Update on Delay case - Judge removed

[CARLHAYDEN]

By APRIL CASTRO
 
(AP) 

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The judge in the conspiracy case against Republican Rep. Tom DeLay was removed at the congressman's request Tuesday because of his donations to Democratic candidates and causes.

A semi-retired judge who was called in to hear the dispute, C.W. Bud Duncan, ruled in Delay's favor without comment. A new judge will be appointed to preside over the case against the former House GOP leader.

The ruling came after a hearing in which Delay's attorneys argued that state District Judge Bob Perkins' political donations called his impartiality into question. Perkins, a Democrat, has contributed to candidates such as John Kerry and the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org.

"The public perception of Judge Perkins' activities shows him to be on opposite sides of the political fence than Tom DeLay," defense attorney Dick DeGuerin argued.
 
Perkins had declined to withdraw from the case, and prosecutor Rick Reed argued at the hearing that DeLay had to prove that a member of the public would have a "reasonable doubt that the judge is impartial" before Perkins could be removed.

"Judges are presumed to be impartial," Reed said.

Perkins did not attend the hearing and did not immediately return a call for comment.

DeLay had no comment as he left the courthouse. Throughout the proceedings, he sat in the front row behind his attorneys with his wife and aides. He often smiled, and occasionally chuckled when Democrats said negative things about him in their testimony.

DeLay's lawyers are also seeking to have the trial moved out of Austin, citing the media attention and noting that Austin, widely perceived as a liberal college town, is "one of the last enclaves of the Democratic Party in Texas."
 
The issue came up for Perkins before. He voluntarily stepped aside in a 1994 case against Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Perkins had made a $300 contribution to Hutchison's opponent. Hutchison, who was also represented by DeGuerin, was ultimately acquitted of misconduct charges.

Delay's lawyers cited 34 contributions Perkins has made to Democrats since 2000, including donations to Kerry and to MoveOn.org, a group that has waged a campaign against DeLay.

DeLay's attorneys subpoenaed Perkins to testify, but Duncan did not make him take the stand. Perkins argued that his participation would threaten the public's confidence in the judiciary.

[Defarge]

If the guy contributed to partisan campaigns, I don't care who they were, he shouldn't be dealing in this case.

[Sam Spade]

This was not exactly surprising, imo.

[Democratic Hawk]

What if the replacement judge is a Republican? [Assuming there are any in Travis County] Aye, the beauty of a politicised judiciary

I can see it now. Not only is the judge removed, but the trial is moved to a GOP-dominated county with a Republican judge and it's every bit a farce as it might have been under Perkins in Travis. Great!

Dave

[CARLHAYDEN]

This was not exactly surprising, imo.

Yeah, the suprising part was Perkins didn't recuse himself earlier.

[CARLHAYDEN]

What if the replacement judge is a Republican? [Assuming there are any in Travis County] Aye, the beauty of a politicised judiciary

I can see it now. Not only is the judge removed, but the trial is moved to a GOP-dominated county with a Republican judge and it's every bit a farce as it might have been under Perkins in Travis. Great!

Dave

Dave, the case is a farce.

When Ronnie Earle got the first indictment, it was defective, so he went to a second grand jury which REFUSED TO INDICT.  So then, Earle went to a third grand jury, and told them he had evidence in hand which he now admits he has never had, to get an indictment (shades of Joe McCarthy).

Now one can disagree with Republicans without trying to maintain that being a Republican is a crime.

[Democratic Hawk]

Dave, the case is a farce.

When Ronnie Earle got the first indictment, it was defective, so he went to a second grand jury which REFUSED TO INDICT.  So then, Earle went to a third grand jury, and told them he had evidence in hand which he now admits he has never had, to get an indictment (shades of Joe McCarthy).

Now one can disagree with Republicans without trying to maintain that being a Republican is a crime.

I suspect you're right. Ronnie Earle does seem to have pursued DeLay like some political zealot but will we ever know for sure, whether DeLay did anything untoward? I wouldn't put acts of political skulduggery past Tom DeLay but I admire the support he and his wife have given to troubled youngsters

Dave

[CARLHAYDEN]

Dave, the case is a farce.

When Ronnie Earle got the first indictment, it was defective, so he went to a second grand jury which REFUSED TO INDICT.  So then, Earle went to a third grand jury, and told them he had evidence in hand which he now admits he has never had, to get an indictment (shades of Joe McCarthy).

