office is not there yet, he said. Sometimes a case has to be rescheduled because the file cannot be located.

Johnson made campaign promises to try cases himself, which he has not done, Bowen said, and that shows a lack of follow-through. But Bowen said he does not believe that is the role of the district attorney.

“The district attorney is an administrator, and he needs to design programs with the future of Denton County in mind,” Bowen said. “As a leader, you’re the motivator — the cheerleader. My great-grandfather read for the law. I’m fourth-generation, and I take a lot of pride in that. I take this law business seriously.”

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com.

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Coming Soon!  A 10 Question and Answer session with the candidates for Collin County District Attorney.  This Q&A is a collaborative effort between myself and the Collin County Observer (CCO).

In the next couple of days, we will be sending out 10 questions to the candidates for DA.  I think it will be helpful to see where the candidates stand on several of these issues.  Because I am a criminal defense attorney who practices in the county, I have tailored some of the questions to reflect important issues to practicing attorneys.  The other questions, with the help of the CCO are more geared towards the average voter who will not have much direct contact with the Judicial System.

The candidates will be given the questions in writing, and have several days to respond.  I will post their answers here on the blog.

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Recently, several candidates for the Republican primary came to the Allen Area Patriots club to discuss the race for Collin County District Attorney.  Videos of the candidates were uploaded to youtube, and I have added them here to the blog.  A big thank you to "mopenshaw" whoever you are.You can read bios of the candidates on my previous post HERE.

JEFF BRAY

GREG WILLIS

JAMES ANGELINO

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• 296th District Court
• JP - 4
• District Clerk

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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Recently, the Collin County GOP held their draw for ballot placement on the upcoming primary.  It has been said that ballot placement can affect votes.  "Position effect is found to account for a bonus of 0.7% to 5.2% of the precinct-level vote share per position on the ballot."  Below are the placements for some of the candidates on the ballot.  Below that are some links and articles on the effects of ballot placement.  The entire list of candidates and their placement on the ballot can be found on the Collin GOP website.

District Judge, District 219
• Scott J. Becker
• Angela Tucker
• Wendy McMillon

District Judge, District 296
• Keith Gore
• John R. Roach, Jr.

County Court at Law #2
• Sharon Ramage
• Jerry Lewis

County Court at Law #3
• Stewart Matthews
• Lance S. Baxter
• Barnett Walker

County Court at Law #4
• Linda Wynn Drain
• Matthew Goeller
• Chrysti Bryant
• David Rippel

County Court at Law #6
• Shawn Ismail
• Jay Bender
• Don High
• Terri Green

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4
• Douglas Reeves
• W.M. "Mike" Yarbrough
• Kelley Don Adley

District Clerk
• Patricia Wysong Crigger
• Terrye Evans
• Alma Hays

Criminal District Attorney
• Jeff Bray
• Greg Willis
• James Angelino

County Judge
• Keith Self
• John Muns

County Commissioner, Precinct 2
• Karl Voigtsberger
• Cheryl Williams
• Jerry Hoagland

County Commissioner, Precinct 4
• Kathy Ward
• Duncan Webb

Ballot Placement Journal Articles

Avichai, Yakov. "Equity in Politics: Name Placement on Ballots." American Bar Foundation Research Journal 4.1 (1979): 141-178.

Ho, Daniel E. and Kosuke Imai. "Randomization Inference With Natural Experiments: An Analysis of Ballot Effects in the 2003 California Recall Election." Journal of the American Statistical Assocation (2006).

Sinclair, Betty. "Is It Better to be First or Last? The Ballot Order Effect." Caltech. VTP Working Paper (2005).

Thanks to Center for Politics.  Compiled by Isaac Wood, Dan Boyle, and William Cooper, University of Virginia Center for Politics.

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• 296th District Court
• JP - 4
• District Clerk

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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With the politics season on the rise, I have been getting tons of mail from people running for office and asking for money.  I think one of the best  ways to ensure you wont be getting a contribution is to send a letter to me like this:

Yes, please address it to "Hunter Benavides" at the Collin County District Attorney's office, but use my private practice address.  Perfect!  Make sure to put in a form letter with it as well.

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This year's republican primary is set to be contested for the Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4.  Justices of the Peace's primary function is to hold civil court both justice and small civil claims.  They also can preside over weddings. JP-4 handles tons of Toll Booth violations as well.

I understand there are 3 candidates, and I only personally know two. Kelley Adley, and Mike Yarbourough, the current sitting JP.  Below is a profile on both candidates.  I will add any additional candidates including Doug Reeves later once I see websites up, or learn more about them.

KELLEY ADLEY

Kelley Adley works in the County Court and has served as a Senior Criminal Investigator for the Collin County District Attorney’s Office, where his responsibilities included reviewing police reports, gathering criminal evidence and documentation, interviewing victims for criminal trial testimony, business and medical record affidavits, and issuing and serving subpoenas. Additionally, Adley is a Volunteer Firefighter in Prosper. While serving the community, Adley earned his MBA from LaTourneau University.

"I want to restore integrity and honesty to the office while reestablishing accountability. Together we can tackle the issues facing local families and the community. The schools need our help with truancy and minor offenses. Our children are our future and keeping them on the right track is vitally important.

I pledge to work full-time with real production. I will have an open door policy and will respond to all questions and concerns of all the people of Precinct 4. We must address real issues and solutions. Join with me in reestablishing JP Court Precinct 4 as 'the People’s Court'."

More about Mr. Adley can be found on his campaign website at www.kelleyadley.com.

MIKE YARBROUGH

Mike Yarbrough is the current sitting JP of the court.  He has held this position since 1998.  Mr. Yarbrough holds a B.A. in political science from the University of New Mexico earned a J.D. from Califormia Western School of Law, San Diego.  He earned these degrees degrees while serving in the United States Marine Corps and retired as a Major.

Prior to serving as a JP, he has has served as a federal and state prosecutor, law professor at the
University of Oklahoma, municipal judge, a Department of Defense
Ethics Counselor and legal liaison, as well as running a private law
practice.

More about Mr. Yarbrough can be found on his campaign website at www.judgemikeyarbrough.com. 

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• 296th District Court
• District Clerk

 Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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I have written many articles on the changing courts and justice system in Collin County.  Many of the posts have been updated to include new candidates, websites, and information about the candidates.  I decided to make one big post showing all of the articles and websites of the contested races as I know them.  All candidates are running as Republicans in the Republican primary with the except of a lone Democrat in the District Attorney Race.

If you click on the Court/Job Title, it will lead you to an article about the candidates.  Most of the Judicial articles are written by me.  Some of the other candidates are courtesy of the Collin County Observer.

