tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post7257200187574784219..comments2024-03-28T00:50:16.901-05:00Comments on Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center: Keeper CasesMurray Newmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00662196272138109874noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-13983048562439334622009-04-05T02:12:00.000-05:002009-04-05T02:12:00.000-05:00Murray,As I read the 70 plus comments in this part...Murray,<BR/><BR/>As I read the 70 plus comments in this part of your blog, it seems to have turned from an observation about keeper cases to rock throwing and personal assaults at one another. When the comments turn into personal attacks, why don't you delete those and prevent them from being published?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-71718493723141168432009-01-21T21:09:00.000-06:002009-01-21T21:09:00.000-06:00Respect? Really? I know nothing about you; I assum...Respect? Really? <BR/><BR/>I know nothing about you; I assume that you're telling the truth about losing your son, but I assume that only because if you were lying about that then you'd qualify to be among the vilest characters that I've ever met (and that's saying a lot). <BR/><BR/>You're an anonymous commenter impugning the integrity of a large group of people you don't know. You're a person in a mask throwing rocks at a peaceful crowd.<BR/><BR/>I have no respect for the masked rock-throwers and the car-keyers of the internet. So, no, no respect for you.<BR/><BR/>Well, then, how about your opinions? <BR/><BR/>My CV, as well as a million words of my writings on the criminal justice system, is available to anyone with a computer. My character is easily assessed. And the best you can do is attack me because I'm a criminal defense lawyer and you think (though you can't really articulate why) that criminal defense lawyers must be morally compromised.<BR/><BR/>You've shown yourself willing, time after time after time, to hold forth from the cover of anonymity on topics of which you've proven yourself woefully ignorant. You won't even acknowledge the inalterable facts that challenge your position -- for example, that police officers are allowed to lie in the course of investigations.<BR/><BR/>Now you invoke theology. Do you have the impression that you know better how to seek Justice here on Earth than a thousand years of Western lawyers and philosophers? Than the Founding Fathers? Is it that you think the Taliban have the right idea? Are you eagerly looking for some sort of Christian Sharia?<BR/><BR/>Or is it just that you have no clue what the Bible actually says about this topic? Because if you look you can find a good example there of someone defending a case in which the accused was unquestionably guilty (caught in the act) and the penalty, both according to the law and according to the priests, was death. You would paint him with the same brush that you paint today's criminal defense bar; was he a man of little integrity? Seek and ye shall find.<BR/><BR/>Your fellow refugees from the Chronicle blogs, who (because they've watched an episode of Law and Order) think they have the solution to every problem in the criminal justice system might well respect your opinions.<BR/><BR/>I, however, do not.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-25724121522774697042009-01-21T08:06:00.000-06:002009-01-21T08:06:00.000-06:00Well, gee, who wouldn't rather be judged by theolo...Well, gee, who <I>wouldn't</I> rather be judged by theology than law? Here and now -- yeah, it was different when the Inquisition had any authority -- the worst a theologian can do is call you a mean name; a court can lock you up in a room with bars and rather limited Internet access.<BR/><BR/>Sheesh.Joel Rosenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14745514449389969195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-18199841786632255982009-01-21T08:01:00.000-06:002009-01-21T08:01:00.000-06:00Mark Bennett,I think frustration is more appropria...Mark Bennett,<BR/>I think frustration is more appropriate than outrage. Nevertheless, we'll just have to respectfully disagree on this matter.....as the horse has been beaten to death. <BR/>I appreciate your point of view, perhaps one day you'll appreciate mine. <BR/>I recently read that you were a theology undergraduate at Rice University. Reflection on your theology teachings at Rice might shed some light on my perspective at a higher level then the agenda set forth through your studies at law school. Theology and law are often apples and oranges and the root of this conflict....I'd rather be judged by the former. <BR/>Good day, sir.