2008 fall defender

8/11/2019 2008 Fall Defender

1/24

, ,

,

I

F 2008

HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL LAWYERS' ASSOCIAT


2/24

Look

at

what

Ihave done

to

see if

you'd like what

Iwill

do

Began the 178

th

Criminal

District

Court's

participation

in CTI

(Change

Through

Intervention)

program

that combines closer

court

monitoring, lower probationer to

officer ratio, and progressive sanctions to obtain behavior modification for

offenders;

Required compliance

with the Fair

Defense Management

Act (FDMA);

Expanded the

Grand

Juryselection

process as to ethnic origin and

gender;

Provided greater use

of

mental health

resources;

Improved

community

supervision

officercommunication

with Court Liaison

Officer; and

Installedacomputerfor

access by

members

of

the defense

bar

to

have equal

access

to Harris County JIMS records in the courtroom.

On

November 4 th

Vote

forJudgeRoger Bridgwater

178

th

CriminalDistrictCourt

www.judgerogerb.com

A

Judge

who

was in

the

trenches

and

who knows how you

feel

............

..

Paid

by Judge Roger Bridgwater Judicial

Campaign

7941 Katy

Fwy, #140, Houston,

TX,

77024

In

voluntary compliance with Judicial

Campaign

Fairness Act
http:///reader/full/www.judgerogerb.comhttp:///reader/full/www.judgerogerb.com


3/24

2

From the President

y

Mark Bennett

3 ............... .

Winning Warriors

5

From the Editor

y Shawna L Reagin

7

Motions for

New

Trial

y

Patrick

F McCann

10

Motion

of

the Moment

y Shawna L Reagin

12

Alternatives

to

Ja i

y Hon Roger Bridgwater

14

Modification

of Disposition

or

VOP

y

JoAnne Musick

16

he

Dudes Abide

y

Wendy Miller

1 . . . . .

Grace

Notes

y

Jeremy

Sierra

9

Welcome New Members


4/24

HCCl

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2008-2009

PRESIDENT

Mark

Bennett

PRESIDENT ELECT

J

oAnne

Musick

VICE

PRESIDENT

Ni

coleDeB o

de

SECRETARY

T

BTodd

Dupont

II

TREASURER

Steven

HHa lpert

PAST

PRESIDENT

Patrick

f

Mc

Conn

BOARD

OF DIRECTORS

Staci Bggar

David

C

nningham

Tyler fl ood

Tucker Groves

Mak

Hochgloube

Dvid

Jones

Rondoll Kalli

nen

Dav

id

Kiotto

M

arjorie

Meyes

David Mtcham

Roland

Moore III

Earl DMu sick

John Porras

Charles

StanFie

d

o TateWilliams

Sarah

v Wood

PAST PRESIDENTS

1971 2007

CAnthony fri loux

Suart Kinard

George

Luque

tte

M

rvin

D

Teague

D

ck

OeGuerin

WB

House

Jr.

Dav idR Bires

Woody

Densen

Wi ll Gray

Edward AMollett

C

rolyn

Garcia

Jock B

Zimmermann

Clyde Wll iams

Rober t Pelton

Candelario flizondo

Allen C Isbell

David M

tchorn

Jrn [ Lavine

Rick

Bross

Mary [ Conn

Kent

A

SchoPPer

Don Cogdell

Jm

Skelton

Ge

org

e

J

Pornharn

Garland D Mcinnis

Robert AMoen

lloyd Dliver

Donny Eas

terling

Wayne Hill

Richard fronkoPP

W

Tr

oy Mc

Kinney

Cnthia

Henley

S

anley

GSchneider

Wendell

A Odorn J

Robert

J

fickman

Publisher

:

HCClA

Distribution 550 copies per issue_

Ed

i

torial

Staff:

Shawna L. Reagin

For

articles and other editorial

Ads &Distribution :

JoAnne

Musick Christina Appelt

contributions,

contact

Shawna L Reagin

DeSign &ayout:

Limb

Design

www.

limbdesign.com

at 713 -224-

1641-

To place an ad, call

Illustrator: Guillermo Cubillos

Shawna L Reagin at 713-224-1641

~ ~ @ I r ~ ~

PRESI ENT

My Friends, I'm writing this in the heat of a Hou ston summer,

but

by the time

you read it the kids will be back in

school

and temperatures will have started

to

conle

down. ie might even have turned off the air conditioning for a day or two.

(We also might have been threatened

or

hit by tropical storms

or

hurricanes

or

other life- and

practice-altering

events . Ah, the joy of writing this

message

with 3

one-month lead

time.)

If you're a fan of culture or sports, Houston's

got

it - pro

semi-pro, and

amateur. Sure, the

region

is

a little bit

short on

natural

splendor,

and

yes, ifyoll like mountains YOll ve got a long haul. And the

weather

well , there may

be places in the United

States

better

suited

to human habitation

than HOllston

.

Not

to mention that, from the point

of

view of lawyers who stand up for people, Texas's partisan system of

electing judges is a scabrous blight on Justice.

Notwithstanding

all of that,

Houston

is the Promised Land for criminal defense trial lawyers: the

fourth biggest city in the U.S. (with lots of business), with the lowest cost of living

of

any of

America's 20 largest metropolitan areas, and an aggressive and competent (and I don't care what Kelly

Siegler now says about that) prosecutor's office

that

sharpens us as steel sharpens steel.

Nobody wants this

work

to be easy (where'S the fun in that), but in Texas we

benefit ti

-

om

laws that favor the accused

(and

sometimes

the defense

bar) in ways that other states' laws wouldn't.

For example:

Except in very narrow circumst ,lnces , all defendants are entitled to reasonable bail (and their

lawyers can, even in those constitutionally defined circumstances, make it difficult

to

deny bail).

Defendants can have jury trials for anything. The U.S.

Constitution

doesn't require jur), trials for

petty offenses ,

but

the Tex ,ls Constitution

requires

them in all criminal cases. The benefit

to

the criminal defense bar should be as obvious as the benefit to the

accused.

Defendants

can't

be prosecuted for felonies except on the pres

entation

of a grand jury indictment.

As a result, we get an opportunity

to

head

off

fllrther litigation if we think we can persuade the grand

jury that prosecution is inappropriate.

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.23, the statutOry exclusionary rule , gives juries authority

to

determine

suppression fact jssues.

Texas Code

of

Criminal Procedure Article 38.22 presents statutory obstacles to the admission of

sta

tements

made by an accused in response

to

custodial

interrogation.

Punishment

ranges

as

wide

as probation-to-life

and jury

punishment

allow us

to

bring our advocacy

skills more to bear to try to achieve some measure of justice instead of relying upon bureaucrats to

s

entence

by

the numbers.

An accused has a right to a lawyer no

matter

the offense; an indigent accused has the right to appointed

counsel, no matter the offense.

Texas

Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.14 provides that nobody can be convicted on the

uncorroborated word

of

an accomplice, and Texas

Code of

Criminal Procedure Article

38.141 p r o \ ~ d e s

that

nobody

can be convicted

on tJle

uncorroborated word

of

a police informant.

It

occurs

to

me

that

I've just given

the pro-government

reactionaries a wishlist for

the

next legislative

session.