JUDICIAL RACES

Collin County Court 2
Judge Jerry Lewis - www.judgejerrylewis.com
Sharon Ramage - www.ramageforjudge.com

County Court 3
Barnett Walker - www.walkerforjudge.com
Lance Baxter - www.baxterforjudge.com
Stewart Matthews - No site yet

County Court 4
Linda Wynn Drain - www.lindawynndrainforjudge.com
Dale Rose - www.roseforjudge.org
Matthew Goeller - www.mattforjudge.com
Dale Rose - www.roseforjudge.com
Christi Bryant - www.chrystibryantforjudge.com
David Rippel - www.rippelforjudge.com

County Court 6
Shawn Ismail - www.ismailforjudge.com
Terri Green - www.terrigreenforjudge.com
Jay Bender - www.benderforjudge.com
Don High - www.donhigh.com

219th Judicial District Court
Scott Becker - www.beckerforjudge.com
Angela Tucker - www.angelatuckerforjudge.com
Wendy McMillon - www.mcmillonforjudge.com

296th Judicial District Court
Keith Gore - www.goreforjudge.com
John Roach Jr. - www.judgeroach.org

Justice of the Peace - 4
Kelley Adley - www.kelleyadley.com
Mike Yarbrough - www.judgemikeyarbrough.com
Doug Reeves - no site yet

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Collin County District Attorney
Greg Willis - www.gregwillis.org
K. Jefferson Bray - www.brayforda.com
James Angelino - www.angelino4da.com
Rafael de la Garza - www.delagarzaforda.com

COURT CLERKS

Collin County District Clerk
Terrye Evans - www.electterryeevans.com
Alma Hays - www.electalmahays.com
Patricia Crigger - www.votecrigger.com

COLLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Collin County Judge
Keith Self (incumbent) - www.keithself.com
John Muns - www.johnmuns.org

Commissioner - Precinct 4
Kathy Ward (Incumbent)- www.kathyward.org
Duncan Webb - www.duncanwebb.org

Commissioner Precinct 2

Jerry Hoagland (Incumbent) - www.jerryhoagland.com
Karl Voigtsberger - www.electkarl.org
Cheryl Williams - www.votecherylwilliams.com

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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I found out recently that there will be a contested race for Republican Primary for the 296th District Court.  The court currently held by John Roach Jr., will be contested by McKinney attorney Keith Gore.  Right now, the court only hears civil cases because John Roach Jr.'s father, John Roach is the District Attorney.  John Roach Sr. will be stepping down, meaning the court will now hear civil and criminal cases once again. Below are bios on the candidates.  As they put up campaign websites and I gain information on their campaigns, I will post it here.

KEITH GORE

Keith Gore is a McKinney attorney in practice since 1997. Mr. Gore is a graduate of TCU and the University of Mississippi Law School.  He was a former assistant district attorney in Dallas County (Chief misdemeanor prosecutor and felony prosecutor), served as prosecutor for City of Frisco, Foreman of the Grand Jury in 2008, former Municipal Court Judge, City of Trenton, Texas, and is certified to handle death penalty cases.  Mr. Gore currently handles both civil litigation and criminal defense with the firm he founded, the Law Office of Keith Gore.

"The citizens of Collin County need a judge who is qualified to handle all cases filed with the court, including the most serious criminal cases, like capital murder, crimes against children and sexual assaults. I am the only candidate qualified to handle this broad range of cases."

 More information can be found on his (future) website www.goreforjudge.com

JOHN ROACH, Jr.

John Roach, Jr. is the current Judge of the 296th District Court.  He was elected in March 2006 and took office January 2007. He is a former partner in the firm Albin, Harrison, and Roach where the firm practiced in business and  General Civil Law including Medical Malpractice Insurance Defense, Municipal Law, Business and Corporate Law, Family Law, Land Use and Zoning, Wills, and Commercial and Business Litigation.

Mr. Roach is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary's University School of Law and served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

"I am very excited about my upcoming campaign for reelection as Judge. I enjoy the campaign trail because it allows me to talk about the court system, my philosophies about the law and get to meet so many new people. I have worked tirelessly in this position for the last 3 years and look forward to the next 4 years."

More information about Mr. Roach can be found on his (future) campaign website at  www.judgeroach.org.

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• District Clerk

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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 found out recently that there will be a contested race for Republican Primary for the 296th District Court.  The court currently held by John Roach Jr., will be contested by McKinney attorney Keith Gore.  Right now, the court only hears civil cases because John Roach Jr.'s father, John Roach is the District Attorney.  John Roach Sr. will be stepping down, meaning the court will now hear civil and criminal cases once again. Below are bios on the candidates.  As they put up campaign websites and I gain information on their campaigns, I will post it here.

KEITH GORE

Keith Gore is a McKinney attorney in practice since 1997. Mr. Gore is a graduate of TCU and the University of Mississippi Law School.  He was a former assistant district attorneya in Dallas County (Chief misdemeanor prosecutor and felony prosecutor), served as prosecutor for City of Frisco, Foreman of the Grand Jury in 2008, former Municipal Court Judge, City of Trenton, Texas, and is certified to handle death penalty cases.  Mr. Gore currently handles both civil litigation and criminal defense with the firm he founded, the Law Office of Keith Gore.

"The citizens of Collin County need a judge who is qualified to handle all cases filed with the court, including the most serious criminal cases, like capital murder, crimes against children and sexual assaults. I am the only candidate qualified to handle this broad range of cases."

 More information can be found on his (future) website www.goreforjudge.com

JOHN ROACH, Jr.

John Roach, Jr. is the current Judge of the 296th District Court.  He was elected in March 2006 and took office January 2007. He is a former partner in the firm Albin, Harrison, and Roach where the firm practiced in business and  General Civil Law including Medical Malpractice Insurance Defense, Municipal Law, Business and Corporate Law, Family Law, Land Use and Zoning, Wills, and Commercial and Business Litigation.

Mr. Roach is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary's University School of Law and served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

"I am very excited about my upcoming campaign for reelection as Judge. I enjoy the campaign trail because it allows me to talk about the court system, my philosophies about the law and get to meet so many new people. I have worked tirelessly in this position for the last 3 years and look forward to the next 4 years."

More information about Mr. Roach can be found on his (future) campaign website at  www.judgeroach.org.

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
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• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• District Clerk

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be present in the 429th District Court and saw an individual, Mr. Robert Blackburn trying to plea guilty, but was barred in doing so by the Assistant District Attorney.  I didn't think too much of it at the time, because I have seen the DA do this many times -- including to my clients.

What happened differently on this occasion, is that the (visiting) Judge John McCraw stood up to this ridiculous practice. I was pleased to read a great article by the Collin County Observer reporting the incident and subsequent appeal by the DA.

The Law

First, lets go through how a criminal case is disposed.

A person accused of a crime may either plea guilty or plea not guilty regarding criminal charges against them.

Plea Not Guilty

Texas has a bifurcated trial system, meaning "two parts."  The first phase is to determine whether or not a person is guilty, the second phase is to determine punishment (if found guilty).  Obviously if found not guilty, there is no punishment phase.  As far as the second phase goes, one must choose before the trial begins as to whether or not to have the judge or jury handle sentencing if found guilty.

1. Plea Not Guilty, Judge Punishment:  A citizen requests a jury to determine if they are guilty or not guilty, and if  found guilty, elect the judge to impose punishment.  This is the most common, as most attorneys know that judges get to see lots of cases and can understand the seriousness/non-seriousness of the particular crime.  Additionally, it is easier for an attorney to advise a client on the likely punishment if you know who will be doing the sentencing opposed to jurors you have never met.

2. Plea Not Guilty, Jury Punishment: A citizen requests a jury to determine if they are guilty or not guilty, and if found guilty, elect the jury to impose punishment.  If in front of a tough, unreasonable, or unknown judge, one might elect a jury of their peers to decide their fate. 

Plea Guilty

1. Negotiated Plea:  This is the most common plea.  The DA and the citizen (often with the help of their attorney), negotiate a punishment, and they plea and receive punishment.

2. Non-Negotiated "Slow" Plea: If a citizen accused wants to plea, but cannot agree with the DA on punishment, they can enter a "slow plea."  This means the accused will plea guilty, but allow the jury to assess the punishment.

2. Non-Negotiated "Open" Plea: If a citizen accused wants to plea, but cannot agree with the DA on punishment, they can enter an "open plea."  This means the accused will plea guilty, but allow the judge to asses the punishment.

The Case

In this case, the defendant, Robert Lee Blackburn was charged with 4 felonies after he bit a Plano Police officer while being arrested for possession of cocaine. It seemed that everyone agreed as to his guilt, but there was no agreement on what the punishment would be.

Mr. Blackburn and his attorney agreed he should plea guilty, and wanted the presiding Judge (in this case, Judge Jill Willis) to assess punishment.  Mr. Blackburn wanted to plea guilty in an "open plea," but the District Attorney refused to allow him to do so.  They did this by invoking the State's right to a Jury Trial. 

