Friday, February 15, 2008

Rosenthal Finally Chucks It

First Dimitria Pope's resignation at the beginning of the week and now Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal has resigned. Somebody pinch me!

Why would Rosenthal leave now after all he's endured? According to his resignation letter, reports the Houston Chronicle, he declared that "Although I have enjoyed excellent medical and pharmacological treatment, I have come to learn that the particular combination of drugs prescribed for me in the past has caused some impairment in my judgment."

Evan Smith at Texas Monthly thinks the excuse would "make Lindsay Lohan proud." "The drugs did it!," he wrote. "That explains everything! And excuses nothing."

Speaking of Evan, in honor of this occasion he's submitted his own Chuck Rosenthal Haiku to commemorate the degraded DA's final hoorah; I think it sums up matters quite well:

Chuck’s awful career
gets a lethal injection:
Drugs made him do it.

Goodbye Chuck Rosenthal! Don't let the door hit you in the keyster on your way out.

UPDATE: See thorough coverage from Texas Lawyer. Also, Mark Bennett at Defending People makes the following connection between Rosenthal's drug habit and one of the GOP candidates running to replace him:

Dr. Sam Siegler has been described as Chuck's personal physician; from the emails released back in January it appears that Dr. Siegler's office was Chuck's go-to source for prescription meds.

Who prescribed the drugs that impaired Chuck's judgment? Dr. Sam Siegler?

Who is Dr. Siegler married to? Kelly Siegler.

Whose position is Kelly now running for? Chuck's.

Cozy, no?

Did Chuck's impairment escape the notice of those who worked with him at the DA's Office? If you realized that he was impaired, why didn't you speak up? If you realized it and didn't comment, or didn't realize it, what does that say about your judgment?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really have to say that, although I often do not agree with you, you are right on as far as your comments at the Harris County Criminal Lawyer website.

I hope the Gov has enough integrity to appoint an interim caretaker without a dog in this hunt. A fine retired ADA like Mark Vinson, retired military who happens to be black.

Or perhaps Pat McCann, the well respected, also retired military defense attorney who is the outgoing Defense Lawyer Asso prez. Pat is also well respected by the bench and both sides of the bar.

Anonymous said...

How about a first year class of law students?
You know, like the ones who get look at the death row cases and get them off.
It ain't that hard.