2007 summer defender
TRANSCRIPT
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8/11/2019 2007 Summer Defender
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,
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I
SUMM R 2007
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3
6
Winning Warriors
The Fight
Goes
On
by
Patrick
F
McConn
II .....
Year-End Re
port: H
CLA
Speaker
s
Bureau
Pbl ic Relations
Committee
by Wendy
M
Miller
10 .
tr tegy: Strength In DeFense
by
oseph
W
Varela
4
Easy
Ways
To
Acco un
t For
Your
Ti
me
In Criminal Work
by
Patrick
F
McConn
6
nnual Ba nquet
THE DEFENDE
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HCCl @ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2007 2008
PRESIDENT
Patrick
f McCann
PRESIDENT ElECT
Ma rk Bennett
VICE
PRESIDENT
JoAnne
Mu
sick
SECRET RY
Nicole
DeBorde
TREASURER
Steven
HHalpert
P ST
PRESIDENT
Robert J fic
kman
BO RD OF
DIRECTDRS:
Thamos
Berg
Nea
l
Davis
Christopher
Downey
Todd DuPant II
Tyler flood
Tucker Graves
Mark
Hachglaube
Randoll
Kallinen
feral Merchant
Marjorie Meyers
Earl
D Musick
Joh
nParras
Robert A
Scardino
Charles StanPield
Amonda Webb
O
Tate Williams
P ST PRESIDENTS:
1971-2006
C
Anthony friloux
Stuart Kinard
George
luquette
Morvin
D
Teogue
DckDeGuerln
W B H
use,
Jr.
David R Bires
Waody
Densen
Wll Groy
Edwo
rd A Mollett
Corolyn Gorcio
Jock
B Zimmermann
Clyde Williams
Robert Pelton
Cndelaria Elizanda
Allen c
Isbell
David Mitcham
Jm E
Lav
ine
R
ck
Brass
Mory
f. Co
nn
Kent A
SchoPPer
Don Cogdell
Jim
Skelton
George
J Pornhom
Gorlond
D MC
innis
Robert
A Moen
lloyd Oliver
Danny
Ea
sterling
Wayne Hill
Richord fronkoPP
W Troy McKinney
Cy
nthio
Henley
Stonley
G
Sc h
neider
Wendell
A
Ddom,
Jr.
HCCLA
Shawn
a
l Reagin
Shawn
a l
Reagin Christina Appelt
limb Design
7026
Old Katy
Road, Ste.
350
Houston, Texas 77024
713 529 1117
~ ~ @ I f ~ ~ EDITOR
Now
that
the name of a former North Carolina District
Attorney
has
become
a verb meaning to
be unjustly
pr
osecu ted ,
often
for
the per
sonal
aggrandizement
of the
proseclltor
, the world outsid
the legal community has been alerted to
the
dan ge rs inh erent in unbridled prosecu torial discretion
Just one
day's reading of The Houston Chronicle raises questions abollt
whether
the Harris
Count
District Attorney's office
is
due for
some
reining in of that same discretion.
On the front page
of the Jun
e 6 editio n was a
report of
a no-bill in
the
shooting death of a
unarmed
man that
occurred
on
a M
etro
bus . A pr osecu
tor
was
qu
o
ted
as saying
the
accused
originally was charged with
murder
because so m
eone
had been shot and authorities n
eede
d tim
to inv
es
tigate.
The
investigati on apparently validated
what
scene witnesses revealed at
the
tim
of th e shootin
g:
The man shot in self-defense.
Un f
or tunately,
the
shooter had to be arrested
make bail
and get
a
la
wyer while this inves tigation took place. H ere's a novel
co
ncept : Why
no
investigate first, then file charges only
if
substantiated by
the
evidence>
In
th e same day's paper, a
woman
initially
charged
with
murd er
for allegedly killing he
bedridden mothe r by
unplugging
her ventilator
entered
a plea of no
contest
to cr iminall
negligen t homicide and was
sentenced to
five years'
deferred adjudication. Although the
facts
a
reported don't seem
to
constitute any form of homicid e,
the
more int eresting aspect of
the
articl
is the reason the State disregarded
her
exp lanation
of what happ
ened : The
woman's hu
sba nd ha
left
her the
same day th e ventilator came
unplu gged,
so because
of the timing,
she
was charge
with murder.