The point,

though, is that

all of

these factors -

as

well, probably, as

some that

I

haven't

though

of -

contribute to make

Texas an

intere

s

ting,

profitable, and lively place

to

be a criminal defense trial lawye

r

A friend

of

mine

who

practices in

Manhattan

claims

that

New

York criminal defense lawyers

who try

lots

of

cases try

one

every

three

years or so. I

don't know how

many trials

is

a

lot

for Houston criminal defense

lawyers, but I know that the halfdozen or

so

that I have been trying annually is not "a lot.

We live among a populace that has been

conditioned to

be terrified

that

our efforts

to

secure their

freedom might keep the trains from running on time.

They

fear

that

if we are free

t

ply our trade, and

ifour

clients receive

due

course oflaw, society will be more chaotic and le ss safe . They are entirely correct: jf we do

Ollr jobs properly, society will be less

ordered. Freedom

is neither tidy nor safe.

What

we do

is

mueh larger than merely trying to keep people out of jail. We have one of the few jobs

that

the founders

of

our

country

- whose primary concern was preventing the resurgence

of

tyranny -

though

important enough to memorialize

in

the C"(mstitution. \Ve have a sacred duty not only to our clients

but

also to

the liberties that made America free.

HCCLA

stands with you, its members, on tJle front line

of

the struggle to

make a decent living,

to

defend your clients, and to preserve liberty for

our

children and tJleir children.

Your

board

of

directors meet

s

on the second Thursday

of every

month

at 11

:30 a.m.

on

the

7th floor

o

the Criminal Justice Center. This is your organization, and you are alwa)'s welcome at its

board

meetings.

Mark Bennett
http:///reader/full/www.limbdesign.comhttp:///reader/full/www.limbdesign.comhttp:///reader/full/www.limbdesign.comhttp:///reader/full/www.limbdesign.com


5/24

THEDEFENDER] F LL 08

+

DANNY EASTERLING

beat the State on 3

out of

4 theft indictment

after a grueling 1O-day trial in the

337th

District

Court,

wher

his

client was charged with

computer

repair fraud over a 2-yea

period.

One

case was dismissed and the jury acquitted

on

tw

others,

but

convicted

on

the remaining 1st degree theft.

Th

prosecution urged the jury to start at 25 years in considerin

punishment, but DANNY

persuaded them

to

return much less

his

client should be free in a little more than a year.

+

BRIAN WICE

convinced the First Court

of

Appeals

to

set aside

70-year sentence from the

262nd District Court and remand fo

a new punishment hearing in air v

State

2008 WL 261187

(Tex.App.

Houston

[1st Dist.] No.

01-07

-00414-CR

delivered July 3,

2008),

PDR

filed

8/15/08.

Justice Terr

Jennings once again chastised the majority

in

a 27 -page dissen

to its decision to reject an insufficient links argument. BRIA

plans to appeal that issue and the failure to find harm in th

prosecutor s fmal argument that was a direct comment on th

accused s failure to testif)l.

+

This same prosecutor s improper

argument

caused a CC

reversal the day before in

York

v

State

2008

WL

267736

(Tex.Crim.App. 2008) [unpublished],

on

a brief authored

b

TROY MCKINNEY.

Maybe some

of

tllis recidivist misbehavio

would be curtailed if the courts would publish the reversa

and name the offending prosecutors -

Thomas

Pheiffer,

wese cases.

+

The

jury

took

only an

hour to

find

ALEXANDER

GUREVICH

17-year-old client

Not

Guilty

of

aggravated sexual assault

of

child

in

the

176th

District

Court. The

4-year-old complaina

claimed anal penetration

in

a delayed outcry. Dr. Carme

Petzold testified for the defense

and

greatly helped to neutraliz

me

testimony

of

the State s experts .

+

In a one-week personal record,

ROLAND

MOORE had three case

dismissed in tllree difkrent courts on Monday - a murder an

two robberies, a felony

MRP

dismissed

on

Wednesday and the

tllree felony dope cases dismissed against one c\jent on Friday.

THE

EFEN


6/24

+

LEE

GUERRERO of GUERRERO BIGG R LLP worked diligently with

the prosecution for several

months

before finally obtaining a

dismissal of the criminaJly negligent homicide charges against

her client,

who

was involved in a car crash with a H arris

County

Sheriff's deputy found to be driving while intoxicated at the

time of his death.

+

Once she educated the prosecution about a particular DPS

trooper's career-long habit of stopping African-Americans with

out-of-state plates - in this case, for following too closely

on U.S. 59 - K THERINE SHIPM N got her habitualized client

charged with 3rd degree possession of cocaine and possession

of

marijuana a mere 120 days in jail under Sec. 12.44(a) , Tex.

Penal Code .

+

The amazing MUSICK L W FIRM just keeps

on doing

it:

E RL

MUSICK

and

KYlE

V NCE won a trial day dismissal

on

an

assault case in CCCL#7 after announcing ready; E RL annihilated

the technical supervisor

in

Guadalupe County, resulting

in

a

non-DWI offer; and JO NNE MUSICK secured separate dismiss

als

in a

drug

case and an assault , after announcing ready for tri al

+

M ND DOWNING persevered until she gained a dismissal

on

an

assault case

in CCCL

#3 .

+

JIM LEITNER

and

CLINT

GREENWOOD

battled

to

an acquittal

for a Precinct 4 captain accused o f felony tampering with

evidence.

Multi-talented

JIM also reversed an aggravated

kidnapping conviction

out

of the

179th

District Co

urt in

udnall

v State

2008 WL 2985435 (Tex.App. - Houston

[1st

Dist.] No.,

01-07-00858-CR

, delivered July 31,

2008)

[unpu blished]. Reversible error

occurred

when th e State

was permitted to call before th e jury a

previou

sly c

onvicted

co-defendant

who everyone knew

was going to invoke

the 5th , then question him in a manner that inculpated

the defendant. This

error was compounded by

the

trial

court ' s failure to instruct

the

jury that it could not infer the

defendant's guilt from

the

witness 's

invocation

of his right

not to testif)l.

This

is an important issue th at r aises a

question

over the

Court's

decision not to publish the opinion .

+

Another grateful client

can

thank TOM STICKLER for being

found Not Guilty of burglary of a building, enhanced , in

the

212th

District Court

of

Galveston County.

+

Thirteen minutes was a ll

it

took for th e jury to acquit

STEVE

HALPERT'S client

of an alleged family violence

assault

in CCCL

#1.

The judge was reportedly convinced of the

verdict after STEVE'S cross-examination of the complainant,

but

the prosecution rolled the dice, anyway.

+

CASIE GOTRO and HE THER MORROW to o k

another troph

y in

Wa

shington

County

by

garnering

a

Not Guilty ofaggravat

ed

assault with a deadly

weapon

for their

habitualized

client

after onl y 45

minutes

of

jury deliberation

.

The State then

threatened

to

prosecute him

for felon in

pos

s

ession of

a

firearm,

except

it

had

failed

to reco

ver

the

a lleged

firearm,

so

had

to dismiss tha

t case as wei I

+

And last,

but

by no means least:

VIVIAN

KING

fought

a

3-week, 3-codefendant

federal trial in

Austin

to

6

counts of Not Guilt

y involving conspiracy to violate

the Medicare anti-kickb

ack

statutes

and

other

substantive

counts of

fraud.

