HBA Presents Miranda v. Arizona

The Houston Bar Association is presenting a re-enactment of the United States Supreme Court arguments in Mirnada v. Arizona.  The re-enactment will take place on Friday, April 29th at 2:00 p.m. at the Harris County 1910 Courthouse.

There will be some very familiar faces in the cast, and the event is free.  It also counts as an hour of free CLE, so it is definitely a win-win situation.

For more information, click here.

Help Neil Krugh Raise Money to Fight Alzheimer's Disease

Our friend, and all around good guy, Neil Krugh is raising money to help the research of and fight against Alzheimer's Disease.  Of course, he's doing it in a pretty fun way, by agreeing to be the head coach of a Powder Puff football team in a charity match, but it still counts.

Please help this great cause -- as well as Neil's coaching career -- by donating at his website.  You can check it out by clicking here.

The Catch-22 of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence was the focus in The New York Times over the weekend, as they profiled the March 7^th murder-suicide of Nadia Saavedra at the hands of her estranged husband, Alejandro Uribe.  Although the murder of a woman at the hands of an estranged husband or boyfriend is, sadly, a frequent occurrence, the tale of Ms. Saavedra and Mr. Uribe was front page news.  It also drew the attention of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.

“Nadia Saavedra’s death underscores the urgent need to intervene well before violence happens,” said Sarah Solon, the spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

The Times seems to have focused on the Saavedra murder because there was virtually no police involvement for the couple prior to the murder, which according to the article, is not uncommon.

As murders in New York City have fallen to record lows in recent years, domestic killings have come to make up an ever larger part of detectives’ workloads.  The cases often take shape out of the Police Department’s view – less than one-third of victims and abusers in domestic homicides have had previous contact with officers – frustrating an agency that is trying to home in on the most violent and vulnerable people.

The focus of the article seems to argue that a lack of police presence in the life of Alejandro Uribe was the cause of Ms. Saavedra’s murder.  It notes that the only time Saavedra had called the police in regards to her husband was on January 28^th, when Uribe was threatening to kill himself.  The focus of that police interaction was not on Saavedra’s safety, but on her husband’s.   The following day, officers responded to Saavedra’s apartment when she reported Uribe was trying to break in.  He was taken to a hospital to treat self-inflicted cuts to his arm and no charges were filed.

Other than responding to Uribe’s suicide attempts, the only other legal interaction relevant to the case occurred the following day, when Saavedra filed a temporary order against Uribe in Family Court.  Again, The Times seems to take issue at the lack of police (or other governmental agency) involvement.

By the morning of March 7, the order had not been served.  It indicated Ms. Saavedra needed to “arrange” to have it served by contacting the authorities, but police records show that she never did – a reflection of the onus placed on victims to secure their own protection, say counselors who work with domestic violence victims.

The statistic that  “less than one-third of victims and abusers in domestic homicides have had previous contact with officers” is somewhat surprising.  Prosecutors routinely attend domestic violence seminars that teach of cycles of abuse and patterns of escalation in violence.  Although domestic violence is certainly underreported to authorities, the idea that two-thirds of all “domestic murderers” had zero prior contact with the police is a staggering statistic.

Police officers in the South Bronx are trying to break through the shame and fear that often keep victims from reporting abuse, visiting them repeatedly even if the slam the door.

The killing of Ms. Saavedra, who lived in a private, five-story walk up building, emerged from the same swirl of jealousy, mental instability and silence that makes it difficult for investigators across the city to anticipate domestic violence.

The fact of the matter is that even when police and prosecutors do become involved in domestic violence cases, that involvement can often do more to exacerbate the situation than remedy it.  Although domestic violence is serious and can potentially have lethal consequences, the manner in which the cases are handled generally do very little to actually help.  While law enforcement may have the best of intentions in helping a situation, the collateral effects can very easily lead to a Catch-22.

The most common scenario where police become involved in a domestic violence situation is when the violence is in progress.   The majority of these incidents involve a female, fearing for her safety, calling 911.  Officers respond, arrest the (usually male) offender, and take him to jail.  At some point during the next few days, the fear and intensity of the incident begins to fade and the unfortunate reality of life sets in.

