tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post968918465360868963..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Sex parte: Coverup of judicial tryst tests CCA's ethical mettleGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26776285562681447272009-05-04T14:57:00.000-05:002009-05-04T14:57:00.000-05:00"...when an innocent person comes along they'll ne..."...when an innocent person comes along they'll never have a chance."<br /><br />Amen...<br /><br />"And yet, a former President and members of his administration ignore, or twist the law and the outrage barely rises to the level of a soft whimper."<br /><br />Who is going to rant about it? we here? barely a muffled cry.. The Media? Most of them have made all sorts of inroads into your privacy under the other admin (although they won't say as much), the sitting elected officials? They know that one day too, they will be the 'outgoing' administration...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-956830695994492632009-05-04T10:25:00.000-05:002009-05-04T10:25:00.000-05:00"We live in a nation of laws and the judge and pro..."We live in a nation of laws and the judge and prosecutor don't get to ignore them in the most serious legal proceedings imaginable."<br /><br /><br />And yet, a former President and members of his administration ignore, or twist the law and the outrage barely rises to the level of a soft whimper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-68670526722027765282009-05-03T16:48:00.000-05:002009-05-03T16:48:00.000-05:00The Legislature is a lot to blame for courts misbe...The Legislature is a lot to blame for courts misbehavior. Look on line and go to the minutes of each and every meeting and count the number of times there are not enough members to make a quorum; this is a disgrace and everyone in this State should ask the person or persons who represent them, why they were not in attendance when there was a Committee Meeting. A hearing is required for a Bill to even get to a vote and there have been very few votes for Bills thus far. People, pay attention and make hold the person who represents you account for his/her absences at important meetings. You can also watch meetings via internet by going to www.house.state.tx.us or www.senate.state.tx.us and go to minutes and see what is actually happening and where our money is being so wasted. <br /><br />I am totally shocked at what is happening or not happening in Austin. For someone to be elected to represent his constiutents and then not show up to speak for them should be made known to each and every tax paying person in Texas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-20588010996675518102009-05-03T13:26:00.000-05:002009-05-03T13:26:00.000-05:00I agree with you Judge Brewer did a good job.
Be...I agree with you Judge Brewer did a good job. <br /><br />Besides the CCA, he also blamed the Legislature, you may notice, for tightening access to the courts for habeas writs in the interest of "finality" but failing to provide counsel for indigent defendants to successfully jump through the hurdles they've erected.<br /><br />Nobody culpable was spared, which is as it should be.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-27353697700069103802009-05-03T13:14:00.000-05:002009-05-03T13:14:00.000-05:00Just read the findings by Judge Brewer. What an e...Just read the findings by Judge Brewer. What an excellent piece of legal work. I especially love the part where he says that what the CCA said in their remand order about Hood waiting for 18 years to pursue this issue being "incorrect." He laid the blame for all of this where it belongs--at the feet of the sworn officers of the court who repeatedly lied or kept quiet when numerous ethical and judicial rules demanded that they speak they truth.123txpublicdefender123https://www.blogger.com/profile/16074278445586583355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-51392754077461846832009-05-03T12:09:00.000-05:002009-05-03T12:09:00.000-05:00I am stunned by Anonoymous remark--it does make a ...I am stunned by Anonoymous remark--it does make a difference even if someone is "guilty as sin". I don't believe that ANYONE wants someone who is guilty as sin to go free...including folks who are serving at the will of the people in the Justice system. As painful as it is to see this come up, I am glad to see that we still have some folks who have the courage to investigate and evaluate a tough issue with such honesty. I have observed that so many counties immediately settle a lawsuit against them when there has been a breach of power in the judicial system that would prove embarrassing if one than one article published in the news were to continue to be brought to the attention of the public in any future news coverage. I am in hopes that local communities will begin to PAY ATTENTION to the amount of money paid over a span of time to cover these breaches up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-6137920386648031012009-05-03T10:15:00.000-05:002009-05-03T10:15:00.000-05:00Agreed, Grits. This was such a gross violation th...Agreed, Grits. This was such a gross violation that it MUST be dealt with. This was a death penalty case, for goodness sakes, and the judge and the prosecutor were secretly sleeping together! How can it possibly get any worse?<br /><br />One thing that I don't think a lot of non-lawyers or avid trial-watchers understand is that judges make a lot of rulings in every trial, most of which would be reversed only if they were an abuse of discretion. It's not enough if the appellate court judge would have ruled differently; they must find that the judge's ruling was so far afield as to be an abuse of discretion. And then there are all the rulings the judge makes that are reversible only if they are deemed to be "harmful" error. In all these cases, the appellate court presumes that the judge is coming from a position of being objective. It is the way the system has to work. But, if a judge truly is not objective, then that judge can ultimately have a definite effect on tipping the case towards one side by all of these discretionary rulings. That is why it is imperative that the judge NOT have a conflict of interest. This judge was sleeping with one of the attorneys! Come on!<br /><br />And another thing to remember about this case. Although the evidence of guilt does seem very strong in this case, as a death penalty case, this was about more than just guilt/innocence. It was about whether this man deserved to die. Thousands of murderers sit in prison in this state, not having been deemed "death-penalty-worthy." This man was condemned to death. His overwhelming guilt notwithstanding, the process in determining whether he should be killed needs to be fair.<br /><br />Whenever anyone tries to act like this shouldn't matter, all I do is ask them, "If you were on trial for your life, would you in a million years think it was fair that the person trying to put you on death row was sleeping with the judge?" That is what it comes down to. And there is only one honest answer to that question.123txpublicdefender123https://www.blogger.com/profile/16074278445586583355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-8071174594026633652009-05-03T06:02:00.000-05:002009-05-03T06:02:00.000-05:00The harm is to the integrity of the justice system...The harm is to the integrity of the justice system, and in that sense there's been a tremendous foul. We live in a nation of laws and the judge and prosecutor don't get to ignore them in the most serious legal proceedings imaginable.<br /><br />I could care less about Charles Hood but the same mentality you exhibit (who cares, they're guilty anyway) is how all those innocent men later cleared by DNA wound up in prison. If you don't protect the rights of the guilty, when an innocent person comes along they'll never have a chance.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-21942002257027931772009-05-03T05:51:00.000-05:002009-05-03T05:51:00.000-05:00If Hood "is as guilty as homemade sin," what's the...If Hood "is as guilty as homemade sin," what's the big deal, Grits? No harm - no foul, imo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-37110872417893432692009-05-02T19:57:00.000-05:002009-05-02T19:57:00.000-05:00Justice does not happen in Collin countyJustice does not happen in Collin countyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-67900773551405256482009-05-02T17:27:00.000-05:002009-05-02T17:27:00.000-05:00They shut up when answering would be embarassing. ...They shut up when answering would be embarassing. At least when they know it will, they are still willing to say embarassing things when they don't realize how poorly it will come out.Soronel Haetirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11639906179427371695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-85809047738724432682009-05-02T16:54:00.000-05:002009-05-02T16:54:00.000-05:00An excellent ruling. Honestly, the nerve of the D...An excellent ruling. Honestly, the nerve of the District Attorney's office in saying that Hood's attorneys waited too long to bring this up after they covered it up for years, and then vigorously fought the civil process that finally forced the two to admit the affair in depositions, is unbelievable.<br /><br /><I>assistant district attorney John Rolater declined to comment, citing pending litigation.</I>Since when did pending litigation ever prevent a prosecutor from commenting before? They LOVE to comment on pending litigation!123txpublicdefender123https://www.blogger.com/profile/16074278445586583355noreply@blogger.com