2007 summer defender

8/11/2019 2007 Summer Defender

1/24

,

,

,

I

SUMM R 2007


2/24


3/24

3

6

Winning Warriors

The Fight

Goes

On

by

Patrick

F

McConn

II .....

Year-End Re

port: H

CLA

Speaker

s

Bureau

Pbl ic Relations

Committee

by Wendy

M

Miller

10 .

tr tegy: Strength In DeFense

by

oseph

W

Varela

4

Easy

Ways

To

Acco un

t For

Your

Ti

me

In Criminal Work

by

Patrick

F

McConn

6

nnual Ba nquet

THE DEFENDE


4/24

HCCl @ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2007 2008

PRESIDENT

Patrick

f McCann

PRESIDENT ElECT

Ma rk Bennett

VICE

PRESIDENT

JoAnne

Mu

sick

SECRET RY

Nicole

DeBorde

TREASURER

Steven

HHalpert

P ST

PRESIDENT

Robert J fic

kman

BO RD OF

DIRECTDRS:

Thamos

Berg

Nea

l

Davis

Christopher

Downey

Todd DuPant II

Tyler flood

Tucker Graves

Mark

Hachglaube

Randoll

Kallinen

feral Merchant

Marjorie Meyers

Earl

D Musick

Joh

nParras

Robert A

Scardino

Charles StanPield

Amonda Webb

O

Tate Williams

P ST PRESIDENTS:

1971-2006

C

Anthony friloux

Stuart Kinard

George

luquette

Morvin

D

Teogue

DckDeGuerln

W B H

use,

Jr.

David R Bires

Waody

Densen

Wll Groy

Edwo

rd A Mollett

Corolyn Gorcio

Jock

B Zimmermann

Clyde Williams

Robert Pelton

Cndelaria Elizanda

Allen c

Isbell

David Mitcham

Jm E

Lav

ine

R

ck

Brass

Mory

f. Co

nn

Kent A

SchoPPer

Don Cogdell

Jim

Skelton

George

J Pornhom

Gorlond

D MC

innis

Robert

A Moen

lloyd Oliver

Danny

Ea

sterling

Wayne Hill

Richord fronkoPP

W Troy McKinney

Cy

nthio

Henley

Stonley

G

Sc h

neider

Wendell

A

Ddom,

Jr.

HCCLA

Shawn

a

l Reagin

Shawn

a l

Reagin Christina Appelt

limb Design

7026

Old Katy

Road, Ste.

350

Houston, Texas 77024

713 529 1117

~ ~ @ I f ~ ~ EDITOR

Now

that

the name of a former North Carolina District

Attorney

has

become

a verb meaning to

be unjustly

pr

osecu ted ,

often

for

the per

sonal

aggrandizement

of the

proseclltor

, the world outsid

the legal community has been alerted to

the

dan ge rs inh erent in unbridled prosecu torial discretion

Just one

day's reading of The Houston Chronicle raises questions abollt

whether

the Harris

Count

District Attorney's office

is

due for

some

reining in of that same discretion.

On the front page

of the Jun

e 6 editio n was a

report of

a no-bill in

the

shooting death of a

unarmed

man that

occurred

on

a M

etro

bus . A pr osecu

tor

was

qu

o

ted

as saying

the

accused

originally was charged with

murder

because so m

eone

had been shot and authorities n

eede

d tim

to inv

es

tigate.

The

investigati on apparently validated

what

scene witnesses revealed at

the

tim

of th e shootin

g:

The man shot in self-defense.

Un f

or tunately,

the

shooter had to be arrested

make bail

and get

a

la

wyer while this inves tigation took place. H ere's a novel

co

ncept : Why

no

investigate first, then file charges only

if

substantiated by

the

evidence>

In

th e same day's paper, a

woman

initially

charged

with

murd er

for allegedly killing he

bedridden mothe r by

unplugging

her ventilator

entered

a plea of no

contest

to cr iminall

negligen t homicide and was

sentenced to

five years'

deferred adjudication. Although the

facts

a

reported don't seem

to

constitute any form of homicid e,

the

more int eresting aspect of

the

articl

is the reason the State disregarded

her

exp lanation

of what happ

ened : The

woman's hu

sba nd ha

left

her the

same day th e ventilator came

unplu gged,

so because

of the timing,

she

was charge

with murder.

