Feb. 21
TEXAS:
Recommendations for candidates vying for the state's 2 unknown top courts
Republicans have several contested races for the state's top 2 courts on the
March 1 Brazos County ballot.
Texans like to elect their judges, even though they don't know the incumbents,
the challengers or the courts they seek. Too often, judges are selected in the
November elections simply because they run, now, as Republicans or, in the
past, as Democrats. It is a poor way to select judges, but appointive systems
have as many faults.
2 things would make the selection of judges better: doing away with
straight-party voting in the general election and, well, voters who bother to
be informed about the candidates for whom they vote. Neither is likely to
happen anytime soon.
Let's take a brief look at the state judicial structure. At the local level,
criminal and civil cases are tried in district courts or county courts-at-law.
In Brazos County, our 3 district and 2 at-law courts are general jurisdiction,
hearing both civil and criminal matters. In larger cities, district courts
frequently specialize in criminal, civil or family matters.
With the exception of death-penalty verdicts, decisions at the local level may
be appealed to 1 of the state's 14 intermediate courts of appeal. In Brazos
County, cases that are appealed go to the 3 member 10th Court of Appeals in
Waco. The courts of appeal have to accept every case appealed to them, criminal
or civil.
From those courts, cases may be appealed to 1 of the state's 2 supreme courts.
The 9-member Supreme Court of Texas handles only civil and juvenile matters.
The other top court, the 9-member Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, hears
criminal cases appealed from the intermediate courts.
Both the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court are discretionary
courts, choosing which cases to accept - with 1 major exception. All
death-penalty cases are automatically appealed from the district court level
straight to the Court of Criminal Appeals.
At present, all nine Supreme Court justices, as they are called, and 8 of the 9
Court of Criminal Appeals judges, as they are called, are Republicans. The lone
Democrat on the court is Judge Lawrence Meyers, a fine jurist who has been
elected to the top court several times as a Republican. Last year, though, he
switched to the Democratic Party to run for a place on the Supreme Court. He
lost and now is finishing his 6-year term on the Court of Criminal Appeals and
is running for re-election as a Democrat.
No other Democrats are running for the top 2 courts.
Here is a look at the contested judicial races on the Republican Primary ballot
in Brazos County:
Supreme Court of Texas
Place 3
Justice Debra Lehrmann vs. Justice Michael Massengale -- Lehrmann was judge of
the 360th District Court when, in mid 2010, Gov. Rick Perry appointed her to
fill out the remaining 6 months of Justice Harriet O'Neill's term when O'Neill
stepped down. Lehrmann was elected to a full 6-year term in November 2010.
Lehrmann's background before taking the Tarrant County bench was primarily in
family law.
Massengale clerked in Houston for a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals for 2 years and then joined the prestigious firm of Baker, Botts,
eventually becoming a partner. Perhaps his biggest case was representing the
directors of Pennzoil in a suit filed by the company's shareholders. After a
3-week trial, he won and the shareholders received nothing.
6 1/2 years ago, Gov. Perry named him to a vacancy on the 1st Court of Appeals,
1 of 2 appellate courts located in Houston. He has been elected to that post
twice since then.
Massengale is critical of Lehrmann, noting she had no appellate experience
before being named to the Supreme Court, although, of course, she has gained
plenty of such experience in the past 5 years on the court. He said she is the
most frequent dissenter on the Supreme Court, often on the state's tort reform
statute.
He said Lehrmann often is results-driven, deciding cases on the way she thinks
the law should be rather than on the law as written.
Lehrmann did not meet with the Editorial Board. Massengale is a highly
intelligent, engaging appellate justice. His criticism of Justice Lehrmann may
be correct, but we expect our judges and justices to rule on the law as they
understand it. Judges frequently can read the same case and apply the same
facts and come up with differing opinions. That is why we have 9 justices on
the Texas Supreme Court and 9 judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Massengale would make a fine Supreme Court justice, but doesn't make the case
he would be better than Justice Lehrmann.
The Eagle recommends a vote to re-elect Justice Debra Lehrmann to Place 3 on
the Supreme Court of Texas.
Place 5
Judge Rick Green vs. Justice Paul Green -- Justice Paul Green was elected to
the Supreme Court in 2004 and re-elected in 2010. Prior to that, he was a
justice on the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio.
Rick Green is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives who was
defeated after 2 terms. He has no judicial experience, losing to Justice
Lehrmann in 2010.
