In a Jan. 26 letter, Beyler told [Chairman Pete] Gallego: "Mr. Bradley.... asked me not to appear before your committee. He was apparently concerned about your motives in inviting me and was very concerned that you wished to do the Commission harm."
"I was not at all convinced by his concerns and decided to come to Austin. As it turns out, his fears were wholly without merit. I very much appreciated that the committee members did not ask questions about the pending TFSC work," Beyler wrote in the letter to Gallego.
Bradley, of course, maintains he was only concerned about harm that might befall Mr. Beyler's reputation if he said the wrong thing, but in context the move looks like a cheap bullying tactic.
FWIW, in the testimony Bradley tried to prevent, Mr. Beyler suggested that judges be allowed to retain their own independent experts to evaluate forensic science, the way that the court retains independent experts for psych evaluations at competency hearings that aren't beholden to either party. An interesting idea, but pretty noncontroversial stuff. Beyler was right to reject Mr. Bradley's order, demand, suggestion, advice, or whatever it was.
Speaking of people saying "No" to John Bradley, Rick Casey at the Chronicle has another column on last week's Texas Forensic Science Commission meeting in Harlingen, describing how commissioners rebuffed efforts by the chairman to create a General Counsel position that would eat up most of the budget with redundant legal services already provided by the Attorney General. (See the discussion from Grits' liveblog of the hearing.)
Viewed as a whole, it's hard to see the chairman's recent actions as anything more than obstructionist, aiming to delay or quash discussions of questionable forensics instead of facilitating them. I'm heartened that he's at least getting some pushback. The DA is not a fellow who's used to people telling him "no."
See Grits coverage of last week's FSC meeting:
- Bradley violated Open Meetings Act at forensic hearing
- Hectoring approach works for John Bradley at Forensic Science Commission, for now
- Forensic Science Commission meets today, but does it have rulemaking authority? Some say 'no'
- Forensic Science Commission meeting in Harlingen, but Willingham off the agenda
And coverage of the Jan. 11 House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee hearing:
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23 comments:
I am finding retirement more and more delightful after spending 8 hrs listening to this committee hearing and actually listen to Bradley. It is hard to describe the sense of dread I felt listening to him testify. Those who preceded him presented rational arguments for their positions while remaining open to dialog Then Bradley in effect said "Trust Me, I teach DA's how to get stuff into evidence so I'm the expert in what's good evidence and what's bad technique." One good thing that comes from putting someone in the forefront of public opinion is sooner or later they will put their foot in their mouth enough times that it becomes so obvious there needs to be change and they can't continue to operate behind the scenes. Keep the spotlight on Bradley My grandmother fed me grits and she always new what was best for me. Thanks Grits for keeping the pressure on me to be informed, just Ma did when I was a kid.
It's always disheartening to read about Bradley's obstruction of the TFSC and realize we're not looking at a history book of the '30s or '70s, but current news of Texas in 2010. Why isn't this story being followed in the Austin American-Fishwrap or the other papers throughout the state?
According to Casey's column today, Beyler was paid $36,600.00 for his report???!!! Jesus Christ!!!! For what??? Who on the commission approved such an unconscionable fee??? If there's a story here, this "fleecing" of the Texas taxpayers is clearly it! Wonder why Grits and the mainstream media aren't commenting on this??? Hmmm??? Thirty six THOUSAND six hundred dollars!!! Being a Monday morning quarterback is evidently the business to be in these days!!! Since the Legislature is projecting a multi-billion dollar shortfall in the next biennium, clearly here's one area that is ripe for the carving knife!!!
I don't know about y'all, but I always find my points are more convincing if I put lots of exclamation points behind them!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to doubt that "anon" is capable of reading Mr. Beyler's report let alone understanding it.
I agree, lots of exclamation points are a poor substitute for good written communication skills.
No!!!!! It means what you have to say is really important!!!! ;)
Grits, you have always been the master of the Texas criminal justice universe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) You inspired us at Southern Shift to do a little investigative reporting and it resulted in John Bradley winning our top award this week. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.thesouthernshift.com/news/2010/02/pimp-week-texas-slimiest-da-john-bradley
Thanks again for your amazing and inspiring coverage.
I'm sure anon 11:27 is equally concerned about the costs of prosecuting and incarcerating innocent people.
Hi Southern Shift. I think your visit merits a rare Grits song dedication - this one's for you. Listen all the way to the end, especially the last line, to know how grateful I am you stopped by.
