Monday, July 8, 2013

Catching Up

So, after about four months (off and on) on the road working as a consultant (not a producer) on Cold Justice, we're finally done with filming for Season One and I'm back home for good.  Working on the show was a lot of work with very long days, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.  I think the show is going to be awesome when it airs.

I know the blog has been slacking badly in my absence.  I haven't been around to follow up on the latest news and gossip.  I would hear bits and pieces of news while I was out on the road, but I didn't have the time or resources to confirm what I was seeing until it was old news.

What's funny is that most of the comments I got about my absence from the blawgosphere were from people who hate the blog in the first place.  I suppose it just fulfills some need of theirs to be angry and they missed me.

I was in Arizona when I learned about Mike Anderson's cancer diagnosis.  As a friend of Mike's and as a father and husband myself, I'm saddened beyond words about what the Anderson family is going through right now.   As I said before, my thoughts and prayers are with him, Devon, and his kiddos.  Moments like this should make us all take a moment to stop and focus on the truly important things in life.

I've heard some complaints about the morale at the Office lately.  It doesn't rise to Lykosian Levels, but there have been grumblings from the troops about some of the people in higher positions and some questions about certain people in certain promotions.  Some of the complaints I agree with.  Some I don't.  It sounds a lot like the D.A.'s Office I remember from when I worked there.

There have been a couple of scandals this year, but the major one so far has been this one, which I already wrote about.

I don't know what is going on with Amanda Culbertson's lawsuit against the District Attorney's Office, Pat Lykos, and Rachel Palmer.  I haven't heard any updates.

There are some interesting developments going on in the aftermath of the Jeffrey Stern case, but I'm not at liberty to discuss them quite yet.

Two courthouse folks have publicly announced their candidacies for some appellate court positions. My friend (and one of my favorite people) Jani Jo (Maselli) Wood is running for Place 4 on the Court of Criminal Appeals.  She is an outstanding candidate who would make the Court a better place.  In addition to having outstanding taste in music, she is guided by a strong moral compass that is backed up by her tireless devotion to the law.  I'll be writing more about her in the months to come.

Harris County Assistant District Attorney David Newell is running for Place 9 on the Court of Criminal Appeals.  I don't know David very well, but I'm familiar with the work he's been doing on behalf of the Office.  Everything I know about him indicates he'll make a great candidate for the Court, as well.  I'll do some more research on him and get back to you in the months to come.

Of course, Governor Rick Perry's announcement today that he isn't going to run again for office is going to shake things up drastically around Harris County, too.

That's pretty much the stuff on my mind right now as I start to catch up on the blog.

What's on y'all's minds?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

So word is the Palmer deposition went so well on June 27 that the outside counsel hired by the county is about to recommend the county settle with Culbertson et al. Well SLAPP my face!

Anonymous said...

Murray, David Newell will be a great candidate for the CCA. He has been my go to guy in appellate for a while and he always takes care of business. He's also done a lot of trainings in the office and is a very talented appellate lawyer. Also a very funny dude. -Nathan

Anonymous said...

Murray,

If people say negative things about this administration, are you actually going to post them??????

Murray Newman said...

Anon 9:32 a.m.,

Yes.

Anonymous said...

Ok, great. The upper admin is terrible, not much different than the last group. They make decisions NOT based on reason and have made recent promotions that make no sense whatsoever (and contradict the "new" chief's poll).

Different admin, same result.

Murray Newman said...

See!

Feel better?

Anonymous said...

WHOA Murray congrats on your Hollywood deal. Makes my recent adventure in Kazakhstan sound boring. Thanks for the updates; I missed the Hell out of your Blog and look forward to the comment dynamics as well.

Back to you being a Hollywood mogul--WTF is all that about? Have you all actually solved any cold cases?
Maybe you guys can get Hollywood to solve the jacked-up issues at the old office for SEASON II.......

All the best,
Xi

Anonymous said...

Murray,

You're selling yourself short. In spite of what some people may say about you, you do have some sway with some people (specifically the women) in the Administration. Instead of just allowing the comments on your blog, why not reply, retort, or rebuff. Anything! But say something other than a smart-ass comment!

Many of us believe you're a shill for the Administration. I understand if you don't want to kick anyone while they're down (specifically Mike Anderson), however, you should be intellectually honest with yourself. Call a duck a duck. You did that with the last Administration. Do it with this one. You may not gain friends, but you will gain respect.

Murray Newman said...

Anon 8:08 p.m.,

Seriously. No person in the world has EVER accused me of having "sway" with women. Trust me on that.

That being said, what gripping story is it that you see me neglecting to the degree that I'm "schilling" for the Administration.

What would you like my next post to be?

"Anderson Fills Top Positions With Bitchy Women!"
"Promotions Made: Some People Not Happy."
"Moves Made: Some Bad Ones."
"Supervisor Yells At Prosecutor: Prosecutor Unhappy"

Which one is it that you think needs to be written about? Which one would make for an informative and entertaining article?

The problem right now is that things around the CJC are just kind of boring. Bennett isn't writing much these days either and Paul Kennedy has devoted his blog to the Astros and what cable company he is using.

The 2014 Election Cycle hasn't really started up yet (not that I'm complaining). There are a couple of stories that I know of, but I'm sworn to secrecy on some of them by my sources. I don't burn my sources. Ever.

You also have to understand that so much of the information I got on the Lykos Administration was because people in the office were so unhappy and they wanted to tell me. The Office now is far from perfect, but prosecutors don't feel like they are in a war zone against their bosses anymore.

They may not be in heaven, but they are a hell of a lot happier than they used to be. If they are griping to anybody, they aren't griping to me.

Anonymous said...

Don, bias is a noun. People are not bias, they are biased. You on the other hand are dumb-assed.

Anonymous said...

Murray, they're not griping to you bc there's apparently little to gripe about now. The prosecutors coming to my GJ the last few months were visibly happier, more relaxed and confident than the ones who came to the two GJs I served on during the last four years. From the outside looking in, the lack of tension is palpable!

Former Foreman

Anonymous said...

http://www.houstonpress.com/2013-07-18/news/innocent-bystander/

An article with a familiar prosecutor and an allegation that evidence was withheld.

Wow,now we are talking people!

Anonymous said...

Ref 12:40

Service on three grand juries in four years? In a county of what...4.2 million people? Talk about a corrupt court system!

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