Another Random Question

Okay, I've really enjoyed reading what you guys have read the most times over, so I'm following it up with another question.

What are you reading now?

I've got a couple of books I'm in the middle of including Daniel Silva, Tom Clancy and (fine, I'll admit it) Charlaine Harris, but mainly I'm focusing on George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings, which is the follow up to Game of Thrones.

Don't worry, I'll get back to criminal law and CJC stuff as soon as I can think of something worth writing about.

Tonight's Reasonable Doubt (9/1/11)

Regular viewers will be devastated to know that I will not be co-hosting tonight's Reasonable Doubt with Todd Dupont, as I will be replaced by the Usurper Franklin Bynum for the evening.  I suppose, if you really and truly STILL want to watch the show, it will be on with a great guest -- Bob Wicoff.

As always, you can tune in by clicking here for live streaming video at 8 p.m. tonight.

Random Question

Every once in a while, a random thought crosses my mind that I decide I would like to share with the unsuspecting masses.  The easy way to ask the question would be to ask, "What is your favorite book?"

My question is what book have you read the most times over?

Mine is probably Lonesome Dove, which I guess I've read cover to cover about four or five times,  closely followed by The Cop Who Wouldn't Quit, which I've read three or four times.

Yes, I know it has nothing to do with criminal law or the CJC, and I'm sure that somebody will find something rude to say about me going off topic, but I'm genuinely curious.

Seeing as how this isn't exactly a controversial question, if you'd like to sign your name to the answer, I'd like to know that, too.

Reasonable Doubt Archives

For those of you who have asked about catching archived Reasonable Doubt episodes on the web (Really, I swear, there have been people who have asked.  I'm not just making that up), there is now a website where HCCLA is starting to put old episodes.

You can find the website by clicking here.

Special thanks to Assistant Public Defender, technological whiz kid, and President of the Lee Greenwood Fan Club, Franklin Bynum for organizing the website.

New Chronicle Blog Post

I did a new blog post on Judge Guerrero's ruling on the change of venue in the Chad Holley beating case.  You can check it out by clicking here.

Tonight's Reasonable Doubt (8/25/11)

Plean join me and Todd Dupont for tonight's Reasonable Doubt, where our guest will be the mildly opinionated former Assistant District Attorney Sean Teare.  Look for an entertaining show, which will doubtlessly feature call ins from Hollywood entertainment attorney Dodge Rosen.

As always, you can tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. to catch it live by clicking here.

In Case of Emergency

Based on some recent events that have occurred around the CJC over the past few weeks, Mark Bennett and I came up with an idea that we wanted to share with our friends and family members of the courthouse. Two weeks ago, a member of the defense bar passed away from natural causes at her home.  Court coordinators knew that she had missed her cases on the docket that day, but had no one to contact to check on her welfare.  The efforts to check on her welfare and notify a relative were made difficult because there was no central location that had that information.

Unlike prosecutors who have the benefit of co-workers and supervisors that will notice almost immediately if they don't come to work without explanation, many members of the defense bar are solo practitioners.  Some don't even have a receptionist or office aide that can be contacted in case of emergency.

In an effort to respond in a "worst case scenario," Mark has created a data base that all courthouse personnel are welcome to utilize if they want.  The list will be completely confidential and at this point, only Mark and I will have access to it.  If you want to sign up for it, you can rest assured that it is not going to be added to an e-mail list for marketing purposes.  It will also not be something that is created so that a coordinator can call and find out why you haven't shown up for docket by 10:30.

The list will be maintained solely for the purposes of having a safety net in place for people in case of emergency.  If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask them.  If you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them as well.

Thanks to Mark's work, the database is now up and running.  If you would like to put your information in it, you can do it whenever you want.

The link to get there is here.

I Love My Hometown News

As I've mentioned frequently on this blog, I love being from Bryan, Texas.  I loved growing up there.  I love the people there.  I love to go back there when I can.

I also love watching the news there.  Every local commercial features either a) somebody I know or b) somebody I grew up watching on commercials.

The weatherman and the sports guy have been the same since I was in junior high school, and to this day, when you see one of them at the grocery store, you kind of feel like you just saw a celebrity.

And then there are the news stories themselves . . .

Like tonight's headline.

I love that a minor accident made the TV news when it wasn't even a hit and run and nobody was seriously injured.

I also enjoy that instead of giving the location with a cross-street, the description of the location read:

It happened around 9 o'clock Friday night on East 29th Street in Bryan near the Dairy Queen.

Sometimes, it is just nice to know that there are still some small towns where a minor accident is the worst thing that happens on a Friday night.

Before They Were Stars

Okay, we all are aware of the tragic E! True Hollywood Story of child star Will Womble, but I was recently made aware that we have another aspiring star in our midst.

Check out this video and see if you can spot who it is.  (NOTE:  This video usually won't play on a portable device, so you'll have to check it out on your desktop or laptop).

Special thanks to the anonymous prosecutor who forwarded this gem.

Tonight's Reasonable Doubt (8/18/11)

Tune into tonight's Reasonable Doubt with me and Todd Dupont at 8:00 p.m.  Our guest will be our friend and fellow criminal defense attorney, Fox Curl.  We'll be talking about domestic violence.

You can watch it live streaming at 8:00 p.m. by clicking here.