Pretty
slim evidence for a
murd
er charge .
More recentl
y
a misdemeanor trespass to
protest
the illegal detention and mistr
eat
ment
o
immigrant children was hijacked into a felony charge
of
unlawful use of a criminal
instrument.
Th
criminaJ instrument > A bicycle chain and lock.
Prosecutors over-c harge because they
can,
and because they know that is the only wa)' they ca
saJv
age any conviction out
of
marginal cases
that
should never have led to criminal charges in th
first place.
In the
case
of the
Pasadena bus driver
who
se acquittal is rep
or t
ed in Winning Warriors
the prosecutor initially sought a murder indictment for an incid e
nt
investigated by
th
e police as
tragic traffic accident. The
pro
secutor's
reasoning,
as
reported
by
the
media ,
appeared
to be tha
any tim e a child
is
kill
ed or injured, someo ne
must
be criminally responsible. This prosec utor als
pLlblicly argued
that
manslaughter was not an appropriate charge; he
then
prosecuted
that
ver
charge and filed a mo t
ion
in limine demanding that
th e
defen
se not
mention hi
s about-face.
After the verd ict, the prosecu
tor
was quoted in
th
e Chronicle as saying
that
he knew from th
o
utset that
th e case
would
be difficult
to
win,
[b]ut to honor [th
e
complainant] we
had to tr
to make sure he was he
ld
accountable for his action
s.
On this l
og
ic , we
dr
ag people through th
criminal justice system, regardless of
whether or
not they have en gaged in criminal
conduct,
to
ho n
or the
dead. And
what
arrogance to
pr
etend
that
an individual involved in such an acciden
will not hold himself responsible a
thou
s
and
times over for the rest of hi s life.
Around th
e same tim e as the Pasadena
bu
s acc
ident
, a
woman
ran over and killed a
young
ch
ild
who
ran into an intersection in northwest H ouston.
No
prosecutor appeared on TV to
den
o unc
her
behavior
and accuse
her
of
murd
er. A few years ago, a friend's family member was
run
dow
like an armadillo by a drunk driver as she walked home along a narrow street
with
no sidewaJks
Despite
the
presence
of
an eyewitness,
the
driv
er
's license plate layin g in
the
road by
her
man gle
body, a driver
who
fl ed the sce ne and the driver still being drunk when
arrest
ed ,
the
Harris
Count
D.A.'
s office steadfast
ly
refused to even seek
an indictment
for intoxication
manslaughter, optin
instead
to
file separate
misdemeanor
DWl and state
jaiJ
felony FSGI charges ,
to
which the drive
was allowed
to
plead to
concurrent
mis
demeanor
time.
Try
expJai ning
to the
se families why thei
loved
ones
were not worthy
of
hon
or.
So
h
ow
do es
the
office
decid
e
who
gets
Nif
o
ng-ed
and
wh
o doesn't> Unlike
the
Nor th
Car
olin
case,
the
chosen
one
s in Harris
County
are more likely to be the
poor and
disenfranchised. Thes
are the people
who
ca n least afford
the
costs of bail and a lawyer, and are of course
the
easiest
to
coerce
into some
kind of plea bargain. By forcing these
bogu
sly charged cases
to
trial ,
we
can rais
local taxpayer awareness of the consequences of prosecLl torial indiscretion an d mu zz
le
our ow
budding
Nifongs.
S
hawna
L. Rea
gin, Editor
171e Editats opinion is purely personal, and in
no
way reflects the viewpoint
or
position
of
the H arris
CM
tnt
riminal Lawyers Assoc iati
on
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E F E N E R
Gilbert
Villareal won a Not Guilty on a burglary of a
habitation with the intent to commit aggravated assault .
In yet another instance of a trial court refusing
to
admit
defensive character evidence, Rosa Eliades reversed the
351
st
District
Court
in
Melgar
v t t
e
_ S.W 3 d _ ,
2007
WL
852636
(Tex.App . -
Houston
[1
st
Dist.]
