John Coby Writes Blog Post With Words “Gay Nigger”

 Posted on March 18, 2010 in Uncategorized

Someone using John Coby's email address and a link to his blog tried to leave the following comment to this post:

Your article is a bit too long for a blog entry. I couldnt finish it.

I emailed Coby to ask if it was actually him leaving this moronic comment. He did not respond. Judging, however, from recent content on his blog, I suspect that this comment is reflective of his thought processes.

Coby wrote a post last Friday about Judge Larry Standley's speech to Clear Springs High School students entitled Harris County Republican Judge Larry Standley Caught DWI. The punchline:

When asked for a comment Standley replied with slurred speech, incoherent rants, a rather graphic reference to someones mother, and passed gas while falling off his high horse.

Not that funny, but okay-about what we expect from a mindless political hack from either party.

The following Tuesday he acknowledged that It Wasn't That Funny:

Our Courts need a huge dose of balance, but not at the expense of those who are concerned about making a difference instead of making a headline. A family will never understand how important our Judges are until they are in front of one that is willing to take the time to try to save their kid from a life of crime while upholding the law. From what [criminal-defense lawyer and thinking Democrat David Jones] told me, Standley is one of these judges.

Fair enough. Mindless political hack screws up, attacks compassionate criminal court judge for no other reason than that he is a Republican, realizes that said judge is in fact one of the good guys, and apologizes. Good for him.

But not good enough. Yesterday, he posted Upon Further Review, I Apologize for my Apology. Because of some "disturbing" texts he got, he decided:

So, my apology was a bit premature. Standley has been on the bench for over 10 years. It wouldn't hurt if we had some new blood in that seat. Let's thank him for his service, and move on.

In 2008, expecting either a Republican or a Democratic sweep in the courthouse, I pulled for a Democratic sweep. (Surprisingly, we didn't quite get it.) Even while pulling for a sweep, however, I noted that there were at least a couple of Republican candidates who should be judges.

The truth is that judges shouldn't be elected in partisan elections. When you let the local parties choose the judges, you tend to get lousy judges (we did dodge a few bullets in the recent primaries-Wood, Law, and Oliver, to name three). That's because most party hacks, like John Coby, don't know diddly-squat about the criminal courthouse or what makes a good judge.

Let's take Coby's "disturbing" texts from the bottom up:

He sentenced a guy to yoga for abusing his wife!

That's not really true. The prosecution and the defense agreed to put the defendant on probation; Judge Standley followed that recommendation. As long as they don't conflict with the parties' agreement, the judge can set conditions of probation. Judge Standley added a weekly yoga class as a condition of the defendant's probation. He had the defendant do more than the parties had agreed, because he thought it might help the defendant remain calm in the face of his lack of control over others. This is not a reason to remove Judge Standley from the bench, it's a reason to keep him. Even the defendant's wife-the complainant in the case-thought it was a good idea.

This guys is an idiot!

That's a self-referential text if I've ever seen one.

Either move your car or I will tow it.

I guess that's an example of Coby's self-proclaimed "wit."

His own party has asked him to step down!

If Coby were a thinking man, the fact that the Republican Party apparatus doesn't like a judge might be a factor in that judge's favor. But no:

When the Harris County Republican Party asks one of their own members to step down they must have done something pretty damn bad, or they are not donating enough money to the party.

Okay... there is a disjunctive there. But are those the only two possibilities? Really? It couldn't be that Jared Woodfill is simply an idiot who is looking for any distraction from his incompetent leadership of the Harris County Republican Party?

Where is my $50?

More "wit," John?

He sent out emails with the words "Gay Nigger"

Guess what, John: you just posted a blog post with the same words. (And, oops, so did I, but I'm not throwing stones.) What's that you say? Context is important? Okay: That email was more than three years ago, and is blown out of proportion every time it is dredged back up.

Have you googled this guy?

Well, that doesn't turn up much negative other than the "gay niggers" email. On the "good, compassionate, creative judge" side of the equation along with the yoga condition of probation, however, it reveals Judge hopes serial killer's words will scare prostitutes straight and, if you move on to page 2, this post about his plea colloquy with young defendants.

Coby got it right on Tuesday when he wrote that Judge Larry Standley is a judge who is "concerned about making a difference instead of making a headline." Judge Standley is about the only judge in the courthouse who is "willing to take the time to try to save a kid from a life of crime while upholding the law."

Unfortunately, as a mindless political hack Coby can't bring himself to say something nice about a judge from the opposing party, even when that judge is the best in the courthouse.