Texas Lawyer Blog

Judgment of the day: San Patricio County

Check out this multimillion dollar final judgment from the 156th District Court in San Patricio County. Got a judgment? E-mail a PDF of the file-stamped copy to amcmillan@alm.com.

Judge grants lawyer's motion for nonsuit in case against Houston homeless center

Houston lawyer Harry C. Arthur’s courthouse battle with Christ Church Cathedral and The Beacon, a homeless day center in downtown Houston, is over. This morning, 234th District Judge Reece Rondon of Houston signed an order granting Arthur’s motion for a nonsuit without prejudice in the suit filed by Arthur and a building he owns, The Marine Building. The plaintiffs filed the suit in November 2009 seeking a court order to shut down The Beacon, which is operated by the Cathedral Health & Outreach Ministries (CHOM), on the ground it is a “private nuisance.” The Marine Building is located near The Beacon. Arthur alleged in Harry C. Arthur, et al. v. Christ Church Cathedral, et al. that The Beacon has created a "health hazard" in the area and "the persons attracted by the free meals, free laundry and other services, urinate, defecate and drop trash in the street, sidewalks, doorways and other private property areas of the neighbors." Arthur did not immediately return a telephone call left at his firm, the Law Office of Harry C. Arthur. Arnold “Andy” Vickery, a partner in Vickery, Waldner & Mallia who represents the cathedral and The Beacon, says Arthur’s wife has agreed to serve on a board CHOM will establish to address issues stemming from The Beacon. He praises Arthur for filing the nonsuit. Still pending is a pro se suit filed against Arthur and The Marine Building by a veteran who uses services at The Beacon who seeks a minimum of $2.4 million in actual and punitive damages and an apology from Arthur in a local newspaper for allegations the lawyer made in Arthur v. Christ Church Cathedral.
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Houston lawyers at California hearing for Conrad Murray, one of King of Pop Michael Jackson's doctors

Houston lawyer Ed Chernoff (pictured, left) represents Dr. Conrad Murray, one of deceased pop star Michael Jackson’s doctors. Miranda Sevcik, a spokeswoman for Chernoff, says Chernoff, Murray and Matt Alford (pictured, right), Chernoff's partner in Stradley Chernoff & Alford, arrived half an hour early for an arraignment hearing scheduled at 1:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport Courthouse. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office issued a press release earlier today announcing it had charged Murray "with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the entertainer’s death last summer." The release states Murray "was charged in case No. SA 073164, filed at the Airport Branch of Los Angeles Superior Court. The count alleged that Murray 'did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson . . . in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony; and in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death, in an unlawful manner, and without due caution and circumspection.' ” The release states Deputy DA David Walgren of the Major Crimes Division will prosecute the case and that if convicted, Murray faces a possible maximum four-year state prison term. On his Web site, Chernoff promised the media he would address reporters' questions on the courthouse steps after the court proceeding today. Murray has consistently denied wrongdoing in his past statements to the media.
-- Miriam Rozen

David Dow pens book on being a death penalty lawyer

University of Houston Law Center professor David Dow, litigation director for the Texas Defender Service, writes about his life as a death penalty lawyer in "The Autobiography of an Execution," published Feb. 3 by Twelve Publishing. “It’s not really a strong argument about the death penalty, one way or another,” Dow says of the book.  “It’s more about my life as a death penalty lawyer.”  Dow says he has represented more than 100 death-row inmates -- most of them in Texas -- over the past two decades. But in a Jan. 25 blog posting, Dow noted that one of the reasons he wrote the book was to convey that being a death penalty lawyer does not mean he forgives or excuses murder. Dow wrote in the posting: “I started being a death penalty lawyer because I agreed to work on behalf of a single inmate whose lawyer quit when the inmate was two weeks away from execution. I kept being a death penalty lawyer because I can't stop. It's like being at an excruciating lecture. If I act quickly, I can get up and pretend to go to the bathroom and never return, but if I wait too long, and I'm left there with just a handful of other Hamlets, I can't bring myself to leave until it's done.” Dow is scheduled to appear for book signings at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Legacy Books in Plano and at 7 p.m. Feb. 10 at Borders in Dallas.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