Pretty

slim evidence for a

murd

er charge .

More recentl

y

a misdemeanor trespass to

protest

the illegal detention and mistr

eat

ment

o

immigrant children was hijacked into a felony charge

of

unlawful use of a criminal

instrument.

Th

criminaJ instrument > A bicycle chain and lock.

Prosecutors over-c harge because they

can,

and because they know that is the only wa)' they ca

saJv

age any conviction out

of

marginal cases

that

should never have led to criminal charges in th

first place.

In the

case

of the

Pasadena bus driver

who

se acquittal is rep

or t

ed in Winning Warriors

the prosecutor initially sought a murder indictment for an incid e

nt

investigated by

th

e police as

tragic traffic accident. The

pro

secutor's

reasoning,

as

reported

by

the

media ,

appeared

to be tha

any tim e a child

is

kill

ed or injured, someo ne

must

be criminally responsible. This prosec utor als

pLlblicly argued

that

manslaughter was not an appropriate charge; he

then

prosecuted

that

ver

charge and filed a mo t

ion

in limine demanding that

th e

defen

se not

mention hi

s about-face.

After the verd ict, the prosecu

tor

was quoted in

th

e Chronicle as saying

that

he knew from th

o

utset that

th e case

would

be difficult

to

win,

[b]ut to honor [th

e

complainant] we

had to tr

to make sure he was he

ld

accountable for his action

s.

On this l

og

ic , we

dr

ag people through th

criminal justice system, regardless of

whether or

not they have en gaged in criminal

conduct,

to

ho n

or the

dead. And

what

arrogance to

pr

etend

that

an individual involved in such an acciden

will not hold himself responsible a

thou

s

and

times over for the rest of hi s life.

Around th

e same tim e as the Pasadena

bu

s acc

ident

, a

woman

ran over and killed a

young

ch

ild

who

ran into an intersection in northwest H ouston.

No

prosecutor appeared on TV to

den

o unc

her

behavior

and accuse

her

of

murd

er. A few years ago, a friend's family member was

run

dow

like an armadillo by a drunk driver as she walked home along a narrow street

with

no sidewaJks

Despite

the

presence

of

an eyewitness,

the

driv

er

's license plate layin g in

the

road by

her

man gle

body, a driver

who

fl ed the sce ne and the driver still being drunk when

arrest

ed ,

the

Harris

Count

D.A.'

s office steadfast

ly

refused to even seek

an indictment

for intoxication

manslaughter, optin

instead

to

file separate

misdemeanor

DWl and state

jaiJ

felony FSGI charges ,

to

which the drive

was allowed

to

plead to

concurrent

mis

demeanor

time.

Try

expJai ning

to the

se families why thei

loved

ones

were not worthy

of

hon

or.

So

h

ow

do es

the

office

decid

e

who

gets

Nif

o

ng-ed

and

wh

o doesn't> Unlike

the

Nor th

Car

olin

case,

the

chosen

one

s in Harris

County

are more likely to be the

poor and

disenfranchised. Thes

are the people

who

ca n least afford

the

costs of bail and a lawyer, and are of course

the

easiest

to

coerce

into some

kind of plea bargain. By forcing these

bogu

sly charged cases

to

trial ,

we

can rais

local taxpayer awareness of the consequences of prosecLl torial indiscretion an d mu zz

le

our ow

budding

Nifongs.

S

hawna

L. Rea

gin, Editor

171e Editats opinion is purely personal, and in

no

way reflects the viewpoint

or

position

of

the H arris

CM

tnt

riminal Lawyers Assoc iati

on


5/24

E F E N E R

Gilbert

Villareal won a Not Guilty on a burglary of a

habitation with the intent to commit aggravated assault .

In yet another instance of a trial court refusing

to

admit

defensive character evidence, Rosa Eliades reversed the

351

st

District

Court

in

Melgar

v t t

e

_ S.W 3 d _ ,

2007

WL

852636

(Tex.App . -

Houston

[1

st

Dist.]

No

.

01-05-01049

, delivered March

22,

2007) [designated

for publication].