Seems to me that the punctuation symble that Grits and the Forensic Science Commission folks like best is $$$$$! How typically and liberally democratic. Tax and spend, tax and spend!
It costs a lot of money to incarcerate someone. Texas is now obligated to pay significant money to people who have been wrongfully convicted.
It seems to me the fiscally CONSERVATIVE position is to support efforts to prevent wrongful convictions.
You're correct, Anon 2:07, but Anon 2:02 apparently does not have the intellectual capacity to grasp the obvious.
I wonder if John Bradley knows what a drag it is to see him. Nothing good ever comes from anything that Bradley is involved in.
Southern Shift, how right you are about Bradley. The media coverage in Williamson County is so sparse that most people are unaware that Bradley's been misusing Lady Justice in WilCo for a very long time. I've talked to some of the Williamson County families with incarcerated loved ones. Bradley has to be exposed and then removed from ever having any control over any individual ever again.
I wonder how many wrongful convictions or coerced pleas have come out of Williamson County. Consider Bradley's stance on how he prosecutes cases and his response to appeals. Most of what the general public knows about the criminal cases in WilCo is limited to what Bradley wants the public to know. He is his own media contact. Check out Bradley's media and news release on the WilCo website. Bradley omits the cases involving coerced pleas and charges of aggravated perjury where there was little if any evidence to have convicted an indivdual.
Just who is controlling the media in Williamson County and why does Perry keep giving such appointments to Bradley?
It is hard to comprehend that this man was appointed in the first place. Bradley has caused harm to many good people in Williamson County because of his underhanded way of prosecuting cases. Truth and Justice do not matter to Bradley regardless of his jurisdiction or his appointments.
I believe Bradley to be suffering from a superiority complex and a man of no moral compass. The tough on crime is bs. It is about money and power.
Nice information.it shows One good thing that comes from putting someone in the forefront of public opinion is sooner or later they will put their foot in their mouth enough times that it becomes so obvious there needs to be change and they can't continue to operate behind the scenes. Keep the spotlight on Bradley My grandmother fed me grits and she always new what was best for me.yeast infection
Is this the same Bradley that threatens to indict those that have plea bargained and dare to come forward with claims of innocence?
Oh I almost forgot, !!!!!
John Bradley needs to be said "NO" to more often. He is a embarressment to Texas and should be to Williamson, Co.
I will never forget the Senate hearing in which Bradley testified and Senator Whitmire made his comments as Bradley was walking out of the room. I won't quote the statement, but it was no compliment.
Bradley needs to go wherever Gov. Hair goes!!!!!!!
Are Perry's tactics working? He's up in the latest polls.
Anon 4:52, --it's odd isn't it that the people of Williamson County are so "embarrassed" by Bradley that they keep re-electing him. Wonder why that is?
Anon 4:52, --it's odd isn't it that the people of Williamson County are so "embarrassed" by Bradley that they keep re-electing him. Wonder why that is?
2/05/2010 07:20:00 AM
Not really. Hitler was popular with the German people. What does that prove?
10:07
Texas is pretty scary when you get out of Travis county.
What's odd is that Bradley has only been opposed once and that was in a primary. Not many people in Williamson will "oppose" Bradley on any level. He's freakin' scary. There are people who are very afraid of the power he holds and after witnessing how Bradley abueses his power, I believe his enemies should proceed with caution.
There is a similar situation in Smith County with Judge and former DA Jack Skeen. Skeen heads a the powerful political machine and most years has been unopposed. I believe that was because the attorneys in town were afraid to go up agains the political machine. This year he actually has an opponent. I think he has just gone so far in abusing his power and ignoring the law that people are starting to get fed up.
A funny thing. The newspaper had an article before Christmas where Skeen made his announcement that he was running for reelection. That article said he had raised $60,000. An article in January about the financial disclosures of the candidates also said he had raised $60,000. There was an article on the papers website today about the candidate's filings that said he had raised $45,000 and some of that was in January. It seems over $15,000 just vanished from his campaign fund. I wonder where it went. Maybe someone should look into it.
Another note about Skeen. For an example of how far his influenc reaches, some complaints had been filed with the Judicial Conduct Commission against Skeen. The next vacancy that occurred on the commission just happened to be filled by the county judge of Smith County who is a political crony of Skeens and has also contributed to his campaign. It takes a lot of guts for somebody to run against someone that well connected and ethically challenged.
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