The reality of life is that while the abuser sits in jail, awaiting charges of assault or domestic battery, he or she isn’t at work.  When he or she isn’t at work, a paycheck isn’t being earned.  If money is tight, the idea of bonding out is far out of reach.  A few days of missed work will, more often than not, lead to a lost job.

People without jobs are more likely to abuse their partners, counselors say, in part because they lose their stake in following social norms.  Around 40 percent of domestic homicide victims in New York City from 2004 to 2013 lived in communities with high poverty, compared to about a quarter of the city’s population over all.

In addition to losing “their stake in following social norms,” abusers are likely to also lose their homes.  When abusers lose their homes, they aren’t the only ones; the victims of said abuse (and their children) usually lose that same roof over their head.  These circumstances, coupled with fear, lead so many victims of abuse to do everything in their power to drop charges against their abusers.  The phenomenon of the recanting domestic violence victim is so prevalent that many District Attorney’s Offices have specialized divisions that are specifically tasked with prosecuting domestic violence cases without the cooperation of the victim.

Defense attorneys often criticize prosecutors who are reluctant to dismiss domestic assault cases and accuse them of meddling in private relationships.  Yet, those who prosecute domestic violence cases against the wishes of the victim aren’t doing so to make life difficult for them.  They have a genuine fear that some day the victim of a misdemeanor assault case will end up like Nadia Saavedra, and no prosecutor wants that on his or her conscience.  The unintended consequences of job loss, economic devastation, and increased hostility from the abuser are unfortunate, but acceptable, collateral damage.

In the Fall of 1994, I was an investigator’s assistant at the District Attorney’s Office in Brazos County.  I vividly recall a woman who came to the office on an almost daily basis, lobbying to drop charges against her common-law husband, who had physically assaulted her.  Ultimately, the prosecutor handling the case realized it couldn’t be proven and dismissed the case.  The afternoon the case was dismissed, we responded to a murder scene.  The common-law husband had stabbed the woman to death in front of a playground full of children.  As he stabbed her, he repeatedly yelled to her: “Was it worth it? Was it worth it?”

That cold afternoon in November has always served as a reminder to me that there is no easy solution or prevention when it comes to domestic violence.  Although the New York Times may level the blame for Ms. Saavedra’s death on a lack of police intervention, the unfortunate truth is that police intervention often has the story ending in the exact same way. 

That’s the Catch-22 of domestic violence.

Seeking a Police Blogger

As many of you know, I also do a little bit of blogging over at Mimesis Fault Lines.  Scott Greenfield and Lee Pacchia have a great line up of bloggers over there to write about the criminal justice system.

I was honored to be invited to be a writer for them, and I get to write alongside some of the best bloggers in the country.  Not that I want to boost Scott's ego anymore, but having him as an editor has been a tremendous gift that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else.

Scott and Lee are always looking for talented writers to join the ranks of Fault Lines, and they are looking for people who write from differing viewpoints.  We currently have a Federal judge, a card-carrying prosecutor, a former-police officer/defense attorney, along with some very prominent names from the defense blogging community.  Most recently, JoAnne Musick has joined the ranks as a regular contributing writer.

We are currently looking for a blogger to write from a police officer's perspective.  Retired or active.

It isn't a commitment to enter into lightly.  Anyone interested would be writing once or twice a week (depending on what you agree to with Scott and Lee).  They want a post that comes in around 1000 words and it needs to be on a topic that is relevant, current, and interesting to a national audience.  Most importantly, they want it to be smart and offer an insight that people don't get when just reading the newspaper.  Scott is a tough editor, but his corrections and suggestions will make you a better writer.

The deadlines that you commit to are firm. Having a bad day, the sniffles, or feeling just too tired to write something are not sufficient excuses for not having something on your scheduled day. Trust me, I've tried! If you are interested, please realize that they are very very serious about that.  You will also have to have a thick skin when people call you out when their opinions differ from yours.