In Texas, the State has a right to a jury trial.  It's a bit silly in my opinion, but too complicated to debate in this article the legality of the whole issue.  I'll save that for another article.

By invoking the right to a jury trial, it means that a defendant CANNOT enter an "open plea."  This means that if Mr. Blackburn wants a judge to assess his punishment, he must plea not guilty, go through the farce of a jury trial, and elect the judge to impose the sentence. 

That is exactly what the Assistant District Attorney, Gary Knapp forced upon Mr. Blackburn's.  I do not know if this was his personal decision, or if someone higher up in the office instructed him to do this. (The Observer reported and provided a transcript showing Appellate Chief John Rolater who was arguing the case -- which is accurate at the second hearing.  Originally it was Knapp barring the plea of guilty, and calling  the Appellate department for assistance).  In this case, the Judge did not allow the State to invoke their right to a jury trial, and ordered the plea be accepted.  The State has since appealed, and the case is in limbo until the appellate court reaches a decision.

Why would the DA force a "sham" trial on a defendant when everyone agrees on their guilt?

There can be several possible reasons, none of which seem justified to me:

1. Forum Shopping - Forum shopping is an attorney (on either side of the case) attempting to pick what judge is going to hear a case.  Defendant's cases are randomly assigned to courts, so one cannot pick a judge.  However, visiting judges are often called in when judges are out of town, or want to run a "double-docket," to help clear out some cases. 

I am almost positive I heard the DA that if Mr. Blackburn wanted to plea to a visiting judge, they would allow it, but not to the presiding judge.  I cannot remember for sure, and am not willing to make this claim positively.  I wish that a transcript available of the hearing that took place before the appellate department got involved.  That is where the true hearing took place.  I personally believe forum shopping was part of the reason why the DA did not allow the plea.

2. Padding Statistics - This is political gamesmanship. If a DA wants to boast about their conviction rate, they can pad the stats.  I have seen Collin County DA literature boasting about conviction rates in the past. Additionally, if a prosecutor wants to look good to their superiors, they will try to win as many cases as possible.

The DA can offer really tough plea bargains to a defendant.  This will bar someone from pleading guilty in a negotiated plea.  In a court where the defendant chooses to allow the judge to accept punishment, this will force a trial if the state invokes their right to a jury trial.  The DA will have a slam dunk case of guilt, and get to put it down as a win.

They will additionally get to put it up on the "Board" which is at the DA's office.  The "Board" is where attorneys write down their trials they are having that week, along with the results.  It was there when I was an assistant district attorney, and assume it is still there.

3. Practice for young prosecutors:  I guess if someone wants some experience in a trial, they could force a sham trial just to get some experience.  This is not what happened in this case, because these are felony prosecutors with plenty of trials under their belts already. 

4. Manipulating the Punishment Range: The entire range of punishment is available to either a judge or a jury.  With one exception: Deferred Adjudication.  A citizen accused can only get deferred adjudication from a judge after a guilty plea (negotiated, or not negotiated).  By barring a person from pleading guilty, the DA is barring the possibility of them getting Deferred Adjudication.  Basically usurping the elected Judge's powers.  The DA in this case says this is the reason for their behavior, however I have personally seen them do this in cases where the client is not even deferred eligible.  I don't see why the DA would stop an elected presiding Judge (or in this case, a judge appointed by Governor Rick Perry) from doing the job they were put there to do.

My hope is that with this article, one of the new candidates for District Attorney will stop this archaic practice of barring a person from pleading guilty to an elected Judge thus forcing a sham trial.  In the end, it is about the difference of what should be done, versus what can be done.  After about seven years of the same elected District Attorney, I think a new DA will be the only factor that change this practice.

DOCUMENTS

Petition for Writ of Mandamus, In re John Roach, Fifth COA case number 05-09-01451-cv

Reporters Record, December 3, 2009 Texas vs Robert Lee Blackburn

Order granting Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief, In re John Roach, Court of Appeals, Fifth District.

Link to Court of Appeals case 05-09-014510-CV, In re John Roach

Link to Collin County cases 199-80283-08, 199-80284-08, 199-80285-08, 199-80286-08, State vs. Robert Lee Blackburn

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO

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The North Collin County Republican Women and Collin County Republican Men's Clubs will be co-hosting a local Judicial Candidate forum open to the public on Tuesday, January 26th at Pike's Hall at Collin College in McKinney beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The forum will include: county clerk, district clerk, JP, county and district court candidates. The audience will be invited to ask questions. Judges Paul Raleeh (JP-1), Judge Corrine Mason (County Court 1) and Judge Chris Oldner (416th District Court) will be in attendance to explain what each level of court does.

I have gotten a lot of questions about if there will be any public forum with the candidates, and am glad to see this I will definitely report about the forum after.

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County District Attorney
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court
• District Clerk

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO

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Collin County's District Attorney will have a new face at the helm beginning January 2011.  Two term District Attorney John Roach has announced that he will not be seeking re-election.  Following that announcement, several candidates have announced their intentions to run for the position.  The Collin County District Attorney is charged with prosecuting all Felonies and Misdemeanors within the County.  There are about 60 attorneys that work for the elected District Attorney, along with support staff and investigators.  All candidates are running in the Republican primary, with the exception of Rafael De La Garza, who is running as a Democrat.

The Candidates:

GREG WILLIS

Greg Willis recently resigned as the judge of Collin County Court Six in order to run for District Attorney.  Mr. Willis served as a judge for the court after being appointed in 2006 until his recent resignation.  Prior to being a judge, Mr. Willis opened his own law firm in Plano, and his wife Jill (now a district judge) joined him at the firm. The Willis Law Firm was a general law practice, handling primarily criminal, employment and family matters. During this time, Mr. Willis served as President of the Collin County Bar Association and was twice named a SuperLawyer® by Texas Monthly. Mr. Willis also previously worked as a prosecutor at the Collin County District Attorney's office, and at the law firms, Haynes & Boone, LLP and Jones Day LLP.

A fifth generation Texan, Mr. Willis has stated that "[m]y experience as a judge, prosecutor, and attorney will enable me to serve in an effective manner from day one.  As your District Attorney, I vow to aggressively prosecute crimes against children, sexual and domestic assaults, and drunk driving.  Together we can keep Collin County safe, secure, and prosperous."

More about Greg Wills can be found on his campaign website, www.gregwillis.org.

K. JEFFERSON  BRAY (JEFF BRAY)

Jeff Bray currently serves as the Senior Legal Advisor to the Plano Police Department.  He has 11 years experience as a prosecutor, and is Board-certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  Mr. Bray is a fifth generation Texan and graduate of Texas A&M.

Mr. Bray has vowed to use smart prosecutions and his relations with local law enforcement to make the office more efficient.  He has also taken aim at  white collar crime, and especially identity thieves, vowing mandatory jail time for those offenders. 

"I love my job at the Plano Police Department, but I am a prosecutor at heart. A man is lucky indeed if he can find a job that he loves and that also allows him to give back to his community. For me, that job is Collin County Criminal District Attorney."

More about Jeff Bray and his plans for the office can be found at www.brayforda.com.

JAMES "JIMMY" ANGELINO

James Angelino is an attorney currently in private practice, but spent much of his career in law enforcement.  Mr. Angelino was an Assistant District Attorney in Denton for 11 years, and personally prosecuted more than 190 criminal cases to a verdict. He created and oversaw a DWI Prosecution Unit and personally provided hundreds of hours of advanced training to prosecutors and police officers around the state. Mr. Angelino was also a Dallas Police officer prior to his career as an attorney.  He was decorated twice for saving lives as a police officer, and he was awarded the Bronze Star, among other commendations, for his service in Iraq as a U.S. Army officer following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

""The D.A.'s office is no place for on the job training. Never before have the challenges to public safety and our quality of life been greater. My experiences as a police officer, a soldier and prosecutor have given me a unique perspective about what it takes to protect the public from crime."

