Ethics and the Texas Supreme Court

For the last decade in Texas it has generally been understood by trial attorneys that no matter what evidence the jury hears or the trial Court admits (or withholds); the Texas Supreme Court will protect the insurance companies, home builders and other big business. To do this they have had to create new law and disregard Texas law that has been in effect in some instances for decades. On of our justices has been publicly reprimanded and others have had issues raised, but through it all they continue to dish out their brand of justice. In most cases this means overturning a jury verdict and an appellate court. A jury who heard all the evidence and were able to evaluate the witnesses, hear the testimony and see the expressions of the witnesses, and review all the documents. The appellate court then reviewed the evidence to determine if there was any reason to overturn the verdict based on a legal issue. The case then arrives at our Texas Supreme Court who have almost in every instance sided with the insurance companies, home builder, or big business over the small business owner or individual. The rulings have also been applied retroactively where the original case was tried under one understanding of the law and they decided that even though that may have been the law, it is now changed and the case is now lost because of this new law. It is like playing a game and after you have won they decide that the rules are different and you now lose (even though you played by all the rules at the time). Why are they voting the way they are? Look at who are the major contributors to the campaigns, compare it to the vote and you decide. Why has it not changed? Unfortunately, it is not a big issue until it impact you personally and then it is often to late. As citizens of Texas everyone should be upset by what is happening in the Supreme Court. If you would like information on specific cases and how they have eliminated or reduced, contact me for more information.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all and a special thank you to all the court personnel, sheriffs and judges who allow us to have a safe and fair venue to present our legal issues.

Trials this week

I am working on a new section which you will find on the bottom right. With the great assistance of the courts, I will attempt to post whatever trials are taking place in Fort Bend County each week. It is our great right to be able to have our disputes resolved by a jury of our peers when other attempts of resolution fail. Trials are generally open to the public and if you have never seen a real trial, I would suggest that you take some time and just stop in and watch one.

Responsiblity

As many of you know, we represent both individuals and corporations in a variety of legal issues, but the overriding issue is responsibility. Taking responsibility and in some cases (with the help of the jury) getting others to take the responsibility for their actions when they will not do so voluntarily is one of the fundamental basis for the legal system. Currently we are involved in a case in which two people were killed in a parking lot at a local business. I have already received messages stating that this is the problem with the justice system that we are attempting to blame the business instead of the killer. That is a misunderstanding of the situation. We want (and are doing everything in our power to help the authorities) the killer to be brought to justice, but by the same token we believe that a business that knows of an on-going crime problem, including a prior murder should take some action to protect the people who are paying their hard earned money to shop there. If you follow the logic of some of the messages I have received no business would be responsible for maintaining their property or taking reasonable measures to keep it safe. Their only responsibility would be to collect the money from the customers without care for their safety. The families that went to Kroger that night to buy groceries did their jobs, they drove to the store, brought their money and were ready to buy the groceries. They were not warned about the dangerous nature of the area, they were not provided with any security, the store did not invest in any cameras outside, did not increase lighting nor patrols outside, instead they left it to the criminals and the criminals took advantage of it. Should a business be held responsible for criminal activity when they know it has been going on for sometime? Should they compensate the victims whose only mistake was choosing to shop at this complex? Should the killer be punished? It is my position that the answer to the questions is the same --yes. Let me know your thoughts.

New Court of Appeals Justice Appointed

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Kent C. Sullivan of Houston justice of the 14th Court of Appeals for a term to expire at the next general election. The court represents 10 Houston area counties.

Sullivan is the first assistant attorney general of Texas and past presiding judge of the 80th District Court in Harris County. He is a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee and Houston Bar Association, member and past director of the State Bar of Texas Texas and Houston Bar Foundation fellow. He is also a past member of the Houston Society of the Performing Arts Board of Directors, Downtown Association, and Texas Public Policy Foundation. Sullivan received a bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Virginia. He replaces Wanda Fowler of Houston.

Lampson Deserves our Thanks

Now that the election is over and Pete Olsen has been elected (I have almost gotten over the sign theft) I think everyone should thank Nick Lampson for all he has done for our county. While the republicans are congratulating themselves on electing Mr. Olsen, I would like to point out what we have lost. We have lost a representative who had seniority. We have lost a representative who was on the major committees which impacted our community and his constituents. We have lost a representative who met with more of his constituents in two years than his predessor did in his entire tenure. We have lost a representative who had the ear of the leadership. What was his failure, other than apparently having a D next to his name? The biggest complaint I heard was that he voted conservative, and (gasp) he voted as his constituents wanted. The comment was that it was all part of some big plan to keep him in office. I always thought that was what our representatives were supposed to do. So regardless of your party affiliation or who your "guy" was, I think we all should thank Nick Lampson for all he has done over the last two years. As for our new representative, Mr. Olsen, my hope is that you can keep the same lines of communication open with your constituents, but be careful, voting as your constituents want can be hazardous to your re-election.

The Vote is in

The two District Judges in Fort Bend County Judge Vacek of the 400th and Judge Shoemake of the 434th retained their positions. I would like to congratulate both of the Judges and also both of their opponents. Mr. Flick and Mr. Hollan in running great campaigns. All the candidates should be congratulated on their ability and willingness to serve the public and a very professional and ethical campaign. We are fortunate in Fort Bend County to have such qualified people willing to work for all our benefit.

Election signs

I have been robbed. As you know from my prior posts, I support candidates from both parties. We have signs outside our office for Nick Lampson (D) and the two district judges mention previously (R). Well someone stole the Lampson signs about a week ago, so we replaced them and they were stolen again yesterday. I am all for a reasonable discussion, but is the fear of losing so great that someone has to resort to theft.

Judicial Races

As early voting begins I am often asked who am I voting for in the judicial races. I am not a straight ticket person and firmly believe the person selected to sit in judgment should be above party politics and be dedicated to applying the law in fair and equal manner. In Fort Bend County we are fortunate in that I believe all the candidates fit that definition; however in the contested races for the 400th I support Judge Vacek and for the 434th I support Judge Shoemake. Being a trial lawyer, I am in courts across the country and these two judges are some of the finest I have had the honor of appearing before. They do not always rule as I would like, but they have always ruled in a manner which is consistent with the law. They both happen to be Republican, but as you can see from my Supreme Court recomendations below, I am not a vote Republican no matter what person.
The Texas Supreme Court has three positions up this year and I believe the more qualified canditates are for Cheif Justice, Jim Jordan; for Place 7, Sam Houston; and for Place 8 Linda Reyna Yanez. All three will bring a fairness to the Court which has been sorely lacking over the last few years. They are jurist who will apply the law, not rewrite or contort it to suit any special intrest groups and just happen to all be Democrats. Texas needs these type of jurists, both Republican and Democrat, from the local level up the the highest court.
It is your responsibility and your duty to vote. Educate yourself about the races, in judicial races ask lawyers who know the judges who they are voting for and why. In judicial races specifically, vote for the person who will make the best judge, not for the person who just happens to be in a particular party.