In a move that should be absolutely surprising to no one, former-Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos added to her legacy of avoiding indictment again yesterday. As reported by Brian Rogers in this Chronicle article, the 263rd Grand Jury declined to indict Lykos for her role in investigating members of the 185th Grand Jury who were, um, also investigating her.
I had assumed that the 263rd's investigation into Pat had ended quite some time ago. I had heard at the first part of the year that they had requested to have their term extended, but I didn't know it was still ongoing. On Wednesday, I had heard that she had retained Dick DeGuerin to represent her and she was rumored to have asked her church congregation to pray for her.
It appears that her prayers were answered.
Unlike the previous media swarm that Lykos unleashed at the close of the 185th Grand Jury's investigation, she was uncharacteristically quiet this time. Perhaps her silence was because she requested that this particular investigation (according to her) be performed by the Texas Rangers and could no longer claim it to be "politically motivated."
District Attorney Pro Tem Eric Nichols and DeGuerin were also silent about the investigation. Perhaps that was because neither of them wanted to acknowledge that Nichols inexplicably allowed DeGuerin to appear in front of the Grand Jury to argue on Lykos' behalf. For those of you who aren't familiar with how a Grand Jury works, the defense attorney is never allowed in before them to argue. If anyone out there thinks that Lykos and DeGuerin didn't get special treatment, they would be very sadly mistaken.
Although the decision not to indict Lykos (or Leitner for that matter) for using county funded equipment to research her perceived political enemies on the 185th Grand Jury seems to defy logic, I'm not losing any sleep over it. Regardless of whether or not she was indicted, the fact that she and her Administration had three separate Grand Juries investigate becomes the true defining moments of her legacy. Her single term in the Office would be easily forgotten if it weren't for all the trouble she caused feeding her paranoia and her ego.
Hopefully she will use this opportunity to finally just go away.
On a side note, it was amusing to see the return of everybody's favorite lovable lunatic who was back to posting under the name of Dinkit in the comments section of the Chronicle article. He's been relatively quiet since December. I was beginning to worry that he didn't love me anymore.
35 comments:
C'mon Murr what's the big deal?
Your old friend the Chuckster escaped indictment for perjury while falsly testifying in Federal Court, daily substance abuse for decades, obstruction of justice, official oppression, misappropriation of government property and time, inter alia when he was DA.
Bad DA behavior sets a bad precedent but the rules can't change based on whether or not you like the offending party.
I find it very interesting that Dick DeGuerin ended up representing Lykos in this matter. It causes one to wonder if this wasn't a Quid Pro Quo for Lykos allowing Leitner to try to help Dick get thenTemple case overturned.
If you read between the lines, it appears the Grand Jurors were inclined to indict Lykos and were talked out of it at the last moment by Dick and probably Eric Nichols. I suspect Nichols was not eager to keep driving to Houston and having to consider trying the lawsuit.
Regardless, it's all macht nichts at this point. Lykos is gone and is tainted goods for any future role she might have wanted in some position she could screw up.
If Ford could pardon Nixon, surely we can just drop it and move on from here. There's a lot to write about with respect to the goings on at the CJC, if you just take off your Anderson-colored glasses. Start fresh. No time like the present.
Rage
Its simple! She did nothing wrong.
Rage,
For someone who has constantly brought up things you didn't like about Holmes or Rosenthal, you sound more than hypocritical.
And the grand jury's closing of this was newsworthy and current as evidenced by the television and newspaper reporting on it.
Besides, when you bury the dead, you don't leave the hole open. You cover it up and even make a mound of dirt on top of it just I case she tries to crawl out again!
If Chuck Rosenthal and Pat Lykos were to have bred, their bastard issue would be known as Mike.
The days of Carrol Vance and Johnny Holmes are long gone--I predict the behavior of the current administration will be the impetus for a Federal investigation that will hopefully restore integrity to the once honorable Harris County District Attorney's Office.
For someone who has constantly brought up things you didn't like about Holmes or Rosenthal, you sound more than hypocritical.