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-3296853671153415002009-01-20T18:24:00.000-06:002009-01-20T18:24:00.000-06:00HPD 101, you're so outraged, because of your limit...HPD 101, you're so outraged, because of your limited experience with the system, with the idea that people should have a competent defense that you are missing the fact that your heroes the police are judicially permitted to lie (with no objection from you) and your heroes the prosecutors are as interested in the factfinder not hearing the whole truth as your supervillains the defense lawyer. You're unwilling to even conceive of a truthful defense lawyer. We get it.<BR/><BR/>If you were able to admit to yourself the truth -- that prosecutors, like defense lawyers, use the rules of evidence to try to exclude the facts that harm their clients' cases -- you would probably rationalize it with something like your implicit "personal agenda" rationale for cops -- as though the interrogator lying to the suspect or the prosecutor trying to keep the jury in the dark is acting out of some higher calling.<BR/><BR/>Sure, the system is broken. No argument from me. But your personal mythology, that the broken system somehow reflects on the characters of the people who are doing their best within the rules to prevent injustice, has no basis in reality.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-43120372576486579922009-01-20T18:07:00.000-06:002009-01-20T18:07:00.000-06:00Mark Benet,I do not condone lying whether it is a ...Mark Benet,<BR/>I do not condone lying whether it is a police officer, prosecutor, defense attorney or anyone else for that matter. <BR/>I understand that your obligation as a defense attorney to "zealously" represent your client does not conform with my view of honesty. Truth, sadly, is often not the goal in a courtroom. That is my point. No other. I am not so naive to think that some prosecutors and some police officers do not lie and defend the practice by stating that the end justifies the means. But a few bad ADAs and cops should not be used to generalize all law enforcement as bad and corrupt. If a prosecutor intentionally fails to timely produce exculpatory evidence he/she should be sanctioned. If a police officer lies to satisfy a personal agenda he/she should also be disciplined. <BR/>There are no REAL balancing rules for the defense bar. If a defense attorney intentionally with holds damning evidence/lies and beats the truth they are instead praised, rewarded and held in high esteem by their peers, the media and their clients. I do not need a tutorial on Con. Law, I am merely stating that in my opinion society's moral compass is off and that is a sad thing for our community and country. <BR/>I believe that consequences and responsibility are important aspects of character development. I also understand that many people today side with your view that they are expendable. Your advocating that "hiding the truth from the factfinder" is acting with integrity highlights our differences.<BR/><BR/>BTW, My reference to the "defense bar's code of conduct" was a tongue in cheek joke intended to imply that that there is no actual guide for controlling lies for defense attorneys and you feel the same for police officers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-20374393795923300992009-01-20T16:37:00.000-06:002009-01-20T16:37:00.000-06:00HPD 101, I sympathize. I might be insane with grie...HPD 101, I sympathize. I might be insane with grief if someone had killed one of my kids. But you'll probably never understand what I'm saying because you're talking about things with which you have no real experience.<BR/><BR/>Yes, most prosecutors serve their clients with high degree of integrity, even while trying to keep the factfinder from knowing all of the facts -- "hiding" the truth from the factfinder.<BR/><BR/>So do most defense lawyers serve their clients: with integrity, even when part of the job is to "hide" some facts from the factfinder.<BR/><BR/>Neither prosecutor nor defense lawyer has a license to lie. Some are dishonest, but it's not a function of the job. A lawyer can be truthful, and do a good job for his clients (a better job, I would argue, than an untruthful lawyer).<BR/><BR/>Contrast that with a job that includes lying as one of its functions: that of police officer. I'm not talking about "the defense bar's code of conduct" (whatever you <I>imagine</I>, since you really don't know, that is), but rather about what society (through the courts) has given police officers explicit permission to do.<BR/><BR/>Now, you might say, "well, lying <I>is</I> immoral, but it's okay for a <I>cop</I> to lie because the end justifies the means." If you did, though, then you and those (not including me) who think it's okay for a defense lawyer or a prosecutor to lie for a client would be, as Mr. Shaw said, just haggling about the price.