Dennis Elias’s Latest Tweet :. Injustice News Twitter Feed :.Mark Bennett | December 17, 2009
Nobody could possibly have predicted way back in August that Pat Lykos’s failure to seek outside counsel to prosecute Don Jackson, a misdemeanor judge before whom she had appeared (through her assistants) every court day since January, and before whom she may have to appear again every court day until one of them leaves office, [...]
Mark Bennett | December 10, 2009
In response to the Houston Police Department’s concerns that the DA’s new policy of not charging <10mg controlled substance cases as felonies, but rather as Class C misdemeanor paraphernalia cases, will result in their not being able to pad their statistics with felonies that require little work result in a rise in the sort of [...]
Mark Bennett | November 4, 2009
As I understand it, the Harris County Commissioners Court has started approving all DA Office hires by name. So if Pat Lykos wants to hire Joan Schmo to be a Misdemeanor 4, she has to get Joan’s hiring on the Commissioners Court agenda and get the court to vote on it at a monthly meeting.
Which [...]
Mark Bennett | June 4, 2009
In Harris County, Texas, between January 1, 2009 and May 31, 2009:
3,166 DWI defendants pled guilty or no contest.
1 defendant pled not guilty to the judge and was convicted.
38 people pled not guilty to juries and were convicted.
22 people pled not guilty to juries and were acquitted by jury verdict.
6 people pled not guilty to [...]
Mark Bennett | May 7, 2009
From UH Law professor David Dow:
In December 2008, Mariano Rosales obtained federal habeas relief on a Batson claim. The district court found that race had improperly influenced the prosecution’s decision to strike at least three jurors. The attorney general elected not to appeal.
Rosales was convicted in connection with a tragic shooting in 1985. Rosales’ wife [...]
Mark Bennett | March 27, 2009
From Houston’s Fox 26 News: Pat Lykos regrets using the word “incompetent.”
Mark Bennett | January 16, 2009
Momentum is building in Texas to reduce possession of less than a gram of cocaine from a state jail felony (six months to two years in state jail, day-for-day) to a class A misdemeanor (up to a year in county jail, with time off for good conduct); 16 of 22 Harris County felony court judges [...]
Mark Bennett | December 10, 2008
The fun and games at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office continues, with demotions following on the heels of firings. Quoth soon-to-be criminal defense lawyer Murray Newman:
[D.A.-elect Pat Lykos] will fire or demote anyone who dared to even look at another candidate during the D.A.’s race. She proved that
over the past few days with her [...]
Mark Bennett | December 6, 2008
Following the politically-motivated firing of several prosecutors perceived as dangerous to her regime, Harris County’s soon-to-be District Attorney Pat Lykos has taken further steps to improve morale in the Office.
The bold steps taken were, to be honest, a surprise to me. I expected the measures to include the announcement of a barbecue, or maybe a [...]
Mark Bennett | December 4, 2008
I am not subject to political hatchet jobs. (Watch the video. Then read Houston soon-to-be criminal defense lawyer Murray Newman’s (F/K/A “AHCL”) posts on the firings here and here.)
