Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center

Former Harris County Assistant District Attorney and defense attorney Sid Crowley died last week at the age of 69. He was a friend of mine and a semi-regular commenter on this blog since the blog started. To me, Sid was the epitome of what a Harris County criminal lawyer was.  He was disheveled, disorganized, sarcastic, angry, fearless . . . . . . and a phenomenal lawyer. I met Sid when I was a baby prosecutor.  He was grizzled and wide-eyed.  My first encounter with him didn't lead me to believe that there was anything special about him.  It wasn't until much later that I mentioned something about Sid to another attorney (I think it was Pete Justin), and that lawyer's response was something to the effect of "Sid is one of the most brilliant legal minds that building has ever seen." As I would come to find out, Sid may not have always looked like much on the outside, but on the inside, he was an intensely zealous (and wickedly brilliant) criminal de

It is hard to believe that it has been over three years since Dr. Anh Reiss, wife of Harris County Assistant District Attorney Josh Reiss, passed away from myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of leukemia. I first met Josh back in 2009 when there was a bone marrow registration drive at the CJC in the hopes of finding a suitable match for Anh.  Although the registration drive signed up many new donors, a match was not found for her.  Josh and I ended up becoming good friends and I kept up with Anh's condition as she and the Reiss family fought the disease for the next seven years.  Unfortunately, she ultimately passed away on February 26th of 2016 after a truly long and courageous battle. Josh texted me yesterday to notify me of this editorial in the Houston Chronicle  detailing Josh's efforts to have the anniversary of Anh's death officially memorialized Texas Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ Donation Day in Texas.  The bill in the legislature to create this day is sponsored b