More about Mr. Angelino can be found on his campaign website at www.angelino4da.com.

JOHN ERIC REED

John Eric Reed is an attorney in private practice, and small local Business Owner since 1996.  He has practiced criminal defense (Trial and Appellate), white collar crime, organized crime, DWI and general criminal defense and constitutional rights law.  Mr. Reed is also a former Dallas Assistant District Attorney and former Special Assistant US Attorney.

More about Mr. Reed can be found on his facebook campaign page which can be found under, "John Eric Reed for Collin County District Attorney."

RAFAEL DE LA GARZA (D)

Rafael De La Garza is an attorney in private practice and Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  Previously, Mr. De La Garza became a prosecutor with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office under the tenure of John Vance. 

After his tenure at the Dallas District Attorney's office, De La Garza was named Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District where he was recognized for handling tough drug and gang prosecutions and for his leadership and keen ability in coordinating multi-agency federal investigations.

"I plan to apply what I’ve learned both at the federal and state level to prosecuting cases and seeking justice as the Collin County District Attorney"

More about Rafael De La Garza can be found on his campaign website www.delagarzaforda.com.

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO

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     The Collin County District Clerk will have a contested primary this election season.  The position is the head position of the clerks office, and has the duty to "protect the judicial records of the Collin County District Courts in compliance with the state constitution and state statutes."  The District Clerk indexes and secures all court records collects filing fees, and handles funds held in litigation and money awarded to minors. They also compile the list of potential jurors for jury service. The District Clerk is responsible for issuing jury summons and maintaining a list of persons qualified or disqualified from service.

And now for the candidates. . . .

TERRYE EVANS

Terrye Evans currently serves as the Court Coordinator for the 219th District Court.  Terrye is committed to remaining vigilant and will commit her office to new technologies that will aid in everyday office practices. Basically working smarter so as to deliver the best work-product possible to Collin County’s citizens, lawyers, judges and other county departments.

Terrye believes that, "we as taxpayers cannot afford to take the attitude that things are 'good enough'. The District Clerk's office should be in a continual state of improvement, working smarter to make customer and citizen interactions positive and helpful, rather than perplexing and puzzling."

More about Terrye and her plans for the office can be found on her campaign website at www.electterryeevans.com. 

ALMA HAYS

Alma Hays begun her career at the District Clerk's Office.  She is a graduate of Grayson County College with an Associates Degree in Business. Alma has worked as Paralegal and Office Manager for the Law Offices of Michael Sloan, a Court appointed Visitation Supervisor for children with at risk parents, and a Texas Supreme Court Process Server.

"I have developed a plan for moving the District Clerk’s Office into the future. I intend to incorporate a more progressive management style within the District Clerk’s office regarding the training of both management and staff, stressing the importance of customer service and effective use of technology. The result will be a more professional, efficient and customer oriented office, something that any taxpayer should expect and deserve."

More about Alma Hays and her plans for the office can be found at www.electalmahays.com

PATRICIA WYSONG CRIGGER

Patricia Wysong Crigger has served for 23 years in the District Clerk’s Office, the last 14 as Chief Deputy District Clerk. She holds a BBA from the University of North Texas.

"The District Clerk’s Office is effectively managed and fiscally responsible. As the old saying goes, 'If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.' While our county continues to grow, so will the challenges faced by our office. This is not the time to change management on a whim.

More information about Patricia Wysong Crigger and her plans for the office can be found on her campaign website at www.votecrigger.com. 

PAST ARTICLES ON COUNTY RACES

• Collin County Campaign Websites
• Collin County Court 2
• Collin County Court 3 (Collin County Observer)
• Collin County Court 4
• Collin County Court 6
• 219th District Court

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO

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I thought I'd put together a post of all the local Collin County candidate's campaign website.  This will allow the voters to see what the candidates are all about (in their own words).  All of the "contested" seats are in the Republican primary.  I have not heard of any Democrats or Independents that plan on running.  Therefore, whoever wins the Republican Primary will go uncontested in the general election. 

Below are simply the websites of the candidates.  If you want my take, just stop me in the halls of the courthouse and I'll be happy to add my opinion. . .

If you have a site and I do not have you listed, send me an email, and I'll be happy to add it here.  There are a lot of candidates out there -- I did not purposely "snub" anyone, so please don't be insulted if I have you as a "No Site Yet," or I left your name off the list entirely.  Email me if I missed you.

JUDICIAL RACES

Collin County Court 2
Judge Jerry Lewis - www.judgejerrylewis.com
Sharon Ramage - www.ramageforjudge.com

County Court 3
Barnett Walker - www.walkerforjudge.com
Lance Baxter - www.baxterforjudge.com
Stewart Matthews - No site yet

County Court 4
Linda Wynn Drain - www.lindawynndrainforjudge.com
Dale Rose - www.roseforjudge.org
Matthew Goeller - www.mattforjudge.com
Dale Rose - www.roseforjudge.com
Christi Bryant - www.chrystibryantforjudge.com
David Rippel - www.rippelforjudge.com

County Court 6
Shawn Ismail - www.ismailforjudge.com
Terri Green - www.terrigreenforjudge.com
Jay Bender - www.benderforjudge.com
Don High - www.donhigh.com

219th Judicial District Court
Scott Becker - www.beckerforjudge.com
Angela Tucker - www.angelatuckerforjudge.com
Wendy McMillon - www.mcmillonforjudge.com

296th Judicial District Court
Keith Gore - www.goreforjudge.com
John Roach Jr. - www.judgeroach.org

Justice of the Peace - 4
Kelley Adley - www.kelleyadley.com
Mike Yarbrough - www.judgemikeyarbrough.com
Doug Reeves - no site yet

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Collin County District Attorney
Greg Willis - www.gregwillis.org
K. Jefferson Bray - www.brayforda.com
James Angelino - www.angelino4da.com
Rafael de la Garza - www.delagarzaforda.com

COURT CLERKS

Collin County District Clerk
Terrye Evans - www.electterryeevans.com
Alma Hays - www.electalmahays.com
Patricia Crigger - www.votecrigger.com

COLLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Collin County Judge
Keith Self (incumbent) - www.keithself.com
John Muns - www.johnmuns.org

Commissioner - Precinct 4
Kathy Ward (Incumbent)- www.kathyward.org
Duncan Webb - www.duncanwebb.org

Commissioner Precinct 2

Jerry Hoagland (Incumbent) - www.jerryhoagland.com
Karl Voigtsberger - www.electkarl.org
Cheryl Williams - www.votecherylwilliams.com

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I recently showcased an article, "Two Local Judges Investigated in Grand Jury Investigation"  by the Collin County Observer.

In general, I don't like just grabbing an entire article and posting in on our blog.  I instead try to post and show my take on the matter.  But his article was too good on the matter to do anything but post the entire article.

What I have found interesting, is not just the article itself, but the massive amounts of comments about the article.  As of today, there are 64 comments on the article.  I think that is the new story of the day.

I am posting the responses to the article below.  It is interesting the progression from anonymous comments, to non-anonymous comments.  Specifically with local attorney who often are the targets of these investigations.

Below are the comments from the site:

Comment from: FM Voter [Visitor]

Mr. Willis has served the citizens of Collin County with the utmost integrity and he will continue to do so if elected as our next DA. What happened to our secretive grand jury process? What a shame that this information is out in the public. This entire situation smells of political intimidation

 

Permalink 11/19/09 @ 09:43

 

Comment from: Christobell [Visitor]

Bill, thank you for tracking down this story. Both Jill and Greg Willis are honorable public servants. This certainly sounds like a political witch hunt.
In regards to Judge Wooten, wouldn't the Ethics Commission be the one filing charges, or am I mistaken.
I hope Judge Willis is our next District Attorney.