VIVIAN'S accounting degree and 9 years

as a banker before becoming a

lawyer

allowed her to

chew

up the many go v

ernment

witnesses who testifi ed

about

her client's bank records . This victory was even

sweeter due to the many underh anded tactics [such

as

declaring one of VIVIAN'S

witnesses

an

un

indicted

co

conspirator, prompting

her to plead the 5th and making

her

suddenly

unavailable] and Brady v

iolations

engaged in

by

the

AUSA - justice , in

th

e guise of VIVIAN KING

on

thi s

oc casion, prevailed

CONGR TUL TIONS

TO LL

THESE WINNING WARRIORS

future

warrIors

MBER and M TTHEW SKillERN

produced

an absolutely

gorgeous baby girl

on

July

17,2008,

when GWENDOLYN

M RIE

weighed in

at

6 lbs.,

10

oz., measuring 20 .5 inches long .

Welcome

t

the world!

DEFENDER 4


7/24

T R

Fro

E

y Shawna L Reagin

According

to

the offIcial website

of

the State Commission

on Judicial Conduct [SCJc] the mission of the

SCJC is

to

protect the public promote public confidence in

the

integrity

independence, competence and impartiality

of the judiciary and encourage judges

to

maintain

high standards

of conduct

both

on and off the

bench.

The Commission allegedly

accomplishes

this mission

through investigations

of judicial

misconduct

or incapacity

and in cases

where

a

judge

is

found

to

have

engaged

in

misconduct or to be permanently incapacitated, the Texas

Constitution authorizes the SCJC

t

take appropriate

disciplinary action, including issuing sanctions, censures,

suspensions or

recommendations

for

removal

from office.

Lofty goals to be sure. Would that these words had

the

slightest meaning when it

omes t

judicial abuses

of

the

criminally accused. In the past few years

HCCLA

has filed

complaints against two judges for illegally jailing

defendants

who either have not hired a lawyer t suit the judge'S

timeline,

or have committed the

mortal

sin of being unable

to hire a lawyer after making bond . One of tbe judges,

Woody Densen, in addition to

jailing

an

African-American

woman who had not been able

t

hire a new lawyer over

the weekend as commanded by

Judge

Campbell, also

publicly berated an injured

young

war veteran for being

indigent and then later the same week took a plea fro

an unrepresented, mentally fragile man.

The other

judg

whose identity remains undisclosed due to an

agreeme

with the then-president of

th i

s organization quick

proved

herself

to be a recidivist

of f

ender once the origin

complaint was summarily dismissed notwithsta

nding

h

tearful promises

.

What we have learned through the tIling of the

complaints

is

that

the

extent

of

an

SCJC

investigation

appears to

e

perhaps obtaining some

sort of

denial fro

the

accused

judge,

then dismissing

the

complaint witho

comment. Interestingly, although the judge is provide

copies

of all documents in the complaint against him

her the complainant is never allowed to see any part

the response. This

is

akin to

sending

the prosecution

o

of the

courtroom while

the

defense presents its case the

expecting it to come in and effectively argue for a convictio

Although this might still result in numerous Harris Coun

convictions,

the fact remains that this procedure is gross

unfair t

th

e citizens who have suffered at

the

hands

judges who

don't know the

law refuse t follow the law an

distort the law to accomplish

their

own unconstitution

ends.

Citizens

should have tbe right

t rebut

claims

affidavits that are

demonstr

ably false.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

itizens SHOULD

HAVE

THE RIGHT TO REBUT CLAIMS

THE EFEN


8/24

How DOES

THIS

PROMOTE

PUBLIC

CONFIDENCE IN THE JUDICIARY

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / /

Il three claims against Densen were dismissed without

a single affiant or witness

being

contacted by the SCJe.

Even when the decision was

appealed,

an essentially

meaningless process in itself, no

one

on the Commission

bothered to

make a

phone

call in

attempt

to

verify the events.

This happened despite the fact

that

Judge Densen has a

history

with the

SCJC,

having

once been sanctioned

for

soliciting political contributions on the courthouse

grounds

.

Rest assured, however,

that

the SCJC does

not sit

completely

idle. Indeed, it would be less dangerous ifit did

not instead strike at random, issuing sanctions that seem

to be totally

disproportionate

to the alleged

misconduct

.

Our own

infamous

example s tbe

actual

impe hm nt

of

Judge Jim Barr for making a few off-color remarks to female

prosecutors

and incorrectly

issuing a writ of attachment for

a sheriff s deputy.

In

re Barr 13 S.W.3d

525

(Tex.Rev.Trib.

1998). The lesson inherent in the Barr case seems to be that if

judges wish

to

misbehave, they

should do

so with defendants

and criminal defense lawyers, not prosecutors and police.

In re Barr

is

instructive also in

that

it

decided the

three circumstances under which

legal error by a

judge

may

constitute grounds for a finding

of

judicial

misconduct:

(l) commission of egregious legal error;

(2)

commission

of a

continuing pattern

of legal

error; or

(

3) commission

of

legal

error

which

is

founded on bad faith. Id.

at

544.

The examples

cited

in

the

opinion

fall far

short of

illegally

jailing a

regular citizen

or

taking

a plea without a lawyer

present. Indeed, Judge Barr was faulted by the

tribunal

for admitting that

prior

to taking

the

step of depriving

a

citizen

of his individual

freedom,

he had not researched

the law regarding writs

of

attachment or witness bonds.

Id.

at 546. Although we

do

not know

what defense

Densen

may have raised, if any, Barr clearly

precludes

a sustainable

claim

that

he acted as he did

out

of ignorance.

More

recently, we have

seen

the

SCJC

publicly

avenge

the granting

of

Chris tmas leniency in eviction cases

and

the

off-hours,

out-of-court,

consensual derriere-patting by a

male judge on a female lawyer who was not herself in any

way offended and who did not file the complaint.

There

was also a public spanking for a civil court judge

who made

some awkward comments concerning slavery

to

an African

American lav.ryer

appearing

before

him. This

is

amazing

when you consider the rudeness and condescension to

which criminal

defense

lawyers

and the

criminally accused

are

subjected

in some courts on a daily basis. The message

is, it

is

okay to jail an African-American woman

with

all

the due process accorded a slave, but for God's sake, don't

mention

slavery to an Mrican-American male lawyer in a

money case. How does this

promote public

confidence in

the judiciary?

The

Commission does occasionally find it within itself

to

step

in

once

a

judge

has actually

been indicted

for

or

convicted of

a

crime

. Given its usual performance, though,

one has

to

wonder how many complaints were probably

swept

under the rug

for

years until the

misconduct

rose

to the level

of

a

criminal

offense. HCCLA has a pending

complaint against former

Montgomery County District

Court Judge

James

Kee shan,

sitting

by assignment, who

illegally,

and deliberately so,

jailed one of

our

members.

A grand jury has already declined to indict this learned

jurist

for offlcial oppression, but the fate

of

the

grievance

has yet to be revealed.

Key

to the SCJC's

willingness

to

act against

a

judge

is the

amount of

publicity

attendant to the fding

of

the

complaint. Therefore, there

is

nothing

to be gained by

entering into

future secrecy

agreements

with

the targets of

valid

complaints.

Our desire to always give the benefit of

the dou

bt

sometimes leads us

to

a

dangerous

nalvete.