Neither candidate met with The Editorial Board, but Paul Green's experience on
the Supreme Court gives him a significant edge.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Justice Paul Green for re-election to the
Supreme Court of Texas.
Place 9
Justice Eva Guzman vs. Joe Pool -- The daughter of immigrants, Guzman was
appointed by Gov. Perry in 2009 when Justice Scott Brister resigned. She was
elected to a full 6-year term in 2010. Prior to being appointed to the court,
she was a justice on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston and, before that was
a family court judge. She is the 1st Hispanic woman to hold all 3 positions.
She was named Latina Judge of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association
and 2009 Judge of the Year by the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas.
Pool says Guzman is not a true conservative who is out-of-step with the beliefs
of the majority of Texas. He described himself as a "Christian Constitutional
Conservative." On his website site, he pledges to rule "in accordance with the
Constitution and his conscience."
He ran for the Supreme Court in 2012 in a 3-person race, coming in 3rd.
Guzman has been an outstanding jurist in Texas for a number of years and has
served all Texans well. It is Pool who is out of touch with his fellow Texans.
The Eagle recommends a vote to keep Justice Eva Guzman on the Supreme Court of
Texas.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Place 2
Judge Mary Lou Keel vs. Judge Chris Oldner vs. Judge Ray Wheless -- Judge Keel
has served as a Houston felony court judge for 21 years and has tried 20
capital murder cases. Prior to that, she was an assistant Harris County
district attorney, handling 279 criminal appeals, including 5 death-penalty
cases. She has been board certified in criminal law since 1990.
Oldner has been board certified in criminal law for 14 years. He spent seven
years as a prosecutor before serving as a Collin County court-at-law judge for
3 1/2 years. Gov. Perry appointed him to the 416th District Court Bench in
McKinney in 2003. He has run unopposed since then. He said he is the candidate
in the race who has argued a death penalty case before a jury. He said he has
never had a felony decision in his court reversed. "We do it right the 1st
time."
He made the news last year when he presided over the grand jury that handed up
an indictment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for securities fraud. Oldner
recused himself from the case after the indictment was handed up, but Paxton's
attorneys accused the judge of improprieties and said the indictment should be
thrown out. A man not associated publicly with the case filed a judicial ethics
complaint against Judge Oldner, and the matter is in the hands of the state's
judicial ethics commission.
Oldner denies any wrongdoing, saying he has nothing to gain by Paxton's
indictment. He said, "It's just another example of how dark-money special
interest groups seek to bully and intimidate ethical, conservative judges who
strictly follow the law."
Wheless is board certified in civil trial law and personal injury trial law,
specializations that seemingly would make him more suited for the Supreme
Court. He calls himself the conservative candidate in the race.
Wheless was named to a Collin County court-at-law bench in 2000 and, in 2009,
was appointed to a district court bench by Gov. Perry. He has run unopposed
since then.
Before being named to the bench, Wheless was active in a variety of Collin
County Republican Party activities. He did not meet with the Editorial Board.
Oldner seemingly did nothing wrong in the Paxton indictment -- remember, it is
Texas Attorney General Paxton who is under indictment, not the judge -- and he
brings a wealth of experience to the race.
Keel, however, has experience that far surpasses Oldner's and that experience
would serve Texans well on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Judge Mary Lou Keel for election to Place 2 on
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in the Republican Primary.
The winner of that primary race will face the now-Democrat Judge Lawrence
Meyers in the fall.
Place 5
Judge Sid Harle vs. Steve Smith vs. Scott Walker vs. Brent Webster -- The 4 are
vying to replace Judge Cheryl Johnson, an outstanding jurist who is retiring
after 18 years on the court.
Harle is running at the urging of Judge Johnson. He has been judge of San
Antonio's 226th District Court for 27 years and has run unopposed for the past
20 years. He is a former prosecutor and former defense attorney who appealed a
death penalty case to the Court of Criminal Appeals. He said he has tried more
capital cases than any other judge in Texas.
While running for the Court of Criminal Appeals, Harle said he has maintained
his busy court schedule, using no visiting judges.
Harle was the judge who recommended that the state convene a court of inquiry
that led to the exoneration of Michael Morton, who was wrongly convicted and
served almost 25 years in prison for murdering his wife.
Smith is not our Judge Steve Smith, who serves on the 361st District Court
bench. This Steve Smith is a former justice of the Texas Supreme Court who
filled the final 2 years of now-Gov. Greg Abbott's term. He was defeated in his
bid for election to a full term in 2004 after Gov. Perry opposed him. He ran
again in 2006 and again lost in parts thanks to Perry's opposition.