Actress cast as prosecutor meets with Dallas County's first assistant district attorney

If someone wants to learn how to be a female Texas prosecutor, or at least look like one on TV, who better to learn from than Terri Moore (pictured), Dallas County’s first assistant district attorney? Moore says she met with actress Jenny Wade — who is in Dallas filming “Code 58,” a police drama currently in production for Fox television — a few weeks ago so the actress could pick Moore’s brain. Moore says she talked to Wade about whether Wade's role as an assistant DA on the show was realistic. She gathered from Wade that there was some humor in Wade's character. “And I’m like, ‘Well, I’ve got a good sense of humor, but what I do is real serious,’ ” Moore says. Moore also set Wade straight on how ADAs interact with police officers. “I said, ‘You can instruct the case and have a lot of influence on it, but you’re not in charge of the police officers,’ ” Moore says. So if Wade becomes the first actress to play a realistic prosecutor on network television, you'll know who to thank.

-- John Council

Bracewell Minute Mentoring event provides quick advice from high-powered women

Using a format patterned after speed dating, Bracewell & Giuliani held a Minute Mentoring event in Houston last Friday that gave 60 young women an opportunity to get some quick advice from groups of high-powered and high-profile women. The mentors included lawyers, politicians, public servants and business executives, many from Houston. The mentees included some Bracewell associates but also women working for a long list of Houston companies, including a number of firm clients. In speed dating, single people meet briefly with other singles to see if they hit it off; in Minute Mentoring, groups of young women met with groups of mentors for 12-minute sessions. First Lady Barbara Bush (pictured) blew a whistle to start the mentoring sessions but not before giving the young women some advice for their careers and life. She told them to “learn not to take life too seriously or take things too personally,” to “take risks and do exciting things,” and to “remember what’s truly important.” The mentors included Bracewell partners Carrin Patman and Jennifer Weston, both of Houston, Victoria Garcia of San Antonio and Dee Martin of Washington, D.C.; general counsel Charlene Ripley of Linn Energy and Jennifer Vogel of Continental Airlines Inc.; and in-house lawyers, including Cisselon Nichols Hurd and Carolyn Benton Aiman of Shell Oil Co. Susan Molinari, a former congresswoman who is a senior principal with Bracewell in Washington, D.C., developed Minute Mentoring with Dana Perino, a former press secretary to President George W. Bush. Molinari told the women to “heed the advice from the trailblazing women” and then pass it on. Mark Evans, Bracewell’s managing partner, says the firm held a Minute Mentoring event in Washington, D.C., in November 2009 and plans one in New York City.
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

New managing partner Wade Cooper to take the helm of Jackson Walker on Presidents Day

On Feb. 15, Wade Cooper (pictured, left) will become managing partner of Dallas-based Jackson Walker, succeeding Michael Wilson (pictured, right), who has been managing partner since 1992. Cooper, managing partner of the firm’s Austin office since 2006 and a member of the firm’s management committee, says he intends to follow the path set by Wilson. “We had a strategic plan a couple years ago, and we’re not going to depart from that — remain independent, continue to grow our Texas base, develop our depth of expertise,” Cooper says. In recent years, Cooper says he’s also been the member of the management committee working with the firm’s 14 practice groups. Cooper says he will continue to live in Austin but expects to travel a lot to the 336-lawyer firm’s offices in Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio and San Angelo. Cooper says Wilson will be his “mentor and coach.” “He will take the lead in coordinating our lateral hiring. He will also remain involved in our compensation process,” Cooper says. Cooper, who has a commercial litigation, arbitration and bankruptcy practice, says he plans to continue to do some legal work as managing partner.