On the plus side, the people that read your stuff are interested in your opinions.  Some of the things we've written have been quoted in newspapers across the world.  It is a fantastic opportunity to have your voice heard.

In short, it is a tough gig, but one that I'm proud as hell to have.

If you are interested or have any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at murray@murraynewman.com or leave a comment.

R.I.P. Dr. Newman

Truth be told, I've never been a real big fan of my name.

Don't get me wrong, I like the legal one.  Louis is just fine by me.

Unfortunately, I'm the fourth person to have the name Louis M. Newman in my family.  When I arrived on the scene, my three predecessors had already claimed "Louis," "Lou" and "Louie" and there apparently weren't any other natural derivatives of the name.  For some reason, my parents took my middle name which is Murat (here's where that name came from) and came up with "Murray" as my street name.

It aggravates the hell out of my mom when I tell her I don't like my name.  I'm not alone in my dislike for it.

As the Internet came to be, I, like everyone else, googled my own name and learned that there were at least two other Murray Newmans out there who were much more prominent than I ever thought of being.

One was an Australian football player who seemed to get in trouble with the police quite a bit.

The other, was quite a bit cooler.  He was a Canadian gentleman who was the founding director of the Vancouver Aquarium.  He was also one of the world's foremost experts on Killer Whales.

Kind of made me feel like the name might be just a little bit cooler.

Dr. Newman passed away on Friday, at the age of 92.  From what I've read, he leaves behind an utterly amazing legacy in his marine studies and conservation.  I've been reading up on my namesake for years, and I found myself surprisingly sad to learn that he passed away.

So, here's to you Murray.  I enjoyed sharing a name with you.  Rest in peace.

A Very Nice Article on Anh Reiss

In case you missed it, there is a very nice article in the Houston Chronicle today on Anh Reiss, the wife of my friend and Harris County Assistant District Attorney Josh Reiss.

It was a beautiful life and a beautiful ceremony to celebrate that life.

You can read the article here.

The Lawyer and the Legislator

Few cases in recent memory have taken as many bizarre twists as the case of Shannon Miles, who stands accused of the murder of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth on August 28, 2015.  Deputy Goforth was shot fifteen times as he was walking to his patrol car at a gas station, and there was no apparent motive for it. 

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office made a swift arrest within twenty four hours, and Sheriff Ron Hickman and District Attorney Devon Anderson gave press conferences about Police Lives Matter.  A huge funeral for Deputy Goforth was televised across Houston, and Governor Greg Abbott was in attendance.  Although D.A. Anderson did not declare it officially, seeking the death penalty on Miles seemed like an inevitable conclusion.

The first twist came within a month, as Miles’ defense attorney, Anthony Osso, told announced to the media that the evidence indicated that Goforth may not have exactly been “on duty” at the time of his death.  There was information that perhaps Goforth was there to meet a female, other than his wife, for personal reasons.  Osso wasn’t muckraking; for a murder to qualify as a Capital offense in Texas, the officer must have died in the line of duty. 

The next twist would occur in October, when it was revealed that one of the Sheriff’s Office Investigators, Sgt. Craig Clopton, had begun a sexual relationship with a witness involved with the case.  That witness?  The above mentioned female who Deputy Goforth had been meeting at the gas station.  As if this stunning piece of information wasn’t bad enough, earlier this year, two additional Harris County Sheriff’s Deputies lost their jobs for inappropriate contact with that same exact witness.

As the Sexual Sideshow of the State’s Star Witness continued to play out in the media, Osso challenged his client’s mental competency to stand trial.  Miles had a history of mental illness and his competency had been challenged in some of his earlier arrests.  On February 9^th, Miles was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.  As per the standard procedure, Miles was ordered to Vernon State Mental Hospital for a 120 day evaluation to see if his mental competency could be “restored.”  Due to the size of Harris County and the limited availability of beds, Miles found himself behind about sixty other inmates waiting to be sent to Vernon from the Harris County Jail.