He now says the 2 top courts should be merged, an idea that has been floated
frequently but probably is not a workable idea as the Court of Criminal Appeals
already is 1 of the busiest appeals courts in the nation.
Smith says Harle is too moderate.
Webster has never been elected to office before. He is a defense attorney in
Williamson County. He points to his anti-abortion stance, which has little to
do with the court he seeks. He also says he is strong on Second-Amendment
rights.
The 4th candidate, Scott Walker, is a criminal defense attorney in Texas who
has chosen not to campaign.
Only Harle met with the Editorial Board, but he is an impressive candidate with
an impressive record.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Judge Sid Harle for election to Place 5 on the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Place 6
Judge Michael E. Keasler vs. Richard Davis -- We have been impressed with Judge
Keasler every time we have interviewed him. He has been on the court for 17
years, providing reasoned, steady jurisprudence.
Keasler is 73 and when he turns 75, state law says he can serve only 2 more
years. Thus, he would have to retire 4 years into his 6-years term. The court
has 3 new members, though, and Keasler said it is important that judges who
have served longer remain to help the new judges settle in to their new roles.
"We provide institutional memory," Keasler said.
Davis is a Marble Falls attorney who did not meet with the Editorial Board. He
is critical of Keasler's inability to serve a full 6-year term. Although he
never has been a judge, Davis served as a prosecutor in Sherman and Ector
counties.
Texas would be lucky to have Keasler serve even 4 more years. His experience is
too valuable to reject.
The Eagle recommends a vote for Judge Michael E. Keasler for re-election to
Place 6 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
(source: Editorial Board, The Eagle)
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
House, Senate take different approaches on death penalty issue
The House and Senate are looking at 2 different approaches to the state's death
penalty statute.
The Senate will vote on Senate Bill 463 when it returns from vacation the 1st
week of March. The bill, sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, would suspend
capital punishment "until methods exist to ensure that the death penalty cannot
be imposed on an innocent person."
Phrased like that the moratorium would be in place for a long time.
The House took a different tack. Last week, it had a public hearing on House
Bill 1552, which would expand the death penalty for anyone committing a
terrorist act and for murdering someone exercising their civil rights under the
state constitution.
"We should join the 9 other states that have a state law calling for capital
punishment for terror-caused deaths," said the bill's prime sponsor, Rep. Jack
Flanagan, R-Brookline. And he said, just like the federal government, the state
should treat the murder of someone exercising their civil rights such as
voting, going to court or acting as a juror as a capital crime.
New Hampshire last expanded the death penalty in 2011 after the murder of
Kimberly Cates and the maiming of her daughter, Jamie, in a thrill killing
during a home invasion in Mont Vernon.
A little more than 2 years later the push was on to repeal the death penalty
after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Michael Addison who
murdered Manchester police officer Michael Briggs. The court reaffirmed its
decision last year.
2 years ago, a bill repealing the death penalty passed the House but died in
the Senate on a 12-12 vote.
This year, rather than trying to repeal the law, several lawmakers attempted to
suspend it.
1 of the bill sponsors, Sen. Gary Daniels, R-Milford, voted against repealing
the death penalty when he was in the House in 2014. The prime sponsor is Sen.
Kevin Avard, R-Nashua.
The 2 Senate Democrats sponsoring the bill, Bette Lasky of Nashua and Molly
Kelly of Keene, both have supported repeal.
During the public hearing earlier this year, the religious community, former
prosecutors, police officers and the former Chief Justice of the New Hampshire
Supreme Court John Broderick supported the moratorium.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to recommend the bill pass the Senate,
which it has a good chance to do.
(source: Garry Rayno, unionleader.com)
GEORGIA:
Parole hearing, execution provided insights to Houston County DA
Houston County District Attorney George Hartwig spoke against clemency for
Houston County killer Travis Hittson and witnessed his execution Wednesday
night.
Both experiences were firsts for Hartwig, who has been a prosecutor in Houston
County for 15 years, including 5 as the district attorney. He's also seeking
the death penalty in 2 pending cases, 1 of which will mark the 1st such case he
will try.
Hartwig sat down with The Telegraph last week to talk about his experiences
before the state Board of Pardons and Paroles and at the execution.
