If it comes down to the unlikely choice of Perry and Bradford. I plan to rent a moving van. If not Perry, then anyone other than Bradford.

Leitner, of course, would be my preference in the current field; the other two present me with a Morton’s fork. Siegler’s judgment – both as a prosecutor and a manager – concerns me, but she is “the devil I know.” Lykos, since leaving the bench, has been working on criminal justice issues, largely out of the public eye. I don’t know whether that experience has sufficiently changed her perspective such that she would behave differently than she did as a judge. I was one of the many people who, without the courtesy of explanation, spent far too much of my time (and, thus, far too many taxpayer dollars) sitting in her court, waiting for a moment of her time.

I’d just like to have someone who understands that he or she serves as the elected DA for all the people of Harris County – the victims, the defendants, and those fortunate enough to be neither.

I can disagree with Jim; I feel like he missed an opportunity by not filing suit to get everyone but Chuck off the ballot. I figure there’s about a 50% chance that after the primary there’ll be a whole lot more lawyers on both sides of the bar who agree with me.

I don’t think trial lawyers will follow someone who hasn’t walked the walk, which narrows the field to Jim and Kelly. I haven’t yet decided how dysfunctional I want the DA’s office to be.

I’m open to being convinced, and Kelly will get a chance to convince me on February 19th at the debate. Four more years of “win at all costs”, which I expect from Kelly, may not be the last thing Harris County needs; it may wind up being the lesser evil.

When we get right down to it, Kelly’s reputation for truthfulness is not spotless. There are some “interesting” Siegler stories out there as well; we’ll get to those in due time.

Leviathan,

Great metaphor. What’s your backup plan?

CJC attorney,

Whether they are qualified or not, time will tell, but the defense bar will welcome, with open arms, all refugees from the DA’s office. (Are you listening, Chuck?)

Since most prosecutions involve victimless crimes, and since you guys don’t represent the victims anyway, and since you guys often don’t even give a damn about the victims’ interests, I think the victims will be okay. Unless by “the victims of Harris County” you mean, “those who have suffered at the hands of Harris County”; those folks might actually benefit.

You are right about Lykos. She would be a disaster. And Perry knows nothing about being a DA or a trial lawyer. He may have been a good cop, or good a running the jail, but there is a lot more to running the DAs office. Just look at his push cards. His only concerns are how to make thing easier for police officers. This is all well and good, but there is much work to do for the DAs, and he does not have the first clue.

I know many DAs will leave the office if anyone other and Kelly Siegler or Jim Leitner win this election. The defense bar will be flooded with qualified defense attorneys, and the victims of harris county will suffer the loss of many great prosecutors who cared about seeing justice done.

The public needs a DA who doesn’t come in with baggage. Siegler and Lykos both have a lot of baggage; the only difference is that Lykos’ baggage is worn and people vaguely remember problems with it, while Siegler’s baggage aggressively delivers itself. By comparison, Perry has only a carry-on bag, but it’s plastic and has “HEB” printed on the sides. Odder still, Bradford has some baggage, but checked it with the skycap and is meandering down the concourse with a Trailways ticket in hand.

I’m pulling for Leitner to infuse some calm and reason.