Ya know, I try to work on our relationship, Snooks, but I can't do it all by myself.
Just after I supported your move to stop filing crack pipe residue cases YESTERDAY, you've turned around and changed your mind about it today. Looks like you are going to be rethinking things at HPD's urging.
Now, I'm all for Lykos and the Gang making some attempts to start thinking, but damn, I was really getting behind her new policy before she hauled off and changed it.
I love that Lykos is so adored by the Houston Chronicle that she has no qualms about announcing a policy in the Wednesday edition and then turning around and reversing her position the next.
By the way, Pat, that doesn't make you look inept, clueless at your job, unprofessional or anything.
Really. I promise.
But once again, I wanted it noted for the record that I tried to support you on an issue, but you wouldn't work with me.
I just don't know if our relationship is going to make it.
41 comments:
Lykos made the right decision in reversing herself on yesterday's unthoughtful policy.
The woman really has no idea WTF her job description is and impetuously acts in pure self political interest at every turn.
Lykos' total disregard for community safety was too blatantly pointed out with yesterdays misstep; so she had to bow to the political pressure of her base and abandon her media placation sell out policy this time.
Thank you Blue Hairs.
Murray, You hit the nail on the head!! Makes it real tough to keep our heads up over here at the office when crap like this keeps surfacing. I guess it would be fair to say that morale keeps sinking around here... We will survive this!!!
Is Brian Rogers going to take Jimmy's place as first assistant? Let's assume, based on what has happened in the last 12 months, a law degree is no longer required.
Anon 10:26 a.m.,
Brian Rogers is actually an attorney, but your point is well taken.
AHCL is now a "Defense Lawyer" because he agrees that residue cases shouldn't be filed? Eric, who posted below, says that he lives in the "3rd Ward." I assume Eric is a defense lawyer.
I assume Eric feels that his kids and neighbors should all be allowed to smoke as much crack as they want in the 3rd Ward? Frankly, I believe this is a racist decision because crack is more prevalent in the minority neighborhoods. Eric clearly doesn't care about the minimization of value of his neighborhood.
I guess the message is, I am a defense lawyer and people shouldn't care about crime in my neighborhood?
There is no crack in my neighborhood but if there was, I certainly would want those cases filed. I am also not a defense lawyer.
So, Murray, my understanding is that if you have a crack pipe with residue they arrest you for the Class C. But if the residue is in a bag or on a razor, you collect the residue and send the guy on his merry way. If it turns out it weighs more than .01 grams, you get a to-be. Is that correct?
Patty crack Patty crack;
We ain't buying yo smack.
Don't be askin' fo no Jack and Coke;
When you be throwin' out da residue to toke.
Little man Leitner cryin'in da corner;
He be knowin' he ain't shit as a lawyer.
Hanna's a preying;
Roger's a praying.
The DA's office ain't nothing but a joke;
And the DA's out having nothing but a smoke.
HPD/HCSO has ALWAYS told HCDAO what to do.
anon 2:51,
....and if your associates would have listened to their baby mamas and/or baby daddies (assuming they could even pick them out in a line up)it wouldn't be an issue now would it?
As for Patsy having any respect for law enforcement, much less listening to what they have to say, your comment indicates you've been hitting the pipe again Mr. Crackhead.
Bill White is the worst nightmare for all the republicans. He will bring out the democrat vote and he can run on Lykos' failings alone to get the vote out. Don't think us dems aren't aware of the political infighting amongst fellow prosecutors.. Namely, a few running against each other. Lykos clearly has no control over her employees.