Cynthia

Rayfield

and Annette Henry scored an

acquittal for their client charged with indecency in the

228[h District

Court.

l o r s ~

The ury only took five minutes to hand Joe Wells

a

Not

Guilty verdict on a

DWI in CCCL

8

on

March 26, 2007.

At least part

of

the

jury

was so appalled

y

the

State's expert' s claim that parents have

no

righ

to bathe their own children

that

Jerald Crow

got

a mistrial on an aggravated sexual assault

o

a child trial

in

Montgomery County.

Katherine Scardino

and

Danny Easterling

again

prevailed in obtaining a life

pl

ea for a client facing

the

death

penalty,

thr

ee weeks before trial was

scheduled to begin . The client was accused of beating

up and strangling his 5-months-pregnant girlfriend and

having sex with her corpse the next day; he gave two

confessions.

Katherine then teamed up with Jimmy Phi11ips on a

death capital in Angleton , wh ere their stellar performance

during

guilt/innocence

earned them a

life

offer before

commencement of the

punishment

phase. Clien

convicted of killing 3 people and

wounding

a tourth on

orders of a Texas Syndicate

gang

leader.

Proving that some

hot

streaks never cool, after working

a capital in

Montgomery

County for nearly

two

years

Ms. Scardino recently negotiated a plea

to

aggravated

robbery

for five years

TDCJ

-ID.

A quick win was awarded

to James

Alston ,

who

got

6 -1/ 2

mioute Not

Guilty

on

a criminal trespass.

A no test, no accide

nt DWI

in

CCCL 10

brough

Dennis

Craigs a Not Guilty 0 0 April 12 , 2007.

That same day, Doug Murphy added

to

the string o

victories over former DWI task force officer Robinson

when he heard

Not

Guilty in

CCCL

3.

[How

many

~

THE EFEN E


6/24


7/24


8/24


9/24

MY

cannot express

enough

thanks to

Robb

Ficlunan s

out going Presjdent

for ll his

work and heJp this past year.

Robb

did an

outstanding job,

and I am grateful for

FR E

N

D

S

ail the assistance and advjce he has given me.

Looking to the future, I am fortunate to have a motivated and

talented

group of

offlcers and an energetic

board working

with me.

Together

we

will make this an exceptional year, and here

is

why:

HCCLA will continue

to

be an aggressive and strong voice for our members and

their clients.

Whether

standing

up

against abuses

of

power,

or

for an individual

member, HCCLA will speak

out

against any attempts

to

limit

our

members in their

role s

counselor

to deprive their clients of their civil liberties . No one who

is

a

member of this

organization

will

stand

alone.

Whether

that voice

of HCCLA is

spoken qujetiy

or shouted,

it will be heard.

As an organization, this year we must strive

to

expand

our

membership and

increase our diversity. I will take the lead

on

that,

but

I will urge every member to

recruit at least

one

new

member,

and

to

speak to

our

minority colleagues

who

are

not

members and encourage them

to

jojn.

We

must

also

strengthen and

renew

our reputation s the organization on the

Texas Gulf

Coast

for great legal

education

and exciting professional CLE.

Our

officers and board members are especially qualified to help guide us back to this

spot; they have run an outstanding series of CLE sessions for the past

two

years and

this year will be even better.

In

order

to

sustain

our organization s commitment

to

having

a voice for

our

members

and for the people we represent, we

must shore up

our

ability

to

pay for

the things that reach out

to

and speak for our supporters, fi'om broadcast programs

to

our

magazine , he

Defender

This

is

a long term

effort

and will

require

help

from

ll

the membership at large .

Last, we have many

new

fights to take on in the

public

arena and the courts.

From a colossal white elephant of a proposed new jail for Harris County, to the

recent efforts to limit

bond

in

our

legislature, to the new efforts by courts to permit

DWI

suspects to have blood drawn against their will, to efforts

to

deny Hispanics

the ability to qualify for community supervjsion unless they prove they are citizens,

to

the

utter lack

of

serious funding for drug

treatment

and probation programs

that might actually help solve some of the long term problems with jail and prison

overcrowding, we have

much to do.

As

your President

I will speak

out

on

these

jssues, and your voice will be heard.