Now one can disagree with Republicans without trying to maintain that being a Republican is a crime.

I suspect you're right. Ronnie Earle does seem to have pursued DeLay like some political zealot but will we ever know for sure, whether DeLay did anything untoward? I wouldn't put acts of political skulduggery past Tom DeLay but I admire the support he and his wife have given to troubled youngsters

Dave

Earle did this before against Sen. Hutchinson.

Also note, the feds are investigating Delay.

[jimrtex]

I can see it now. Not only is the judge removed, but the trial is moved to a GOP-dominated county with a Republican judge and it's every bit a farce as it might have been under Perkins in Travis. Great!

Travis County as the location of the state capital is politicized to a greater extent than most other areas.  Several of the Democrat legislators who were defeated in 2002 were from Travis County.  One of the grand jurors in the original panel knew one of the defeated legislators and felt that the TAB ads were in opposition to the former legislator.  The Texas operations of moveon.org are headquartered in Austin, and they were a prominent propaganda organ during the 2003 redistricting battle.  The fact that Perkins claimed to have contributed to moveon.org in order to support Kerry, rather than the Democratic Party is particularly alarming.

If DeLay were to have been charged with an election law violation, it would have been in Fort Bend County.   Earle supposedly gave his evidence to the DA in Fort Bend County, who apparently did not present it to a grand jury (or if he did, they did not bring an indictment).  That is why Earle had to get the conspiracy charge.   After it was brought to his attention that the conspiracy law did not apply to the election law (i.e. DeLay's lawyers filed for dismissal), he sought the money laundering charges in a 2nd and then 3rd grand jury.  In other words, Earle was attempting to bring the case into Travis County, by seeking additional charges before 3 different grand juries.

[CARLHAYDEN]

Thanks for your informative post.

I suspect the next judge will NOT change the venue to another county, but WILL give the defense considerable latitude in voir dire.

I also suspect the legislature will, in the wake of Delay's acquital pass legislation to limit Earle's jurisdiction.

[jimrtex]

I suspect the next judge will NOT change the venue to another county, but WILL give the defense considerable latitude in voir dire.

Hutchison's trial was in Fort Worth. 

The underlying charge is that corporation funds were used to help specific state legislature candidates.  There is a reasonable chance that Travis County jurors would know either the Republicans that were elected or the Democrats they defeated, and could be prejudiced based on the result of the race.  If your candidate was defeated, then you might feel that you were the victim.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Possibly, though I'm not sure DeLay's case falls under jurisdiction specific to the Travis County DA.  If DeLay had been charged with an election law violation, it had to be in his home county.  The conspiracy and money-laundering charges are felonies, and as I understand it could be charged by any DA in the state.

[Sam Spade]

As an update, Earle is filed a motion for the Regional judge B. B. Schraub, a Republican, who removed Judge Perkins yesterday, to remove himself from selecting a new judge in the trial.

The article is here.

Earle doesn't want regional judge to pick court

District attorney files motion to keep Schraub from selecting judge for DeLay case
           
By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, November 03, 2005

In an unprecedented move, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed a motion Thursday asking a Republican presiding judge to remove himself from the decision about who will be the trial judge in the conspiracy case against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

Earle, a Democrat, argued that Judge B.B. Schraub, the presiding judge for the 3rd Administrative Judicial Region, should step aside for the same reasons that state District Judge Bob Perkins, a Democrat, was removed from hearing DeLay's case: Both had given political donations.

In the retaliatory motion, Earle wrote that he was using the same rationale that DeLay's lawyers used to get Perkins removed from the case. He said Schraub of Seguin, like Perkins of Austin, is a fair and impartial judge with a "sterling reputation" of honesty and integrity.

But Earle wrote that's "unfortunately no longer the standard in our state for the judiciary." He argued that Schraub could be personally biased for DeLay and against Earle.

DeLay's lawyers successfully had Perkins removed from the case Tuesday after arguing that Perkins' donations to Democratic causes and candidates, as well as the internet-based organization MoveOn.org, gave the appearance that the Democratic judge might be biased against the former U.S. House majority leader.

Schraub appointed a retired Democratic judge, C.W. "Bud" Duncan of Bell County, who ordered Perkins to step aside after a four-hour hearing Tuesday. That left Schraub to find a replacement. He told the Associated Press he was looking at retired judges outside Travis County.