I bring them up when y'all put them on a pedestal or otherwise act like they were spotless.
Besides, when you bury the dead, you don't leave the hole open. You cover it up and even make a mound of dirt on top of it just I case she tries to crawl out again!
And you think continued blog posts about Lykos will do that? Or might it be best to not comment on her at all and move along?
Rage
I see that Rage has crawled back into the community urinal.
Piss ants are............well they're just piss ants.
Just Sayin'
So, I guess it's OK to take large political contributions from complainants who have pending cases then speed up the prosecution of their cases. Sounds like "justice for sale."
Never in all my terms serving on a GJ have I seen a defense attorney appear to plead for a defendant; they've always been allowed to send a letter in to the GJ room but never appear. There was nothing "special" about this special prosecutor after all, for him to allow this. Murray, please cite the law from the CCP that allows a defense attorney to address a GJ to present a case against perjury or other offenses.
Art. 20.011. WHO MAY BE PRESENT IN GRAND JURY ROOM. (a) Only the following persons may be present in a grand jury room while the grand jury is conducting proceedings:(1) grand jurors;(2) bailiffs;(3) the attorney representing the state;(4) witnesses while being examined or when necessary to assist the attorney representing the state in examining other witnesses or presenting evidence to the grand jury;(5) interpreters, if necessary;(6) a stenographer or person operating an electronic recording device, as provided by Article 20.012; and(7) a person operating a video teleconferencing system for use under Article 20.151.
This has been litigated before. The only way DeGuerin could have "appeared" legally is if they swore him in as a witness. And what a bunch of hogwash if they did. If they didn't, I don't know what the remedy would be, but I guess at this point no one seems to care about what happens to that bitter old snake.
Murray, I'm curious... how exactly do you know DeGuerin was allowed to appear before the grand jury?
Has DeGuerin admitted this? Did Nichols say so? Did one of the grand jurors violate their oath and the law by leaking this to you? Were you a member of this grand jury?
Maybe I've missed it, but I don't see this supposed "DeGuerin Allowed to Speak Before the Grand Jury" thing reported anywhere else.
I don't expect you to reveal your sources by name... but before everyone hyperventilates too much, perhaps you can offer your readers some plausible explanation of how you know this to be true, rather than simply asserting it as a fact?
Multiple people saw him going into the grand jury room to meet with them.
Have you all forgotten that Eric Nichols was the supervisor at the Attorney General's office over all of the many lawyers who handled the Anthony Graves case for years? And he was the person who approved offering Graves a life sentence rather than go to trial? Not sure why anyone here is surprised.
Pat Lykos unique legacy is two-fold:
1. She was voted out of office after only one term by 63% of her own party.
2. She is the only Harris County DA ever to be the target of three (3) different grand juries even though she wasn't indicted.
Add that to your self-aggrandized and twisted Wikipedia site Patsy.
I went to the Texas State Bar Convention and one of the speakers I saw was Eric Nichols. He presented the story of his prosecution of Warren Jeffs. I walked out of that presentation and told anyone who would listen that there would never be an indictment coming from the Lykos investigation. I was right.
I wont say what I did for a living but in the words of Jr brown I had a star on my car and ome on my chest. Im truly sadden that she was allowed counsel in the grand jury. I sure that many of my brothers and sisters that have set in that seat wish they could have had there counsel in there gj with them. Seems like it sets a president for others to follow, the law is not applied to all equal.
Maybe I see in Black and white. I dont care if she was no billed or true billed, right is right and the law is the law. Shows me there is no justice in the justice system and that my faith in right and wrong has been shattere.
Defense Lawyers have been allowed in the grand jury many times. Some of you people need to look back a few years.The court house has been around a long time.THIS IS NOTHING NEW.
And I thought Nichols was an upright guy. Shame on me.
Anon 10:19 your are incorrect. Under Holmes, Rosenthal and Magidson defense attorneys were not allowed into grand jury unless they were serving on a grand jury. It would not surprise me if Lykos chose to disregard the law and allow defense lawyers in .
