Burnt Orange Report
News, Politics, and Fun From Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Burnt Orange ReportNews, Politics, and Fun From Deep in the Heart of Texas |
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November 03, 2005Meet the New (Judge), Same as the Old (Judge)By Phillip MartinFrom the Statesman:
This revalation comes only hours after Judge B.B. Schraub recused himself from the case. Judge Schraub was the temporary replacement for Judge Perkins, who stepped down due to his money ties to Democrat groups. Judge Schraub stepped down because of his money ties to Governor Perry. As others have already said, this is just becoming silly. Judges are elected in Texas, and trying to find one that doesn't have political ties will be impossible. To suggest that there's no conflict of interest in the Supreme Court's charge to select an appointee -- considering these reported donations from the RNC and TRMPAC -- is equally impossible. So, where is all this heading? Will the Supreme Court appoint a judge anyways, money and donations be damned? Is Delay trying to maneuver his way entirely out of the Texas judicial system -- and therefore away from District Attorney Ronnie Earle? Is that possible? Where does this end? Oh, and my apologies to The Who. Posted by Phillip Martin at November 3, 2005 03:55 PM | TrackBackComments
I know this is nitpicky, but could BOR try to stop using "Democrat" as an adjective instead of "Democratic"? E.g. "money ties to Democrat groups." It's been a subtle branding tactic of Republicans to call us the "Democrat Party" or what not, to avoid the positive associations of the word "democratic." Let's not play into their hands. Posted by: Ramey at November 3, 2005 05:12 PMSure. Not something I normally think about, but I'll be more conscious of it in the future. As an update, a retired State District Judge from Bexar County, Judge Pat Priest, has been tapped to take over the Delay case. Thorough Google and Lexis Nexis searches have turned up nothing yet, save a tie-breaking vote he cast in a school board election over a year ago. Posted by: Phillip Martin at November 3, 2005 05:18 PMNice Who reference. Posted by: Daniel at November 3, 2005 05:56 PMRonnie Earle is not a very bright cookie is he? First he plays into the Republican hand when he uses the exact same tactic that DeLay's lawyer used, thus nullifying any good political fodder he had gained. Then, he is dumb enough to get the choice pushed up to the very Republican Texas Supreme Court. I would think the Republicans of Travis County would have plenty of help in booting ole Ronnie from office. Posted by: cookie at November 3, 2005 06:29 PMJudge Pat Priest, a former district judge, now sits daily as assigned in the district courts of Texas. Judge Priest is a former Adjunct Professor of Criminal Law and Procedure at St. Mary's University School of Law and continues to act as Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at St. Mary's. A founding member and director of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in the 1970's, he was also a director and chairman of the Criminal Law and Procedure Committee of the San Antonio Bar Association. Senior District Judge Pat Priest was elected to the district bench in 1980 and has served continuously since. Board certified in criminal law in 1975, he was an adjunct faculty member teaching criminal law and procedure and trial advocacy at St. Mary’s University School of Law from 1979 to 1999. Posted by: JAM at November 3, 2005 10:07 PMI was a witness at the hearing to recuse Judge Perkins. One point missed by the media was that Perkins was the most politically active of the 15 Travis County District Judges. By any definition he was an activist judge. His recusal does not mean, in the words of the Statesman, that he was "unfit." It only means that a reasonable person could believe he would not have the appearance of being impartial. Straub was right to recuse himself. Jefferson was never going to be the Judge of this case so a motion of recusal against him was silly. Pat Priest gave three contributions to local Democrats. Compared to the thirty two contributions made by Perkins, his contributions do not meet the test of making it appear he couldn't be impartial We all want a fair trial. Why on earth is it so important to many that Perkins be the Judge in this case? Posted by: Royal Masset at November 4, 2005 11:31 PMPost a comment
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