On February 10^th, the case of Shannon Miles took yet another bizarre twist when Texas State Senator John Whitmire inserted himself into the case.  By his own admission, Whitmire contacted the staff at Vernon State Hospital to expedite Miles’ transfer there from Harris County.  Avoiding the potential ninety wait that Miles was expected to be facing, Vernon agreed to take the accused cop killer within a week.

“He’s a sick person, and where do you place sick people?  In a hospital, not a jail,” Whitmire said.

Senator Whitmire, who serves as the Chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, has long been active in shaping the policies surrounding Texas Criminal Justice.  Historically, his actions in the Senate have been regarded as being dedicated to helping ensure the rights of the accused and he frequently finds himself clashing with prosecutors.  This time around, however, Whitmire finds himself in conflict with Miles’ defense attorney, who had no desire to see his client’s move to Vernon expedited.

On February 12^th, Osso filed a Motion to Halt the Expedited Transfer of Defendant From the Harris County Jail to the State Mental Health Hospital.  Taking issue with Whitmire’s involvement in the case, as well as Whitmire’s claim that he contacted Vernon State Hospital for Miles’ safety in the Harris County Jail, the Motion stated:

. . . Mr. Miles has been incarcerated in the Harris County Jail since the time of his arrest in August 2015.  For the past 5 ½ months the senator has shown no concern for the safety of Mr. Miles, nor has he secured an alternative location for the inmate in the event his competency is restored and he is subsequently released by the state hospital back to the Harris County Jail.

One would think that at this point, Senator Whitmire would realize that his assistance in the Miles matter was no longer desired.  It does not appear that anyone in particular had requested his intervention in the first place, and now counsel for the accused has specifically trying to stop his attempt to expedite the transfer.  Surely, the senator could take a hint and bow out, right?

Apparently not.  In a February 25^th article in the Houston Chronicle, Whitmire responded to Osso’s protests.

“I do this every day,” the Houston Democrat [Whitmire] said of the most recent case in which he has injected himself.  “I’ve heard that the lawyer is going to try to block my involvement.  Good luck on that.  He’s not even going to slow it down.”

Holy Arrogance, Batman, it appears that Senator Whitmire has been watching a little too much Donald Trump.  Osse responded to Whitmire’s refusal to back down by filing a Motion to Preclude Senator John Whitmire from Interfering in the Prosecution of Shannon Miles.  Lest one think that the conflict had degenerated entirely into a Texas-sized pissing contest, Osso actually raised very valid points to keep Whitmire out of Miles’ business.

Senator Whitmire’s interference in the process of competency restoration raises serious questions about whether doctors can evaluate Mr. Miles fairly and independently, free from outside influence.  In securing a bed for Mr. Miles, he has indicated that he wants to see Mr. Miles brought trial quickly, at whatever cost.  He has sent a strong message that competency must be restored, and quickly.  As a powerful political figure, doctors will surely take note and potentially err on the side of finding competency restored.

He also noted:

As part of the Texas legislature, Senator Whitmire holds the purse strings to the funding of state-sponsored mental health facilities.  As a result, he has considerable influence over the staff at these facilities – one disagreeable move by the staff, and a department could lose funding.  His interference in this prosecution therefore places a thumb on the scale of finding competency restoration.  Particularly if the case is a close one, doctors may feel pressured to conclude that Mr. Miles can assist his legal team when he cannot.  This Court should therefore order Mr. Whitmire to refrain from interfering in this prosecution.

Osso also cited the separation of powers principles and noted that Whitmire was acting “well beyond the scope of his authority.”  He’s absolutely correct about that.

A hearing in front of Judge Susan Brown is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2^nd.

Senator Whitmire has a long-standing history of trying to improve the Criminal Justice System and he’s never been afraid of backing down in the face of opposition.  Based on his track record in Congress, one could easily give him the benefit of the doubt in assuming that his uninvited involvement in the Miles case was inspired by good intentions.  However, once Miles’ attorney has asked him to back off, it is incumbent upon the Senator to do so.  His refusal to back away from the case is befuddling.

