713-224-1747
Recent Blog Posts
Ignorance is Strength
Prosecutor AHCL contributes to a vast sea of inanity - inanity almost beyond belief; a sort of naive inanity that could only ooze from the keyboard of (dare I say it?) a prosecutor - when she writes about Why I'm Concerned About Writing. After the Cliff's Notes version of George Orwell's 1984 (which she admits never having read), AHCL writes:
Well, Big Brother is watching now, and the effects are being felt even by non-lawyers.
Excuse me? Is this something new? What rock have you been hiding under for the last six years, four months, twelve days? Ever hear of the "USA PATRIOT" Act? And are you somehow under the impression that lawyers were more susceptible to being spied on by the government than non-lawyers?
She continues:
In PeggyO'Hare's article this afternoon, she wrote the following statement: In court papers filed Monday, (Lloyd) Kelley gave a list of people he plans to call to the witness stand, including Rosenthal; prosecutor and Republican DA candidate Kelly Siegler; Siegler'shusband, Dr. Sam Siegler; Rosenthal's executive assistant Kerry Stevens; his chief investigator John Ray Harrison; his political consultant Allen Blakemore; and prosecutor Mike Trent. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this lawsuit start over an issue with the Sheriff's Office? Now, I've got absolutely nothing to do with this law suit, and God knows I'm glad for that. I don't pretend to have the inner-understanding that the parties involved do (LOOSELY TRANSLATED: "Please nobody subpoena me."), but I'm having a hard time seeing how all these folks are getting roped into a case involving the Sheriff's Office, when none of them seem to work for the HCSO. Chuck subpoenaed? Maybe. But the rest? And can somebody explain to me how in HELL SamSiegler got involved in this mess? I just don't get it. I don't understand what the criteria is before your private matters become public.
Protest too Much?
Harris County prosecutor Vic Wisner writes in public explanation of his dismissal of the grand jury's indictment against Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina:
My decision to dismiss the indictmentsWithout violating my ethical restrictions on commenting on pending investigations, I would like to explain the following to the public: Regardless of my personal belief in the merits of a case, I cannot ethically proceed forward if I believe the prosecution will not survive an instructed verdict of not guilty and be an exercise in futility. I do not, nor should any prosecutor, conduct show trials.I am addressing the following issues hypothetically: If a prosecutor believed that a suspect was likely guilty but the guilt could not be proven, the prosecutor would be foolhardy to proceed to trial. This would be especially true at a very early stage of an investigative proceeding with a decade remaining to file charges. Additionally, a suspect may engage in dishonest or immoral conduct that falls short of committing a crime. A grand jury indictment means the grand jury believes that they believe that there is probable cause, it does not mean that there is legally admissible, competent, or persuasive evidence to prove a crime in open court.I have never been involved in a situation like this before, likewise our office has never been under the scrutiny it is now. I know that similar situations occurred when Mr. Holmes was the district attorney. I also know that Mr. Ryan was the foreman of a previous grand jury which returned several indictments of public officials against the wishes of the prosecutor. They were of course also immediately dismissed. It is sad that actions that were once seen as ethical and demonstrative of prosecutorial independence are now viewed by some as dishonest and cronyism. Unfortunately that is the world I now work in.
Damning with Faint Praise
From the anonymous prosecutor blogging at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center: "The defense bar of Harris County does an equally good job. They defend their clients rights, and I've never seen a defense attorney who believed in his client's innocence give up without a fight."
Well alrighty then!
Is it Racist?
Anonymous Harris County prosecutor AHCL, in a post that illustrates the need that she remain anonymous, wrote yesterday about African-American Jurors, Batson, and the D.A.'s Office. She said,
prosecutors are very much aware of the fact that probably every African-American member of a jury panel has been treated like crap at some point during his or her life by a member of law enforcement, or perhaps even a District Attorney's office
and argued that
if a prosecutor is wary of an African-American potential juror, its going to be because that the prosecutor knows the lengthy history of wrongs committed against African-Americans by law enforcement. That prosecutor doesn't want it to affect his case.
... therefore, the argument goes, it is appropriate, and not necessarily racist, for a prosecutor to use a peremptory challenge against a black potential juror because of his race.
Mean Girls in the Blawgosphere!