 

Permalink 11/19/09 @ 10:21

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Bill at the Collin County Observer is back again with a commentary & article on the DA's office going after local officials. I will not be commenting.  Below is his unedited article. You may also want see a very active discussion on his "comments page."

Two local judges targets of grand jury investigations

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Recently, the former judge of County Court Four, Judge Ray Wheless was appointed to the 366th District Court. This leaves an open court. I have heard of many names that may be running for the open seat. As with before, I am only profiling those candidates who have either directly told me they are running, or have a campaign website up. If you are running for this bench and would like to be added here, please let me know and I will add you.

LINDA WYNN DRAIN 

Linda Wynn Drain is a currently in private practice as founding partner of Nolte, Drain & Rosenthal, PLLC in McKinney. Her experience includes experience includes criminal, civil, family, juvenile, personal injury, and wills & probate law. Mrs. Drain served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney and Felony Prosecutor for Collin County’s District Attorney’s Office. She is also a founding Member of Collin County Bench Bar Foundation.

Mrs. Drain “believes in the conservative principles of personal responsibility and strict interpretation of the law. Managing a fiscally responsible court docket is a function of applying these principles. Accomplishing these common sense goals will serve every citizen in Court 4 and every taxpayer of Collin County.”

More about Mrs. Drain’s experience and plans for the bench can be found on her campaign website at www.lindawynndrainforjudge.com.

DALE ROSE 

Dale Rose was a criminal prosecutor in Dallas County and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases. His first career was as a police officer for the City of Garland where he was the youngest candidate ever accepted. He worked in that capacity for 6 years, before beginning his second career as an attorney.

“Shortly after my graduation from law school, I knew that I wanted to be a Judge sometime in my legal career. Knowing that the Collin County Court's at Law are "general jurisdiction" courts (hear both civil and criminal cases), I knew that I would need a lot of trial experience from both the criminal law and the civil law side. Based on this, in my 17 years as a lawyer, I have tried over one hundred thirty (130) jury trials in both criminal and civil litigation.”

Mr. Rose is a former President, Vice President and Secretary of Collin County Bar Association. More information about Mr. Rose’s experience and plans for the bench can be found on his campaign website at www.roseforjudge.org.

DAVID RIPPEL

David Rippel is a Plano attorney currently in private practice.  David has tried numerous cases in district and county courts.  His practice emphasis trial work and has defended people and businesses in multimillion dollar lawsuits and criminal cases from misdemeanors to felonies. David is admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal district courts, The Texas Supreme Court and all state courts, and the Louisiana Supreme Court and all state courts.  Mr. Rippel served in the U.S. Army in support of Iraqi Freedom and Operation Noble Eagle.

"I believe that my experience, my love of service and accomplishments of leadership have best prepared me to serve as a judge."

Mr. Rippel lives in Plano with his wife and two children.

More about Mr. Rippel and his campaign can be found on his campaign website, www.rippelforjudge.com.

MATTHEW GOELLER

Matthew Goeller is an attorney in Plano in private practice with the firm of Goeller & Grubbs.  Mr. Goeller has over 20 years experience as State Prosecutor in the Collin County District Attorney's Office and as Partner in Grubbs and Goeller Law Firm in Plano. He also works as a faculty member for more than 20 years at Collin College in the Criminal Justice program.

"My mission is simple: I know the law. I am the only candidate for this position who is Board Certified in Criminal Law and I have more than 20 years experience as both Prosecutor and Defense Attorney. I humbly wish to serve Collin County with my knowledge, extensive experience, and community leadership."

More about Mr. Goeller and his campaign can be found on his campaign website www.mattforjudge.com.

A new candidate has been brought to my attention by the Collin County Observer.  From their site:

CHRYSTI BRYANT 

Chrysti Bryant is a graduate of the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. Chrysti served as a member of the Law Review. While in law school, she worked as an intern with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, Appellate Section.

Her campaign web site describes her as, "a civil trial attorney who has distinguished herself by defending those who have been targeted by personal injury lawsuits. She has been involved in numerous cases ranging from minor automobile accidents to complex multi-party litigation. Chrysti previously worked alongside law enforcement as an attorney with the Texas Department of Public Safety suspending the driver’s licenses of drunk drivers."

She describes her judicial philosophy as, "strictly applying the law to the facts of each case and will not legislate from the bench." She then states that, "Anyone who appears before her will receive a full opportunity to present their case. However, frivolous lawsuits will not be tolerated."

Ms. Bryant formerly volunteered with the City of Plano Teen Court program and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. She is an active member of Faith Church of Plano and works with its youth ministry and small group ministry.  Her campaign website can be found at www.chrystibryantforjudge.com

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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I was informed today that long time sitting judge, Judge Jerry Lewis of Collin County Court Two has drawn an opponent, Sharon Ramage. I spoke with Sharon today who is going to email me some information about her campaign and a photo.  However, I am impatient and pulled stuff from her website. I will update as needed. . . .

Considering there are several other open benches, most attorneys in the area were surprised at the news.  But it does makes some sense considering each of the open benches have already garnered several candidates. See other posts on County Court 3, County Court 6, and District Court 219th.

Below are the candidates for the race:

JERRY LEWIS

Judge Lewis is the current sitting judge in County Court Two for over 20 years. I pulled his information from a facebook page created on his behalf.

Judge Lewis was first elected in 1986 and has presided over 22,000 cases.  Judge Lewis is a former First Assistant District Attorney for Collin County and has ten years experience as a prosecuting attorney. He has served two terms as the Local Administrative Judge, of his fellow Court at Law Judges.

Judge Lewis is a military veteran, with 4 years active duty in the United States Army as a Captain and 5 more in the Reserves.  He  has been a Boy Scout leader for over 25 years and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award in 2004 - the highest adult honor given by the local Circle Ten Council.

Based on his facebook page, he will have a campaign website up soon: www.judgejerrylewis.com

SHARON RAMAGE 

Sharon Ramage has been licensed to practice law since 1992. As a former social worker, Ms. Ramage has practiced law in many areas specific to protecting children since that time. From 1992-1997, Sharon served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Tarrant County, and was assigned to the Crimes Against Children Division from 1995-1997.

After resigning from the District Attorney’s Office, Ms. Ramage opened a private practice in Tarrant County, where she practiced special education law and family law. Since 2000, Ms. Ramage has worked in private practice in Collin County, primarily in the area of family law and adoption. Since 2003, she has also served as a Special Education Hearing Officer and Mediator for the Texas Education Agency, conducing special education due process hearings and mediating disputes between schools and parents.

“The totality of my experience -- criminal prosecutor, defense attorney, appellate attorney, family law attorney, mediator and hearing officer -- has prepared me for this position,” Ramage said. “I welcome this challenge and recognize the hard work that lies before me in seeking this position, as well as in the hard work and diligence required of the Bench.”

Sharon is married and the mother of two children adopted from China.

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I have recently been informed of a fourth candidate in the race for Collin County Court 6. Don High. I have added a summary of his qualifications on my original post  The Race for Collin County Court Six. I decided to be lazy and borrow (steal) from the Collin County Observer's post on his entry.

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Recently, Judge Greg Willis stepped down from his Collin County Court Six bench to pursue a run for Collin County District Attorney. Several attorneys have announced a run for his former bench. I have heard many names thrown out as possible candidates. I am including only those who have personally told me they are running, or anyone that has a campaign website up. If you are planning on running for this court, contact me and I will add you to this article.

SHAWN ISMAIL 

Mr. Ismail established a general practice in Plano doing primarily litigation, criminal defense and immigration law. He handles matters ranging from consumer protection and business litigation to misdemeanor and felony criminal trials.

