Saturday, August 31, 2013

R.I.P. Harris County DA Mike Anderson

Harris County DA Mike Anderson passed away this morning in hospice care, the Houston Chronicle reported. "Anderson, who announced in May that he had cancer, died Saturday from the illness." Condolences to his family and friends. Murray Newman offered personal remembrances; Kuff explains why he voted for Anderson in the 2012 general election.

18 comments:

Lee said...

I tried to shed a tear.....no go

Anonymous said...

Well I most certainly shed a tear. Slightly salty, it went well with the celebratory beer I was drinking...

I would encourage everyone to read Murray's comments. Especially those who thought Anderson was fair and honest when he wore a robe. Murray dispels that myth and admits Anderson was corrupt, and always in favor of the prosecution.

Anonymous said...

@Lee and 2:32, you are sick, pathetic people, most likely criminals, and hopefully there is a special place in hell for people like you.

Anonymous said...

Indeed, those who would dare to expect an honest and impartial jurist must be sick and pathetic. And those who would dare publicize these expectations along with their sentiments towards one who was neither must be criminal. Only if there is a special place in Hell for the likes of those who place their own ambitions ahead of justice is there likely to be a special place for those who expect more.

According to Anonymous 03:12, anyone who expects police officers to be honest is suddenly labeled a "cop hater". And anyone who expects a judge to be above reproach is a sick, pathetic criminal.

Gritsforbreakfast said...

No need to speak ill of the dead, nor to turn a brief death notice into an off-topic flame war. Basta! Show a little respect. Don't make me shut the string down.

Anonymous said...

And the process for a replacement? We now looking at appointment of Patrick's son to the position?

Anonymous said...

GFB, were you aware that the other Judge Anderson's civil trial date has been set? http://austin.ynn.com/content/news/295075/judge-anderson-s-civil-jury-trial-set-for-sept--30

BTW, any relation between the two judges that you are aware?

Anonymous said...

Per Houston Chronicle

Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson's death Saturday means first assistant Belinda Hill becomes the acting district attorney until Gov. Rick Perry appoints a replacement, which could be Hill.

Anonymous said...

OMG, you people are awful. I am just shocked.

Lee said...

He was the tuff Texus cowboy that wanted to fill the Harris County jail with the indigent defendants caught with trace amounts of drugs. Should I shed a tear for the death of a politician that wanted to waste my taxpayer dollars? I would rather see those dollars going to a school or hospital district. Maybe we can now get someone in there who will be smart on crime and focus on strategy of public safety and not on their own selfish career.

Will Yablome said...

Maybe all of the Mike-Haters would like to have Pat Lykos back...cue Devo...

rodsmith said...

i agree with grits. The man is gone. Like the old saying if you can't say something nice. SHUT UP!

that is a nasty painful way to go. hopefully he's in a better place now and no longer in pain.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Lee for your moving tribute. Jackass.

I knew Mike and saw his commitment to drug courts, mental health courts and veterans courts. The fact that he chose to follow the law as it was written regarding trace cases was indicative of his realization that he was not omnipotent (unlike his predecessor).

ColeenSanLeon said...

My prayers are with his family. His parents are part of my church family, they are good people. No one should have to lose a child or loved one to cancer.

Anonymous said...

What about his realization as far as DIVERT was concerned? He was just "omnipotent" (like his predecessor) when it came to that?
http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=49942

And maybe he should have listened to all the judges who signed a letter asking legislators to decrease the penalties for trace cases: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Judge-still-on-quest-to-decriminalize-minor-drug-1542301.php

Anderson is dead now, and I understand everyone wanting to make it seem like he was such an upstanding, honest, and good man and all. But let's remove the rose-colored glasses and have a glass of reality with a few facts too.

Would an honest man be complicit in a grand jury rigging scheme? http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2011/11/live-by-the-hatchet-die-by-the-hatchet.html

This is all I'm going to post on this subject. This isn't his newspaper obituary so a few facts shouldn't offend anyone. His family and friends will create plenty of "facts" that make him appear as God and have them printed in the newspaper. We usually deal with the cold, hard facts here.

Anonymous said...

Maybe an analysis of the cold, hard facts should include looking at that Constitution thingey. The role of the DA's office is to enforce the laws enacted by the state legislatures. That's why judges sent a letter to the legislature instead of arbitrarily no PC'ing trace cases. They understood their jurisdiction and he understood his. DIVERT was unconstitutional, as it offered deferred adjudication for DWI cases.

Anonymous said...

Citing the Constitution and Michael Anderson in the same breath is as hypocritical as he was. He cared as much for the Constitution as he did for the Innocent Project, and he made that clear when he called for forced blood samples in DWI cases. Nice try though...

Anonymous said...

Grits, you knew damn well that the wronged community would post negative sentiments about him the moment you decided to re-post what the Chron posted. There's a reason why we don't visit the Chron. (race-baiting Posts, political affiliation haters Posts pitting readers against each other in the dark.

You knew that the folks hanging out in Murray's backyard would come out swinging. And like clock-work, the sombitch that keeps calling everyone "criminals" & "criminal lovers" woke up and defended a dead man. Thank God that you stepped up and put out the fire in under 4 hours and hopefully prevented a Murray stop watch fiasco.

And for the damn record, there was only two comments that rose to the level of being considered wrong prior to your intervention, therefore, anyone that casts a net over the entire readership is wrong.

Simply deleting a neg. comment on the front end would have kept it clean, and removing additional neg. thoughts as needed would be the right thing.