No
.
01-05-01049
, delivered March
22,
2007) [designated
for publication].
Cynthia
Rayfield
and Annette Henry scored an
acquittal for their client charged with indecency in the
228[h District
Court.
l o r s ~
The ury only took five minutes to hand Joe Wells
a
Not
Guilty verdict on a
DWI in CCCL
8
on
March 26, 2007.
At least part
of
the
jury
was so appalled
y
the
State's expert' s claim that parents have
no
righ
to bathe their own children
that
Jerald Crow
got
a mistrial on an aggravated sexual assault
o
a child trial
in
Montgomery County.
Katherine Scardino
and
Danny Easterling
again
prevailed in obtaining a life
pl
ea for a client facing
the
death
penalty,
thr
ee weeks before trial was
scheduled to begin . The client was accused of beating
up and strangling his 5-months-pregnant girlfriend and
having sex with her corpse the next day; he gave two
confessions.
Katherine then teamed up with Jimmy Phi11ips on a
death capital in Angleton , wh ere their stellar performance
during
guilt/innocence
earned them a
life
offer before
commencement of the
punishment
phase. Clien
convicted of killing 3 people and
wounding
a tourth on
orders of a Texas Syndicate
gang
leader.
Proving that some
hot
streaks never cool, after working
a capital in
Montgomery
County for nearly
two
years
Ms. Scardino recently negotiated a plea
to
aggravated
robbery
for five years
TDCJ
-ID.
A quick win was awarded
to James
Alston ,
who
got
6 -1/ 2
mioute Not
Guilty
on
a criminal trespass.
A no test, no accide
nt DWI
in
CCCL 10
brough
Dennis
Craigs a Not Guilty 0 0 April 12 , 2007.
That same day, Doug Murphy added
to
the string o
victories over former DWI task force officer Robinson
when he heard
Not
Guilty in
CCCL
3.
[How
many
~
THE EFEN E
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MY
cannot express
enough
thanks to
Robb
Ficlunan s
out going Presjdent
for ll his
work and heJp this past year.
Robb
did an
outstanding job,
and I am grateful for
FR E
N
D
S
ail the assistance and advjce he has given me.
Looking to the future, I am fortunate to have a motivated and
talented
group of
offlcers and an energetic
board working
with me.
Together
we
will make this an exceptional year, and here
is
why:
HCCLA will continue
to
be an aggressive and strong voice for our members and
their clients.
Whether
standing
up
against abuses
of
power,
or
for an individual
member, HCCLA will speak
out
against any attempts
to
limit
our
members in their
role s
counselor
to deprive their clients of their civil liberties . No one who
is
a
member of this
organization
will
stand
alone.
Whether
that voice
of HCCLA is
spoken qujetiy
or shouted,
it will be heard.
As an organization, this year we must strive
to
expand
our
membership and
increase our diversity. I will take the lead
on
that,
but
I will urge every member to
recruit at least
one
new
member,
and
to
speak to
our
minority colleagues
who
are
not
members and encourage them
to
jojn.
We
must
also
strengthen and
renew
our reputation s the organization on the
Texas Gulf
Coast
for great legal
education
and exciting professional CLE.
Our
officers and board members are especially qualified to help guide us back to this
spot; they have run an outstanding series of CLE sessions for the past
two
years and
this year will be even better.
In
order
to
sustain
our organization s commitment
to
having
a voice for
our
members
and for the people we represent, we
must shore up
our
ability
to
pay for
the things that reach out
to
and speak for our supporters, fi'om broadcast programs
to
our
magazine , he
Defender
This
is
a long term
effort
and will
require
help
from
ll
the membership at large .
Last, we have many
new
fights to take on in the
public
arena and the courts.
From a colossal white elephant of a proposed new jail for Harris County, to the
recent efforts to limit
bond
in
our
legislature, to the new efforts by courts to permit
DWI
suspects to have blood drawn against their will, to efforts
to
deny Hispanics
the ability to qualify for community supervjsion unless they prove they are citizens,
to
the
utter lack
of
serious funding for drug
treatment
and probation programs
that might actually help solve some of the long term problems with jail and prison
overcrowding, we have
much to do.