Thanks Patricia
Vote for Bill White,
Judge Pat could be Governor if she chose to run as a democrat or a republican in 2010. So keep your pie hole in check. The entire District Attorney's Office as well as Harris County generally is solidly behind Judge Pat. Judge Pat is cleaning up the corruption and incompetence at the District Attorney's Office as fast as is humanly possible. The win at all costs senior prosecutors have been replaced with better qualified ethical trial attorneys and appropriate dispositions of the criminal dockets are now in place and running smoother than ever before. First Assistant Jim Leitner is a very knowledgeable team player who has been a great help in facilitating Judge Pat's transition team to get the District Attorney's office up to speed for the 21st century. The prosecutorial infighting is a myth. Neither Mark nor Rachael will have any significant opposition from within the DA's office. While you are only a little piss-ant Judge Pat controls her domain and is not to be trifled with.
Good Lord, Red State. It's like you fell out of the Moron Tree and hit every branch on the way down. I'm about to board a plane or I'd address your lunacy in detail.
Is she changing the policy back or saying that if burglaries go up in 6 months, she will change the policy back? Confused. Wonder if anyone in the office was even consulted, or are they confused. And, it sounds like the defense attorneys would read the Chronicle article were just as confused. That's why she gets the "F". If she runs for Governor, she can confuse the whole damn state.
We heard today The Judge wll be announcing her intent to run for Governor soon. She has a lot of support. She will be an excellent choice.
Red States Rule....Have you lost your mind? I'm assuming that you're one of her bureau chiefs (figures). I have never seen an organization so disorganized. Morale is at an all time low. Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Everything is a knee jerk reaction. No policies or procedures. More time spent on intake rules than anything. Everyone trying to keep head below the radar of the ruling "click". Bring back Holmes, so we can do our jobs. Office being run by people who never worked in a DA's office and have no idea of how to manage people or cases. Love their "If you don't like it, then leave." Enough said.....
Red States Rule - If she was going to get rid of "the corruption and incompetence at the District Attorney's Office as fast as is humanly possible", then she get rid of herself, you, and the rest of the bureau chiefs, except for Maria McAnulty.
"The win at all costs senior prosecutors have been replaced with better qualified ethical trial attorneys...."
Did I miss something?
Is Denise Oncken gone?
Black Ink, you have hit the nail on the head!
Red State Rule:
You have residue in your pipe because obviously, you have done smoked up all your crack rocks today!
I am always amazed at the political ignorance of prosecutors. Just stick to your false convictions. That's what you do well.
Rage
Rage,
How 'bout hoisting a beer after work today girlfriend? Hey and next weekend were running some hogs with dogs, you up for it? Let me know and we'll hook your punk azz up.
I'll hold my breath chicken shit.
Red States Rule -
You are an idiot, and probably a campaigner for Ruth Buzzie!! Good luck in County Court #13 you asshat
Murray,
Please read the entire Chronicle article--I think you may have lingered on the misleading headlines that were taken down yesterday morning. The District Attorney's policy on trace drug cases is going to be implemented on January 1st. She did specify that the policy would be reviewed after 6 months to make sure that everything was proceeding properly and no serious problems emerged. She did not, however, change the policy start date or indicate that she would not go forward with this program.
I hope that this helps clear up some of the confusion.
Only losers use dogs to hunt anything but quail and Pheasant, or retrieve birds.
As for having a beer with you, I don't drink Natty Light, so no thanks. If you can come up with some Samuel Smith's Yorkshire Stingo, or Founder's Breakfast Stout, I might be able to hold my breath long enough to have a drink with a prosecutor.
Rage,
You are either more of a sissy than you anonymously appear or know as much about feral hog hunting with dogs as you do about criminal law.
When the hounds corral the hog the pits are let loose to pin him and then we stick the bastard in the chest. It's a bigger rush than flushing a covey or whacking a hog with a big gun. Maybe after a few beers you can forget about your profile photo and man up.
Are you ready to rock and roll or content to just flap your gums?
LOL! It looks like "Jacked and coked" wants to make Rage "squel like a pig." Nothing Rage could say could ever denigrate the Harris County ADA's any more than their own statements. And now, a mental image to go with the whinning!
Jacked and Coked,
Red States Rule, Rage and Rachael Palmer would be 3 squealing little piggies I'd pay top $$$$ to hunt. I'll even pay for all the cerveza.