-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

This Week in Texas Lawyer

To have and to hold: Meet four married lawyer-couples who have found wedded bliss with a beloved who happens to be a member of the bar. Senior reporter John Council traces the arc of cupid's arrows.  Pictured are Keith Dean and Elizabeth Crowder, on their wedding day and now.

Body count: Lawyer ranks are thinning. Senior reporter Brenda Sapino Jeffreys finds out which firms have lost the most attorneys and how those who have escaped the recession relatively unscathed did it.

Say nothing: On an issue that just won't go away, the State Bar board recommends that the high court not make lawyers tell clients whether they carry professional liability insurance. Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins finds out why.

Lemurs and iguanas and hedgehogs, oh my! Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins talks with SPCA of Texas GC Claire Collins Schwarz (pictured), the lawyer for the previous owners of approximately 27,000 seized critters, a lawyer for PETA, and others for the straight scat on the largest animal rescue in the United States.

The next big thing: Toyota litigation is revving up in Texas. Reporter Miriam Rozen talks to some lawyers who are getting behind the wheel.

Oh, baby: Austin solo Adam Reposa of in-court masturbatory-gesture fame will serve most of his sentence out of jail. Senior reporter Mary Alice Robbins has the low-down from the hearing.

Inadmissible.  Discipline. VerdictSearch. Newsmakers.

I Like Being a Lawyer. Letter to the Editor.

Texas Supreme Court justice to return to Houston's East End for children's poster-making workshop

Justice Eva Guzman, the newest member of the Texas Supreme Court, will be a special guest at a Houston poster-making workshop scheduled Feb. 6 for Hispanic children in kindergarten through the eighth grade. Children in Houston’s East End can participate in the three-hour workshop scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Community Family Centers. The Houston Bar Association, Hispanic Bar Association of Houston and Mexican American Bar Association of Houston are sponsoring the workshop to encourage the youngsters to participate in the HBA’s annual Law Day poster contest. The Law Day theme this year focuses on changes and challenges in the law in the 21 century. Guzman, who grew up in Houston’s East End, says she will be talking with youth who participate in the workshop. “I’m going to color with them and talk to them about my journey from their neighborhood to the Supreme Court of Texas,” she says. Tara Shockley, the HBA’s communications director, notes in an e-mail that the poster contest entries will be considered in two categories: kindergarten through third grade and fourth grade through eighth grade. First place winners in those categories each will receive $150; second place winners will receive $100 each; and third place winners will receive $50 each. Two honorable mention awards will be for $25 each, and teachers of first-place winners will receive $100 each.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

I went to a Texas Supreme Court candidates forum and all I got was mints and a pencil

Here's how a Texas Supreme Court candidate forum usually goes (and I've been to a few of them in my time). As an introduction, each candidate stands up and tells the audience that he or she has more experience than the other candidates. People ask questions of the candidates, who answer and often agree with each other. Then the audience members scratch their heads as to who should get their vote. That's kind of how it went this afternoon at a Republican candidate forum put on by the Dallas Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for the Place 3 spot on the Texas Supreme Court. A half-dozen Republicans are running to replace retiring Justice Harriet O'Neill. Five of the six Republican candidates showed up; Dripping Springs solo Rick Green had a family emergency and couldn't make it to the Dallas Bar Association's Belo Mansion. I can gladly report that all of the candidates who appeared — including 4th Court of Appeals Justice Rebecca Simmons, 14th Court of Appeals Justice Jeff Brown, 11th Court of Appeals Justice Rick Strange, 360th District Judge Debra Lehrmann and 5th Court of Appeals Justice James Moseley — all can speak in complete sentences and sound, well, judicial. I'm not sure if any of them distinguished themselves particularly, except in one respect: the cool campaign tchotchkes they left at a sign-in table. I particularly dug the Justice Rebecca Simmons mints and the "Get Strange!" pencil/gavel (pictured). Maybe handing out neat stuff is the real path to the Texas Supreme Court. High court races have been decided on a lot less.

