Tag Archives: District Attorney

The battle for Williamson County DA

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Outside of the Congressional races, the hottest primaries this year are District Attorney races. We’ve got them in Harris County, in Travis County, and of course in Williamson County. An 11-year Republican incumbent who hasn’t faced an opponent since 2002, … Continue reading →

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Chron profiles of Lykos and Anderson

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already had an overview of the GOP DA primary, but that race is apparently too big for just one story, so now we have profiles of the two candidates, Pat Lykos and Mike Anderson. I figure if you’re following … Continue reading →

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Nasty yet nice

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s characterization of the GOP primary race for District Attorney as a nasty fight between polite people strikes me as apt. Complaints about Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos buzz through Houston’s criminal courthouse. Assistant district attorneys, police officers … Continue reading →

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Who not to vote for 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are a number of interesting and exciting Democratic primary races on this year’s ballot. You can see a bunch of them here and here. There are many good candidates, and many races in which you may have a difficult … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mike Anderson

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Challenging Pat Lykos in the GOP primary for District Attorney is another person who has spent years as a judge, Mike Anderson. Anderson started out in the DA’s office after completing law school and spent 17 years as a prosecutor, … Continue reading →

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Interview with DA Pat Lykos

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For my interviews this week, I’m going to take a brief detour from the Democratic primaries to converse with the two candidates in the highest profile Republican primary in Harris County. That would be the District Attorney race, and we … Continue reading →

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FBI looking into DA’s office over grand jury “investigation”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, boy. Eyewitness News learned from people interviewed that the FBI and Texas Rangers are asking questions inside the DA’s office. The questions aren’t about BAT vans, but about the DA and her team and how they reacted once the … Continue reading →

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What is an investigation?

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when I said that the grand jury saga wasn’t over yet? After denying any investigation into the grand jurors who for six months investigated her office, Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos disclosed that she directed her chief investigator … Continue reading →

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Grand jury no-bills DA’s office

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Thus endeth one of the most fascinating local stories in recent memory. A Harris County grand jury ended its session Tuesday, ending a months-long investigation into the district attorney’s office and the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vehicles with a … Continue reading →

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Interview with Zack Fertitta

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We move on this week to the two top of the ticket races for Harris County, DA and Sheriff, starting today with Zack Fertitta, who is running for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney. Fertitta spent several years in the … Continue reading →

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January finance reports: Harris County

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

January is a very busy month for campaign finance reports, since they are due for all levels of government. I’ve been busy updating the 2012 Primary Election pages for Harris County and elsewhere in Texas with reports as I can … Continue reading →

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Lykos appears before the grand jury

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And that’s all we know about it. Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos testified Tuesday in a grand jury investigation of the Houston Police Department’s controversial mobile DWI testing vehicles. Because grand jury subpoenas and testimony are secret, it is … Continue reading →

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Lykos subpoenaed

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That grand jury keeps stirring things up. A grand jury investigating possible wrongdoing within the DA’s Office has officially subpoenaed DA Pat Lykos. The probe centers around problems with the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vans. The DA’s Office will … Continue reading →

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Inmate outsourcing on the way out

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is unequivocally good news. Dropping inmate numbers at the Harris County Jail will let the county end its nearly 5-year-old practice of shipping overflow inmates to Louisiana and other Texas counties within days, Sheriff Adrian Garcia said this week. … Continue reading →

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Lykos v Anderson

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I obviously don’t have a dog in the Republican District Attorney primary fight, but I like a good high-profile political battle as much as the next junkie, so stories about it are interesting to me. [DA Pat] Lykos argues she … Continue reading →

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“It’s all politics!”