Anthony Osso is a good lawyer who also has a reputation of not backing down in the face of opposition and he has certainly has no reason to back down from defending Shannon Miles.  In almost any other situation, Osso and Whitmire would most likely find their interests being aligned, but  for some inexplicable reason, that is not the case here.  Osso’s rationale for his opposition to Whitmire is well articulated and understandable. 

Whitmire’s involvement, at this point, is unjustifiable.

Paul Motard

My first "official" foray into the world of Criminal Justice was my Junior year at Texas A&M when I got an academic internship at the Brazos County District Attorney's Office in April of 1994.  I started working there after my dad had happened to bump into Bill Turner, the elected D.A. back then, and told him that I was really interested in becoming a prosecutor.  Bill offered me an internship with the office and put me under the supervision of his one and only D.A. Investigator,  retired HPD Homicide investigator Gil Schultz.

For the next two and a half years (right up until I left to go to law school in Houston), I worked for Bill and Gil.  Gil became like a second dad to me and he took me to crime scenes, autopsies, witness interviews, and trials.  He told me war stories about his days with HPD -- a career where he served ten years in patrol before serving sixteen in homicide. Whenever Gil talked about his days in Homicide, he would talk about his old partner, Paul Motard.

They had worked on the infamous case profiled in Daddy's Girl and Cold Kill together, as well as countless others.  Gil, who redefined the term "outgoing personality," described Motard as much quieter and more straight-laced than Gil was, but as a phenomenal investigator.

Gil and I would come down to Houston every couple of months for one reason or another.  He even took me apartment hunting when I moved here for law school, because he was worried I'd move to a dangerous part of town.  Every time we came to Houston, I'd ask him when was he going to introduce me to this Paul Motard guy.

For two and a half years straight, I never met Motard.  Every time we'd come to Houston, he was either out of town or in the middle of an investigation.  I began to think that he was a figment of Gil's imagination.

I came to Houston for law school in August of 1996 and started at the Harris County District Attorney's Office in August of 1999.  I worked there for about three years before attaining the rank of Felony Two, which is when a prosecutor finally gets to start trying murder cases.  I had been trying murder cases for a couple of years when I moved to the 185th District Court under Judge Susan Brown.

Judge Brown's court is a very "high trial" court, and there were plenty of great murder cases waiting for me when I arrived.   One of the cases was the high profile murder of a TSU student on campus, and the other involved two murders that had occurred around the Roadrunner and Red Carpet Inn.  The investigators on the cases were C.P. "Abby" Abbondandolo and the elusive Paul Motard.

I had worked on several murder cases with some great homicide cops prior to getting to work with Abby and Motard, but these two set a new standard for me.  The amount of detail and work they put into their cases was extraordinary.  On the TSU case, the case had initially been handled by another law enforcement agency that had alienated almost all of the witnesses at the scene.  When Abby and Motard came in, they had the difficult task of reestablishing trust with those witnesses and tracking down a killer who had ended the life of a completely innocent victim.  They did so with ease.  

They were able to develop enough leads to track down the shooter's cousin, who led them to the shooter.   He was identified and a very solid case was built.  However, it wasn't solid enough for Motard and Abby.  The one thing that they had not gotten was a confession -- the suspect had invoked his right to an attorney.  Despite the fact that I didn't need a confession because of the great work they had done, Motard and Abby kept telling me "next time we'll bring you a better case."  That was just their standard and work ethic.

These guys were Old School Homicide cops, and damn, they were good at what they did.  

Abby retired a few years ago and moved out of state.  I got to work with him on a couple of episodes of Cold Justice last year, and he is still just as awesome as he ever was.

But getting to try those cases with Motard felt like I had come full circle.  With as close as Gil and I were, I was so excited to be able to tell him I tried some cases with his old partner.  It was a great experience and I'm very honored to say that I tried cases with a guy who is truly a legend of HPD Homicide.