-- John Council

Electronic submissions to begin at Texas Supreme Court

A new requirement takes effect Feb. 15 at the Texas Supreme Court. Beginning on that date, attorneys must e-mail copies of petitions, responses, replies, briefs on the merits and other documents to the clerk’s office at the court on the same day that they file the paper copies. In December 2009, the high court issued an order that established the procedures for submitting the electronic copies. Attorneys must e-mail the copies of documents to scebriefs@courts.state.tx.us. However, the Supreme Court has not changed the filing requirement. All filings must be on paper.

-- Mary Alice Robbins

Manuel Barraza, suspended judge, convicted on three counts

As judge of the El Paso Criminal District Court No. 1, Manuel Barraza sentenced defendants convicted of crimes to prison. But Barraza now faces his own sentencing day. On Thursday, a federal jury convicted Barraza of two counts of wire fraud and the deprivation of honest services and one count of making a false statement to a federal agent, but the jury acquitted him of one count of mail fraud, according to a news release issued by U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy of the Western District of Texas and David Cuthbertson, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in El Paso. U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo of the Western District in El Paso scheduled Barraza’s sentencing for April 28. As noted in the press release, Barraza, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the two wire fraud counts and up to three years in prison on the false statement charge. Elected to the criminal district court in November 2008, Barraza had been on the bench only three months when a federal grand jury indicted him on the fraud and false statement charges. As alleged in the indictment in United States v. Barraza, he solicited, agreed to accept and accepted bribes in the form of cash money and also agreed to accept a bribe of engaging in sexual activity with women in exchange for his influence and exercise of his official capacity as a judge. According to the news release, Montalvo is expected at sentencing to enter a judgment of criminal forfeiture against Barraza, who agreed Thursday to forfeit to the government the $5,100 in bribe money he received. Houston solo Mervyn Mosbacker, Barraza’s lead defense attorney, and Antonio Franco, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Barraza, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct suspended Barraza without pay on April 2, 2009. Seana Willing, the judicial conduct commission’s executive director, says the judgment of conviction that Montalvo issues should provide for the mandatory removal of Barraza from office. If Barraza appeals the conviction, Montalvo’s order is stayed, Willing says. “If Judge Barraza chooses not to appeal, he is automatically removed,” she says.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

Cantey Hanger associates commit to pro bono

Each associate handles two pro bono cases annually — that’s the commitment Cantey Hanger has made to Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT), says Fort Worth associate Philip Vickers (pictured). “I noticed our firm was exploring ways to be involved in more community activities and give associates good experience and thought this was a good way to do it,” he says. Vickers worked with Caroline Harrison, an associate in Fort Worth who heads the firm’s associate training program, to organize the firm’s commitment to LANWT. He is currently working a family law case for LANWT. “It’s a divorce with a mother who has a couple of kids and has been separated from her husband a couple of years,” he says. “They just need to get it finalized.” Vickers says that his desire to do pro bono work is tied to his faith and belief that he should help those in need. “One of the unique opportunities that only lawyers can provide is to provide help with legal issues,” he says. “Why not take advantage of my education and make that available?” The firm has 16 associates, and the firm credits the pro bono work as billable hours for them, he says. He notes that the firm has family law practitioners and that the legal aid office also has lawyers available to answer questions and offer advice. “We’re not doing it alone; there’s lots of support around,” he says.

-- Jeanne Graham

TL Podcast: How to handle bad facts

The delay in treatment, the criminal record, the policy violations -- how should lawyers deal with the bad facts that lurk in every case? Quentin Brogdon, an associate with the Law Offices of Frank L. Branson in Dallas, reviews the literature to find out whether it's best to share the bad evidence with the jury yourself, make your opponent do it or find a third way.  Listen here.