Hittson, 45, was executed by lethal injection at the Georgia Diagnostic and
Classification Prison near Jackson for the murder and dismemberment of fellow
sailor Conway Utterbeck in 1992. Co-defendant Ed Vollmer, Hittson's petty
officer, is serving a life sentence and won't be eligible for parole
consideration until 2024.
"I can tell you that I took no joy in it -- in going and watching that occur,"
Hartwig said of Hittson's execution. "It is not at all a situation where prison
officials or prosecutors or the law enforcement folks sit around and revel in
it or take any joy.
"There's no high-fiving going on, if you will. It's a very solemn and somber
thing, as it should be. It's extremely serious. It is the ultimate carrying out
of justice in our society. It is the ultimate punishment that somebody can
receive."
Hartwig said he wanted to address the parole board to give voice to the victim.
"One of the points I made with the parole board was the fact that Edward
Vollmer, the codefendant, didn't get a death sentence; the fact that he got
life; (and) that should not inure to the benefit of Travis Hittson, who a jury
did recommend death on and who a judge did impose a death sentence.
"And frankly, the facts of the case were that it was Travis Hittson that hit
Mr. Utterbeck several times with an aluminum baseball bat in the head. It was
Travis Hittson who pointed the gun at Mr. Utterbeck as he begged and pleaded
for his life and frankly shot him in the forehead and executed him."
Hartwig also told the board that there was more than 1 execution to consider.
"The execution that I wanted them to think about for a few moments and to have
in their minds as they made their decision was the execution of Mr. Utterbeck,
and that execution was carried out without any appeal, without any clemency
hearing, without any habeas corpus, without any rights whatsoever, without
anybody being in his corner. ... And that execution was in fact carried out by
Mr. Hittson."
In months before the execution, Hartwig said he had several telephone
conversations with Utterbeck's mother, who wanted closure and addressed the
parole board over a speaker phone during parole board hearing.
"Without her actually using the word death or kill or execute, I think it was
pretty clear to the entire board and it certainly was to me that she wanted the
sentence upheld, she wanted the sentence carried out ...," Hartwig said.
The board also pushed back Vollmer's next eligibility date to be considered for
parole by 8 years, based information revealed behind closed doors during the
clemency hearing. Vollmer, who was denied parole last year, would otherwise
have been eligible for parole consideration in 2020.
"I don't think he should ever be released from prison," Hartwig said. "He
should spend the rest of his life there."
Hittson's attorneys painted Vollmer as the real mastermind or instigator of the
killing, but both Hittson and Vollmer deserved the death sentence, Hartwig
said.
? "It would have been appropriate for both of them to get a death sentence in
this case given the vicious, heinous, senseless nature of the crime."
Hartwig and Greg Winters, an assistant district attorney for Houston County,
sat in the front row of the viewing room for the execution. Hittson's mother
was somewhere behind them.
Hittson was lying on a gurney, his arms outstretched, with tubes in his arms
that went through 2 holes in a back wall, where the lethal injection was
administered out of view of witnesses. A sheet covered him up to his chest.
The viewing room was still. There was complete silence.
Hittson accepted a final prayer and recorded a final statement. The injection
isn't visible to viewers. But Hittson's chest stopped moving, Hartwig said.
Hittson was declared dead and curtains on the side of the viewing glass in the
execution room were closed. Those in the viewing room, about 20, filed out of
the room solemnly.
"It was something I felt was important," Hartwig said. "If I as a prosecutor am
going to make the decision and seek the death penalty on somebody, I want to
know everything I can know about it.
"I want to know how the process works. I want to know how it's carried out. I
want to be fully informed about that -- about what the results and the
consequences are of the decisions I make."
PENDING HOUSTON CASES
Hartwig is seeking the death penalty against Homer Ridley III, who is accused
of drowning his next-door neighbor in a bathtub more than 20 years ago.
Ridley is serving a life sentence for an unrelated 1988 rape in Warner Robins.
In May, a Houston County grand jury indicted Ridley, 46, on 1 count of malice
murder and 2 counts of felony murder in the slaying of 20-year-old Summer
Gleaton in her Terry Street home in Warner Robins in 1994.
Hartwig also is seeking the death penalty for Michael Montreal Gooden, 23, the
accused shooter in the killing of Monnie Joseph Brabham IV, 32, of Macon, as he
pumped gas at a Booth Road station in Warner Robins in early 2014.
Gooden was indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated
assault, armed robbery and violation of the street gang terrorism and
prevention act, along with other alleged members of an Atlanta gang. Brabham
was not part of a gang, police said.