Paul Motard retired this week.  He'd been a cop since 1974.  I believe that 36 of those years were in Homicide.  At his party, the guys from Homicide gave him his "field notes" from his first case.  It was a stone tablet engraved with the words:

      VICTIM:  Abel

      SUSPECT:  Cain

      WITNESSES:  Adam & Eve

      WEAPON: Rock

A lot of the legendary names from the Homicide Division's past came to wish Paul well, including old Gil.  It was a great time, and I was happy to be invited to attend.

Back when I was interning for Gil, he told me that I had to get out of Brazos County and go work in Houston.  Harris County had the best prosecutors, defense attorneys, and cops in the country.  He was right about that.  And one of those best cops finally took a very well-deserved retirement.

Congratulations, Paul!

Sgt. Bobby Roberts Retires

I'm happy to announce that my friend, Sgt. Bobby Roberts of Houston Police Department, is taking a well deserved retirement this week after 30 years as a police officer.

I first met Bobby when I was at the District Attorney's Office.  He was the lead Homicide detective on the one and only Death Penalty Capital that I ever went to trial on (okay, I was just second chair with Lance Long, but it still counts).  As we prepared for trial, I got to be good friends with both Bobby and some other dude named Roger Something or Other, and we've stayed friends ever since.

Bobby went on to work in the Narcotics Division and I went on to work at the, um, well not at the D.A.'s Office anymore.  I got to deal with him on the Defense side of things it was always great to get to work with him on this side of things.

There will be a retirement party for Bobby on Friday, February 26th at 11 a.m. at the Houston Police Officer's Union (1600 State Street, Houston, TX 77007).  

Congratulations, Bobby!

Early Voting Begins Today

Election season seems to be moving quickly this year -- probably because of the entertaining (and frightening) sideshow in the Presidential race -- and early voting for the primaries snuck up on me.  It begins today and I hope everyone will get out and vote.  Those folks working Downtown can quickly and easily vote over at the Harris County Administration Building.

Remember, you can vote at any polling location during Early Voting, but on Election Day (Tuesday, March 1st), you can only vote at your designated polling spot.

There aren't too many contested primaries in the Criminal Justice elections this year.  I'm going to break them down by Party, although I covered all of the races earlier in this post.  I won't be mentioning the non-contested races.

REPUBLICANS

County Attorney -- yeah, I know that the County Attorney isn't really part of CJC life, but since Jim Leitner is running, I've got to talk about it.  Leitner is facing off against Chris Carmona.  Leitner has been touting his experience as 1st Assistant under Pat Lykos at the D.A.'s Office, but he's neglecting to mention how widely disliked and distrusted he was in that position by those he supervised.  He also apparently neglected to mention how he's not really all of that strong of a Republican -- having worked for Democratic Sheriff Adrian Garcia (before being terminated by Republican Sheriff Ron Hickman) and supporting Democrat Kim Ogg's campaign for D.A.
Recommendation:  Not Jim Leitner  Chris Carmona

178th District Court--four candidates are running on the Republican side:  Xavier Alfaro, Phillip Gommels, Nile Copeland and Bash Sharma.  Really, only Alfaro or Gommels should be considered.  Copeland appears to be a Lloyd Oliver in training, as he tends to hop between Democratic and Republican primaries, and position to position.  Copeland also does not seem to practice any criminal law.  I'm not real sure who Bash Sharma is.  His name and face are not familiar so he must not do an overabundance of criminal practice.
Both Alfaro and Gommels practice exclusively criminal and both are qualified for the job.  Alfaro is generally well known and has been around longer than Gommels.  He has the edge when it comes to experience.
Recommendation:  Xavier Alfaro

339th District Court--two Republican candidates are vying to challenge Democratic Incumbent Judge Maria T. Jackson in November:  Assistant District Attorney Mary McFaden and defense attorney Antonio Benavides.  Both have been licensed approximately the same amount of time, but Mary has been a prosecutor and exclusively handling criminal law her career, while Benavides seems to cover many different aspects of law.  Mary is also a chief prosecutor which gives her the edge on experience.
Recommendation:  Mary McFaden