Starting their engines in Toyota litigation

Texas lawyers are revving their engines for the litigation battle expected to ensue from the widely reported, sudden-acceleration issues related to recalled Toyota automobiles. “This is a watershed event for the automobile industry,” says Kenneth Mingledorff (pictured), a partner in The Mingledorff Law Firm in Houston with his wife Judy P. Mingledorff, who he says will be “equal counsel” on the case. Ken Mingledorff says he intends to hire more support staff as soon as possible to handle the flood of calls he has begun receiving since filing a Toyota-related wrongful death petition. On Feb.1, he filed Michael Cleighton Harris, et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., et al.in the 189th District Court of Harris County. The suit is on behalf of a woman who died when her leased 2009 Toyota Corolla allegedly accelerated uncontrollably and crashed into a cement embankment. The Harrispetition also names as plaintiffs Michael Cleighton Harris, the crash victim’s surviving husband, and her two children. Named defendants include: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc.; the Elkhart, Ind.-based CTS Corp., which the petition claims designs and manufactures electronic components and sensors in the gas pedal systems of Toyotas; and Fred Haas Toyota World, Ltd., a dealership in Spring that allegedly leased the Corolla to the crash victim. The petition alleges the defendants are responsible for Trina Renee Harris’ wrongful death and for product liability. Mingledorff says the victim's widower, a military man who expects to return to the war zone shortly, called him and asked him to handle the case. Mingledorff believes his previous successful pursuit of wrongful death cases led the widower to him. But since news of the Harris petition has surfaced, Mingledorff says, other lawyers, experts and other possible Toyota-related plaintiffs have been keeping his office phones busy. Although he says he expects to keep the Harrissuit separate from all others, Mingledorff says he has received a call and an e-mail from lawyers at Corpus Christi’s Hilliard Munoz Guerra, who filed a class action complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi on Jan. 29. In that complaint, Sylvia Pena and Albert A. Pena, et al v. Toyota Motor Corp., Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., the plaintiffs allege the defendants breached an implied warranty. The plaintiffs also note that in the future they will show violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The class, identified in the complaint as numbering “hundreds of thousands,” is identified as Texas residents who presently own Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with allegedly faulty "Electronic Throttle Control Systems with Intelligence." Robert Hilliard, a partner in Hilliard Munoz, confirms that his office has reached out to Mingledorff. But Hilliard agrees with Mingledorff that the wrongful-death and personal injury cases related to the alleged Toyota acceleration issues will not be part of the class action case he filed on behalf of plaintiffs related to their property claims. Hilliard says his hope is that a U.S. district judge in Corpus Christi certifies a Texas class of plaintiffs; then he expects that class, represented by his firm, to join what he expects will be multidistrict litigation that will be established in a federal court in Los Angeles, where the most mature, related class-actions claims against Toyota were filed Jan.22. Sona Iliffe-Moon, a spokeswoman for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. But on Feb. 3, the company posted a press release on its Web site stating: “Our message to Toyota owners is this – if you experience any issues with your accelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without delay. If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive. Nothing is more important to Toyota than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive. Our entire organization of 172,000 North American employees and dealership personnel is working around the clock to fix the accelerator pedals for our customers.” A message left for Toyota Motor Corp. was not immediately returned, but a recording refers press calls to the Web site, which is the same site as that for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. CTS spokesperson Mitch Walorski did not immediately return a call seeking comment. But on Jan. 29 the company posted on its Web site a press release stating that the company had “deep concern that there is widespread confusion and incorrect information about the role of CTS-manufactured gas pedals in the media coverage of the recent Toyota recall.” The CTS statement quotes Dennis Thornton, a company vice president: “We are disappointed that, despite these facts, CTS accelerator pedals have been frequently associated with the sudden unintended acceleration problems and incidents in various media reports.” A receptionist at Fred Haas Toyota World, Ltd., said that all press calls were being referred to Toyota’s corporate office. Messages left at the telephone numbers she provided were not immediately returned.