LOOK

FORWARD TO

SERVING

YOU

ALL.

Yours truly,

PATRI K f. M[ ANN

THE

DEFENDE


10/24

YEAR-END PORT

HCCL S

BakBrS'BurBaU&

PUBliC Rf ATIONS COMMITTH

BY WENDY MILLER

[ R BUR [AUrovides voluntee

[

attorneys

willing to

speak - free of charge -

to

schools,

church groups,

civic

groups,

and

other organizations on

many different

topics relevant

to

criminal law

and criminal defense

(adult

and juvenile). Recent speaker event

include

presentations

to

law

students

and

clinics

at

local law schools

to the general public at the People's Law School, to elementary-

school

campers

at

Camp C.O.O.L.

(Children's

Orientation On

Law),

and

to teenagers

participating

in local Teen Court

programs

To

volunteer as a speaker in the HCCLA

Speakers'

Bureau

or

to

arrange a speaker, please send contact

information

and speaker topic

to [email protected].

Wh

t has this committee done

In the

past year

for

HCCLA

HCCLA

Speakers'

Bureau has the names of

25

HCCLA

members ( particular speaker topic expertise) willing to

speak

at

community events

when requested.

HCCLA speakers

made

over t.hree dozen presentations in

the

past

year in

the

Houston community with audiences

ranging from educating law students at the University o

Houston

Law

Center -- to teens

at

the HAY Center aging ou

of foster care -- to

high

school

students

participating in the

Teen Civic

Leadership

Academy.

DEFENDER 8
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


11/24

HCCLAspeakersColinAmannandWendyMiller[center

1

withUH Law

Center's

CriminalDefen seLawStuden tsAssociationofficersRachelWall and

Heather

Kostc

HCCLA membershavevolunteered in the pastyearto assist

high school

student

attorneys and jury members in three

differentTeenCourt programs

in

theGreaterHouston area.

HCCLA has averaged sending at least two volunteersevery

month

to

assistaTeen

Court

programsinceJune

of

2006.

HCCLA

members made presentations for four consecutive

monthsatthe

CLE

lunchesbenefitingattorneysintheHarris

CountyMunicipalJusticeBarAssociation (February

through

May

2007

.

HCCLA

members received adiscount

on

tickets

to

attenda

pre-mixerreceptionandshowingof Harper Lee's"To Kill a

Mockingbird" in April

of 2007

attheAlleyTh eatre.

HCCLA

Public Relations hosted a reception and private

exhibit viewing at FotoFest in

Houston

in May

of

2007

for the

photo

exhibit

"Guantanamo.

Pictures FromHome.

Questionsof Justice."

HCCLA

PublicRelations is consistentlyworkingto increase

HCCLA

involvement in wortll\vhile volunteer projects -

suchas thepresence

of

a"HCCLA Team"inApril

of 2007 at

the

Houston

HelpingElder

Hands

event (organized by the

Houston

YoungLawyersAssociation) . The eventcompleted

"handyman" tasksfor25homes

of

seniorcitizensandhelped

100

residentsattheU.S.Veterans Home in

Houston.

THE

EFEN ER


12/24

IT

IS EASIER

FORT

HE

DEFEN

SIVE

TH N FOR

TH

EOF

FENS

I

VE TO MA

K

ATTA KS

FROM

SEVERAL QUARTERS,

BE AUSE,

S

WEHAVE ALRE

ADY S

ID

THE

FO

RM ER

IS IN

ABETTER

SITUATION TO SURPRISE

BY THE

FOR

E

ND

FO RM OF

HIS ATTA KS.

Clausewitz, On War 1832), VI,

WE

HOOSE

OUR OWN

GR

O

N

D

FO

R

THE TR

IAL

OF

STRENGTH.

WE RE HIDDEN

ON

F

AMILI

ARGROUND; HE

IS EXPOSED

ON

GOUND

TH

T IS LESS

FAMILIAR.

WE C N LAY TRAPS ND

PR

EP RE

SURPRISES BY COUNTER-ATTACK,

WHEN HE

IS

MOST

D NGEROUSLY EXPOSED. HENCE THE

PARADOXICAL

DOCTRINE

TH T WHERE DEFENCE IS SOUND ND WElL DESIGNED THE

ADVANTAGE OF SURPRISE

IS

AGAINST

rHE ATTACK.

