4.07.2023

It's Friday -- Let's Get Out of Here

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




This was a nutty case out of Kansas. The "lover" was the County Attorney who resigned to take a job as an assistant district attorney in a nearby county. The Sheriff also resigned. Both disputed the meth allegation, however. 

  • There's been a police/suspect standoff all night long in Pantego and it is still going on. 

  • After last week's Tennessee shooting at the Christian school which left three adults and three nine year olds dead, young people protested gun laws at the Tennessee capitol. Three lawmakers, who just happen to be Democrats, supported them on the House floor which "violated decorum rules." 
    • Yesterday, the House, which is controlled by Republicans, decided to vote on whether to expel the the three representatives. Not censure. Not fine. Not publicly reprimand. Oh, no -- nothing like that. It was a vote to expel them so that the people they represent would no longer have a voice.
    • It's quiz time! These are three lawmakers. Guess which two were expelled and which one was not. Go ahead, guess. Hint: Remember we are talking about Tennessee.

    • Correct! In one of the most racist things I've seen lately (and that's saying a lot), the Tennessee House decided to put the two young black men "in their place" but allowed the white female to remain. 

    • Incredible. Did any of those backwood hillbillies voting to expel think about the optics of all this? 
  • Hallelujah. "The Texas House on Thursday approved a budget amendment opposing school vouchers — a major setback to Gov. Greg Abbott and other advocates for 'school choice' this legislative session." The vote was 85-62 in support of the amendment which prohibits public school money going to private schools. 

    • Wise County's Rep. Lynn Stucky: Voted against protecting taxpayer money and for school vouchers.
    • Jack County's Rep. David Spiller: Voted for protecting taxpayer money and against school vouchers. 

    • Note: The Texas Senate actually voted for a version of school vouchers yesterday, but the above House vote on the budget is a good sign that it is dead in the water. 

  • Social media is abuzz about something going on with a Texas legislator.  Michael Quinn Sullivan is a right-wing nut, but he's spreading rumors about the lawmaker who is also a right-wing nut.


  • This former Fort Worth city councilman was faced with an alleged probation violation on a DWI case in Johnson County. I have never had a client who, when given the options of 45 days in jail OR six more months of probation, would choose the jail time. He did. Something is going on here. 

  • A pretty good little past nugget was found as a follow-up to the story about Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting a fortune in gifts from a Dallas billionaire.   Here is a photo of a Fifth Circuit Justice being sworn in by Thomas in the home library of that billionaire. Ted Cruz, warmed by the massive fireplace, was there as well:

    • Here's a different picture of the library for those interested.

    • And this nugget buried in the ProPublica story, although insignificant, gives me great amusement:

  • Did this guy used to work in Wise County? Story.

  • So I'm not sure exactly what the current controversy is over Anheuser-Busch, but I think country music singer Travis Tritt said drinking Bud Light will make you gay.  Or maybe he's mad about some type of advertising campaign by the company supporting gay people. Anyway, this is Travis Tritt:


  • It's Good Friday. You heathens be on your best behavior this weekend.

  • The Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed. a criminal case out of Wise County yesterday, but I really don't see anything noteworthy about it.
  • Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office, despite having a full male DNA profile, has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 3 years, 277 days.

at 8:33 AM

4.06.2023

Random Thursday Morning Thoughs




4/2/13:At Houston, Yu Darvish came within one batter of a perfect game before giving up a single up the middle. 

  • Can I interest you in being a teacher or administrator where one of your responsibilities is to revive overdosed students which Narcan which you need to be sure you have on hand? Story.

  • [Editor's note: That is admittedly not the best bullet point to place in front of the following.]
  • Today we will learn how the Texas House, and rural lawmakers in particular, feel about public schools and the movement to siphon money away from them into private schools.  The House will be voting on various budget amendments, but one legislator did something very clever: He has proposed an amendment, which must be voted on, to ban any taxpayer money from ever going to private schools. So even though this isn't the school voucher bill, we get a preview.  It will be the first clear sign whether the insane idea of private school vouchers has traction. How will Wise County's Rep. Lynn Stucky vote? How about Jacksboro's David Spiller?

  • The hair salon owner who was the center COVID closings has been hospitalized. 

  • Trump quick hits:
    • Perverts? He's insane. He's a child. He's an insane child. 
    • This came on the heels of his call yesterday to defund the police. (I suppose Al Capone would have wanted to defund the IRS.)