-- Miriam Rozen

Adam Reposa to be sprung from jail early, thanks to impending fatherhood

After determining today that he had jurisdiction to hear Austin solo Adam Reposa’s request to modify the manner and means in which Reposa (pictured)serves a 90-day sentence for criminal contempt, Senior District Judge Paul Davis of Austin ordered that Reposa remain confined in the Travis County Jail through Feb. 12 instead of for the entire 90 days. “I want you to be there a full 10 days,” Davis told Reposa, who appeared before the judge in striped jail garb. Davis further ordered that after Feb. 12, Reposa is permitted to participate in the Travis County Sheriff's Weekend Alternative Program, know as SWAP, in which he will perform work in the community or for the county on weekends but will remain out of the jail. Davis also ordered Reposa to wear an electronic monitor and said Reposa would receive jail credit while wearing it. Davis said he was making it a condition that Reposa faithfully attend to all the needs of his girlfriend Susan McCleary and the child they will have. McCleary testified at today’s hearing that their baby is due March 5 and that she needs Reposa’s help at home. “I don’t have any other relatives in Austin,” she told the judge. Davis said his main reason for modifying the way Reposa serves his sentence is because Reposa is becoming a father. Davis originally sentenced Reposa in April 2008 for Reposa's conduct before Travis County Court-at-Law No. 6 Judge Jan Breland. According to Breland's testimony at an April 2008 hearing, Reposa made an obscene gesture simulating masturbation while standing before her with a client in March 2008. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the contempt findingand Reposa's 90-day sentence on Oct. 29, 2009. In January, the CCA denied Reposa's motion for rehearing and issued the mandate in the case on Jan. 28. At today’s hearing, Davis heard from four judges who said Reposa’s conduct had improved since Davis sentenced him to the 90 days. Reposa’s lawyer, Austin solo Todd Dudley, had subpoenaed the four judges to testify. Judge Charlie Baird of the 299th District Court testified that he had noticed a marked improvement in Reposa’s courtroom conduct. “I would not be here, I promise you, if I didn’t think he’d changed,” Baird testified. Also testifying were 167th District Judge Mike Lynch, County Court-at-Law No. 8 Judge Carlos H. Barrera, and County Court-at-Law No. 4 Judge Mike Denton.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

A reminder why courthouses have X-ray machines

It’s hard to fathom why anyone, other than a law enforcement officer, would attempt to bring a gun into a federal courthouse. Victoria Lynn Fields was arrested on Jan. 28, when she allegedly attempted to bring a loaded .45 caliber pistol into Texarkana’s U.S. District Courthouse, according to an arrest affidavit filed against her before a U.S. magistrate judge. According to the affidavit, Fields was in the courthouse for a civil hearing when she placed several large bags on the X-ray table in the courthouse lobby. A courthouse security officer  noticed a gun in one of the bags and detained Fields. Fields was involved in a civil hearing that morning before U.S. Magistrate Caroline Craven, according to the affidavit. That day, Craven was scheduled to hold a default judgment hearing in Fields v. Ruff Riders Lifestyles Corp., a suit Fields had filed pro se last year, in which she alleged that the motorcycle club had misappropriated her identity. Craven recused herself from that case later on Jan. 28. In her order, Craven wrote that the “Plaintiff [Fields] has a history with this court of filing unmeritorious lawsuits. She has had numerous contacts with the clerk of the court regarding the status of the current lawsuit and has expressed her dissatisfaction with the undersigned regarding plaintiff’s treatment by the court.”  Today U.S. Magistrate Chad Everingham, who has been assigned Field’s criminal case, granted a defense motion to have Fields go through a psychological examination to determine whether she is competent to stand trial and to assist in her own defense. Field’s attorney, Wayne Dickey, an assistant federal public defender, did not immediately return a call for comment. Davilyn Walton, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, say Fields' case is still under investigation and declines comment.