Corbett, Some Principles of

aritime

Strategy

1911), I, ii.


13/24

There

is

something counterintllltlve about a general

theory of conflict which holds that the defense is

inherently stronger than the attack. Corbett

3

had

to

call

this observation paradoxical because it rings a

sour note in vVestern ears . Indeed, one considering

any competitive enterprise, be it warfare, litigation

or

football, would likely hold that The best de fense is a

strong

offense. 4

While it

is true that

the attack

er

picks

the

time and

place at which he will appear, once he has committed

himself to that time and place,

he

has

used

up the

advantage

of

surprise and

is

now fully exposed . Surprise

and the ability to maneuver now shift

to

the defender,

who

may pick

the

time(s) and place(s) of his counter-

strokes.

LET S

ILLUSTRATE THESE ABSTRACTIONS BY VISITING

HISTORICAL

EXAMPLE.

Both

Germany and

Japan defended coasts against

invasion.

Over

the objections of senior generals,

Hitler

demanded

that all available resources be deployed at

the beach. At Normandy the Allies

met

immediate

resistance

but

penetrated

the vaunted Atlantic Wall in

one day.s

Japanese commanders watched and learned. At Iwo

Jima they abjured their signature strategy

of

heavy

beach defense and b nz i charges in favor of

a dug-in defense in the interior, where many

elaborate traps

and

surprises were prepared.

6

The invasion eventually succeeded due to

numerical superiority and lack of Japanese

reinforcement?

but

it

took

five weeks and

the cost was terrible .

s

Had the defenders

started the battle with

more

soldiers, or been able to ca

in reserves, the invasion

might

have failed .

The

Japanes

exploited the inherent strength

of

the defensive whe

the Germans did not.

The defense lawyer is sometimes daunted by bein

on

the defensive.

Our

cultural bias predisposes

to believe

that

the advantage lies with the prosecuto

who

selects what charge to file, what theory

of

gu

to advance, what witnesses to call, and what exhibi

to present

i

n

what order). But

the authorities quote

above tell us that the defense lawyer has an advantag

inherent

in his defensive position.

Corbett

implies

that

information favors the defens

Although discovery rights against the prosecutor are fe

tl1ey

do

exist and should be exercised. Particularly in

Texas state case, the information flow is asymmetrical

Nor

should

other

sources

of

discovery be neglecte

Informal open file discovery allows for addition

asymmetrical information gathering. Another sour

is

affidavits for search

or

arrest warrants; these shou

always be obtained

and

scoured for information.

When

the

trial starts, the prosecutor goes first. A

early as the voir dire he may commit himself to a specif

theory. The defense can listen

to

his questions an

read how he will try his case. The

prosecutor

m

compound his problem when he mal


14/24

attack.

1

Rather than becoming unnerved

defensive, the defense lawyer s

ho

uld eXJ lO:lt

strength. Consider taking Corbett s advice. Emulate th

Japanese at Iwo lima,

not

the Germans at No

rm

andy.

Defense may indeed be stronger than attack.

S e, c.g., 11 .

reciprocal discovery

in

Fcclafdiliil

39.14(b) s the exception,

experts.

HI

H urd

v.

State

, 725 S

.W.

d

2

49

To

v. State, 95 S.W.3d 488 (Tex. App.-HoUlton [1st

rcf d)(denial

of

such cross is constitutional crror).


15/24


16/24

I

E F E N E f l

PATRICK

F. MCCANN

I

I

I

Ikn

ow

,

you didn

'tbec ome a

crilllinallawyer to

track

time. In

fact it

may be that

you hate tracking yo

ur

time and

love

the

ea

sie

r

method

of

charging

in

crirninallaw; i.e.

up front anda

se tprice

on

the barrel-head.

Yet increasingly for appointments

in

the state

county

I

and even federal district courts one

is

forced to provide an

accounting in

order

to

get paid promptly

and properly.