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The grand jury investigation of the District Attorney’s office over DWI evidence and policies continues to be the most compelling local story right now. A prosecutor who last week refused to answer questions from a grand jury said Monday she … Continue reading →

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Investigations all around

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a second grand jury looking into Harris County DA Pat Lykos. Sources close to the investigation said a special prosecutor was appointed last week to look into claims by Shirley Cornelius, a 27-year-veteran of the office, that she was … Continue reading →

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More on Lykos versus the cops

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another Chron story about the recent dust-up between Harris County DA Pat Lykos and six Harris County police groups that don’t like her policy that trace amounts of crack will not be prosecuted as felonies. Two points that are … Continue reading →

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Lykos versus the cops

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Various law enforcement unions are not happy with Harris County DA Pat Lykos. Leaders of six Harris County police organizations Tuesday announced a vote of no confidence in District Attorney Pat Lykos, saying she has “shirked her duty” and has … Continue reading →

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Filing season opens today

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s supposed to open today, anyway. It may get pushed back a day or two until the remaining legal actions get sorted out. As we know, after being turned down by the San Antonio federal Court, AG Greg Abbott is … Continue reading →

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When prosecutors get in trouble

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You know, this grand jury investigation of the Harris County DA’s office is starting to look like a full-fledged scandal. Two Harris County prosecutors are facing contempt charges after a judge learned that members of the District Attorney’s Office were … Continue reading →

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Grand jury requests special prosecutor

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting mighty interesting over there. A Houston grand jury that may be investigating the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Houston Police Department’s troubled breath alcohol testing vans has asked for a special prosecutor and an extension of … Continue reading →

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More troubles for CM Jones

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There have not been many dull moments this year for CM Jolanda Jones. That seems unlikely to change in the near future. [O]n Wednesday, revelations surfaced that one of her staffers photographed a citizen picking up public records from her … Continue reading →

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DA won’t bring charges against CM Jones

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Politics: Harris County prosecutors who reviewed ethics complaints against City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones have concluded that criminal prosecution is not warranted. In a letter to the City Attorney David Feldman the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said it had … Continue reading →

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Gallego to run for CD23 and other updates

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Pete Gallego has decided to run for Congress in CD23. Gallego first won election to the Texas House in 1990 and has chaired various committees and also been part of the Democratic leadership, doing time as head of … Continue reading →

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DA gets Jones case

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What sound does a hot potato make when it gets passed to someone else? The Harris County District Attorney has been asked to review for possible criminal prosecution allegations that Councilwoman Jolanda Jones used city resources to support her private … Continue reading →

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Another Travis County DA race?

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When Ronnie Earle announced his retirement in 2007, it kicked off a spirited Democratic primary to replace him that was ultimately won by his chief lieutenant, Rosemary Lehmberg. It looks like we may have another such primary next year. Former … Continue reading →

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Still talking about jail overcrowding

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another op-ed about jail overcrowding in Harris County and what to do about it. It’s all familiar stuff – we’ve only been talking about this for a million years or so – but I was struck by what wasn’t … Continue reading →

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Time for the biennial attack on the Travis County DA

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Every two years, some Republican legislators try to kill the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s office. An amendment tacked on to the House budget bill approved last week would shift roughly $3.4 million a year from … Continue reading →

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CM Johnson gets no-billed on evading arrest charge

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news for Council Member Jarvis Johnson. A Harris County grand jury has declined this morning to indict Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson on charges stemming from his arrest in June for evading arrest, according to his attorney. Johnson … Continue reading →

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DA investigating CM Johnson

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson’s office pressured city officials to certify a security firm as a minority-owned business to win a lucrative subcontract for the company, which later gave a 40 percent ownership stake to a close Johnson associate, … Continue reading →

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It’s still hard to free an innocent person

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, right? While some appellate attorneys are applauding Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ establishment of a Post Conviction Review Section, whose work led to the freedom of two wrongfully convicted men in the past week, Texas law continues … Continue reading →

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DA clears Metro

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Months after prosecutors took boxes of documents from Metro’s downtown headquarters and experts examined the agency’s computers, the investigation into allegations that Metropolitan Transit Authority administrators illegally destroyed public documents has ended, Metro officials said today. In a letter … Continue reading →

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DA responds to CM Johnson

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Jarvis Johnson said his piece last week about his recent arrest for not pulling over on a traffic stop. Yesterday, the Harris County District Attorney had their say about it. Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson told police he … Continue reading →

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