We are not advocating

draconi

an

attacks

on the

judiciary for every perceived

slight

or

good

faith mistake.

Rather, we seek reliable

consistency

and transparency in

the dealings of the Commission. One hopes that judges

would

also welcome

such

a change. t must be

exceedingly

uncomfortable

to constantly wonder

what peccadillo

may

lead to public sanction or even impeachment, while knowing

that one's

colleague

can safely

act

like a raging

maniac.

Are

the decisions purely political? Does the SCJC exi st merely

to

protect the visitation rights

of

former judges?

Why

hide

the response

to a complaint unless it fails to exonerate

the

accused

judge or

contains easily disprovable claims?

It

is

time

for

the

sCJe to put

some

legs

on

its mission

statement and start

protecting

the

citizens of

this state

from serious abuses of judicial power. The

Code ofJudicial

Conduct is not particularly

onerous

in its behavioral

requirements.

f

the SCJC

cannot

manage

to

enforce it,

perhaps

we need a sunset review

and

a new beginning.

Correction: Due to

an

editing

error photo credit

to Cynthia Henley

for

the

social pictures from

the

HCCLA

banquet was inadvertently omitted.

The Editor s opinion is purely perso nal, and in n o way reflects the viewpoJnr

o r position ofrhe Harris County C riminal Lawyers Association .

EFEN ER

:< 6


9/24

THEDEFENDER] F LL

08

otions

FOR NEW

TRIAL

The author is

a past President of the Harris

County

Crimina l Lawyers Association,

an adjunct professor at Texas

Sout

hern

University, and practices loca lly

here

in

Houston

and

Fort

Bend county,

CH NCE

AT SENTENCING

By

Patrick

F.

McCan

1\(I.' l'1l1 L'h.lIlg;(s 10 Tn.1S 1\1Ik

of

App(l\.ltl'

I 'nKl 'dur(

21,

L\'(I'\'llll(

of

LIS h.1s SOl11(

horror

slol'\'

of

hoI\'

.1

(Ii(

"Ili(h

cmlTS

:-"\oliolls

tilr

Tri.11, h.1\,( lll.1dL' il possihle

tilr

rl'(L'i\ 'nl, till' .1 r d ~ l i \

y

millor d1.1t'!!.(, ,\ ,11.11 s(nllL'lf

Ihl'

tri.11

(Ollrt

III g.r.lIll rdirt ' Oil S(IlI(lleill!!. iSSlI(S 0111\-. This is

disI1t'oportiOIl.11l: 1(1'111

of

illlprisoll1l1l'llt, \ k Il(l'd 10 h(!!.ill

1 Si .l1itil'.1I11 (il.lIlg.(, .1l1d lll1(

"hid1

111.1\ ' lWlldil \'our dil'1l1.

look .11

tuk

21 1I'.1Y 10 tilrcL'

rC

-C\.lI11ill.lIillll lIt' th.

1 .1111 !!.oill!!. 10 SlIg.g,l'sl I h ~ I

our

h.1r h( .ill 10 look.lI Ihis eh.1I1!!.( "h( thct ' ti'Ol11 .1 PSI, .1 jut'1' SClltCIlCl', or C\ 'L'Il, ill SOI11l' 1.'.lS

.ls.1 "'.1\' 10 rl' L\.lllliIlC or (orrcLI .111 ulljust SL'lltl'IlL'l',

"hn l '

I

hL'

illl'Cstig..1I iOIl dOIl( ,, '.lS slHldl.h', Oil 1 p lu ,

THE DEFEND


10/24

\\

'c

ll

, fir'>t,

\\hcthl'l' onc i'> ,Ippointcd

()n ,If)peli,

or

c()ntinulng t() rcprocnt ,I (Iicnt ,Iftcr

tri,11

()r

'>c lltcn(ing

, onc

nccds to

I : \ \TSTI l ; ,

\TF,

,

\sk

I'm

,Ind file

,I

Ill()ti()n

illllllcdi,ltch

' ,

Iftcr '>cntcn(ing ti))

'

,111 il1\ o

tig,ltor

if it

,Ippell

's th,lt thc ,>clltcn(e nccds ,I

'>cc()nd I()ok,

If

\'()u

d()n

' t

gct ()nc

,

ohjcct

,

then

find

,11.1\\ studcnt or

cnlist

,I \\illing

Llinih

' Illcillher ()f

thc

(Iicnt

\\ho ( ,In gct ,I((OS to f.lInih- IllcdicII, s(hool ,

,Ind ()thl'l'

rc(ords th,lt

n1.I\ '

help

\'

OU

, Ohtain ;1

(Op\'

()f thL' PSI

if

one \\ ',

IS donc

frol11 the

pri()r

,ltt())'nL'\ ',

f()rlll \'

()ur dicnt

,

())' pctition

thc

Coun

t()

h;1\

'c it

nl.ldc

,1\

,Ii

1 1

hie

if

it

\\';IS

n()t

fikd

in

thc post

tri,Ii tile

())' thL' nl.lin file

,It the District

( '

krk

s

()ffi(e,

Thcsc

.

lrL

' .Ii\\,I\ >

,I g()od '>Llning p()int.

You)' Lliclll, likc

111,111\

'

of

thc

souls

\\110 \\,lIldl'l' hcti)'c

thc

hcnL'

II

, in

1ll.1I1\

'

L',ISO

\\ill h ,

1\

'c

,I

di,lgn()s,lhk

IllClll ,

11

illnc,>,>,

1 In

,I

rCL'

cnt (,ISC

\\C \\ 'erc ,Ihk t() ohtain

tcsting

Ii))' rCLlI'd,lli()n, \\hi(h, ,lltllOugh Ul1suL'(ess ful , did in LI((

c,>uhlish

,I

\cJ'\

' I()\\

10

t()r

,I

(liL'lll tl1,ll

\\,l > put hcli)rc thc

c()urt

I

I

',- l

inl.llcs LlIlgC hct\\ 'cc n

ten

,Ind t\\cnt\' pcr(cnt

()f thc

fi)II ,,> \\h() (()I11C

hcti)'c thc (J'illlin,11

justice

sYstelll

11

,1\c

,>()nlC dis()rder

, ,Ind

I i.lITi,>

( '()lInt\ ' 1,lil

st.ltisti(s hel),

tlli'>

Ilut, ()nL'

(,111

()ht.lin j,liI rL'(()rd,>, in(luding l11L'lli

L'.I

I

rccorel'> ,

\\ith rL

' k ,

I'>CS

fr()1ll \'

our (Iicnt,

()r \'

i,1

SUhp()L'll.l

if \(HI ,lrL'

gctting ,) hClring,

T,llk t() \'()ur

client ,1I1d

,I,k

thcln If tlIC\' h,l\'c

hccn

LIking ,U1\' IllcdiL'.lti()ns ()r

hccn

Ilmpiulilcd, Y()U II I

,1\

' \\ 'cll hc suq))'isL'li

that

\'()ur c1icnt

tcl \ Ol l

thn'

.I

rl' t,lking I ,ithiulll

,1Ild

this

nc\'L'I'

;If)pc,lrs

,ul\\\IILTl'

on

thc rcc()rd n()r d()cs thc

prn

'i()us ,ltt()rtll'\' kn()\\

tll,ll thi,

\\,l'>

thl'

C,l'>C

hCC.lll'>C n() (1IlL' nL'l'

I11Cllti()llL'li

it. ThL'

LlInil\

,>h()

uld ,Ib() hc (()n'>ltitL'li, ,1Ild th n \\ill ()licn P)'()\C

1

I Icll

'>Ollr(L' of in fi, rtn.ltiOII ,lh()lIt orl,'..lnl( hr.lin

injlln ',

P,lst

,lhl N', drul,'. prohlellls ,

or

1e,ll Ilinl,'. dis,lhilit ic' s,

()nc

,llso 1lL'L'lt...

til h,IH'

,I

Ill()ti()n

()Il file t() ohuin ,1Il opcn

if this sh()uld

pr(

)H'

nc(css;u'\'.