As
your President
I will speak
out
on
these
jssues, and your voice will be heard.
LOOK
FORWARD TO
SERVING
YOU
ALL.
Yours truly,
PATRI K f. M[ ANN
THE
DEFENDE
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YEAR-END PORT
HCCL S
BakBrS'BurBaU&
PUBliC Rf ATIONS COMMITTH
BY WENDY MILLER
[ R BUR [AUrovides voluntee
[
attorneys
willing to
speak - free of charge -
to
schools,
church groups,
civic
groups,
and
other organizations on
many different
topics relevant
to
criminal law
and criminal defense
(adult
and juvenile). Recent speaker event
include
presentations
to
law
students
and
clinics
at
local law schools
to the general public at the People's Law School, to elementary-
school
campers
at
Camp C.O.O.L.
(Children's
Orientation On
Law),
and
to teenagers
participating
in local Teen Court
programs
To
volunteer as a speaker in the HCCLA
Speakers'
Bureau
or
to
arrange a speaker, please send contact
information
and speaker topic
Wh
t has this committee done
In the
past year
for
HCCLA
HCCLA
Speakers'
Bureau has the names of
25
HCCLA
members ( particular speaker topic expertise) willing to
speak
at
community events
when requested.
HCCLA speakers
made
over t.hree dozen presentations in
the
past
year in
the
Houston community with audiences
ranging from educating law students at the University o
Houston
Law
Center -- to teens
at
the HAY Center aging ou
of foster care -- to
high
school
students
participating in the
Teen Civic
Leadership
Academy.
DEFENDER 8
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
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HCCLAspeakersColinAmannandWendyMiller[center
1
withUH Law
Center's
CriminalDefen seLawStuden tsAssociationofficersRachelWall and
Heather
Kostc
HCCLA membershavevolunteered in the pastyearto assist
high school
student
attorneys and jury members in three
differentTeenCourt programs
in
theGreaterHouston area.
HCCLA has averaged sending at least two volunteersevery
month
to
assistaTeen
Court
programsinceJune
of
2006.
HCCLA
members made presentations for four consecutive
monthsatthe
CLE
lunchesbenefitingattorneysintheHarris
CountyMunicipalJusticeBarAssociation (February
through
May
2007
.
HCCLA
members received adiscount
on
tickets
to
attenda
pre-mixerreceptionandshowingof Harper Lee's"To Kill a
Mockingbird" in April
of 2007
attheAlleyTh eatre.
HCCLA
Public Relations hosted a reception and private
exhibit viewing at FotoFest in
Houston
in May
of
2007
for the
photo
exhibit
"Guantanamo.
Pictures FromHome.
Questionsof Justice."
HCCLA
PublicRelations is consistentlyworkingto increase
HCCLA
involvement in wortll\vhile volunteer projects -
suchas thepresence
of
a"HCCLA Team"inApril
of 2007 at
the
Houston
HelpingElder
Hands
event (organized by the
Houston
YoungLawyersAssociation) . The eventcompleted
"handyman" tasksfor25homes
of
seniorcitizensandhelped
100
residentsattheU.S.Veterans Home in
Houston.
THE
EFEN ER
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IT
IS EASIER
FORT
HE
DEFEN
SIVE
TH N FOR
TH
EOF
FENS
I
VE TO MA
K
ATTA KS
FROM
SEVERAL QUARTERS,
BE AUSE,
S
WEHAVE ALRE
ADY S
ID
THE
FO
RM ER
IS IN
ABETTER
SITUATION TO SURPRISE
BY THE
FOR
E
ND
FO RM OF
HIS ATTA KS.
Clausewitz, On War 1832), VI,
WE
HOOSE
OUR OWN
GR
O
N
D
FO
R
THE TR
IAL
OF
STRENGTH.
WE RE HIDDEN
ON
F
AMILI
ARGROUND; HE
IS EXPOSED
ON
GOUND
TH
T IS LESS
FAMILIAR.
