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SPRIN 2007

HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL

LAWYERS

ASSOCIA

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JOIN US

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Winning Warriors

Message

From

the

President

by

Robert

ickmon

Warhorse

Award Announcement

Strategy: Using the Enemy s Weapons

by oseph W. Varela

Mandatory Minimums: Broken

Idea

by

Wendy M Miller

Top

Ten

Things To

Remember

When

Representing

Foreign

Nationals

y

Magal

iSCand l

er

Dedication

Ceremony

HCCL Holiday Party

THE

DEFEN DE

8/11/2019 2007 Spring Defender

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Robert fickman

PRESIDENT ElEC

T

Pat

McCann

VICE PRESIDENT

Mark Bennett

SECRETARY

Sean Buckley

TREASURER

JoAnne

Musick

PAST

PRESIDENT

Wendell

ADdom Jr.

BOARD

OF

DRECTORS:

Tom Berg

Neol Dovis

Nicole DeBorde

Christopher

Downey

Todd DuPont II

Rosa Eliodes

Tyler flood

Steven

Holpert

Mark Hochglaube

Rondall

Kallinen

feral

Merchant

Morjorie Meyers

Earl

D Musick

James

T

Stafford

Charles

Stanfield

Jim Sullivan

PAST PRESIDENTS:

1

971 2005

CAnthony Frilaux

Stuart Kinard

George Luquette

Morvin DTeague

Dck DeGuerin

W B.House Jr.

Dav id Bires

woody De

nsen

Will Gay

Edward A ollett

Carol

yn

Garcia

Ja

ck

B

Zm mermann

Cyde Williams

Rober t Pe l

ton

Can delario Elizondo

Allen

Csbell

David

Mitcham

Jim

E

Lavine

RickBross

Mary EConn

Ken t ASchoffer

DonCogdell

Jim

Sk

eton

George Prn ham

Garlond DMCinnis

Robe

rt AMoen

LloydOl iv

er

DonnyE

sterling

Ric hardFrankoff

Wyne Hill

W T

o

yMCK inney

Cynthia Heney

S

anle

y

Schneider

Publisher:

HeCLA

Edll rial

Staff:

Ads&OisbibutIon:

Design. Layout:

~ ~ I ~ ~ E ITOR

Lesson #1 learned on the kindergarten playground is that bullies tend to pick on kids who

don t fight back. I t would seem axiomatic

that

criminal defense lawyers,

more

than any

other

group, would have taken this example to heart in forming the character that leads them into

their chosen profession. So it remains one of life's gre at puzzles that amazingly large numbers

of criminal defense lawyers , instead of fighting those bullies-in-the-pulpit wearing black robes

bow and

cringe before them, obsequiously inviting them to violate

the

rights of those very

people the lawyers are charged with protecting.

Critics of the appointment system frequently claim that such spinelessness is inherent in

court-appointed lawyers, who don t challenge abusive jurists because they are afraid

to

bite

the hand that feeds them. However, the most cursory observer can quickly glean that this

craven

accommodation

is in no way limited to lawyers who seek court

appointments. Whethe

it

is

illegally coercing pleas after unreasonably revoking bonds, refusing

to

rule

on

motions

denying records of rulings or

non

-rulings, withholding court reporters, revoking bonds for

failure

to

hire an attorney or denying court-appointed counsel to indigents

on bond,

retained

attorneys figure prominently in their inaction.

Almost worse than the failure to stand up to these judges is the renlsal to cooperate \vith

those people who want

to

take the necessary action

to

combat

iUegal

practices. Invariably

when lawyers

who

are wiUing to challenge bullies go into court to investigate these claims

or to test the waters, the problems magically disappear.

The

major difficulty is

that

all those

who whine in

the

hallways and behind closed doors will not participate in solutions,

then wai

beseechingly: We don t get no respect.

The

other

day a lawyer was complaining to me that a visiting judge, infamous for his ignorance

of the law and his abusive behavior, had illegally detained him in the courtroom. I advised

this man that I was head of an

HCCLA committee

investigating misconduct on the part o

visiting judges [this one in particular1and invited him to assist me in filing a formal complain

with the Judicial

Conduct

Commission. Incredibly, the lawyer rwo-st epped away, mumbling

excuses and vague promises

to

get back \vith me at

some

later date.

With bricks like these, it will be no wonder

when our

house falls

down.

Shawna L. Reagin

Editor

The

Editor s

opinion is purely personal,

and

in no

way

reflects the viewpoint

or

position

of

the

Harris County

Criminal Lawyers

Association

.