So

in or

der

to

avoid

cheating yourself on

the

time you really

do

schedule and

commit

to your

clients

each week

here are some

I sm ple tips both low-tech and middle-tech to help you get

pa id. If you use a

day planner

religiously or a

Blackberry/Palm

type device

you

probably do not need this

advice

but if you

can use one

of these

tips to track your

time and thus your

mone

y

then

it

will be

worthwhile.

1

U,e block,

of

time in

you t

d,y pl

nno


17/24

3 U,e youe eell phone. OK, ,imo emy one ofm h

one. Almost every model also has a voice record function.

Whenever you

do

something for a client, hit the record

button

or

selection

on

the

phone, say

the client's name , the

court,

the activity, and the time spent with the date. Example:

"Smith, 333

rd

District Court, May 5

th

, suppression hearing,

three hours." You can

do

the same with texting, by the

way

Give the

phone

to your assistant

or

your kind spouse, the

neighborhood kid who does your taxes, whomever, at the end

of each week, and have them

do

the tally. Presto You have

accollnted for your time.

Repeat the

above for your own message service, voice mail,

or

secretary,

as

soon

as

you have visited a jailed client, finished a morning

of

appointments,

or

completed a plea

or

hearing

or

a day of trial.

You

will have an easy-to-use record of your time .

This

is

very handy when you are o

ut

of

town

on

trial

or

some

other

event and

cannot get

back

to

your office.

I

8 Bill

your tm l

time.

We 11 [Nget

,bou, 'hi,

Wh

you drive from Brazoria

to

the Harris

County

jail, or vice ver

you will

run

up bet\veen a half and one

hour

of travel time ea

way

Just

counting

this could add up to fifty

or

more hou

billed per year. Even at county rates, that is still a nice pie

of change, say a week-long cruise for you and your spouse

significant other. Use

one

of the

methods

discussed above

do

this,

but

do

it .

9

Use your phone bill.

\iVhen paying your bills ea

month,

and looking over your phone charges, why

not

ma

it a party where YOU

get

paid? Looking at your pho

bill

, eliminate

aU

charges

to

your house, parents, girlfrien

boyfriends, bookies, substance-abuse counselors, etc.

T

remainder will normally be client and

other

attorney calls, w

the time spent

on

them handily annotated next

to

the numb

If

you

cannot

remember

who

the

number

belongs to,

call

and figure

out if

you can bill for it. Write

down

the times a

hours and voila your

phone

bill will have just paid for

i t s l f

5 Ifyou have email, at the

end of the

day, ,hoot you ,if

or

your

assistant a

quick accounting of your

activities.

t

does not have to be long, just a quick

note

as

to

the hours

you spent on whatever you did, and you can create a folder

in

almost every system (Outlook, Web mail, etc.) to store these

emailsin.This

creates an easily accessible, easily forwarded

or

printable record.

6

Use the Oudook calendar and journal functions

in

Microsoft Office. Both of these come bundled with almost

every Office package, home,

student,

business, whatever. You

do not have

to

buy any new programs, and their use is easy and

intuitive .

The

journal function can actually serve

as

a printable

of

your time, while the calendar's function

s

essentially

that

of

an automated day planner; hence, block time entries can work

here

as

well.

7

HandheJd,jPDru/new

multi-function

cell phones

-

all

of these have calendar functions

and memo

functions.

If you have one, and have not mastered those functions, do

so, and use it

to

record the time you spend immediately after

completing the action .

At

the end of the week, hand it

to

the

person who does your tallies. If

YOLl

do

not

have a twelve-year

old

in

your office who works for bubblegum, and

that

person

who does your tally

is

you, then schedule a Friday cup of coffee

with yourself, and

do

the recording before

YOLl

head home.

1 0 ill foe the time you 'pend

doing

the ,illy thin

that

get your

case to a

resolution.

Take a sip of coffee

or

[

Scotch,

depending how

your

morning

is starting] and thi

back over how much time you spend during an average we

doing

the following : Going

to

the printers

to get documen

bound

and copied,

going to

the Clerk's office and getti

copies

of

the State's sllbpoenas, the vast criminal histories

their witnesses, talking over coffee

[or

Scotch, it

all

depend

to other attorneys about your case, chatting with investigato

fielding calls from the same concerned relatives who wou

not cough

up a dime for your client's bail, etc. Now, take

second sip, and say aloud how often you bill for that. Tha

what I

thought.