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-51951483380031009122009-01-20T13:49:00.000-06:002009-01-20T13:49:00.000-06:00Oh, come on, HPD101; you're making this 'way too e...Oh, come on, HPD101; you're making this 'way too easy for Bennett.Joel Rosenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14745514449389969195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-65721101229080529052009-01-20T12:34:00.000-06:002009-01-20T12:34:00.000-06:00Mark Bennett,Fact: We can agree to disagree. Fact...Mark Bennett,<BR/>Fact: We can agree to disagree. <BR/>Fact: I am not a prosecutor and have no self serving intent in my expressed opinion that most prosecutors serve the public good with a high level of integrity. <BR/>Fact: I can appreciate how difficult it might be for you to rationalize your self serving position. <BR/>Assumption: Mark Bennett is basically a good and moral person who is in turmoil trying to justify some of the immoral, albeit legal, aspects of being a criminal defense attorney.....the conflict of morally correct v. legally correct. <BR/>Assumption: The implication that most, if not all, cops adhere to the "defense bar's code of conduct"......we'll both disagree on that one for completely different reasons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-31508752317641507572009-01-20T11:12:00.000-06:002009-01-20T11:12:00.000-06:00Incidentally, if you wanted to find someone whose ...Incidentally, if you wanted to find someone whose job description <I>ex</I>plicitly included not only hiding the truth, but also blatantly lying, you would have to look no farther than your friendly local cop.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-16770188102992628942009-01-20T10:36:00.000-06:002009-01-20T10:36:00.000-06:00HPD 101, you're making assumptions about things th...HPD 101, you're making assumptions about things that (you've shown over and over) you don't really understand.<BR/><BR/>Nobody in the courthouse has an "let it all in and let the jury decide" attitude. We might think that the jury should have all of the facts, but that's not the system we have. Prosecutors are, as often as defense lawyers, trying to "hide the truth". <BR/><BR/>A prosecutor doesn't want the jury to hear the truth favorable to the accused any more than a defense lawyer wants the jury to hear the truth favorable to the state. That's what advocacy is about: letting the jury hear the truth most favorable to your client. To put it crudely, evidentiary objections are for hiding the truth.<BR/><BR/>But it's not just us lawyers; businessmen and bankers don't reveal the whole truth when it benefits their interests.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-12455630870387169712009-01-20T10:19:00.000-06:002009-01-20T10:19:00.000-06:00Mark Bennett,Maintaining one's integrity is challe...Mark Bennett,<BR/>Maintaining one's integrity is challenging in all walks of life. Notwithstanding, some vocations require more vigilance than others in achieving that end. <BR/>When a job description inherently promotes hiding the truth to promote one's cause, straight forward honest dealings are more likely to take a back seat. <BR/>There are good and bad criminal defense attorneys as well as good and bad prosecutors. In your defense, it is just a whole lot easier to be a good honest prosecutor, based on the respective job descriptions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-62622551015680264602009-01-20T09:04:00.000-06:002009-01-20T09:04:00.000-06:00"Ethics and honesty are often a challenge for an a..."Ethics and honesty are often a challenge for an attorney in the zealous defense of a criminal defendant." <BR/><BR/>This is no more true than the equivalent proposition for a prosecutor, a banker, or a businessman.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-75607269051571990162009-01-20T08:35:00.000-06:002009-01-20T08:35:00.000-06:00Mark Bennett,The occupation of criminal defense at...Mark Bennett,<BR/>The occupation of criminal defense attorney does not in and of itself render one dishonest; how one comports himself within that role is controlling on the issue. <BR/>Ethics and honesty are often a challenge for an attorney in the zealous defense of a criminal defendant. God will judge us all at the end of the day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-88284213409789298992009-01-19T21:02:00.000-06:002009-01-19T21:02:00.000-06:00HPD 101, you are correct, sir. I remember a commen...HPD 101, you are correct, sir. I remember a commenter on this very blog who assumed, based on my occupation, that I was a dishonest person. We know better, don't we?Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-3052216171268293702009-01-19T15:29:00.000-06:002009-01-19T15:29:00.000-06:00Mark Bennett,Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are ...Mark Bennett,<BR/>Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are not saying that a prosecutor who actually cares about the complainant is a bad thing but rather that he/she will be more formidable as a result of his/her investment in the case. <BR/>Controlled passion is an asset in trial as opposed to emotional chaos and/or rage.<BR/>Remarkable that you remember my old post. My family and I were fortunate to have Kelly Siegler's passion, preparation and skill on the side of my lost son's memory. As you undoubtedly defend your clients with sincere passion, a victim's family appreciates the same passion for their cause. Neither the defendant nor the state should have it any other way. <BR/>You are wise not to judge based on mere assumption....it sets you apart from some of your fellow bloggers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-88502064806957563222009-01-18T17:25:00.000-06:002009-01-18T17:25:00.000-06:001447, I represent all sorts of people. I have take...1447, I represent all sorts of people. I have taken court appointments in state court, and still have a small court-appointed docket, albeit in federal court.<BR/><BR/>The one thing that my clients have in common is that they recognize that they're in big trouble. So even though many of them can't afford to pay $10k, they would if they could, and I defend them as though they could. <BR/><BR/>I don't mind them knowing where I live (some of their family members, I mind, but I have big dogs and guns, so I don't worry a whole lot), and I don't screen my calls so whether they have my home number is irrelevant.<BR/><BR/>Why do I treat them that way? Because I care about them. The "worst" of them are human beings who need my help. This works for me and for many other lawyers whom I respect. In my view any criminal defense lawyer worth his salt cares about the people whose freedom is in his hands. If we find our clients repulsive, we might as well be representing corporations or governments.<BR/><BR/>Also as far as I'm concerned (and back on the point of Murray's post) a prosecutor -- even an unswervingly ethical prosecutor -- who cares about the complainant is more dangerous to my clients' freedom than one who isn't so invested in the case.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-15623036864117038892009-01-18T14:47:00.000-06:002009-01-18T14:47:00.000-06:00Blogger Mark Bennett said... P.S. This guy and...Blogger Mark Bennett said...<BR/><BR/> P.S. This guy and I live on different planets:<BR/><BR/>Gee Mark, this attitude probably comes from the fact that this attorney isn't only associating with people who can afford to pay 5k or 10k for a defense. Some of us can't afford to keep such well heeled company. Some of us actually represent poor, unwashed, uneducated people who don't view working for a living quite the same way we do. Most of the people who belong to this class and commit crimes aren't necessarily nice, and I sure as hell don't want them knowing where I live either. How many of your clients do you associate with on a personal level?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-41758899731992423252009-01-17T17:14:00.000-06:002009-01-17T17:14:00.000-06:00P.S. This guy and I live on different planets:"few...P.S. This guy and I live on different planets:<BR/><BR/>"few defense attorneys care about their clients. Why should we? Most of them are either horrible people, or so stupid that you can barely have a coherent conversation with them. In 20 years, I have met maybe one or two clients that I would even let have my home phone number."Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-44524439087298243472009-01-17T17:13:00.000-06:002009-01-17T17:13:00.000-06:00I just thought I'd get in before the discourse sta...I just thought I'd get in before the discourse started to deteriorate here.<BR/><BR/>Is HPD 101 a cop? I don't believe I've ever seen him say either way (though I do recall him mentioning a family member whose killer Kelly Siegler prosecuted), but I had the impression that he was not.Mark Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128739833441582127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-86487219464322588292009-01-16T09:58:00.000-06:002009-01-16T09:58:00.000-06:00You didn't take your Adderal yesterday did you? Yo...You didn't take your Adderal yesterday did you? Your lack of attention to detail undoubtedly contributes to your personal failures at the courthouse and in life;<BR/><BR/>How would you know if this person has personal failures in life or at the courthouse? How would you know if this person takes medication? Are you psychic now? At least this poster only claimed to be a lawyer, not psychic. If you are psychic, get off this blog and get out there and solve some crimes. How do you know