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E F E N E R

In an opinion delivered November

9,

2006, ~ P SKip

CORJIELivs

reversed a case

out

of the 178

th

District

Court

due to the prosecutor's use of her peremptory challenges on a

discriminatory basis, in

Thomas

v

State

2006

WL

3230275,

_ S.W.3d _ (Tex.App. Houston [l st Dist.] 2006 , no

pet.) rdesignated for publication]. Kudos to the Court

of

Appeals for following Miller-El and Batson in an honest

application

of

the law to the facts.

Another appellate victory fell to RiCK..DEtO tO and S tEvEn

LiEBERJIlAn in Moody v State 2006 WL 32320204 (Tex.

App. Houston

[I

st Dist.] November

9,

2006 [not

designated for publication] . Judge Devon Anderson refused

to permit trial counsel to present evidence of the accused's

reputation

for the ethical

treatment

of children in four

felony indecency cases.

Too

bad the COA designated this

an unpublished memorandum,

as

this issue is the subject of

widespread confusion on the part of Harris County judges.

DAViD

CVnninGHAm

scored a Not Guilty in an aggravated

sexual assault of a child trial in the 176

th

District Court in

November of 2006.

After

rebuffing the State's bottom-line

offer

of20

years to

do

on

mi

sapplication of fiduciary property in the 184

th

District

Court, iRi\ P E ~ succeeded in getting his client probation

after a 2-week trial.

Also

on

November 9,

2006,

t Y L E ~ FLOOD, assisted by

SARi\H

WOOD, heard a

two-word

verdict in a

DWl

trial

in CCCL

#2. Then

on January 18,2007, Tyler

and

Sarah

got a .18

DWl

dismissed when a visiting judge granted their

motion to

suppress, based

on

th e lack

of

an underlying traffic

offense

to

justity the stop.

Tyler

continued his sweep in

March 2007, when he obtained a

Not

Guilty in CCCL #1;

his

third

win for this client.

The next day, .R,t\nD m i n t l . E ~ won a DWl acquittal in

CCCL #7. H e tried

the

case alone, but received invaluable

assistance from John

Kahn

and Jed Silverman.

The jury took only an

hour

to follow the 38.23 charge and

find tODD Dvpon t 's client Not Guilty on a possession

case tried in Victoria, despite his admission tbat be had the

drugs.

DAViD F L E i s C H E ~ obtained an acquittal for bis no -test

no accident DWl client, even tbough testimony revealed be

drove the wrong way on a one-way street and begged for

mercy on bended knee after being

stopped.

When he successfully suppressed the breatb test results

and an improperly administered

HGN

test, j im II1EDLEY

assured his DWl client a win in CCCL #3 on November 16

Then

on

December 2, Jim hit 12 2 when he racked up his

12

th

acquittal in 12

DWl

trials for the year. In

2007, Jim

continued

his streak by

adding

an

8-minute

Not Guilty in

CCCL

# 15 to his resume.

ViviAn KlnG and DEniSE CRi\WFOR,p defeated the

State and the

prosecutor

masquerading

as

a visiting judge to

achieve two Not Guilty verdicts on aggravated

robb

ery in the

230

t

1

District Court. Vivian's client was a certified juvenile

the

complainant'S

granddaughter,

and Denise represented

the

boyfriend, against

some

rather damning testimony.

Guaranteeing a happier holiday for his c lient, CHAR. -ES

KyLE

VAnCE managed

a

no

-bill from

the grand

jury on

new law violation, then convinced the parole

board

it lacked

evidence

to

revoke parole,

sending

him

home

for Christmas

THE EFEN E

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WE HAVE GATHERED TODAY

TO

DEDICATE THE

DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE,

THE

UNITED

STATES

CONSTITUTION

AND THE

BILL

OF

RIGHTS IN

THIS,

OUR

OURTHOUSE

I

SAY OUR

COURTHOUSE ,

BECAUSE

THIS

COURTHOUSE

BELONGS TO ALL OF US.

S L WYERS WE E CH TOOK A SOLEMN O TH AND IN IT

WE

ST TED

I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL

SUPPORT

THE

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED

STATES, AND OF THIS STATE; THAT I WILL HONESTLY

DEMEAN

MYSELF

IN

THE

PRACTICE OF

THE

LAW AND

I WILL DISCHARGE

MY

DUTIES

TO MY

CLIENTS

TO

THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. SO HELP ME GOD

AS LAWYERS

WE ALL

TOOK

THIS SOLEMN

OATH AT ONE

TIME

OR

ANOTHER.

ON MAY

27, 1983,

SOME

23

YEARS

AGO,

I

TOOK

THIS

SOLEMN OATH IN

THE OLD

COURTHOUSE.

THE

HONORABLE

JUDGE

MYRON LOVE

SWORE ME

IN.

WHEN WE BECOME LAWYERS WE SWEAR

A SOLEMN OATH

TO GOD

ALMIGHTY

TO SUPPORT THE

CONSTITUTION

OF

THE

UNITED

STATES.

EFEN ER