    • I'm not sure why we need a courtroom artist since there were camera in the courtroom, but this is suitable for framing. 

    • And someone kinda did. 

    • In case you wondering how Stormy Daniels is doing these day, she granted an interview to Piers Morgan. 

  • ProPublica has released a story about Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow (who is the son of Dallas real estate mogul Trammell Crow) lavishing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with gifts and vacations over the years. 

    • But one of the craziest things from the story was the reproduction of this painting which shows Crow and Thomas hanging out at a retreat.

  • Random real estate. Good lord. The address is 1161 La Mirada Court.
  • Legal nerdy stuff for criminal practitioners only: We had a defendant's PDR granted yesterday by the Court of Criminal Appeals on various prolonged-stop Rodriguez issues. (Actual PDR here. Summary of the grant here.)
  • Legal nerdy stuff #2: Look at how the Dallas Court of Appeals granted a simple Motion for Extension of Time to file a brief by throwing shade at the attorney.

at 8:29 AM

4.05.2023

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




I posted this 10 years ago. This may be more legend than fact. 

  • Well, that was a wild day. Thoughts . . . 




    • The next court date isn't until December. By that time, either Georgia has indicted Trump for election tampering and/or the U.S. Government has indicted him for obstruction in the documents case or for the January 6th Insurrection.  In the end, yesterday might become an afterthought. 
    • The circus outside was a bad circus for Trump because only the nutcases of Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos showed up for support. And they quickly fled. 


    • As she left, Greene gave one interview in her car to one of the nutty Trump cable networks where she said "President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history in being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus was arrested and murdered . . . . .". And to top it off, the reporter kissed her.  

    • I'm actually sympathetic to Trump in some legal nerdy ways:
      • In his defense, I think it's a little weird that its a misdemeanor in New York to "falsify business records" even with the records are kept internally or not kept at all. There is an element of "intent to defraud" but that's certainly a murky standard. (New York Penal Law §175.05)
      • And I think it's weird that the the case gets to be upgraded to a felony when you additionally "intend to commit another crime" (§175.10) but the indictment, which is supposed to put you on notice of what the government says you did wrong, doesn't have to specify what that specific crime is. 
        • Along those lines, the DA filed a 13 page "Statement of Facts" but even it doesn't cite the extra crime that Trump allegedly intended to commit.  Side note: I don't what the purpose of that document is. 
    • My sympathy ends there. He was grifting off a fake mugshot even before the arraignment occurred.

    • Trump, despite the judge's warning, went of a rant last night of Mar-a-Lago.  I'll say it again and again: The normal Republicans have got to take control back of their party.  
       
    • Then again, we are, collectively, the dumbest country in the world and probably deserve whatever is coming regardless of what it is.  
    • Speaking of. Wise County's Congressman continues to embarrass us every day. He called the New York District Attorney "Fat Alvin."  

  • There was a 20 year old man, Justin Carl, booked into the Wise County jail yesterday on a murder charge. The "date of offense" listed is the same date as listed for the previous arrests of one juvenile and one 17 year old who were charged in the death of 19-year-old Matthew Ryan Brown of Decatur. 

  • The 10 year sentence of the former Boyd assistant high school principal made the front page of the Star-Telegram.  That sentence was a the result of a plea bargain, and he'll have to serve at least five years before becoming eligible for parole.  

  • The most significant event in U.S. politics may not have been Trump's arraignment yesterday. It might be that the swing state of Wisconsin is now firmly Democratic and will stay that way. In the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, a Democrat won a statewide Supreme Court race by a shocking 10 points giving the court a 5-4 liberal majority for issues of abortion and gerrymandering. In the end, the fallout from Dobbs overturning Roe v. Wade will continue to cause shock waves.



  • I finally took the time to watch the four minute video in this, now dropped, murder case in Tarrant County.  The mixture of everyone being armed and everyone quick to pull out their guns is what lead to needless death. (The full video is quick loading and amazingly can be found right now on the normally awful home page of the Star-Telegram.) A short 30 second version is here but it's not as informative.

  • Heck of a pic of the Nashville gun protests at their capitol.

  • I'm not sure what prompted Baylor to do this, but it dawned on me I was alive when Baylor had no black graduates. 

  • I saw the term "arrested" thrown around a lot yesterday.  I think anyone who's ever been arrested would tell you that wasn't an arrest. 

at 8:31 AM
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)