Tag Archives: District Attorney

Ogg continues to have problems with the bail settlement

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t like this. District Attorney Kim Ogg is rallying police officers across Harris County to show up in federal court en masse to oppose to a landmark bail reform agreement at a final hearing set for this month. She … Continue reading →

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MQS-Bonnen secret meeting investigation update

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. The top prosecutor in House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s home district has joined the probe into Bonnen’s secret meeting with a conservative political activist, in which the activist alleges he was offered an illegal quid pro quo. … Continue reading →

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Ogg’s objections

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This kind of came out of the blue. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg — who has been aligned with bail reformers during an ongoing legal conflict over the disparate treatment of poor defendants — filed a brief Thursday opposing … Continue reading →

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David Temple convicted again

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

New trial, same result. A Harris County jury on Tuesday convicted David Temple of murder in the 1999 death of his pregnant wife, opening the door for the former Katy-area football coach to be sent back to prison several years … Continue reading →

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Once more with more prosecutors

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This time, it might work. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is asking county commissioners once again for more prosecutors to handle fallout from the botched Houston drug raid that left a Pecan Park couple dead earlier this year. The … Continue reading →

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Before we get to the numbers, please read this. The widow of former Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner El Franco Lee has emptied most of her late husband’s $3.8 million campaign account by donating to community groups and charities. Ethel … Continue reading →

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David Temple re-trial is now underway

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I continue to be fascinated by this. It’s 1999 in Katy, Texas. A seemingly perfect couple is falling apart at the seams. David Temple, a high school football coach, is having an affair with a beautiful teacher on campus. His … Continue reading →

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Did the Lege sort of decriminalize marijuana?

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, sort of. Because of a new state law, prosecutors across Texas have dropped hundreds of low-level marijuana charges and have indicated they won’t pursue new ones without further testing. But the law didn’t decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for … Continue reading →

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Still no more prosecutors

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I remain fascinated by this dynamic. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday rejected District Attorney Kim Ogg’s request for more staff to handle fallout from the Houston Police Department’s botched Pecan Park drug raid, the second time this year commissioners … Continue reading →

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David Temple re-trial starts

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The beginning of the next chapter in a long story. For the second time in 12 years, a former Katy-area football coach is standing trial in the murder of his pregnant wife, seeking exoneration after prosecutorial misconduct caused his first … Continue reading →

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On prosecutor caseloads

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still thinking about this. When a line of prosecutors stepped up to the microphone at Harris County Commissioners Court in February, they told tales of long hours, endless to-do lists and bloated caseloads well into the triple digits. Their … Continue reading →

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Lineup shuffling at the DA’s office

Posted on May 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This was a surprise. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s top lieutenant is out the door after the latest staffing shake-up at an office already plagued by high turnover and ongoing retention problems. Tom Berg, a former defense attorney who … Continue reading →

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County brings charges related to ITC fire

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Responding to what it called “criminal levels” of contamination, the Harris County District Attorney’s office said Monday that it has charged Intercontinental Terminals Company with five misdemeanor counts of water pollution arising from a March plant fire … Continue reading →

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Prosecuting polluters

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It really shouldn’t have to come to this, but here we are. The Harris County District Attorney’s office is calling for a tripling of the number of prosecutors dedicated to environmental crimes in the wake of a series of chemical … Continue reading →

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Ogg hires Bradford

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A familiar face for the DA’s office. Former Houston City Councilmember and Police Chief C.O. “Brad” Bradford has joined the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as a senior adviser. District Attorney Kim Ogg has hired Bradford to serve in a … Continue reading →

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Marijuana diversions

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good progress so far. What can we do to build on it? The Harris County District Attorney’s Office estimated on Friday that it’s saved $35 million and arrested 14,000 fewer people since the start of a program to divert low-level … Continue reading →

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January 2019 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One last set of finance reports I want to look at, from Harris County officials. I’m dividing them into a few groups: Lina Hidalgo, County Judge Diane Trautman, County Clerk Dylan Osborne, County Treasurer Marilyn Burgess, District Clerk Kim Ogg, … Continue reading →

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Ogg’s second ask

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how this goes. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is planning to head back to county leaders with another request for more prosecutors in light of the massive case review sparked by fallout from last month’s botched Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Commissioners Court rejects Ogg’s request for more prosecutors

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I fully expected that Commissioners Court going from 4-1 Republican to 3-2 Democratic after the last election would signal big changes in how business was done in Harris County, but I didn’t expect this to be the first milestone on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

How many prosecutors do we need?