-- John Council

Two former employees of The Hartford plead guilty

Two former employees of The Hartford, who were indicted by a federal grand jury in 2007 along with Houston plaintiffs lawyer Warren Todd Hoeffner, yesterday pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. Rachel Marie Rossow, of Farmington, Conn., and John Frederick Prestage, of Newington, Conn., pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. In 2007, Hoeffner was named in a 14-count federal indictment that alleges he paid more than $3 million in "bribes and kickbacks" to Rossow and Prestage in connection with $34 million in settlements of Hoeffner's clients’ silica-related suits. Although the indictment set out 14 counts each against Prestage and Rossow, according to their plea agreements, Prestage and Rossow each pleaded guilty to just one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. They face maximum sentences of 24 months and 36 months respectively. The agreements also allow them to withdraw their guilty pleas if the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that prosecutors may not retry Hoeffner on double jeopardy grounds. Hoeffner’s trial, which began in August 2009 in Hittner’s court, ended with a mistrial in October 2009, but Hoeffner has filed an appeal asking the 5th Circuit to overturn Hittner’s ruling that he can be retried. Rossow and Prestage will be sentenced in May. Their plea deals call for Prestage to forfeit a Volvo XC90 and for Rossow to forfeit a BMW 530iA and her interest in $2.6 million. The indictment alleges Rossow received approximately $2,681,874 in "bribes and kickbacks" and Prestage received about $764,476 in "bribes and kickbacks." The indictment in United States v. Warren Todd Hoeffner, et al. also notes that Hoeffner received about $5,366,839 in attorney's fees from the settlements.
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Judge mulls jurisdiction issue in Adam Reposa case

After testimony at a hearing this morning, Senior District Judge Paul Davis of Austin is mulling over whether he has jurisdiction to change the manner and means of Austin solo Adam Reposa's 90-day sentence for criminal contempt. Reposa turned himself in to the Travis County jail on Feb. 2. Davis assessed the sentence in April 2008 for Reposa's conduct before Travis County Court-at-Law No. 6 Judge Jan Breland. According to Breland's testimony at an April 2008 hearing, Reposa made an obscene gesture simulating masturbation while standing before her with a client in March 2008. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the contempt finding and Reposa's 90-day sentence on Oct. 29, 2009. In January, the CCA denied Reposa's motion for rehearing and issued the mandate in the case on Jan. 28. This morning, Davis heard testimony from four judges. Also at the hearing, Reposa, wearing a jail jumpsuit, and his lawyer, Austin solo Todd Dudley, asked Davis to allow Reposa to serve his sentence through the Travis County Sheriff's Work Alternative Program, which would allow Reposa to continue working. But First Assistant County Attorney Steve Capelle argued that Davis no longer has jurisdiction to change Reposa's sentence. Davis recessed today's hearing so that he could consider the statutes and arguments over lunch. The hearing will resume at 1:30 p.m. today.

-- Mary Alice Robbins

Dallas solo en route to state rep after Hodge guilty plea

Even though it’s a good eight months away from the 2010 general election, Eric Johnson (pictured), a solo from Dallas, found out today that he’s essentially on his way to the Texas House of Representatives. That’s because the longtime incumbent he’s challenging in the March Democratic primary election, Gladys E. "Terri" Hodge, pleaded guilty today in a U.S. District Court in Dallas to a charge of “fraud and false statements on an income tax return.” According to a factual résumé filed in the court along with the guilty plea, Hodge was provided a reduced rent on an apartment and free carpeting by a low-income housing developer — income that she did not report on tax returns. She faces up to three years in prison, according to the plea agreement. Also according to the plea agreement: “Hodge further agrees to resign her office as state representative for Texas House District 100 at the time the sentence is imposed by the court and to forbear from seeking or holding future public office thereafter.” U.S. District Court Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn has not yet set a sentencing hearing. Hodge did not immediately return a call for comment, nor did Johnson. Hodge’s attorney Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth’s Kearney Wynn, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. But Johnson, a former associate with the Dallas office of Haynes & Boone, is likely getting ready to serve in Austin, as no Republican filed to run in the heavily Democratic house district.

-- John Council