DEFENDER :( 8

One can also try

to

disprove the errors in the PSI, if they are

present , Sometimes criminal history

is

misstated or overstated,

so providing affidavits as

to

the accuracy

of

the history and

obtaining some out

of

county

or

out

of

state records may

be needed, Mfidavits from family

members

are key

to

both

the medical/psychological portion of this MNT presentation

AND

to

the factual issues the trial court considered,

If one

has new facts

to

present,

then

the trial

court

will hopefully be

willing

to

listen, Again, here the services

of

an investigator

who

can locate and obtain records and affidavits is invaluable,

As the attorney,

one is

tr ying

to change

the factual face

of the client before the court , Even if one

does

not obtain a

complete re-sentencing, remember that, if eligible,

one

may

help the client's case for SHOCK PROBATION

or

for bail if a

persuasive story can be told , The facts you present in

court

may also be persuasive to other claims brought in, such as

a failure

to

investigate claim

on punishment,

or perhaps a

competency claim ,

There

are also times when the

court

may

with to exercise mercy, such

as

on multiple enhancements on

cases

of

prostitution or petty theft, where the complete story

of

the client, their difficult family situation, drug addiction,

or mental illness

\-vas

never truly brought

out, What

you are

preparing is essentially a supplemental or amended sentencing

memorandum

for

presentation to

the trial

court,

asking for

sllch relief as

you

think appropriate,

A word of caution here;

as

the Hippocratic Oath says,

FIRST, DO NO

HARM,

If

the client received a light sentence or

a SWEET DEAL please do

not

think

of

this as an advocation

for

reopening that door

,

Nor

am I

suggesting that

a

judge is

always going

to

change his or

her

mind, nor reverse a jury

decision ,

What

I am

suggesting

is that the

new

changes provide

a second chance for those clients

who

need it, It

is

a tall order

to

get on a case, get an investigator, obtain releases for records,

get

the records via requests, Open Record, or subpoenas, and

do

the family interviews and client interviews necessary

to

obtain affidavits in the

short

time one has

to

file a Motion

for New TriaL I am suggesting that if one makes an initial

review and concludes the sentence may have been too harsh

or inappropriate, then having a plan to

treat

the punishment

portion

of

the MNT as a way

to

educate the court and provide a

reason

to

give a more just sentence may benefit one's client. Eke

much

of our

efforts, and like chicken soup, it

couldn't hurt

,


11/24

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12/24

ot on

OF

THE

Moment

By

Shawna L

Rea

gin

CAUSE NO. _

STATEOFTEX

AS

IN THE

DISTRICT

COURT

VS

HARRIS COUNTY

TEXAS

EMMABOV

ARY

178

TH

JUDICIAL DISTRICT

MOTION IN LIMINE

Prohibit

Prosecutor

From

Advising

Venire The State Has

Equal

Right

To

A

FairTrial

TO

THE

HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:

COMES NOW EMMA OV

AR

Y Defendant in the above-styled and numbered cause, and files this

Motion

to Prohibit the

Prosecutor from Advising Venire the

State

has an

Equal Right

to a Fair Trial , and in

support thereof

she would show the

following:

I

Harris County prosecutors frequently advise felony venires that they want to be sure that the State gets a

fair

trial,

just

like the

Defendant deserves. However, the State

is

not entitled to due process

of

law; the rights created by the Fourteenth

Amendment

are, by

its very terms, guaranteed to the individual. The rights established are personal rights. COLLIER V. POE 732 S.W.2d 332, 342 (Tex.Crim.

App. 1987),

citing SHELLEY

V.

KRAEMER

334 U.S. 1, 68 S.Ct. 836, 846,92 L.Ed. 1161 (1948). Likewise, the word person in the context

of

the due process clause of the 5

th

Amendment cannot, by any reasonable mode

of

interpretation, be expanded to encompass the States of the

Union. COLLIER ante, citing SOUTH CAROLINA V. KATZENBACH 383 U.S. 30 I, 86 S.Ct. 803 , 816,

15

L.Ed.2d 769 (1966). Neither the State nor any

agency of the State is entitled to due process oflaw. COLLIER at 342 [cites omitted . Due process and due course

of

law are guarantees to citizens

and not governments or their agents. Id.

II.

Defendant submits that the right to a fair trial stems from both the 5

th

and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and their counterparts

in Art.

I

Sees. 13 and 19 of the Texas Constitution, and thus

is

not a right that inures to the State of Texas or its agencies. She requests therefore

that the prosecutors acting on behalf of the State of Texas be prohibited from advising the venire that the jurors who serve in this trial will be

required to give the State the same right

to

a fair trial as they accord Defendant.

WHEREFORE

PREMISES

CONSIDERED

Defendant prays this Motion be GRANTED

and that

the Court issue its order accordingly.

Respectfully submitted,

Shawna L. Reagin TBN 16634900

1305 Prairie , Suite 300 1Houston , Texas 770021713.224.1641

Atto rney For De fend ant

DEFENDER * lD


13/24

CERTIFICATE OF SER VICE

I hereby certif)' that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Motion was hand-delivered to an Ass istant District Attorn

e

assigned to this case

on

this the 19

th

day ofAugust, 2008.

Shawna

L

Reagin

STATE OF TEXAS

IN

THE

DI ST

RICT C

OURT

VS

HARRI

SCOU

NT

YTEXAS

EMMA

BOVARY

78

TH

JUDICIAL

DISTRICT

ORDER

On

this the

day of ,

2008

came on to be heard Defendant's Motion in Limine to Prohibit th

Prosecutor from Advising the State Has an Equal Right to a "Fair Trial," and having duly considered same, this Court is of th

opinion

sa

id

Motion

should be:

Granted

I

Denied

Signed and entered this day of , 2008.

Judge Presiding

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14/24

y

Hon.

Roger Bridgwater

THEDEFENDER]

F LL

8

LTERN TIVES

One Judge s Perspective

The

Honorable

Roger Bridgwater

is Judge

of

the 178

th

District

Court

.

Along

with this Borgman

cartoon,

appearIng the (HCCSCD). This perhaps

is

one more indication reflecting the

November 10,2007 Chronicle were three letters

to

the editor change in philosophy towards

more

of a corrections mindset

about the defeat

of

the county jail bond issue. One wrote, and away from that

of

social worker .

Confusion

abounds.