I wrote recently about "Mean Girls" in the courtroom - lawyers (in my example, older female prosecutors, but Mean Girls can be any age or gender). Now we have Mean Girls in the practical blawgosphere (would it be uncharitable for me to suggest that AHCL accidentally brought the Harris County DA's Mean Girls with him when he started blogging?). Some anonymous person - apparently a Harris County ADA - has posted nasty ad hominem attacks on me in comments on two prosecutors' blogs: Ken Lammers's CrimLaw and AHCL's Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
Ken, who has three rules for his blog ("(1) civility; (2) no politics; and (3) civility") deleted the comment before I could see it (a high-class gesture), but I got a taste of it from AHCL's blog, where AHCL chided our anonymous friend gently. Then I spent a few hours self-indulgently upset and angry about it (I'm not in trial, so I had the luxury) before getting over it. I still have some thoughts about it, though, which I'd like to share to close out the chapter.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc?
We lawyers are supposed to be reasonable, logical folk. We're supposed to resist logical fallacies like post hoc ergo propter hoc. But sometimes it's just too hard.
For example:
1987 – 2007 Prosecutor Kelly Siegler spends 21 years in Harris County DA's office;
December 27, 2007 Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal is brought down by disclosure of emails;
January 2, 2008 Siegler decides to run for Harris County DA;
January 17, 2008 Siegler announces that changes need to be made in Harris County DA's office.
It's hard to resist concluding that the announcement that changes need to be made was a result of the decision to run for DA.
Here's another one:
December 27, 2007 Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal is brought down by disclosure of emails;
January 8, 2008 the emails are widely disseminated.
Another Popularity Contest
The anonymous AHCL is seeking nominations for the Hector Heathcoat Award:
The Hector Heathcoat Award is dedicated to the "Unsung Heroes" of the CJC. We are starting out with two categories – the unsung defense attorney and the unsung prosecutor. Sure, Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin and Kelly Siegler all get a lot of attention as being great attorneys, but who are the ones the we know are also great attorneys that don't get near the recognition in the media that they deserve.
The idea of an award for the unsung heroes of the Harris County Criminal "Justice" Center is a great one. In fact, the Harris County Criminal Lawyers' Association already gives an annual Unsung Heroes Award to a defense lawyer because, unlike the DA's office, the HCCLA actually cares about its members (sorry, I couldn't resist). Last year's HCCLA award went to Vivian King.
Here are my three nominations for the Hector Heathcoat Award for unsung defense lawyer:
Four out of Four Candidates Agree: Change is Needed
Per the Chronicle:
In Wednesday's downtown forum [of Republican candidates for Harris County District Attorney], sponsored by the Houston Professional Republican Women, [Kelly] Siegler said she would make the district attorney's office more transparent to defense lawyers and the public."It will not be an office with prosecutors that win at all cost," said the chief of Rosenthal's special crimes bureau.
Kelly recognizes that change is needed, and says she will change things. That's good, right? Well, yeah, but...
Siegler also said she would first solicit reform ideas from fellow prosecutors. "We know what's wrong. We know what's broken.... I am the only one who has worked there the last 21 years. I know how it it operates."
So she'll ask her fellow prosecutors for reform ideas. Great, except that these are the people who made the Office what it is, and who. That's like asking the fox for ideas on improving henhouse security.
Mean Girls in the Courtroom?
Here I mentioned "the usual older-female-prosecutor head games" that Kelly Siegler unsuccessfully employed against me in a two-kilo cocaine trial. Robert Guest commented, inquiring:
What are older female prosecutor head games? Like the jedi mind trick?
Not exactly.
"Older-female-prosecutor head games" are attempts by older female prosecutors to throw
This is usually done either with offhand remarks ("of course you know that..."), helpful advice ("if I were you, I would... ) or friendly questions ("are you sure you want to...?").
The idea is to raise the adversary's self-doubt. It's generally much more efficient (and more fun) to convince your adversary to defeat himself than it is to try to defeat him. In the courtroom, if the adversary can't be persuaded to defeat himself, trying to defeat him is not foreclosed as an option.
Contact Us if You're
Ready for a Better Future
Schedule a consultation today by filling out the form below or calling our office at 713-224-1747. We look forward to representing you.
The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
I have read and understand the Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
From our office in Houston, we represent clients throughout Harris County and across the state of Texas. We assist with criminal cases in Conroe, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Bellaire, Friendswood, Highland Village, West University Place, Cypress, Willis, Austin, Dallas, For Worth, Arlington, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Beaumont, Tyler, Plano, Spring, New Caney, Porter, Humble, Atascocita, Aldine, Cloverleaf, Pasadena, South Houston, Pearland, Fresno, Missouri City, Sugar Land, Pecan Grove, Richmond, and Katy.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
917 Franklin Street, Fourth Floor, Houston, TX 77002
713-224-1747
