Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center

The Houston Bench/Bar Conference was held this weekend in Galveston with what was shaping up to be fairly low turnout. Historically, I've always enjoyed the Conference, because it is a great chance for members of the Defense Bar, the Prosecutors, and the Judiciary to all hang out for a day or two in a relaxed setting. There are Continuing Legal Education hours available, and people can exchange ideas in a pleasant atmosphere. For some reason, the Conference wasn't all that highly publicized this year. I looked for information on it a month or so ago and couldn't find it. It turns out that I wouldn't have been able to attend anyway, since I had my son at my house over the weekend. Due to budget constraints (hardwood floors = less cash on hand for CLE credit), the D.A.'s Office only sent 14 people to the Conference, which is a shame, since the bi-annual event has always had a good showing from the Office in years past. But rest assured that the Gang Who Couldn'

Pat Lykos is back in the news today with a hard-hitting, gripping and surely controversial Editorial this moring announcing that the D.A.'s Office is going to prosecute Failure to Stop and Render Aid cases. I envisioned the scene leading up to the writing of the article in this short, one act play: Interior: Pat Lykos’ Office. Jim Leitner is bring Lykos her morning coffee as Lykos is frowning, reading the newspaper. PAT: Jim, I’m not happy. JIM: I’m sorry, your Lordship. How have I failed you this time? PAT: It’s not you, this time, you Dolt. It’s the newspapers. We haven’t done anything noteworthy in months. Hell, even that imbecile Newman hasn’t written a post on me since February. JIM: Well, he has been busy with the elections . . . PAT: Silence! What we need is to get back in the Public Relations game. We should make a hard-line stand on an issue that is guaranteed to generate some positive press. JIM: We could outline a policy on how our office can assist in reducing

HPD Officer Rick Salter was seriously wounded during the execution of a narcotics search warrant in March of 2009. Now, he is a finalist for America's Most Wanted's All Star. Show your support for a local hero by voting for Officer Salter by clicking here and following the instructions from there. NOTE: You can vote once a day through May 3rd. So mark the link and keep going back!

This just in -- According to harrisvotes.com, Marc Brown has defeated Danny Dexter for the Republican Nomination for the 180th District Court. After a 1600 vote deficit from early voting and absentee, Marc came from behind and won by about 900 votes. Excellent job, Voters! And it looks like Terry Lowery, Gary Polland, Steve Hotze, and whoever the schlub that runs P.O.L.I.C.E. Inc. just proved that competency and integrity shines through over paid political endorsements. Marc, I couldn't be any happier for you.

One of the types of cases that bothered me tremendously when I was a Prosecutor and continues to bother me as a Defense Attorney is what are most commonly known as the Rent-A-Center cases that pop up regularly in court. The scenario is simple: Someone who can't afford some of the furnishings and/or appliances that they would like for their home goes to Rent-A-Center who allows them to rent said appliance for a weekly or monthly fee. The customer signs a CONTRACT and then exits the store with the merchandise. After paying on it for a bit, the payments stop coming in and Rent-A-Center files theft charges on the person who entered into the contract. Now, before I dive off into this topic, please understand me. I'm not saying that Rent-A-Center (and similar companies) aren't entitled to be paid for what they contracted for and/or they should get their leased merchandise back. But, it seems to me that Rent-A-Center cases approach a very fine line in the difference between cri

Black Ink has a new post up over at his blog, Stealth. Check it out.

One of the more bitter memories I have from the day in 2008 when we all learned that Pat Lykos had won the Republican Nomination in the runoff for the District Attorney's race came from working a polling location for Kelly Siegler on election day. The reason that the memory there is bitter was that shortly after 5 p.m., the location became flooded with people wanting to vote who were arriving only to be turned away. The reason they were being turned away was that the general public had not been adequately informed that NOT ALL POLLING LOCATIONS THAT ARE OPEN DURING THE REGULAR PRIMARY ELECTION DAY ARE OPEN ON THE RUN-OFF ELECTION DAY. I can still remember the look on some of the wannabe voters' faces as they shrugged their shoulders and told me that they wanted to vote, but they had just learned that their polling location was on the opposite side of their precinct and there was no way to get there in time. Some were very apologetic about it. I'm taking this painful trip

Early voting for the run-off election for the 180th District Court Republican candidate begins tomorrow (Monday, April 5th). There is only one race on the ballot that affects the CJC, so look for voter turnout to be incredibly low. Sadly, that is usually a benefit to the woefully incompetent. Ask Pat Lykos. Marc Brown has been endorsed by Senator Dan Patrick, Paul Bettencourt, and former-District Attorney Johnny Holmes as the best candidate in this race. And he is running against a completely unqualified candidate. Please please please please please go vote. A lot of the voting sites that you THINK are your voting locations will not be open on the actual voting day, so voting early is the smart thing to do. Don't get caught by surprise. Go vote. Take a friend. Do the right thing and make a difference.

Early voting begins on Monday, and with only one race on the ballot that directly affects those of us around the CJC, you can expect the turnout to be pretty darn low. That makes your vote count more than usual, so don't forget to vote or (worse) don't refrain from voting because you think you can't. Just remember these two simple things if you have doubts about your eligibility to vote in the Republican run-off. 1. Even if you didn't vote in the general primary in March, YOU CAN STILL VOTE IN THE RUN-OFF. 2. The ONLY thing that prohibits an otherwise eligible voter from voting in the Republican run-off is if they voted in the Democratic primary in March. Simple rules, folks. Don't be lazy. Go vote on Monday.