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Opinions differ, but it’s a big question in Harris County right now. Hanover is one of many prosecutors Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said are overburdened — the reason she has asked Commissioners Court for a budget that would … Continue reading →

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Bail lawsuit 2.0

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This one will be tougher to tackle, but the principle remains the same. A hard-fought battle to reform Harris County’s bail system has prompted a second civil rights action. The legal team that successfully challenged the county’s bail practices for … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Precinct analysis: Fort Bend

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know that Fort Bend County went blue in 2018 as well? Of course you did. Let’s take a closer look at how that happened. Dist Cruz Beto Dikeman Cruz% Beto% Dike% ====================================================== HD26 32,451 33,532 406 48.88% 50.51% … Continue reading →

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Another straight-ticket truther

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, outgoing Fort Bend DA John Healey! When John Healey began his career as a young prosecutor in Fort Bend County in the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan was president, MTV had just gone on the air and the then-rural county … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Fort Bend blue wave

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s not forget that what happened in Harris County happened in Fort Bend, too. Across the state, the “blue wave” that had long been a dream of the Democratic Party faithful failed to materialize in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Republicans … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

More on the Woodfill raid

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah. Former Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill is being investigated on theft and money laundering allegations, accused of misappropriating funds of at least two of his law firm’s clients, according to an affidavit by the Harris County District … Continue reading →

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Police raid Jared Woodfill’s office

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. Authorities on Monday raided the law office of former Harris County Republican Party chairman Jared Woodfill. Investigators with the Harris County District Attorney’s office wheeled carts of documents from Woodfill’s office at 3 Riverway at least an hour … Continue reading →

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Omnibus election report

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s after midnight, I’ve mostly posted stuff on my long-dormant Twitter account (@kuff), and I will have many, many thoughts in the coming days. For now, a brief recap. – As you know, neither Beto nor any other Dem won … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fort Bend DA

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One last recommendation. The race for Fort Bend District Attorney presents voters with a choice that’s starting to feel familiar in Texas politics: An experienced Republican who represents the past and an upstart Democrat who wants to welcome the future. … Continue reading →

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The Fort Bend DA race

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been a lot of focus on how Harris County will vote this year after Hillary Clinton’s wide margin of victory in 2016 – I’ve certainly contributed to that – but it’s important to remember that Clinton carried Fort Bend … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Viva Texas! Viva Beto!”

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been too long since the last time I posted a video. It all came from a love of the law and a shared dislike of Ted Cruz. It was a few bigwig local prosecutors, a capital defense attorney, a … Continue reading →

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Arkema indictments

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This will cause a stir. A Harris County grand jury on Friday indicted the French chemical company Arkema and two executives for the “reckless” release of toxic chemicals during Hurricane Harvey last August, a move that alarmed industry leaders and … Continue reading →

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Darian Ward indicted on charge of violating public information laws

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s former press secretary, Darian Ward, was indicted by a grand jury this week for failing to turn over public records in response to a reporter’s request late last year. The indictment, handed up Tuesday but released … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Orlando Sanchez is not happy with the dominatrix investigation

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This case is going to challenge headline and blog post title writers for the foreseeable future. Two elected Harris County officials squared off Tuesday over a bizarre case in which a top treasury official was charged in a $35,000 check … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Misdemeanor diversion

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds good to me. Houston’s non-violent misdemeanor offenders will soon be cleaning up trash and invasive plant species plants along Buffalo Bayou in an initiative to help offenders clear up their criminal record, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments