tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post4453892566391405577..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Task Force on reforming Houston police: Empower oversight board, remove civil-service barriers to accountability at #txlege, and have someone besides the DA prosecute police misconduct (Grits has a suggestion)Gritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-24243305093559777682020-10-07T08:21:08.265-05:002020-10-07T08:21:08.265-05:00Alex, the public defender office is a government a...Alex, the public defender office is a government agency, not a personal fiefdom. I understand why you wouldn't want the task, but that doesn't change the fact that you're a better option than all the others. Y'all simply don't face the same conflict of interest the DA does. And the other option is Ken Paxton.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-76311072115039700332020-10-05T11:22:44.048-05:002020-10-05T11:22:44.048-05:00I just saw your suggestion. No. I have never prose...I just saw your suggestion. No. I have never prosecuted anyone in 35 years as a lawyer. I will not start now. Otherwise, thanks for the compliments.Alex Buninnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26491112062592527222020-10-02T19:31:19.545-05:002020-10-02T19:31:19.545-05:00Community Policing is an okay idea in general but ...Community Policing is an okay idea in general but it amounts to the police chief saying "we need three times the manpower and budget to succeed in our mission". No thank you.<br /><br />IPOB: Even if the necessary changes were made to state civil service law, and they won't be under this governor and legislature, the activists and reformists are not the people who would be appointed to the board, nor would the board ever get final say in discipline like said reformists dream of. The board member resigning over the shooting from earlier this year must have been dreaming to think the minds of the rest of his peers would've been changed given the circumstances that led to the chief firing the four cops and then the board suggesting less discipline. From what I'm told, racial politics came into play and the idea that the mentally ill person killed provided enough fodder to justify the shooting despite what I thought from released accounts.<br /><br />But as Grits stated, to what end? Changing to an investigative model sounds great until you figure out that the city of Houston is the lowest paying big city in the state so any talented investigators aren't going to stay, if they ever agree to come on in the first place. Like the crime lab staff, the worker drones get less than half what they'd make elsewhere and quality people cost money. The IA model of HPD may seem flawed to some of you but the imagined thin blue line would be enhanced having outsiders do the dirty work, the investigators having limited experience would be steamrolled all the time.<br /><br />180 Day Rule: HPD has IA squads that are assigned all the most political or outrageous cases. They are given as many people as they need and are expected to complete a case in under 30 days so adding time to the clock or whining about civil service laws that give officers time to respond are not generally factors in losing cases. Some of the time, the clock is allowed to run past which limits the level of discipline but usually results in the offending officer to be marginalized in an assignment where they can't continue causing harm for one reason or another. I'd like to see more than a couple cases where the 180 rule truly impacted the result, more likely just ending up in the desired result where managers could wash their hands of responsibility.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-37125512794813079392020-10-02T19:12:18.877-05:002020-10-02T19:12:18.877-05:00If HPD and it's union were buddies with the Di...If HPD and it's union were buddies with the District Attorney's office under Ms. Ogg, the point regarding the two would be different but given the high levels of animosity that exist, and Ms. Ogg's willingness to politically prosecute cases against police that her office has no hope of winning, it's a wash at best. Throwing the responsibility to the public defenders office could work better now that Harris County Commissioner's Court is full of Democrats but the needed level of funding just for the defense portion of their duties has not changed enough to make me think this would be a good move. And as much as many of us like Alex, too many of his staff lack the experience and snap to really make successful cases against most of the talent the cop unions bring in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-13670583686274169992020-10-02T10:54:44.200-05:002020-10-02T10:54:44.200-05:00Texasyankee: Your idea isn't so crazy. In th...Texasyankee: Your idea isn't so crazy. In the United Kingdom in recent years with the Crown Prosecution Service, the situation has become similar to what we have. But 15 or 20 years ago, barristers were hired on a per case basis to prosecute cases. And, because barristers all are solo practicioners, it wouldn't be uncommon for a barrister to go to court with a bunch of files, some he prosecuted and some he defended. And, the guy on the other side of some of those cases may be in chambers with him.<br />Remember, in the UK, there still is a distinction between barristers and solicitors. The solicitor puts the case together and takes the "brief" to a barrister of his choice. Barristers' rules of ethics even distinguish between the "professional client," i.e. the solicitor and the lay client.<br />The distinction is so great that it is considered unethical for a barrister to prep his witnesses to testify. That's the solicitor's job. I know one barrister who first prepped a witness to testify at the Rwanda Tribunal. The witness was his client charged with genocide. <br />There's a lot to be said for the old British system. Barristers who were on both sides didn't feel like they were doing the Lord's work. They were just lawyers doing a job.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10422756686976294550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-47874822577973610722020-10-02T05:01:19.863-05:002020-10-02T05:01:19.863-05:00Many are too worried about conviction percentage a...Many are too worried about conviction percentage and only take the platinum cases and let the silver and gold cases go. The Bell County DAs office is good example.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-9406138708961053232020-10-01T20:33:46.697-05:002020-10-01T20:33:46.697-05:00Can you imagine the heartburn for an elected DA wh...Can you imagine the heartburn for an elected DA who's staff has to work both sides? Convict too many, get bored out for being a shit defender. Convict too few and you're out!<br /><br />I...love...this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-38844939213481262472020-10-01T15:45:11.754-05:002020-10-01T15:45:11.754-05:00In one sense, I like the last suggestion because i...In one sense, I like the last suggestion because it is similar to one of my own naive ideas: public defenders and prosecutors should not just be in the same office but be the same people. A lawyer would be prosecuting one case while also being the defense attorney on another case. This would help reduce the great disparity in funding for the district attorney's office and the public defender's office.<br /><br />The problem with your suggestion is funding: county commissioners don't like funding public defenders. If the public defenders were also prosecuting the police, public pressure to not fund the public defenders would be intense.Texasyankeenoreply@blogger.com