The

defeat

of

the jail

bond

baffles Harris

Rehabilitation has always been a consideration in

County

officials

who

have begun blaming each

other

for its

determination

of

sentencing

imposed by the District

Court

failure. Political analysts cite late campaign efforts. Not one of Judges trying criminal cases and a lack of jail space may

the post-election articles

quotes

a voter. The writer

then

opined encourage a closer look at other options.

that

with

. . . escalating imprisonment rates, it

is no wonder

Sentencing

alternatives

to

incarceration have been

that the voters have spoken. Will the deciders understand developed in a number of areas to address violations of

that ill-timed direct mail is

not

their biggest problem? probationers swiftly and appropriately using a system

of

Another said, Instead

of expending

taxpayer dollars graduated sanctions and incentives.

Among

the first such

for family counseling, education, job

treatment

and drug alternatives was the creation of the STAR (Success Through

treatment, taxpayers spend tens of

thousands

of dollars per Addiction Recovery) program, also known as Drug Court .

year

to

house an

inmate. The

goal

there is to

assist non-violent offenders in overcoming

While I don't

support

the accuracy

of

the

drawing

or

of

serious drug

addictions. The Judges serving

in

the

Drug

all the comments, I am concerned

that

this may accurately Courts do so on a

volunteer

basis

and

in addition

t

their

reflect many of the public'S perspective as well, if not at least a regular criminal

court

docket.

Defendants

from any of the

modicum

of the problem . 22 Criminal District

Courts

can be

referred

t

the Drug

Certainly

locking

them up S

not

the only answer Court

and, those

fitting the criteria are provided intensive

and the District Court Judges trying criminal cases realize substance abuse treatment with the aid

of

innovative court

that.

The probation department is now

known as the Harris supervision and

community support

services .

The

success rate

County

Community

Supervision and Corrections

Department

has been impressive .

DEFENDER

12


15/24

LOCKING

THEM

UP

IS

NOT

THE ONL I

ANSWER

JAIL

THERAP't

PLACEMENT

IN

AN

IN-PATIENT

NEED-BASED FACILlT'I,

OR REMOVAL FROM

THE PROGRAM

or

removal

from the program ) other than revocation

wit

sentence to state

jailor

Texas

Department

of

Correction

Institutional

Division.

While there

are no

hard

statistics at

this time to sho

the direct

impact

of

progressive

sanctions to the reduction

o

revocations

of probation, in 2007

there

was a 14 decreas

for all

of

HCCSCD.

There are

several other

alternative

programs, but the

are all limited by funding

and,

as the

legislature

allots mor

funds towards these

programs, it is

the belief

that mO

Sllccess can

be seen

in

this

area.

The cost of

alternativ

programs is much

less

than the cost to incarcerate

.

Realize that I do not

speak

for any court other

than

th

178th

District

Court; other

judges

are

as

much

or

mor

interested and knowledgeable

in

alternatives then

I am

Be

creative, be aware of the

community

supervision option

available

to the

court, learn

the court's philosophy, you

client's needs and bring options to the Judge other tha

revoca

tion.

Lives are

being changed

and that goal

must

remai

among

the

top priorities for attorneys representing

offender

just

as

it is for

the

court

considering

case

dispositions.

DRUG

OURT

Change

Through Intervention

(CTI)

is another supervision

tool available to all Criminal Court District Judges, although

only in practice in 18 of the

22 courts.

CTI is available for

use in

drug

cases

as

well as for

other

offenses where it is

determined to

be appropriate. Being designed for high and

high-medium

risk/ needs

probationers there

is a 1 :35 officer to

probationer

ratio.

Currently there

are 20 CTI officers and

12

Aftercare officers assigned t

the

4 regional offices

throughout

the county.

There is

even a

CTI

Mental

Health

caseload were

supervision is 1:25 officer t client ratio.

These

programs

al low supervision to be

much more

intensive, with phase I of CTI requiring a minimum of three

face to face visits a month . Officers also maintain regular

contact

with

treatment

providers to

monitor treatment

issues

and progress throughout the

program.

The

Criminal

District Court Judge in

which

the case was filed also

meets

personally with the CTI

probationers every

90

days

to evaluate the participants and to provide praise

and incentives where appropriate as well as addressing

non-compliance issues with sanctions ( that may include

a supervisor admonishment, Court admonishment,

jail

therapy , placement in an in-patient need-based facility,

THE DEFENDE


16/24

Modification of isposition

or Violation of Probation (VOP)

Part

I

By

JoAnne

Musick

Any

disposition,

except a commitment to

TYC,

may be

modified

by

the juveni e court

until

the child

reaches his

18th

birthday or the

child

is earlier discharged

by

the court

or

operation of Except

for

commitment to TYC,

all

dispositions automatically

terminate when the

child

reaches

his

18th

birthday.

A

hearing to

modify

disposition

shall be

held on the

petition

of the child and

his

parent, guardian, guardian

ad litem,

or attorney, or on the

petition of

the

state, a

probation

officer

or the court

itself.

Reasonable

notice

of

a

hearing to

modifY

disposition

shall be

given to aJl

parties. S4.04 d). Because any

party

may

petition

for a

modification,

the

court

is

given flexibility

to

reward

good

behavior

as

well

as

address negative

behaviors.

Typically it

is the

State seeking

to

modifY disposition

because

the

juvenile

is

alleged

to

have violated

the

terms and

EFEN ER

*

4

conditions

of their probation;

however any party may

petition

the court

for a modification.

And,

modifications

need not

always seek additional punishment; a juvenile in compliance

may seek

to

lessen his

probation burden or

otherwise

change

his conditions.

If the

term

of probation

will expire before

the

18th

birthday

the

probation may be

extended.

A

motion or

petition

must

be filed seeking extension

before

the

probation

term

expires

otherwise,

the

court

loses jurisdiction

to

modifY.

Further,

if

the petition to extend is

timely filed

the

court must

act

on

the petition

to

extend

before

the

first anniversary

of

the

date on which

the

period

of probation

expires.

2

And, similar

to adult

court

and motions

to

revoke

probation or

proceed

to

adjudication

of

a

deferred probation, the

juvenile

is not

entitled

to

a

jury

determination

on

a modification issue

3


17/24

When the State seeks to modi ,) because of an alleged

violation of

probation,

it is clear the juvenile is entitled to

notice of the alleged violation. Though

the

family

code does

not specify what must be included in a petition to modi ,),

disposition, the juvenile

attorney should object when the

State does

not

follow the general requirements for a petition

for adjudication

or

transfer. The petition to modify

should

articulate the conditions

of

probation the

child is aJleged

to

have violated

and

the

manner and

means in which

the

child

is

alleged to have acted in the violation.

4

Notice

of

the

motion

to

modify

must

be given to all

parties including the child and at least

one of

the adults in

his

or

her life .

5

Where the State files the motion,

the

child is

entitled to notice; where the child files a motion, the State

is

entitled to notice.

The code states only

that

reasonable notice shall be given,

but it does not specify

what

is reasonable .

6

This has resulted

in a split among the courts, ranging from 8 days notice to at

least

10

days notice ?

Until

this conflict is resolved,

the

proper

remedy

is

to

file a

motion

for

continuance where

counsel

believes he has not been given

adequate

notice

of

the

issues

and time to prepare a defense.

If

the record does

not

show

when the child was given notice, but the child's

attorney

announced

ready, did not file a

motion

for

continuance, and

the child

and

his parents were

present and

fully advised by

the court as to the issues before the court, reasonable notice

is presumed.

s

To

avoid a waiver of the notice

requirement,

proper

objections are required.