Mr. Ismail has been active in the legal community as President of the Plano Bar Association, Frisco Bar Association, Collin County Young Lawyers Association and am currently a director of the Collin County Bar Association.

Mr. Ismail believes that “without access to the Courts, the administration of Justice is weakened for all. At the same time, access to the Courts is also dependent on Judges grasping a wide range of legal issues as well as being aware of sound public policy. A Judge must at all times be conscientious of who they serve.”

Mr. Ismail has a website, www.ismailforjudge.com which details his experience and plans for the bench.

TERRI GREEN 

Terri Green is in private practice in Plano.  According to her website, she handles Family Law; Civil Litigation; Probate Litigation; Wills, Trust and Estate Planning; Criminal Defense Counsel (Misdemeanors); and Teen Court Judge (Misdemeanors).

Her civic involvement includes work with the Junior League of Plano, Collin County Bar Association, Frisco Bar Association, Frisco Rotary and Preston Trails Community Church. She’s also involved in the Collin County Republican Party and has served as a grand jury commissioner and on the board for the Frisco Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Green believes she “will be an asset to the county and help the county ease up the court dockets, Green said. With my qualifications and background I will easily be able to step on the bench and administer justice at the county courthouse without any training or supervision. I will immediately be able to alleviate overcrowding.”

Mrs. Green has a website, www.terrigreenforjudge.com which details her experience and plans for the bench.

JAY BENDER 

Jay Bender is a current private practice attorney and a former Assistant District Attorney who worked in both Collin County and Dallas County. His current practice included Criminal Defense, family law, civil law, and business law.

Mr. Bender was employed as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Dallas County by Bill Hill and eventually worked his way up to become a felony prosecutor.  Mr. Bender then became an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Collin County. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Bender spent 8 years in the US Navy serving his country.

Mr. Bender has a campaign website which can be found at www.benderforjudge.com.
 

(New Addition Borrowed/Stolen with permission from the Collin County Observer. . .)

DON H. HIGH

Don High is a Plano resident since 1989 and municipal prosecutor for the City of Wylie since 1995.

He earned his law degree from Baylor Law School, and began his career as a tax accountant with Price Waterhouse and Company in New York. He is currently in private practice, handling all aspects of legal representation. He is a Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialist and his experience includes stints with the Collin County District Attorney and practicing private law with the firm of Grubbs, High, Goeller, and Associates. Since 2002, High has operated a general law practice in Dallas and Collin Counties as the Law Offices of Don High.

He is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Plano. He has also served on the board for Live from Plano as its treasurer, and has performed in the show for many years.

In a speech to supporters, High introduced his campaign theme, “It’s High Time”, and pointed out the level of criminal law experience required to effectively serve on the bench, noting that over 80% of the County Court’s business is criminal law.

More information about High’s experience and campaign platform is available at www.donhigh.com.

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO

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This election cycle, the 219th District Court has an opening.  Judge Curt Henderson has announced that he will not seek re-election.  Until recently, there was only one candidate, Scott Becker, actively campaigning for the bench.  It was rumored that Greg Willis would run for the bench, however, he has announced plans to become the next district attorney.  On Friday, a new candidate, Angela Tucker sent out a press release, stating her plans to run for the 219th.  Angela previously entered the race for Collin County Court 3, but changed her plans to seek the district bench instead.  Additionally, a new candidate, Wendy McMillon has also announced her candidacy.

Here are the candidates:

SCOTT BECKER

Scott Becker is a current prosecutor with the Collin County District Attorney's Office.  He serves as a felony prosecutor handling cases ranging from drug cases to murder cases. Prior to his time as a prosecutor, Mr. Becker had his own law practice handling criminal, civil, and family law cases.

Scott has gained the endorsements of the Collin County Deputies Association, the Plano Police Association, the Frisco Police Officer's Association, the McKinney Police Association, and the Allen Police Department. 

Mr. Becker told us, that "throughout my career I have enjoyed serving the community through the law; first in private practice with individual clients, and now as an assistant district attorney serving the community on a broader level. Now I feel the next place I can serve best is from the bench. Having handled so many different types of cases both criminal and civil, from each side of the bar, I have gained valuable perspective on the importance of making sure everyone who enters the courtroom feels the judge handles their issues professionally, and they were treated equally under the law. "

Mr. Becker lives in McKinney with his wife Jana and their two children. 

More information about Mr. Becker can be found on his website www.BeckerForJudge.com.

ANGELA TUCKER                       

Angela Tucker has practiced civil, family, and criminal law. After spending four years as an Assistant District Attorney in Collin County, she opened her law office and currently is a partner in a local firm.

Mrs. Tucker has stated she is, "committed to representing the people of Collin County by serving as the next Judge of the 219th District Court. To maintain high legal standards, it is imperative that we elect judges who have a strong work ethic, high moral standards, and diverse experience.”

Mrs. Tucker lives in McKinney with her husband James and two children.

Mrs. Tucker's campaign website can be found at www.angelatuckerforjudge.com

WENDY McMILLON

Wendy McMillon is an attorney currently with the firm McKool Smith in Dallas where she concentrates in the area of intellectual property and complex business litigation. Prior to that, she obtained extensive litigation experience at Cowles & Thompson defending complex healthcare liability, wrongful death, and mental health lawsuits in the firm’s Dallas and McKinney offices.  Mrs. McMillon informed me that she "helped open the [Cowles' office in McKinney] and spent most of my tenure [there]. I also have handled numerous matters in Collin County courts continuously, even after moving to Dallas firms."

Mrs. McMillon  has stated she is, “confident that I have the experience and work ethic that will address the ever increasing complexity of cases being filed in Collin County. In addition, my goal is to help our courts operate even more efficiently and successfully.”

Mrs. McMillon is a Plano resident along with her husband Mark and two children.

Mrs. McMillon has a campaign website www.mcmillonforjudge.com where you can learn more about her campaign.

Full disclosure notes:  I am, and have been a supporter of Scott Becker for his election bid.  I cannot say enough good things about him and believe he would be a great  judge.  I even designed the website for his campaign.   However, Angela Tucker is a friend, great attorney and an wonderful individual as well.  With these great candidates, Collin County can't lose.  I do not personally know Wendy McMillon. 

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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I have not written about a recent DWI incident because I didn’t want to soil the names of  prosecutors accused of wrongdoing.  Those accused have now found their names in print and put on TV.  I have chosen not to add their names to this article.

WFAA & the Collin County Observer have published stories, so I guess on a small scale, the cat is now out of the bag about the “story.”  Which in my opinion is not much of a story at all.

The truth is, if these reporters personally knew the stellar reputations of the two prosecutors accused and the great reputation of the defense attorney accused versus the young prosecutor accuser, they wouldn’t have been so quick to believe what they heard from the accuser.

The 30 second recap of the story is that an “iron-clad” DWI case was effectively dismissed by a Collin County prosecutor by holding a trial and not putting on any evidence.

Brett Shipp from WFAA and the Collin County Observer got this one way wrong.  At the very least, they made a premature jump to conclusions:

The first conclusions asserted are that the citizen accused is definitely guilty and there would be plenty of evidence to prove his guilt in court.

The second conclusion was that the actions of the prosecutor was motivated by some ulterior motive.

Assuming the citizen is guilty and there is enough evidence to prove his guilt can often be a big leap in a DWI case.  I do not know the facts of the case.  But from courthouse talk, I am told that the citizen burped seconds before the breath test.  Anyone who regularly practices in the area knows that this would invalidate the breath test.  Additionally, the state’s own experts who are required to certify the test will not do so if someone burps within the required 15 minute observation period.  This is because the machine would be testing the mouth alcohol instead of the alcohol from the lungs.  No jury would ever hear the results of the test. 