WE C N LAY TRAPS ND
PR
EP RE
SURPRISES BY COUNTER-ATTACK,
WHEN HE
IS
MOST
D NGEROUSLY EXPOSED. HENCE THE
PARADOXICAL
DOCTRINE
TH T WHERE DEFENCE IS SOUND ND WElL DESIGNED THE
ADVANTAGE OF SURPRISE
IS
AGAINST
rHE ATTACK.
Corbett, Some Principles of
aritime
Strategy
1911), I, ii.
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There
is
something counterintllltlve about a general
theory of conflict which holds that the defense is
inherently stronger than the attack. Corbett
3
had
to
call
this observation paradoxical because it rings a
sour note in vVestern ears . Indeed, one considering
any competitive enterprise, be it warfare, litigation
or
football, would likely hold that The best de fense is a
strong
offense. 4
While it
is true that
the attack
er
picks
the
time and
place at which he will appear, once he has committed
himself to that time and place,
he
has
used
up the
advantage
of
surprise and
is
now fully exposed . Surprise
and the ability to maneuver now shift
to
the defender,
who
may pick
the
time(s) and place(s) of his counter-
strokes.
LET S
ILLUSTRATE THESE ABSTRACTIONS BY VISITING
HISTORICAL
EXAMPLE.
Both
Germany and
Japan defended coasts against
invasion.
Over
the objections of senior generals,
Hitler
demanded
that all available resources be deployed at
the beach. At Normandy the Allies
met
immediate
resistance
but
penetrated
the vaunted Atlantic Wall in
one day.s
Japanese commanders watched and learned. At Iwo
Jima they abjured their signature strategy
of
heavy
beach defense and b nz i charges in favor of
a dug-in defense in the interior, where many
elaborate traps
and
surprises were prepared.
6
The invasion eventually succeeded due to
numerical superiority and lack of Japanese
reinforcement?
but
it
took
five weeks and
the cost was terrible .
s
Had the defenders
started the battle with
more
soldiers, or been able to ca
in reserves, the invasion
might
have failed .
The
Japanes
exploited the inherent strength
of
the defensive whe
the Germans did not.
The defense lawyer is sometimes daunted by bein
on
the defensive.
Our
cultural bias predisposes
to believe
that
the advantage lies with the prosecuto
who
selects what charge to file, what theory
of
gu
to advance, what witnesses to call, and what exhibi
to present
i
n
what order). But
the authorities quote
above tell us that the defense lawyer has an advantag
inherent
in his defensive position.
Corbett
implies
that
information favors the defens
Although discovery rights against the prosecutor are fe
tl1ey
do
exist and should be exercised. Particularly in
Texas state case, the information flow is asymmetrical
Nor
should
other
sources
of
discovery be neglecte
Informal open file discovery allows for addition
asymmetrical information gathering. Another sour
is
affidavits for search
or
arrest warrants; these shou
always be obtained
and
scoured for information.
When
the
trial starts, the prosecutor goes first. A
early as the voir dire he may commit himself to a specif
theory. The defense can listen
to
his questions an
read how he will try his case. The
prosecutor
m
compound his problem when he mal
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attack.
1
Rather than becoming unnerved
defensive, the defense lawyer s
ho
uld eXJ lO:lt
strength. Consider taking Corbett s advice. Emulate th
Japanese at Iwo lima,
not
the Germans at No
rm
andy.
Defense may indeed be stronger than attack.
S e, c.g., 11 .
reciprocal discovery
in
Fcclafdiliil
39.14(b) s the exception,
experts.
HI
H urd
v.
State
, 725 S
.W.
d
2
49
To
v. State, 95 S.W.3d 488 (Tex. App.-HoUlton [1st
rcf d)(denial
of
such cross is constitutional crror).
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I
E F E N E f l
PATRICK
F. MCCANN
I
I
I
Ikn
ow
,
you didn
'tbec ome a
crilllinallawyer to
track
time. In
fact it
may be that
you hate tracking yo
ur
time and
love
the
ea
sie
r
method
of
charging
in
crirninallaw; i.e.
up front anda
se tprice
on
the barrel-head.
Yet increasingly for appointments
in
the state
county
I
and even federal district courts one
is
forced to provide an
accounting in
order
to
get paid promptly
and properly.