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2 --  232nd District Court Judge Mary Lou Keel is running for the Court of Criminal Appeals.  She has two opponents, and quite honestly, I'm not even familiar with their names.  I do know Judge Keel, though.  I've tried cases in front of her as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney.  She defines being fair and "by-the-book."  Her knowledge of the law and her unbiased application of it make her an excellent candidate for any judicial bench.  I'd hate to lose her in Harris County, but she would be outstanding at the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Vote for Judge Keel and get the word out to your friends in other counties to vote for her.
Recommendation:  Judge Mary Lou Keel

DEMOCRATS

Harris County District Attorney -- Former Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Morris Overstreet is running against Kim Ogg.  Oh yeah, and of course, Leaping Lloyd Oliver.  Based on his past experience and positive campaign message, I would recommend Overstreet over Ogg.  Ogg, who ran for District Attorney in 2014 has had some troubling issues in her campaign and her legal practice that concern me.  Kim seems to adopt that Pat Lykos-style of campaigning of jumping on and supporting every bandwagon that she believes plays to her political advantage, regardless of the legality of that bandwagon.  Although pandering has become an expected activity in political campaigns, promises of prosecutions to get votes is a scary trait that she exhibits often on the campaign trail.
Recommendation: Morris Overstreet

174th District Court -- current Democrat, Judge Ruben Guerrero is not running for re-election and three candidates are running to replace him on the Dem side:  Garland McInnis, former-Judge Hazel Jones, and Raul Rodriguez.  Jones lost her bench in 2012 after serving only one term.  Her reputation on the bench wasn't extremely bad, but it wasn't very good, either.  She had strange policies on attorneys working out of court hours on their clients' cases and her knowledge of the law wasn't considered to be strong.  I've known Garland McInnis for a long time now.  He is smart and would make a good judge, but he has been out of the criminal law loop for awhile now while working at the County Attorney's Office.   Raul Rodriguez has maintained a steady criminal law practice for as long as I can remember and I believe that experience with criminal law is what matters.
Recommendation:  Raul Rodriguez

176th District Court -- former 176th judge Shawna Reagin is running to retake the bench she lost in 2012.  She's running against Niki Harmon, a municipal court judge.  Although Reagin was a controversial on the bench for her demeanor, I never had a personal problem with her and generally found her to be a good judge.  She is most definitely qualified and has vastly more experience with felony cases than her opponent.
Recommendation:  Shawna Reagin

177th District Court --  two candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination to most likely get crushed by run against Republican Incumbent Ryan Patrick.  David Singer and Robert Johnson are both defense attorneys who practice regularly at the CJC.  Singer has the edge in this case based on tenure and devotion solely to criminal practice.
Recommendation:  David Singer

178th District Court --  with sitting Democratic Judge David Mendoza not running for re-election, Assistant District Attorney Kelli Johnson is running against Democrat Lori Gray,  As I've said before, I'm biased because Kelli is a friend, but her experience speaks for itself.  She's been a prosecutor practicing exclusively criminal law since 1999.   She would make a fantastic judge.
Recommendation:  Kelli Johnson

179th District Court --  former-Judge Randy Roll is running to retake the bench that he lost in 2012 after serving for one term.  His opponent is Assistant District Attorney Stephen Aslett.  It is very telling that Aslett got the Houston Chronicle's nomination over the former judge, and I've had some serious questions about the validity of some of Roll's campaign claims about his judicial record.  Roll was known for being a little over-aggressive in encouraging plea bargains in his court during his time on the bench, which raised eyebrows from both the defense and the prosecution.  Aslett, on the other hand, seems to have the right mentality for running.
Recommendation:  Stephen Aslett

351st District Court -- defense attorneys Greg Glass and George Powell will be facing off in the Democratic Primary to see who will be taking on longtime Judge Mark Kent Ellis.  I know both Greg and George and consider them both friends.  They are both equally qualified to be judge in my opinion.
Recommendation:  Both choices are good

That may be the shortest write up I've ever done in the primaries, but that's probably a good thing.  I'm looking forward to the fields for November getting settled.  I think that whoever ends up as the Republican nominee will pretty much decide what happens here in November.

Now Go Vote!!!!