Once filed, can the

petition

to

modify

be

amended?

Though

the

code is

silent

as to

the circumstances

under

which a petition for modification can be

amended,

the

general principle is that the petition can be amended

if

that

can be done

without

substantial prejudice to the juvenile

respondent.

9

Interestingly,

in

modifications

other than for placement

in a secure facility for a

period longer

than 30 days or

commitment to

TYC,

the

child

and

the child 's

parent or

attorney may waive the hearing in

accordance

with

Section

51.09 .

10

However, to place

the

juvenile in a

secure

facility,

the

court must

hold

a hearing

which

cannot be waived.

Once a

petition

is filed and hearing date is set, a

modification related to a violation

of

probation

is

a two-step

process: first, the court must determine whether or

not

the

child

violated

a

condition

of

probation; second, if the court

found

the violation to be true,

the

court

must

determine

what to do about the violation. The

court

wiJl be

permitted

to

review social

history

reports from probation officers

professional court

employees,

or professional consultants i

addition to the testimony of other witnesses to determin

the appropriate modi fica tion. II

Further, where

the modification

seeks

confinemen

the juvenile

is

entitled to an attorney. 12 A

court

making

finding

of indigence shall

appoint an

attorney

to

represen

the child

on or

before the fifth working da y after th

petition or

motion

has

been

filed.

For the

judge to

modify a disposition and assess additiona

punishment,

the court must find by a preponderanc

of

the

evidence

that

the

child violated

a

reasonable an

lawful order of the

court

.

13

Where the

court

modifies th

disposition, the

court shall specifically state in the order i

reasons for modifying the disposition and shall furnish

copy

of the order

to the

child,l4

IN

A SIGNIFICANT

RECENT

CHANGE TO

THE

STATUTE JUVENILES MAY NO

LONGER

COMMITTED

TO

TYC

ON

A

MODIFICATION

regardles

of

their past referral history, unless the underlying cas

being mod

ified is equivalent t a

felony offense.

The

legislature

eliminated the possibility that a misdemeano

disposition

can be

modified

to

include

commitmen

to

TYC.

And

finally,

the

juvenile has

the

right to appea

under

Section 56.01 (c)( 1 )(

C

and challenge the revocatio

decision

. A

finding

of a single probation

violation

supporte

by

evidence

is

sufficient to uphold

a

revocation. L

I

FC 5405.

2

FC 54.05(1).

3

FC 54.05(c).

4

See Te

.xas

Juvenile

Law, Roben

O. Dawson (6th Ed. 2004) and In th

Matter ot R.A.B., 525 S.W.2d

892

(Tex.C

iv

.App. 1975 ), stating a petition

modify dispOSItion IS not unlike a motion to revoke probation in adult cases.

5 FC

54.05(d ).

6

FC 54.05(d).

7

See In the

Maner of I.e., 556

S.W.2d 119 (Tex.Civ.App. - 'Vaco 1977

and In the Matter of M.L.S., 590 S.W.2d

626

(Tex.Civ.App. - San Anton

19

79 ).

8

In the Matter ofO .E.P., 512 S.W.2d 789 (Tex.Civ.App. 1974).

9 Texas Juvenile Law, Robert O . Dawson (6th Ed.

2004

).

0 FC

54.05(h

).

11

FC 54.05(e).

12

FC

51.101(e

).

13 FC 54.05(f) .

14 FC 54.05(i).

LS FC 54.05.

16

In re T.R.S.,

115

S.W.3d 318

(T

ex .Ap

p.

2003).

JoAnne Musick

is

a Houston attorney handling

primarily

criminal and juvenile defense matters She

is

Board Certified i

Juvenile Law by

the Texas

Board of Legal

Specialization. JoAnne

is

a

partner

with

Musick Musick LLP and

a

legal analys

for various national

news

programs

JoAnne

chairs

the HBA Criminal

Law

Procedure Section and is president lect of th

Harris

County

Criminal Lawyers

Association.

THE DEFENDE
http:///reader/full/court.13http:///reader/full/court.13http:///reader/full/court.13http:///reader/full/court.13


18/24

u

d

es

A ID

.

..

Team HCCLA triumphed again at

the

Big

Brother

/

Big Sister benefit

at

Palace Lanes on Jul y

12,

2008. HCCLA

soundly beat the

numbers

posted by Team

HBA

in both games

Out of the 4-team rivalry of

HCCLA, HBA,

HYLA and the

Justice League, HCCLA bowler Jim Woodward posted

the

second-highest score in

the

first

game

with a masterful 172

Steve

Halpert

racked up

the

best score

out of the

HCCLA

and

HBA teams in the second game with an impressive 169.

The 2008 HCCLA team included Mark Bennett , Steve

Halpert, Chuck

Stanfield ,

Jim Woodward,

Tom Zakes and

head cheerleader, Wendy Miller. Generous sponsors and fans

ere Jennifer, Veronica and Eric Bennett, Staci Biggar, Troy

cKinney, Scott Markowitz and

JoAnne

Musick.

With

the

incredible support

of HCCLA

fans

and

our

Exec utive Board , our team r i sed $885.00 for BBBS Amachi Texas

Mentor

Program , which exceeded

the 2007 total of $500

.00.

It's not too

early

to start

practicing

to

join

Team HCCLA

2009

Everyone is

welcollle.

Without intervention, 700/0

of

children

of

prisoners will follow their parent into prison themselves.

One tne mentoring with children who have a parent or relative in

prison can help break the cycle of incarceration.

Help us break

the

chain. Become a Big Brother or Big Sister today, or

recommend us to the family of a child

who needs

a little guidance.

Ig rotMrs Big SIster

of

Greater

Houston

www.gobighouston.o

(713)

271-5683
http:///reader/full/www.gobighouston.orghttp:///reader/full/www.gobighouston.org


19/24

THE

FOLLOWING

HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS

JOIN HER CAMPAIGN STEERING COMMITTEE

JACK

B. ZIMMERMANN, GENE JONES, STANLEY SCHNEIDER,

ROBERT

SCARDINO,

CHRIS

TRITICO,

KENT SCHAFFER, DAN

COGDELL,

GEORGE McCALL SECREST, TROY McKINNEY, JAY W.

