Dennis Elias’s Latest Tweet :. Injustice News Twitter Feed :.Mark Bennett | February 20, 2010
The industrial workplace can be a dangerous place. Accidents happen in work zones; people get hurt and killed. Isaac Sheridan knew this and Fernando Rodriguez knew this; they acknowledged it by strapping on hard hats and reflective vests at the beginning of every day’s work in a construction zone.
On Thursday afternoon, when Sheridan was running [...]
Mark Bennett | February 12, 2010
A Harris County felony prosecutor, in closing argument, says (PDF on Scribd):
You-all heard some evidence, which I would have loved to brought you more people, but I couldn’t. This case is, does Harris County find what he did okay? And I still don’t know what he did, because he won’t even say it.
We all say [...]
Mark Bennett | November 13, 2009
I, [name of prosecutor], the undersigned Assistant District Attroney, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was served on the attorney for the Defendant by certified mail on 11/10/09.
[signed]
When you sign a certificate of service it is supposed to be true. If you file a document with a false [...]
Mark Bennett | October 8, 2009
Here’s a picture from Harris County’s 263rd District Court yesterday. The prosecutors trying a murder (?) case had laid down a blue tape outline of the dead person’s body, chalk-outline style, early in the trial:
When I saw this, my first reaction was: awesome! (coincidentally, that was my nine-year-old’s reaction as well). The prosecutors, Brad Hart [...]
Mark Bennett | September 8, 2009
I often (well, I used to often) gripe here about the want of real-world experience (that is, experience outside the high school–college–law school track) in prosecutors. As a broad generalization, it works great.
I believe that before anyone is put into a job that includes making decisions about what punishment other people deserve for their misdeeds, [...]
Mark Bennett | July 24, 2009
Anonymous Harris County prosecutor / blogger “Arthur Seaton” at Saturday Night and Monday Morning? Wuss.
The anonymous Harris County prosecutor / blogger at Life After Esq.? Wuss.
Harris County prosecutor Jeremy Gordon, blogging under his own name at The Minority Report? Definitely not a wuss.
The first two cratered their blogs in the last week—because of blowback from [...]
Mark Bennett | July 17, 2009
A must-read, especially for people think that baby prosecutors are magically endowed with wisdom to make decisions affecting other people’s futures: the new blogger on the Harris County criminal law block, Life after Esq., is reporting from “baby prosecutors school” in Austin.
With plenty of breathless prose about partying, and palpable sexual tension between Ms. Esq. [...]
Mark Bennett | May 29, 2009
From this thread on the TDCAA forums (for which the hat tip goes to Dallas criminal defense lawyer Robert Guest. Robert is having computer problems, so he gave me the lead):
Lisa TannerMember
posted
05-29-09
Disciplinary Rules interplay?
So here is a question that’s come up among lawyers and officers from other states on a listserve I’m on.Near as [...]
Mark Bennett | February 27, 2009
I recently discovered a Motion to Hold Without Bond and an order thereon in the prosecutor’s file in a case I was handling. Discovered, despite the certificate of service claiming that the motion had been hand delivered to me 13 days before. (The parties involved will remain nameless, but only because I like them personally.)
The [...]
Mark Bennett | February 22, 2009
From the TDCAA forums, via Grits:
Hi, everyone. Some of you know me from my days prosecuting statewide for the AG’s Office. I took a new position about year ago with the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. Among other things, I am responsible for seeking compulsory discipline against any Texas attorney convicted of certain crimes; these [...]