Hartwig declined comment on the pending cases. But he said the decision that
resulted in a Warner Robins man coming off death row after more than 37 years
was appropriate.
Houston County Chief Judge George F. Nunn resentenced Roger Collins to life on
Aug. 26 after an evaluation found that Collins met the diagnostic criteria for
mental retardation. Although the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of
mentally retarded people in 2002, how determinations of mental capacity are
made were left up to each state. Collins' case languished for years.
Collins was 18 in 1977 when he was convicted and sentenced to death for
bludgeoning 17-year-old Deloris Luster with a car bumper jack after he and
another man raped her at knifepoint. Codefendant William Durham, who was dating
Collins' mother at the time, was sentenced to life for the 1977 crime. A 3rd
man, Johnny Styles, who waited in a car after the rape while Luster was killed,
was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.
(source: macon.com)
MISSISSIPPI:
Couple charged with capital murder in Miss. man's death
2 suspects are being held on a $1 million bond, after being charged with
capital murder in the February 18 death of a Bruce, Miss. businessman.
In a news release, Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of
Investigation, says JaShon Coleman, 21, of Derma and 19-year-old Breanna
Westmoreland of Banner were arrested following a joint investigation by the
agency and the Calhoun County Sheriff's Department.
The victim has been identified as James Pratt. WTVA reported that Pratt was the
owner of Bruce Bait Shop.
The news release did not name the circumstances of the alleged crime which
officials say happened near 2:00 a.m. at a gasoline station on Highway 32.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Coleman and Westmoreland are a
couple. The Daily Journal reports that Coleman was a former co-worker of
Pratt's at the Haworth seating plant in Bruce. The Calhoun County Sheriff told
the paper that Pratt was inside a vehicle with Coleman, when the latter
demanded money.
"Coleman then got out and got into the car driven by his girlfriend,
Westmoreland," Greg Pollen said.
Both are in custody at the Calhoun County Jail. If convicted, they could face
the death penalty.
(source: Clarion-Ledger)
OHIO:
Huggins-Jones jurors to continue death penalty deliberations
Jurors spent the past week hearing arguments over whether to impose the death
penalty on the man accused in the murder of a former Cleveland resident.
However, the 6-man, 6-woman set of jurors spent the afternoon Friday in
deliberations on the possible death penalty for Travion Devonte Smith of North
Carolina. They made no decision then, so the jury will return this week for
more discussion among themselves.
Smith is 1 of 3 defendants in the homicide of Melissa Huggins-Jones, who had
just moved to the Raleigh area, and he was found guilty of 1st-degree murder
last week.
1 other defendant - Ronald Lee Anthony - pleaded guilty in the 2013 death of
Huggins-Jones to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison
without parole.
A 3rd defendant, Sara Redden, awaits trial. She did testify for the prosecution
in the Smith proceedings.
The defense presented witnesses this past week who spoke of Smith's troubled
childhood. Smith has not taken the stand in the case.
Prosecutors brought up witnesses to Smith's defiance to questioning by law
enforcement. The state also presented Huggins-Jones daughter, who was
8-years-old at the time she found her mother dead in their apartment. Her
testimony was not allowed to be shown on streaming video as others have been.
Huggins-Jones' daughter found her mom lying on her bed in a pool of blood, and
ran down the street to where construction crews were located.
One of those workers returned to the apartment to find the victim, who court
records said died from at least 18 blows to the head, neck and torso with some
apparently made using a sharp instrument.
The young girl was living with her mother following Huggins-Jones' divorce. A
second child remained in Cleveland with his father to complete school.
According to Wake County (N.C.) Superior Court proceedings, Redden said that
she was outside the apartment serving as a lookout while Smith and Anthony were
inside. Even so, she has also been charged with 1st-degree murder. The Wake
County District Attorney's office said that there was no deal between the state
and Redden for her testimony.
Smith was incarcerated in Wake County in 2015 on a parole violation, according
to his probation and parole officer Mark Schellhorn. It was reported that he
was charged in the Huggins-Jones murder while in jail on that violation.
The defense was the 1st to present its case in the sentencing hearing that
began on Wednesday. The state followed, and ended its evidence presentation
early Friday afternoon.
The jury will resume deliberations in the sentencing phase on Monday around
9:30 a.m. in Superior Court. Smith faces either the death penalty or life in
prison without parole.
(source: Cleveland Daily Banner)
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