If a prosecutor has this knowledge, they may a) try to put on the evidence anyway, knowing it is no good, or b) self-regulate and not offer the breath test evidence.  Apparently the prosecutor chose the latter.  So then, what is left is the facts of the case without the breath test.

Without going into too much detail, often young, just out of school prosecutors think cases are “iron-clad” when they are anything but that.  As a DWI attorney, I could give a list of DWI not guilty verdicts in cases with seemingly significantly worse facts where prosecutors thought the case was a slam dunk.  Especially in cases where there are no chemical tests.  There is a reason why the State is pushing so hard for blood tests when people refuse breath tests – because it is difficult to obtain convictions on opinion testimony alone of some police officers.

I have heard that the citizen accused in this case looked stellar on the tape.  Just because a person is weaving and cant stand on one leg doesn’t mean they are guilty of DWI.  So again, the prosecutor may have had doubts about the guilt of the person, who is by law required to "seek justice" can then either, a) put on the evidence anyway, or b) do what apparently was done in this case – not put on the shaky evidence.

I believe the WFAA report deceives the audience in what I gather is an attempt to shield the true source of his story – a young prosecutor accuser.  The report purports to display two citizen callers as the people who are upset about the trial results.  And they very well may be upset, but certainly they did not bring this story to the attention of the reporter.  You see, this “story” was known for a while by many local attorneys.  The young prosecutor accuser sent a long email to a law professor about his views on the indigent’s representation in local courts.  In the email, he blasts his fellow prosecutors for effectively dumping the DWI case for their own personal gain.  His email did not mention the names of the prosecutors, but gave enough personal information about them to make them easily identifiable to anyone in the tight knit Collin County legal community.

WFAA’s story relates and shows that the “incident report spells out what happened next.” Smelling of alcohol and stepping off line during a walk and turn test.  So the reporter has the incident report of the event.  Where did the reporter get it?  Witnesses aren’t given police reports and never went to court.  The case is expunged and you cannot get the paperwork from the court or from open records.  So it would seem that maybe young prosecutor gave it to the reporter?  This prosecutor proclaimed in his email to the professor that he “got the file from the ‘disposed’ files and made sure that none of it was attributed to me.  I made copies of the file.”

Under the law, the reporter of the story didn’t do anything wrong, but our hero young prosecutor accuser might want to study up on expunction laws:

55.04. Violation of Expunction Order

1. A person who acquires knowledge of an arrest while an officer or employee of the state or of any agency or other entity of the state or any political subdivision of the state and who knows of an order expunging the records and files relating to that arrest commits an offense if he knowingly releases, disseminates, or otherwise uses the records or files.

2. A person who knowingly fails to return or to obliterate identifying portions of a record or file ordered expunged under this chapter commits an offense.

Violation of an Expunction order is a Class B misdemeanor.  Ironically enough, it the same level crime as the DWI in question.  It would appear likely that the accusing young prosecutor may have committed the same level crime that he is complaining was not effectively prosecuted.  I wonder if he would object if someone prosecuting him were to drop the case if they felt the evidence against him was shaky?

Hunter Biederman is a DWI / Criminal Defense Attorney in Collin County. He publishes his blog (www.friscodwilawyer.com) which focuses on the Collin County and Texas legal system. He can be reached at friscolaw@gmail.com or (888) DWI-FRISCO.

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The race for the next Collin County District Attorney is gaining momentum.  Yesterday, on the courthouse steps, former judge Greg Willis announced he is running for the soon to be vacant spot.

Greg resigned  his former position as County Court Six Judge in order to run for District Attorney.  Greg is a former Collin County prosecutor and also private practice attorney.  More about Greg can be found on his website www.gregwillis.org

His announcement places him in the running with several other candidates who have also publicly announced their intentions to run.

K. Jefferson Bray (Jeff Bray), announced his intentions to run for District Attorney.  Jeff is currently the senior legal advisor for Plano PD, and former Collin and Dallas County prosecutor.   He has a website, www.brayforda.com detailing his plans for the office.

James "Jimmy" Angelino has also been public about his intentions to run for District Attorney.  Jimmy is a former Dallas police officer, and former Denton prosecutor.  He is currently in private practice.  His campaign website can be found at www.angelino4da.com

J. Eric Reed has also announced he intends to run for District Attorney.  Eric is an attorney in private practice, and former Dallas prosecutor, and former Special Asst. US Attorney.

Rafael de la Garza has also been public about his intentions to become Collin County's District Attorney.  Rafael is a former Dallas prosecutor current private practice attorney.  He has a website www.delagarzaforda.com detailing  his  plans for office.

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Well, more drama and shifting is going on in the Collin County Courts.  I reported a while ago about who might be the new judges in Collin County . Since then there have been some more changes and shifting. 

As before, much of this info isn't verified, and mostly courthouse gossip.  So don't take everything at face value.  No real sources, comments from participants, etc.

First off, let me explain what I believe to be the rules on Sitting Judges running for other benches.  I've been asked this a lot.  If, say, a county court judge wants to run for a District Judge bench, he or she may do one of two things.  They can, a) announce now and begin the  race.  This however will force them to step down from their current bench.  Or, b) wait until a prescribed time (I believe Jan 1) to announce.  If this is done, they may retain the bench until the end of the cycle (Dec.31, 2009).  

I don't really understand why there is an arbitrary date for a Judge to announce.  On one hand, they have a big advantage in the race (signs that say "Judge"on them, etc), but puts them at a disadvantage because someone who does not have a bench gets a head start.  It would make more sense to not have this rule at all, or have a rule like there is for someone running for District Attorney...

Running for District Attorney has a different rule for sitting judges.  If a sitting judge announces they are running for District Attorney, they must immediately resign their bench. No amount of date waiting changes it.

If the judge leaves early, the commissioners are tasked with filling the empty bench.  In our county, no one seems to run against incumbents, so that person pretty much has the seat with no election. 

So, lets start at the top, and work our way down this time.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

John Roach has announced that he will not seek re-election.  This means there is a vacancy for Collin County District Attorney.  Some names are being tossed around as possible candidates for the seat.  Judge Greg Willis is being recruited for the possible spot.  He has not publicly in any way stated he is running, but would nonetheless seem a possible contender for the  spot.  Judge Willis is currently the Judge of County Court Six.  Also, James "Jimmy" Angelino and K. Jefferson Bray (Jeff Bray) have both expressed interest as well.  All 3 are former prosecutors.  Angelino is in private practice, and Bray serves as the legal adviser for Plano Police Dept. 

DISTRICT COURTS

416 - Judge Oldner's court.  I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against him.

417 - Judge Cynthia Wheless.  Her court is as Juvenile/CPS court.  I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against her.

429 - Judge Jill Willis's court.  I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against her.  However, if Judge Greg Willis were to become District Attorney, I  imagine she will not hear criminal cases.  (This is what Judge John Roach, Jr. did while his father is DA).  Because there would be the switch, I guess he would start taking on criminal cases once again.

296 - Judge John Roach, Jr.  I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against him.  He  would, however, probably begin to take on criminal cases after the election and his father is no longer District Attorney.

401 - Judge Mark Rusch - I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against him.

199 - Judge Dry - I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against him.

366 - Judge Ray Wheless - Just got appointed to the bench, and will take over within a couple of weeks.  Technically, someone could run against him, but quite doubtful.  I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is running against him.

219 - Open Bench - Judge Henderson has stated he is not seeking re-election.  Right not, the only official name in the race is Scott Becker.  The other rumored possibility is/was Judge Willis (of County Court 6).  Judge Willis was being recruited to run by others to run, but has yet to make any official announcements.

COUNTY COURTS

County Courts are where we are going to see the most changes.

1 - Judge Mason - I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is going to run against her.