"We heard today The Judge wll be announcing her intent to run for Governor soon. She has a lot of support. She will be an excellent choice."
This has to be a joke. If she was governor, I'd move to New Orleans. She can't run a "one person" office, much less the DA's office or any office that that has more than one employee. She and her "click" need to go. It's ashame the public doesn't know the "truth".
I think Rage may be a creation of AHCL, used to stir up comment and debate on this blog. I can't believe that someone so arrogant yet so stupid is actually practicing law in the State of Texas.
I read this over on the Sheriff's Office blog. I found the last paragraph interesting.
Knight Crawler-
I wanted to send out an attaboy to those deputies working in District 3 on the night shift. During the early morning hours, they arrested two adult males who were in the process of burglarizing a residence.
It turns out that these same suspects are responsible for as many as four additional residential burglaries in the city during this same crime spree.
The complainants in both city and county cases were able to regain their property which included guns, jewelry and assorted Christmas presents back.
I personally know that you guys never get your day in the sun with all the other B.S. going on, so I wanted to publicly note this incident on the WWW.
Oh and by the way, the burglaries were taking place in large part due to the crack addictions that both suspects currently have.
Anon 11:14 A.M.,
Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating the legalization of cocaine and I would NEVER think that there isn't a direct link between crack cocaine and crime. My only point is that crack pipe cases absolutely weigh down the court system in Harris County to a ridiculous degree and they would probably be better filed as Class Cs.
A police officer can still arrest on the Class C and take the person into custody. Granted, they won't be in jail over a week, but they can still be taken off the streets for a bit.
The residue cases also present a legal problem on cases when there isn't enough of a sample left to retest.
The problem is that there isn't a happy medium here. The cases are so prevalent that they bog down the felony courts. The defendants won't plead to State Jail time for a crack pipe so the cases linger until they get an offer of backtime on a 12.44(a).
It's an imperfect world, but to me this seems like a fairly practical (if unsavory) solution.
I fully understand that reasonable minds could (and will) disagree.
I'm not an attorney, but I am a citizen of Harris County and it seems as a citizen I'm left with two options to support after reading this blog:
A)Have police officers continue to bog down the felony courts with crack pipe/trace cases?
-or-
B) Have police officers issue citations for a crack pipe/trace cases, so (some) "crack heads" can continue to burglarize citizens homes and vehicles?
I would have to pick "A"!
Murray,
I am a Deputy with the HCSO. I have been a fan of your blog for a long time. I was one of the few who would read it and not post any comments because I usually agreed with you. But I fear you have finally made the transition to the dark side. Trace cases are not the only cases being filed that "bog" down the courts. Is this issue as much a function as staffing as it is the number of arrests in Harris CO.? In her haste to "reduce" dockets, case load and jail over-crowding (I'm dubious of that motive) with this new policy, is she over-looking the fact that property crimes in Houston and Harris Co. are the #1 issue at this time? I'm all for hammering violent offenders, but I have never, ever heard of a defendant chaged with a violent crime ever having his case not fully prosecuted because the chief and lead prosecutor were laying in bed awake at night wondering on how to dispose of a trace case. If it has happened, it certainly has never made the Comical. This new policy is simply a way to reduce caseload. Just like the DWI diversion policy. All you have to do now, since Lykos took over, is note the change in demeanor at DA Intake and you will know that the new ADA's are not interested in prosecuting criminal cases, whether they be misd or fel cases. I have had more refusals, even with solid PC, since Jan 1. than I have had in almost 10 years. Why? I'm not completely certain but I hve my theories....but something sure smells rotten over on the 2nd floor of the CJC.
anon 10:53 am
I realize I may be stating the obvious...but the residue doesn't have to be in a pipe. You can file a class C PNP for using paraphernalia to store dope, which would cover baggies, a rolled up piece of paper, your pocket, whatever.
is she over-looking the fact that property crimes in Houston and Harris Co. are the #1 issue at this time?