BURNETT

and

FORMER

REPUBLI CAN PRIMARY CANDIDATE

MICHELE

SATTERELLI

ONCKEN

Geraldo Acosta

Jaime Acosta

Sam

Adamo

James Ardoin

III

John Armstrong

Mack Arnold

Juan ita Barner

Karen Barney

Jennifer

Bennett

Mark

Bennett

Dean Blumrosen

Nancy

Botts

Gerald Bourque

Lott Brooks

Sean Buckley

Dick

Burr

Yolanda

Coray

David Cunningham

M. Fox Cu

rl

Neal Davis

Nicole

DeBorde

Emily Munoz

Rick DeTotO

Chris Downey

Todd Dupont

Danny Easterling

Rosa Eliades

James T Fallon III

Ami Feltovich

Robert Fickman

David Fleischer

Tyler Flood

Phyllis R. Frye

Trent

Gaither

Greg Gladden

Lana

Gordon

Tucker Graves

Heather H,

Hall

Steve Halpert

Robyn Harlin

Cynthia Henley

Mark Hochglaube

Bennie

House

Olivia Jordan

Jennifer Kahn

John Kahn

Kathryn Kelber

David Kiatta

Vivian King

Richard Kuniansky

Tommy LaFon

Jim Lavine

Robert

Loper

Blanca Lopez

Amy Martin

Melissa Martin

Farrah Martinez

Janie Maselli

Patrick

McCann

Ken McLean

Dee McWilliams

Jim Medley

Sherra Miller

Wendy Miller

Rand

Mintzer

Mark

L

Mitchell

Tyrone Moncriffe

Morris Moon

Robert

Morrow

Earl Musick

JoAnne

Musick

Tad

Nelson

Alvin

Nunnery

Sandy Oballe

Kim

Ogg

Kirk

Oncken

Nancy Oncken

George Parnham

Dale Pasc hal

Richard Patterson

Daphne Pattison

Robert Pelton

Danalynn Recer

Carmen

Roe

Mary Samaan

Kyle

Sampson

Katherine Scardino

Josh Schaffer

Gran t Scheiner

Patty Segura

Norm Silverman

Amber Skillern

Matthew Skillern

Aimee Solway

James Spradlin

Chuck

Stanfield

David

Suhler

Jim Sullivan

Sunshine Swallers

Mark Th ering

Shandon Tonry

Ted

Trigg

Amanda Webb

Russell Webb

Mandy Welch

Brian Wice

Cornel Williams

Enid Anne Williams

Q.

Tate

Williams

Sarah

V.

Wood

Mark Yanis

Terri Zimmermann

ALSO ENDORSED BY:

HARRlS COUNTY AFL-CIO,

GLBT

CAUCUS, HARRlS COUNTY DEPUTIES' ORGANIZATION, HARRIS

COUNTY

WOMEN'S

POLITICAL

CAUCUS

AND THE

ASSOCIATION

OF WOMEN ATTORNEYS

(The only

Democrat

for a crim inal district co urt

bench

endorsed by AWA)

Pol. Adv. paid for by

the

Shawn a

L

Reagin for

Judge Campaign,

in

com

pli ance with

the

Judicial

Campaign

Fairness Act.

Mark Bennett, Treasurer, 735 Oxford Street, Houston, Texas 77007


20/24

THEDEFENDER] F LL

8

~ r c e

NOTES

By Jeremy Sierra

ConsUl

G

Carlos eneral

Onz;i/ez A

A

exico

Danai nn recounts all of GRACE 's

accon7plishments for the past year

n

June 26 2008

the

Gulf

Regional Advocacy Center [GRACE] held its

annual fundraiser benefit dinner at Trinity Episcopal Church.

The

evening's

special

guest

was

Mexico's

Consul

General,

Carlos 1

Gonzalez

Magall6n, who

presented Danalynn

Recer and

GRACE with

an award commending

them

for

their work through the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance

Program. Danalynn and GRACE were

fresh

off their victory

in

the

Juan

Quintero

case, where

they succeeded against

all

odds

in securing a life sentence for Mr. Quintero, whose

wife was also

present

at the event.

The

award

is

a

plaque that

reads:

TEPANTLATOANI

-

In

honor

of

the

6th

anniversary

of

the

Gulf Region

Advocacy Center the Consulate General of Mexico expresses

DEFENDER

18

V agalJo

n

Recer leads

the

crowd in

Danalynn GRACE staff members

thankIng

its

sincerest

gratitude to Danalynn Recer and the entire staf

of GRACE for

their

tireless efforts in protecting the lives

of

Mexican

nationals. Tepantlatoani

means

la'A'Yer in

Nawatl, an indigenous language of

Mexico.

GRACE also wishes to

announce

that it is

becoming

licensed as fact investigators, due to Harris County's

singular interpretation of a statute making this a necessary

step for

GRACE

to continue providing its services as

mitigation specialists. [No other county in the state

has implemented such a

requirement,

and even in

Harris County it is not being applied to all mitigation

specialists.] GRACE expects the license to be issued by

the end of

September.


21/24

Welcome

NEW embers

Yong J.

An

Alan J Baer

Sh

eila

Burn

e tt

R. Carpenter

Wilvin J Carter

Clint

Da v

idson

Paul

Doyle

Za chary B. Fertitta

Ramona

Fr

a

nklin

Williams

Te

rrence

Gais e r

Marissa

Garcia

J.J. Gradoni

Willard J HaJl J

r

R .K Hansen

Ronald

B.

Helson

Jacob

Henderson

George Jacobs

Jo aquin

Jimenez

Jules

Johnson

Hope

Knight

Rand y

Martin

Carl

Moore

Sarah Mueller

Richard K Oliver

J

Reid

Perry

II

Frank

M .

Pisano

Lenn

o n Prince

Silvia V Pubchara

Javier M . Ramos

Gary

A .

Roth

Kimberly J. Sam man

Matth ew D . Sharp

Ed w

a

rd

P. Sillas

Matthew A. Skillern

Monique C Sparks

Gregor y Tsioros

Jane

Scott

Vara

Kurt

B.

Wentz

Michael

F.

Westbrook II

Bob Wicoff

ENSO

1

ENSORED

ENSO

NSOR

aI_ _

REASONABLE DOUBT

TODD

DUPONT


22/24

THEDEFENDER] FAll

8

Notes

O Interest

advertising rates

Ull

INSI E

P GE [NON COVER] 700.00 per

issue I

2,520 .

00

per

year

INSIDE FRONT

COVER

800.00 per

issue I

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year

INSIDE B CK COVER 750.00 per issue I

2,700.00

per year

B CK COVER 800.00 per issue I 2,880.00per year

2 3 P GE 600.00 per issue I 2,160.00per year

1/2

P GE

500.00 per issue I 1,800.00per year

1/3 P GE 400.00 per issue I 1,440.00per year

1/4

P GE

250.00

per

issue

I

900.00

per

year

BUSINESS C RD SIZE 125.00 per issue

I

450.00 per year

DEFENDER : 20
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23/24

IN BECOMING MEMBER?

HCCl

-

Promotes

productive exchange of ideas

and

encourages

etter communication with prosecutors

and

the judiciary.

-

Provides

continuing

legal education programs for

improving

advocacy

skills

and

knowledge.

-

Promotes

ust

application

of

the court-appointed lawyer

system for indigent persons

charged

with criminal offenses.

-

Files amicus curiae

briefs in support of freedom

and

human rights.

APPLICATION

Applicant :

Mailingaddress:

Telephone:

Fax:

Email:

Website:

FirmName:

Dateadmitted t bar:

Lawschool:

Professionalorganizations

in

whichyou are amember in goodstandin

Typeof membership :

o Student ($25annual fee)

Expectedgraduationdate: _

o Newlylicensed (firstyear) attorney ( 75)

o

Regularmembership($150)

Date:

Signatureof applicant:

Endorsement:

I,amemberingood standing

of

HCCLA,believethis app ic

tobe a personof protcssional competency, integrity and go

moralcharacter.The applicantis activelyengaged

in

thedefen

of criminalcases.

Date:

Signatureof member:

Membername:

MAIL THIS

APPLICATION

TO:

HeCLA

P.O.Box

924523,

HOllston,Texas 77292-4523

713 .227.2404


24/24

TEXAS

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2008 fall defender

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