1) Given that the 40th District Court is overseeing the Adult
Probation Department, are there any specific to address the recent
controversies surrounding the alleged sexual and financial abuse by the halfway
house director that probation officials assigned clients to?
Given the serious nature of the allegations regarding Kevin’s House, there
is a possibility that litigation arising from those allegations may be filed in
the 40th District Court. As with other high profile controversies that may
result in litigation in the 40th District Court, I need to refrain from opining
on such matters in order to protect the court from allegations that its
neutrality is compromised. Accordingly, while others are free to weigh in on
the controversy in the public sphere, I will not offer opinions or substantive
comments regarding the matter.
2) Given that a lawyer — James Leonard — was given 10 years
probation for molesting two girls only to flee the country, what steps can be
given to better monitor and track offenders who Adult Probation officials are
responsible for?
The James Leonard case represents a failure of the criminal justice system.
It shows that long experience in the criminal justice system does not always
translate into sound judgment and good results. Fortunately, the Leonard case
is a rarity in that most probationers do not flee the country in order to evade
responsibility for their crimes.
In evaluating the Adult Probation program in Ellis County, I start with the
premise that probation is intended to help people assume a productive role in
society without the necessity of jail time. This reduces the burden on
taxpayers and gives certain offenders an opportunity to demonstrate real
commitment to turning away from criminal behavior. Unfortunately, between
2006 and now, the district court has had to grant more than 1,000 motions to
revoke probation. While I believe that a person who violates the terms of
his or her probation should not continue to enjoy the benefits of probation, I
think the court’s exercise of active oversight can help prevent cases from
deteriorating to the point of probation revocation. Accordingly, I will not be
content just to let someone else worry about the fate of defendants and
convicts placed on probation. I will require regular accounting from Adult
Probation regarding every probationer’s compliance with the terms of his or her
probation. Because people on probation often struggle with exercising personal
responsibility, more active oversight by the court can encourage probationers to
learn to exercise greater personal responsibility, so that they do not
represent a threat to their fellow citizens and become a burden on
taxpayers. As district judge, I will provide the more active oversight
that Adult Probation requires.
3) Can you give three immediate changes that you plan to seek once
you are sworn in as the new district judge?
First, I will devote more careful attention to the civil side of the court’s
docket. While the 40th
District Court performs at an average level in managing its criminal docket
according to data provided by the Texas Office of Court Administration, the
county currently ranks almost dead last among the 254 counties in Texas in the
management of the civil docket.
A key measure of how effectively a district court is managing civil cases is
the length of time it takes a court to dispose of cases on its docket. From
2006 through the present, state averages show that only 20% of civil cases take
more than 18 months to reach a conclusion. However, more than 75% of the civil
cases in Ellis County district courts took more than 18 months to reach a
conclusion. Only one out of Texas’ 254 counties performed worse in this
statistical category during that time period. The delays in obtaining civil
justice in Ellis County mean that litigants experience greater litigation costs
and have to endure unresolved damage to their economic interests while awaiting
relief from the courts.
In addition to the lengthy delays on the civil docket, the 40th District
Court has a mixed record before the Court of Appeals with respect to civil
cases. From the 1990s through the present, approximately half of the civil
cases appealed to the Court of Appeals have been reversed. This imposes
additional costs on litigants and the taxpayers because many cases have to be
remanded to the district court in order to get it right the second time around.
I am the candidate with the most experience in managing complex civil
litigation. Drawing on that experience, I will implement measures to
expedite the handling of civil cases on the court’s docket. This will also
allow the court to better focus the necessary attention on criminal matters. I
will require early status conferences in civil cases to map out a schedule for
bringing a case to trial within less than a year of filing. I will
require client attendance at those status conferences to make sure that they
understand the process and what will be expected of them to help resolve their
cases in a timely manner. I will use these conferences to determine which
cases have a significant likelihood of settlement, and I will encourage early
mediation or settlement discussions to resolve such cases as quickly as
possible in order to minimize congestion on the court’s docket and to minimize
the expense to clients. I will not take a pass on granting summary
judgment motions when the law is clearly in favor of one side and there is no
genuine issue of fact that requires a jury trial. I will have strict
standards for granting motions to continue and postpone trials so that
litigants do not suffer unreasonable delay in seeking the justice to which they
are entitled.
The bottom line is that by the conclusion of my first term as district
judge, Ellis County will no longer be at the bottom of the list when it comes
to the timely administration of civil justice.
Second, as indicated above, I will be more active in requiring
accountability from Adult Probation to ensure that probationers are abiding by
the terms of their probation. With more active oversight from the court, we can
help more probationers be successful in completing the terms of their
probation. We can also be swifter in enforcing the terms of probation so that
individuals who make no effort to comply with the terms of probation and
represent a threat of recidivism will not endanger others.
Third, I have heard several Ellis County residents complain that appearing
for jury duty frequently involves a lengthy presentation by the district court
during the voir dire process. I will respect the value of prospective
jurors’ time by keeping my comments to a minimum during voir dire, and
I will allow the attorneys presenting cases to conduct voir dire
according to strict time limits so that prospective jurors do not spend longer
than is absolutely necessary sitting through jury selection.
4) What will be in store for victims, clients, lawyers, taxpayers
for the next four years in the 40th District Court?
When I am elected judge of the 40th
District Court, people can expect that the 40th
District Court will perform at a high level of excellence. Clients can
expect that their lawyers will perform at a higher level because I will require
excellence from the lawyers that practice in the 40th District Court. Although I will be firm with
lawyers and litigants, I will demonstrate the utmost civility and respect to
everyone in the 40th District
Court. Likewise, I will expect civility and respect from everyone that
has business before the court. People can expect that I will manage the
court efficiently and with careful attention to detail. I will work hard
to ensure that the law is applied fairly and evenhandedly in both criminal and
civil cases. There will be no favoritism demonstrated to any particular
parties or factions. I will judge each case according to its legal merits
and I will respect the factual findings made by juries. In criminal
cases, the state will be held to its burden of proving guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. But once the state has met that burden, victims and
criminals alike should be certain that punishment will be certain and swift.
Taxpayers can be assured that I will work diligently to manage the court and
the matters before it as efficiently as possible in order to be a wise steward
of the taxpayer dollars that fund the court’s operations. Most importantly, I
will approach my responsibilities with a grateful appreciation that I will have
been entrusted to serve my fellow citizens in this important job. I will
remember that despite the power of the office, I am but a servant of the public.
