Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• According to the Messenger, a Boyd volleyball player died in her sleep on Wednesday night. There's not a whole lot known other than that. 
  
• A DPS Trooper in the Wichita Falls area has resigned after being indicted for "felony charges of drug possession and tampering with evidence." He was primarily responsible for stopping people on 287. So far, five felony cases against other that he had been involved in have been dismissed with, I'm sure, more to come. Oftentimes, there are cases involving the seizure of money (assuming they were filed) which are also in jeopardy in situations like this. 
  
• Some agencies use a towel (or in this case a sheet) to cover the clothes of an inmate for one reason: They want to use the photos in future photo lineups and don't want the clothes to be suggestive one way or another -- so just have everyone dressed the same.  It's really a pretty antiquated practice for the simple reason that photo lineups are basically never used any longer. (And if the cops are using a photo lineup these days, their case is starting on shaky grounds.)
• Sounds like this judge who is visiting-by-assignment in Houston isn't adjusting to retirement very well. 
  
  
  
  
• The following tweet about a former Dallas judge got a lot of attention yesterday even catching the attention of the Washington Post. It's in connection with the scheduled execution of one of the Texas Seven.  Here's a link to the referenced amicus brief, and it bugged me that it never cited to the reporter's record where the judge made those statements during trial.   I had to track down the Motion for Stay of Execution filed last month to find out the source of the statements and it turns out it didn't happen during trial. It comes from an affidavit of at least one person who claims the judge made those statements after the fact and away from the courtroom and the jury.
  
• But imagine my surprise while I was reading the Motion for Stay of Execution and came across this footnote. Yep, something I wrote in 2006 somehow ended up in a Motion. (I had thought the judge was a silly grand-stander in a radio ad.) I now wish I had slapped a title on the post which wasn't so flippant. 
  
• The Hill says that Tarrant County is one of ten counties in the U.S. which will decide the 2020 presidential race because of its chance to turn blue. I'm not so sure about it impacting Texas as a whole, but remember that Beto beat Cruz there in the last election. I've said it before: There is not a Tarrant County elected Republican (and they are all Republicans) who is not worried about a Democratic sweep one of these day like those that threw everyone out of office in Dallas and Harris counties in recent years. This includes the dozens of judges, the DA, the County Clerk, and the District Clerk. 
• I'm still haven't wrapped my brain around the North Dallas Tollway going all the way to 380. (For you none Wise County readers, 380 is a big player here.) 
  
• Trump was still on his Alabama Claim vs Hurricane Dorian rant yesterday afternoon this morning. At any other time in American history, the country would be in a panic over the fear the president was losing it. (You know, someone should tell him it's OK to drop it.)
  
• LSU vs. Texas tomorrow: Man, if UT wins we will face peak Texas cockiness that we've not seen since the moment before Colt McCoy went down against Alabama in the National Championship game. 
• I've mentioned before there is a multi-million dollar judgment on appeal in Dallas County involving a Decatur law firm. It is now set for oral argument on October 10, 2019. (Based upon the notice, there are a lot of lawyers involved in that thing. It also looks like the three judges to hear the case are a bit on the conservative side.)