Maybe

not on

every case,

but on one

whe

you worked especially hard, why

not

quit cheating yourself a

actually

put in

for

that

time?

series

of

memos

to

the

file as

well

as

a

good

diary-like capture

If

these

tip

are

usefu

great.

If no

bill the Sta

for the tim

and good luc

THE DEFEN


18/24

Mike Ramsey

Lifetime Achievement Awa

o

E ~ E E D S E ~ P E T R T

on

HCCLA's annual banquet was held May 10, 2007, at

the

downtown Hyatt

Regency.

Over

350

tickets were

sold and many who could

not

be

accommodated

for

the seated dinner joined the cocktail crush immediately

preceding. Faces

in

the crowd were a veritable

who's

Navy

Lt

. Cmdr. Charles Swift

gives the Keynote Address

who of the legal community, s the venerated objects

turned

out to honor

the ultra-venerated Mike Ramsey

recipient

of the Lifetime

Achievement

Award and

George Mac Secrest chosen Attorney of the Year.

The banquet was outgoing President Robb Fickman's

GRACE accepts the Torch of Liberty Award


19/24


20/24

George Tyson

and

Kent Schaffer entertained the

group with various anecdotes from the life and times of

Mr. Ramsey many of which served

to

remind those of a

certain age that, while it sometimes seems as though the

good

old days are long gone the Old Guard marches on,

bringing excitement and color to a world

that

desperately

needs both .

Keynote speaker Navy Lt.

Cmdr.

Charles Swift

the military lawyer who successfully challenged the

government s

plan

to

deny fair trials for

Guantanamo

detainees shared stories of his incredible victory and its

aftermath. His remarks

weL

an inspirational coda to an

evening devoted

to

the celebration of due process and

those lawyers who spend their lives in pursuit of justice.


21/24

President Pat McCann presents

the

Unsung

Hero

Award

to

Vivian King

Member

of

the

ear

JoAnne Musick

is thanked

by

Pat &

Robb

BANNED

IN

BOSTON!

CITY

COUNCIL'S

WORST NIGHTMARE!

DENOUNCED FROM PULPITS

COAST

TO COA

Is t eep Throat

Tropic

oP Cancer

Hust

NO irS

EVEN

BmER:

REASONABLE DOUBT

WITH

TODD DUPONT

TUNE

IN

TO

THE

CABlE ACCESS CHANNEl

THAT

HOUSTON'S

GUARDIANS

OF

PUBliC

DECENC

TOTAllY

A-TWITTER TO

SEE

TODD)

HIS CO-HOSTS

HIS GUESTS SPIN CRIMIN l JUSTICE CONTROVE

BE INFORMED

AND

ENTERTAINED.

CATCH IT

WHILE

YOU CAN

THURSDAYS

AT 8:00 P.M.

CABLE ACCESS CHANNEL

17

SPONSORED BY HCCLA


22/24


23/24

BECOMING

MEMBER?

HCCl

Promotes a

productive

exchange of ideas and

encourages

better communication with prosecutors

and

the

judici ry.

Provides continuing legal education programs for improving

advocacy

skills

and

knowledge.

Promotesa

ust

application of the

court-appointed lawyer

system for

indigent

persons charged with

criminal

offenses.

Rles amicus

curiae briefs

in

support of freedom and

human rights.

APPLICATION

Applicant:

Mailingaddress:

Telephone:

Fax:

Email:

Wehsite:

FirmName:

Dateadmittedto bar :

Law

school:

Prol'cssionalorganizations

in

whichyo uarc amember

in

good sranding

m of

membership:

o Student($25annual

tee

Expectedgraduationdate: _

o Newlylicensed(firstyear)attorney($75)

o

Regularmembership($150)

Date:

Signatureof applicant:

Endorsement:

I,amemberin goodstandingofHCCLA believethisapplica

to

bea person

of

professional competency, integrity and go

moralcharacter.Theapplicant

is

activelyengaged in thedefen

of criminalcases.

Signamre

of

member:

Membername:

MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO:

HeCLA

P.O. Box924523 Houston,Texas77292-4523

713.227.2404


24/24

2007 summer defender

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