2 - Judge Lewis - I haven't heard anything, nor do I imagine anyone is going to run against her.

3 - Open Bench - Judge Barry has announced he will not seek re-election.  Several attorneys have shown interest in this bench. Barnett Walker, Lance Baxter, and Angela Tucker are among the names in the hunt for the bench.

4 - Open Bench - Judge Wheless has been appointed to the 366.  So the commissioners can appoint someone to the bench.  I am sure tons of people will put in for this.  Technically, whoever is appointed has to re-run, but usually no one runs against the appointee.  (To the dismay of some bloggers).

5 - Judge Wilson - Haven't heard anything, and I don't imagine anyone is going to run against him.

6 - As stated before, if Judge Willis were to choose  to run for DA, or announce an early candidacy for the 219th, he would also have to resign his bench (County Court 6).  It is widely accepted already that he will not be the next Judge of CC6.  Because of this, several people have announced candidacy for the court.  Local attorneys Shawn Ismail, Terri Green, Jay Bender, Bill Dobiyanski, and Don  High.  However, if Judge Willis leaves early, the commissioners could appoint someone to the bench.

Many of those seeking county court benches will probably put in for the appointments.  This, of course, would take their names off of the "running for" lists.  So there is a lot more left to shake out before this whole thing is done.  Some have suggested that the county commissioners NOT appoint new judges.  They could then allow the elections to occur (primaries in March), then appoint the winner early to fill the seat until they take office in Jan 2011.  But this would leave the court open for about  6 months.  Although visiting judges get the job done for week or two stretches, I'm not sure this is the best idea.  But it does allow the voters to choose, which is nice.

As always, if anything on here is wrong or needs adding, let me know!

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Congratulations to current Collin County Court 4 Judge Ray Wheless who was appointed to the 366th Judicial District Court recently vacated by Greg Brewer.  At the time of this post, it was not yet listed on the Governor's website.

Judge Wheless is a great judge and will make a great District Judge.  Judge Wheless also runs Collin County's DWI/Drug Court.  (I believe Judge Dan Wilson in Court 5 will be starting one as well soon)

This now will open up his court for an appointment by the Collin County Commissioners.  Hopefully whoever takes over the helm at Court 4 will continue running the Drug/DWI court.  It has helped a lot of people, our clients included.

For an idea of how this will shift the judicial races, take a look at my previous post of "who will be the next Collin County Judges".  I will do a new post soon updating the ever shifting benches.  There should be a lot of changes in the county, especially with the recent announcement that John Roach will not be running for re-election. 

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I have been told today from several sources that Collin County District Attorney John Roach will not be seeking re-election. I haven't seen an official press release, but believe it is true.

His campaign website says it is being readied for the 2010 re-election campaign, but hasn't been updated in a while.

You heard it here first.

Let the rumors fly of who will be the next Collin County District Attorney. . . .

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There is a lot of whispering, some shouting, and other ambient noise about changes in judges in Collin County.  I decided to write a bit about it.  Please keep in mind that none of my information is either verified or has any real sources to it.  None of the attorneys, judges, potential candidates or anyone else has told me anything personally that could be cited as a fact.  I haven't talked to most of these attorneys about it either.  Lets just call this post part of the rumor express.  If you are mentioned in here and want to comment publicly or privately, have at it.

If you are one of the people running, talking about running, or being talked about as running, you may not want to read further.   I like pretty much everyone running, so I'm going to (at least for now) keep my most of my thoughts to myself on who I think should be a judge.

So here goes. . .

First of all, in Collin County, the entire race is held in the Republican Primaries.  So all of what we talk about is seeking the republican nomination.

District Courts:

219th

Judge Curt Henderson will not be seeking re-election this year.  He has served for quite a long time, and is well respected on both sides of the bar.  This leaves an open seat to be elected soon.

So far, only one candidate has made his intentions public about seeking the bench.  Scott Becker has been publicly garnering support, and has been sending letters, emails, and has his website up and running www.BeckerForJudge.com.  He has even garnered the support of several of the Collin County law enforcement agencies.  Scott is a current prosecutor at the District Attorney's Office, and former private attorney.

Although Scott is the only one "officially" running (no one can even put their name on the ballot officially yet), it is widely rumored that Current County Court Six Judge Greg Willis is going to make a run at the 219th.  Some Willis fans even started a facebook page urging him for District Judge.  Judge Greg Willis was appointed to his bench a few years back.  He was in private practice at the time with his wife Jill.  Jill was the last District Judge appointed to the newly formed 429th.  Judge Willis running, however, is a bit risky because if he does not become District Judge, he will no longer retain his current bench.  But, I know he had a thriving law practice before, so I know he would be just fine anyway. . .

366th

Judge Greg Brewer has announced that he is going to be stepping down.  Unlike Judge Henderson, this means that the new judge will be appointed, rather than elected.  Judge Brewer, like Henderson was also liked heavily by both sides of the bar.

So, officially, it is the Governors office that appoints the next judge.  I'm definitely not in the know on this one, but I suspect it isn't actually the governor, but some committee or person that is making the decisions.

Several people are rumored to be seeking the 366th position.  This includes some of the current county judges, who presumably should be near the front of the short list.  There are realistically only six people that can say they have county court judicial experience.  Those with their names in are rumored to be County Court 4's Judge Ray Wheless, and County Court 1's Judge Corrine Mason.

It is suspected that many other people will apply for the open seat as well.  This happens a lot, probably because it is a lot easier to put your name in for an open seat than it is to run for one.  Especially for currently sitting Judges.

So, based on what we know so far, the appointment for the 366th could be a major game changer.  If, say, Scott Becker were appointed, this would presumably leave open the 219th for Willis to run for the seat with no opponent.  (It is also rumored that Willis isn't putting in for the open 366th seat - Maybe because his wife got the last appointment?).

However, if CC1 or CC4's judge was appointed to the spot, then that would then open up another bench.  My understanding is that then the county court bench would be appointed a new judge.

County Courts

County Court 1 - No one is planning on running for this or against Judge Mason.  Of course, this would change is she were appointed to a District Bench.  However, the open seat would be appointed, so we aren't going to see any names on the ballot.  Any one of the attorneys running for other courts could be appointed.

County Court 2 - Haven't heard a word of anyone running against Judge Lewis.  Doubt he'll get an opponent when there are potentially "open" seats out there.

County Court 3 - Judge John Barry is not seeking re-election.  This means another open Court up for the running.  Barnett Walker has already publicly stated he is seeking the seat.  He is a former prosecutor, current private practice attorney, and 22 year military veteran.  He has a site set up www.votebarnett.com.  Others are rumored to be running as well, including Lance Baxter, a local private practice attorney. 

County Court 4 - Like Court 1, no one is going to run against Wheless.  He's loved by pretty much everyone that comes into his court.  Like many people, although I'd love for him to get whatever position he wants, I sure hope he stays put.

County Court 5 - Haven't heard anything about anyone running against Judge Wilson.  Like CC2, I doubt anyone will seek to run against him.

County Court 6 - As I said before, it is heavily rumored that Judge Willis is running for the 219th.  This means that others see a potential open bench.  It has been said Shawn Ismail, President of the Frisco Bar Association and private practice attorney, and a few others are eying a run at it. 

Other Courts Unknown:  There are several other names out there of people that may be interested in running for a bench.  William Underwood, Maria Tu, Jay Bender, Kyle Shaw, Linda Drain and a few others.  Plus civil lawyers who I don't know or hear rumors about might run as well.  But I am not sure (about anything really) if they have decided on which bench any of them might seek. 

Right now it is a bit of a waiting game except for a few who are "all in" with websites, etc.  I think everyone is just seeking what they perceive as the easiest way to get what they want . . . a judicial bench.  So let the political games begin!

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