The issue of whether a judge outside or inside Travis County hears the case could have a bearing on an array of pre-trial issues, particularly whether DeLay could get a fair trial in the heavily Democratic county that he had split between three congressional districts in 2003 to try and defeat U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.

Schraub declined to comment on the motion. DeLay's lead lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

According to Earle's motion, Schraub has given $5,600 — roughly the same amount as Perkins — to Republican candidates, including President Bush, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Gov. Rick Perry, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth and state Rep. Ed Kuempel.

Earle wrote that the $1,500 to Perry was particularly troubling because Perry was a central player in DeLay's successful attempt in 2003 to have Texas congressional districts drawn to his liking. As governor, Perry called the special legislative sessions where the districts were redrawn to shift the balance of power in the congressional delegation from Democrats to Republicans.

The prosecutor also noted that Perry appointed Schraub as presiding judge and Schraub is up for re-appointment in January.

Earle suggested four options for breaking the partisan logjam over naming a judge to hear the DeLay case.

He asked Schraub to assign the case to another Travis County district judge; appoint a Travis County presiding judge to assign the case in the normal court rotation; to step aside voluntarily; or ask the governor to appoint the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to hear Earle's motion to force Schraub to be removed.

[Democratic Hawk]

Will it be possible to actually get a judge on this case, who can't be accused of being partisan one way or the other?

Dave

[Alcon]

Will it be possible to actually get a judge on this case, who can't be accused of being partisan one way or the other?

Dave

Evidently Earle wants someone who has never voted, expressed an opinion, or judged a controversial case.

Perhaps he should appoint a three-year-old.

[jimrtex]

Will it be possible to actually get a judge on this case, who can't be accused of being partisan one way or the other?

The administrative judge for the appeals court for Travis County, Judge BB Schraub, has recused himself.   Schraub named the visiting judge for the Perkins recusal hearing, Judge CW "Bud" Duncan, Jr., a Bell County Democrat.  After Duncan had removed Perkins, Schraub was to have named the replacement.

After Schraub recused himself from the appointment process, he refered the appointment process to Texas Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson.  Jefferson has appointed retired Bexar County judge Pat Priest to preside over DeLay's trial.  Ronnie Earle has filed a motion asking that Jefferson recuse himself.

[The Dowager Mod]

What if the replacement judge is a Republican? [Assuming there are any in Travis County] Aye, the beauty of a politicised judiciary

I can see it now. Not only is the judge removed, but the trial is moved to a GOP-dominated county with a Republican judge and it's every bit a farce as it might have been under Perkins in Travis. Great!

Dave

That's what happened in the Hutchison case.

[Moooooo]

A jurist was removed today because he had donated to Gov. Perry in the past.

[Moooooo]

Delay Gets Democratic Judge
   

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Democratic judge was named on Thursday to preside over the money-laundering and conspiracy case against U.S. Republican Rep. Tom DeLay in an appointment made by the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.


Senior Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio will replace state District Judge Robert Perkins, who was forced off the case on Tuesday after DeLay's attorneys complained he was too staunchly Democratic to give their client a fair trial.

Priest was appointed by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, a Republican endorsed and aided by DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority, or TRMPAC, a political action committee at the center of the criminal charges.

[Sam Spade]

So, when are we going to get the stats and figures of who Priest donated to? 

[jimrtex]

I can see it now. Not only is the judge removed, but the trial is moved to a GOP-dominated county with a Republican judge and it's every bit a farce as it might have been under Perkins in Travis. Great!

That's what happened in the Hutchison case.

Judge Onion was on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for 22 years, 18 as its chief justice, and continued to live in the Austin area.  It is quite unlikely that he was a Republican.  He continued to preside over the case after he moved it to Tarrant County.  Though a jury was empaneled in the case, it never heard evidence, because Earle declined to present his case, after Onion refused to rule in advance whether some of Earle's evidence would be suppressed.

Interestingly enough, the Hutchison case went to 3 grand juries as well.  The first grand jury had a juror who was under hot check charges.  The indictments under the second jury went before Judge Perkins who recused himself because of his contributions to Hutchison's senate opponent Bob Kreuger (who had called for Earle to investigate Hutchison just days before the Senate runoff at which Hutchison was elected).  Iincidentally, Ronnie Earle had sought the appointment to the Senate seat after Lloyd Bentsen resigned).   Onion then threatened to quash the indictments because they were too vague.  It was the 3rd set of indictments which actually went to trial.