Prosecutors Campaigning in a Lykos World

"I would be hard pressed to punish anyone because they exercised their constitutional rights." - Jim Leitner

As we all know by now, Pat Lykos, Jim Leitner and the rest of the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight are really really big fans of the 5th Amendment.  The big question as we enter campaign season, however, is, "How are they feeling about the 1st Amendment these days?"

Those around the Harris County Criminal Justice Center know that the vast majority of the prosecutors at the District Attorney's Office are miserable under the Lykos Administration.  They don't have the discretion to deal with their cases the way they know how.  They are worried about being "on the radar" which could possibly land them on the Upper Administration's Enemies List.  They are worried that the slightest infraction, whether real or perceived, could end up with them being gainfully unemployed.

Judge Mike Anderson's candidacy and the possibility that 2012 will spell the end of the Lykos Regime have installed something in those prosecutors that has been missing for the past three years --

Hope.

I can't begin to tell you how many prosecutors have expressed to me their delight at the idea of Judge Anderson being the District Attorney.  

But every time they tell me that, they tell me in private, and begin it with the traditional caution that I hear so often:  "Don't put this on the blog, but . . . "

Their concern is a reasonable one.  Higher ups from the D.A.'s Office have let the word go forth that Assistant District Attorney's and all other Office personnel had better "watch themselves" (i.e. not get caught openly supporting anyone other than Lykos.) The chilling phrase coupled with those warnings has been, "Pat won't be as forgiving as she was in 2008."  


Ah yes, Good Old Forgiving Pat.  As someone who didn't quite make it onto the beneficiary list of Pat's forgiveness, I can attest to what it means when she isn't feeling so forgiving.  Now, to be clear, I wasn't really expecting nor wanting Pat's forgiveness, either.  I knew very well that my tenure as an ADA was ending when Lykos won the primary run-off election.  I compared her to a Bud Lite Lizard, for crying out loud.


But for every one of us who did oppose Lykos and subsequently lost our jobs, there are plenty more who kept them.  I point this out to give you some reassurance that they can't fire all of you and there is a big difference from what I did during the 2008 campaign and simply expressing your 1st Amendment-protected-political-beliefs in a more, um, "toned down" manner.  


Here are some helpful hints if you would like to exercise your 1st Amendment rights as freely and enthusiastically as Rachel Palmer enjoyed her 5th in front of the Grand Jury:


1.  Order a copy of your personnel file right now.  Seriously.  Go do it.  I'll sit here and wait for you to get back.  
At the end of 2011, Pat Lykos abruptly ordered that all evaluations done on office personnel would be pushed back until after the election.  Why exactly she did that is anyone's guess, but it certainly leaves the door open for her waiting until after election time to grade everyone on how they behaved, doesn't it?  If she, or the Upper Admin, don't like the way an ADA acts this Spring, they can add an evaluation with bad things and say "Well, we like totally would have put that in the evaluation at the end of 2011, but we didn't do them then," and "This has nothing to do with the prosecutor's 1st Amendment political choices."
Knowing how much Pat Lykos loved me and would probably love going through my personnel file once she became D.A., I ordered a copy of it long before my last day.  Pat and Company can curse my name until the cows come home and Don Hooper can call me every name in the book on the Chronicle blogs.  But nobody can say I was a bad prosecutor.  I've got my personnel file to prove otherwise.
Get yours now before the election.  All you have to do is let Scott Durfee know.  If John Barnhill asks you why you want it, tell him it's for a scrapbooking project, or better yet, "None of your damn business." Knowledge is Power, people.


2.  Your Facebook profile is your own business, too.  If you are like me, you are pretty much Facebook friends with everyone you've shared an elevator with at the CJC.  Secretaries, Prosecutors, Clerks, Bailiffs, Investigators, Process Servers, Coordinators, Defense Attorneys and even Judges comprise many of our friend lists.  With that many people, anything you post on the World's Greatest Social Media Website can easily be learned about by the 6th Floor.
There have been a few instances that I'm aware of that somebody from the Office got in trouble because Jim Leitner got wind of what they had posted on their Facebook account.  
Again, remember that discretion can be a big determining factor here.  There is a big difference between you "Liking" the Mike Anderson for District Attorney page and you taking a picture of yourself, mooning the camera, with a caption that reads "Pat Lykos can kiss my . . ."
But, if you so choose to support Mike Anderson, do it as an individual.  That doesn't mean that you have to take down the Harris County District Attorney's Office as your place of employment before posting anything.  Just don't say "As a Harris County Assistant District Attorney, I support anyone other than Pat Lykos."
If Jim Leitner or anyone from Upper Admin even thinks about asking or criticizing you for your 1st Amendment right to vote for whoever the hell you want to, refer them to your lawyer.  Or better yet, just plead the 5th.  They are totally cool with that.


3.  Even if you are concerned about supporting publicly, you can still help privately.  As an earlier commenter pointed out, you can still spread the word through your own private e-mails and phone calls to people.  Just make sure to be doing it on your own time.  Your address book on your home computer or Blackberry or iPhone is filled with plenty of Houston voters that you can send an e-mail blast to.  Or just start telling people by word of mouth.  


4.  Remember that bullies rely on the fact that you won't fight back -- the very definition of a bully is a coward who picks on those they believe to be weaker than them.  Those from the Upper Admin who are going around talking about Lykos "not being so forgiving" are banking heavily on the idea that this will scare you into submission.  When you come armed with your good personnel file, you can say, "If I get fired for exercising my 1st Amendment rights, I can guarantee you that I'm not going to be forgiving either."


5.  VOTE.
6.  VOTE.
7.  VOTE.
8.  VOTE.  


9.  Remember the passion you have for your job and translate it into election action.  As I've pointed out time and time again, if you add up all the votes received by Kelly Siegler and compare them to those gained by Pat Lykos, Kelly crushed Lykos by thousands of votes.  The reason was that during that first primary vote, there was so much passion involved in getting out there, spreading the word, and voting.  Unfortunately, when it came time for the run-off, too many people took it for granted that Kelly would crush her again.
Pat Lykos didn't win that run-off, Apathy did.  Don't let it happen again, folks.
In the 2010 elections, the passionate work of people working hard for good candidates helped Judges Don Smyth and Marc Brown defeat two very unqualified candidates, despite those candidates having a lot of Republican support.  
You've got the Power.  Now use it.


10.  Keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel.  You've made it through three years of Lykos and this next one is going to go by quickly.  Of course there is no guarantee that Judge Anderson is going to win the election, but I think he will.
Think about what life would be like for you with an actual prosecutor at the head of the Office.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a leader who has been through everything you're going through when he was at the Office?  How about one who understands that sometimes there are cases that you just can't make?  One who won't have policies that defy justice solely because they please the public?  One who won't make you feel like the KGB is watching you at every turn?

If you are ready to get fired up about your job as a prosecutor again, the time to do something about it is now.  


Here's a little motivational music for you as we wait for the Primary.