You mean property crimes that go uninvestigated by HSCO because you don't think they're important enough to spend time on? No, I'm sure nobody is forgetting about them. It;s interesting that you don't care enough about them to investigate, but are quick to use them in a political argument.
Rage
Anon 5:39 am,
I echo your sentiment. Though I found that the refusals are from a lack of experience and leadership. In terms of leadership, it seems that the prosecutors don't know what the policies are going to be on a day to day basis and they are scared to make a decision. The easy answer is "go back and continue to investigate" or "no." I also agree there is an extreme lack of "passion" as compared to how it was in the past. This is real and sad. I think the prosecutors want to do what is right but their mission has become unclear.
I also was dissapointed that Murray supported this decision and was surprised. I don't post on this site but wanted to support my fellow officer. I don't know if the administration at the DA's office reads this but I surely hope they do.
The trace case policy is one of the worst policies I have ever heard of. This is where the problem begins. This office seems to violate more law then the people I arrest.
Anyone know the cost of housing someone for a residue amount of cocaine for a year? Or what the cost of a 6 month rehab is?
Does the county have space to house addicts in a rehab or would something have to be built? Recently I read that the jails were full.
Frustrated & Anon 5:39 & 10:50,
I'm sorry if you guys think I crossed over to the "dark side" with these last couple of posts, but the truth of the matter was that I became a defense attorney around noon on Christmas Eve last year.
I try to base what I write and critique on my views as a citizen of Harris County more than as a defense attorney or ex-prosecutor, but I guess I'm going to offend everybody eventually. I don't mean any disrespect.
My point on the residue cases shouldn't be taken as my opinion on cocaine in general. It's about the allocation of resources. The simple solution to ALL of the problems faced by cops, prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys alike would be more resources. I've often half-joked that we just need about fifty more District Courts and three hundred more prosecutors to keep up with the massive amount of charges filed every year.
Any ways, I appreciate your input and I understand and respect your positions.
Rage,
"You mean property crimes that go uninvestigated by HSCO because you don't think they're important enough to spend time on?". Really?
C'mon Rage, don't you get tired of making ignert comments on Murry's blog. Again, you have no clue what you're talking about. I've been reading this blog for about a year and no matter what thread I'm reading, you ALWAYS have something stupid to say.
The Sheriff's Office is short handed just like the DA's Office. There is not enough man power to investigate every case that comes to the Sheriff's Office. It has nothing to do with what cases the detectives feel are more/less important, because every case is very important. Again, it's a man power issue.
Educate yourself before you make another stupid comment. Except for a few federal grants you might find the Sheriff's Office detective division has not grown in man power in twenty years. While the population in unincorporated Harris County has exploded.
Here is a couple examples for you:
HCSO B&T = approx. 25
HPD B&T = approx. 250
-----------------------
HCSO Robbery = approx. 8
HPD Robbery = approx. 100
------------------------
HCSO Child Abuse = approx. 25
HPD Child Abuse - approx. 150
There is not enough man power to investigate every case that comes to the Sheriff's Office.
Excellent point. So why make mountains out of molehills on trace cases? To pad the stats. Got it.
Resources would be better spent solving violent crimes than putting someone in jail for a felony, when what they need is to get off drugs. Prison won't help with that.
As for the stats, I agree we need more investigators. If we get rid of the bloated and useless constables, we would have more money for them. Same with jail population. If we stop jailing people pre-trial for crimes that will get probation once convicted, we'd have millions more dollars every year to pay cops to investigate crimes. Not beat cops, they can't see past their donuts. We need investigators.
Anon 5:11,
I wouldn't be too quick to criticize the "beat cops". Good patrol officers are Godsends to law enforcement. The first responders are critical to solving a lot of cases.
As a matter of fact, I think it would be pretty interesting to see the statistics for how many felony arrests (non-residue cases) are made without the need for the investigative units being brought in.
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