what risks and sacrifices "anonymous" has made for himself, his family and his country? You don't. You started the insults: almost every post you have made has been name calling and insulting Leitner, Lykos, and various other people. Don't you think that calling someone a failure personally and professionally because he said something you disagreed with is an insult? Amazing how lawyers manage to get on here and disagree with people without being insulting and belittling, but leave it to a cop to be nasty. I guess anonymous is lucky you can't tase him or charge him with resisting arrest. Didn't you take a few digs at people for being "anonymous?" What's your name, HPD101? What's the matter? Don't have the courage of your convictions? Are you ducking behind the wheel well of your unit? Afraid you might get in trouble? So you feel free to sit and snipe at people behind your computer, and then you berate someone else for "insulting" you? What the poster was clearly saying was that the lawyers on here are down here every day trying to keep the system honest one defendant at a time, and that we went to a lot of trouble and expense to be here. If you don't think that going to law school is a huge risk, then you have no clue. Ask some of these new lawyers who are 100k in non-dischargeable debt and don't have a job if they think it was a risk. Reading your posting reminds me why I never talk to cops unless I have them on the witness stand. Its a waste of time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-2171698925713647142009-01-15T13:33:00.000-06:002009-01-15T13:33:00.000-06:00Dearest 7:44,My response in defense of a fellow bl...Dearest 7:44,<BR/>My response in defense of a fellow blogger was numbered to clarify YOUR "rambling irrelevant nonsense". <BR/>BTW, I am an attorney also...no big shakes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-44290819608862805742009-01-15T09:50:00.000-06:002009-01-15T09:50:00.000-06:00ANON 744/825,You didn't take your Adderal yesterda...ANON 744/825,<BR/>You didn't take your Adderal yesterday did you? Your lack of attention to detail undoubtedly contributes to your personal failures at the courthouse and in life; not alleged prosecutorial emotional misconduct or police behavior.<BR/>Insulting a police officer simply because you may have more formal education than he does simply highlights your low self esteem.<BR/>Graduating law school is not the end all. How do you know what risks and sacrifices "HPD 101" has made for himself, his family and his country? You don't. Attending law school was a privilege for you; NOT a great risk or sacrifice as you delude yourself into thinking. You have no idea what great risk, sacrifice or loss involves if attending post graduate school is your benchmark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-86255073438354822202009-01-15T08:14:00.000-06:002009-01-15T08:14:00.000-06:00anon 7:44 and 8:25:OMG you are the poster boy for ...anon 7:44 and 8:25:<BR/>OMG you are the poster boy for "you can't fix stupid".your last 2 posts made me LOL.get your mommy to warm some milk for you and shut the fuck up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566778230970156239.post-25130809731251670882009-01-14T20:25:00.000-06:002009-01-14T20:25:00.000-06:00Hey HPD101, since you are so consumed with the qua...Hey HPD101, since you are so consumed with the quality of justice and so worried about how the DA's office is run, why don't you do something about it? You could start by getting your fellow officers to stop lying, concealing evidence, racial profiling, rigging photo lineups, and screwing up lab tests. Start by getting your fellow officers to stop stopping black people because "they looked suspicious." Or you could go to law school, get a job at the DA's office when you graduate and pass the bar, and then run for DA. That way, you could run the whole show just the way you wanted. But I guess its easier to just run your mouth on a blog and bash people, isn't it? I mean, the lawyers on here went into debt, delayed earning a living to go to law school, (some of us quit lucrative jobs to go), went through the mental stress of law school, studied our asses off for the bar and waited for months wondering if we had passed it, then went through the very hard work of building a practice and all the stess and financial deprivation for at least a couple of years, and are still fighting the stress of not knowing how much we will earn in any given month. We took the risks, and you didn't. We are lawyers, and you aren't. Lykos is a lawyer and she was elected. You weren't. So why don't you quit insulting people, and if you really, really want to improve the quality of justice in Harris County, start with yourself and HPD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com