Art. 20.011. WHO MAY BE PRESENT IN GRAND JURY ROOM. (a) Only
the following persons may be present in a grand jury room while the
grand jury is conducting proceedings:
(1) grand jurors;
(2) bailiffs;
(3) the attorney representing the state;
(4) witnesses while being examined or when necessary to
assist the attorney representing the state in examining other
witnesses or presenting evidence to the grand jury;
(5) interpreters, if necessary; and
(6) a stenographer or person operating an electronic
recording device, as provided by Article 20.012.
(b) Only a grand juror may be in a grand jury room while the
grand jury is deliberating.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 1011, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
The law regarding who could be in the Grand Jury room changed in 1995.
Two sets of rules? One of the powerful and well connected and another for the rest of the world? Color me shocked and appalled.
Ron in H-Town:
And how would you suggest remedying the 2-Tier system?
a. support prosecutors who hold professional ball players to a different standard than the common folk
b. support prosecutors who hold professional politicians to a different standard than the common folk
c. support prosecutors who roll over when the high profile defense attorneys tell them to
d. support prosecutors who have the courage and conviction to stand up to the Dick DeGuerins and prosecute without regard to an individual's privilege or position in life--simply because the prosecutor believes that JUSTICE demands doing the right thing no matter what the political consequence(s) might be.
Where is Mike Anderson and his HCDAO "leadership team" on this issue?
Now that ought to answer your question loud and clear.
Anon 8:56 a.m.,
Try again.
There was a special prosecutor on this case. Mike Anderson and his administration had absolutely nothing to do with it.
The only thing worse than someone like Rage, is someone like Just Sayin'. Get a life, man.
Harris County Lawyer:
1. Who exactly selected the not so special "special prosecutor"?
2. Is the elected DA precluded from comment as to how a "special prosecutor" conducted an investigation in his jurisdiction if it appears to have been inappropriate?
3. Wonder what the Texas Rangers think about all this?
4. Let's see how team Anderson deals with Dick DeGueirin and other high profile criminal defense attorneys in the coming months--will it be dodge ball or rugby? ROTFLMAO.
Anon 8:56
So this grand jury didn't indict her because of improper influence, you imply, and the last two grand juries didn't indict her ... why, exactly? It couldn't be that there's no there there, could it?
This post speaks far more to your obsession than her culpability. Get over it. Move on.
Grits,
An elected public official, the District Attorney, in this case, being the target of three Grand Jury investigations, was highly unusual and had never happened before in Harris County. The fact that the Special Prosecutor mulled the facts over for eight months or more has the appearance that indicting Lykos might be a close call. Add in the fact that her defense attorney basically testified for her before the grand jury, and its not surprising that much conjecture would follow. We were "over" Lykos on May 29th 2012 but obviously, the grand jury wasn't . Are you criticizing that grand jury for taking so long to make a decision? Since the matters before them are secret, we'll never know what the facts really were therefore, it's reasonable for the public to draw their own conclusions from how the presentation was handled.
Anon 9:22,
We're not all sorority sisters so get over yourself Queen D.
please cease any writings,comments,on this blog which contain the words of pat lykos. you have no written permission to use this name so therefore this is a demand to cease using the name pat lykos in the blog.
I'm thinking about running for DA in Harris county, can someone please enlighten me as to how many grand jury potential indictments one must have in order to enter the race?
I dont think you have what it takes to enter any race. Now get back to work and do what your Boss tells you to do.
Judging from the last trio of Harris County DAs the essential qualifications for the job are: a Texas law license, Brutus' knife and a "money talks" attitude.
We all know about Chuck's suicide vest, Judge Pat was an easy read but Mike fooled me and not just with his delegation of power to sorority row.
I HOPE PAT LYKOS RUNS FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN 2016 I WILL VOTE HER. SHE WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE LAST 20 YEARS THAT WAS THE BEST DA IN HARRIS COUNTY
Bueller? ...Bueller?
Rage
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