So
in or
der
to
avoid
cheating yourself on
the
time you really
do
schedule and
commit
to your
clients
each week
here are some
I sm ple tips both low-tech and middle-tech to help you get
pa id. If you use a
day planner
religiously or a
Blackberry/Palm
type device
you
probably do not need this
advice
but if you
can use one
of these
tips to track your
time and thus your
mone
y
then
it
will be
worthwhile.
1
U,e block,
of
time in
you t
d,y pl
nno
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3 U,e youe eell phone. OK, ,imo emy one ofm h
one. Almost every model also has a voice record function.
Whenever you
do
something for a client, hit the record
button
or
selection
on
the
phone, say
the client's name , the
court,
the activity, and the time spent with the date. Example:
"Smith, 333
rd
District Court, May 5
th
, suppression hearing,
three hours." You can
do
the same with texting, by the
way
Give the
phone
to your assistant
or
your kind spouse, the
neighborhood kid who does your taxes, whomever, at the end
of each week, and have them
do
the tally. Presto You have
accollnted for your time.
Repeat the
above for your own message service, voice mail,
or
secretary,
as
soon
as
you have visited a jailed client, finished a morning
of
appointments,
or
completed a plea
or
hearing
or
a day of trial.
You
will have an easy-to-use record of your time .
This
is
very handy when you are o
ut
of
town
on
trial
or
some
other
event and
cannot get
back
to
your office.
I
8 Bill
your tm l
time.
We 11 [Nget
,bou, 'hi,
Wh
you drive from Brazoria
to
the Harris
County
jail, or vice ver
you will
run
up bet\veen a half and one
hour
of travel time ea
way
Just
counting
this could add up to fifty
or
more hou
billed per year. Even at county rates, that is still a nice pie
of change, say a week-long cruise for you and your spouse
significant other. Use
one
of the
methods
discussed above
do
this,
but
do
it .
9
Use your phone bill.
\iVhen paying your bills ea
month,
and looking over your phone charges, why
not
ma
it a party where YOU
get
paid? Looking at your pho
bill
, eliminate
aU
charges
to
your house, parents, girlfrien
boyfriends, bookies, substance-abuse counselors, etc.
T
remainder will normally be client and
other
attorney calls, w
the time spent
on
them handily annotated next
to
the numb
If
you
cannot
remember
who
the
number
belongs to,
call
and figure
out if
you can bill for it. Write
down
the times a
hours and voila your
phone
bill will have just paid for
i t s l f
5 Ifyou have email, at the
end of the
day, ,hoot you ,if
or
your
assistant a
quick accounting of your
activities.
t
does not have to be long, just a quick
note
as
to
the hours
you spent on whatever you did, and you can create a folder
in
almost every system (Outlook, Web mail, etc.) to store these
emailsin.This
creates an easily accessible, easily forwarded
or
printable record.
6
Use the Oudook calendar and journal functions
in
Microsoft Office. Both of these come bundled with almost
every Office package, home,
student,
business, whatever. You
do not have
to
buy any new programs, and their use is easy and
intuitive .
The
journal function can actually serve
as
a printable
of
your time, while the calendar's function
s
essentially
that
of
an automated day planner; hence, block time entries can work
here
as
well.
7
HandheJd,jPDru/new
multi-function
cell phones
-
all
of these have calendar functions
and memo
functions.
If you have one, and have not mastered those functions, do
so, and use it
to
record the time you spend immediately after
completing the action .
At
the end of the week, hand it
to
the
person who does your tallies. If
YOLl
do
not
have a twelve-year
old
in
your office who works for bubblegum, and
that
person
who does your tally
is
you, then schedule a Friday cup of coffee
with yourself, and
do
the recording before
YOLl
head home.
1 0 ill foe the time you 'pend
doing
the ,illy thin
that
get your
case to a
resolution.
Take a sip of coffee
or
[
Scotch,
depending how
your
morning
is starting] and thi
back over how much time you spend during an average we
doing
the following : Going
to
the printers
to get documen
bound
and copied,
going to
the Clerk's office and getti
copies
of
the State's sllbpoenas, the vast criminal histories
their witnesses, talking over coffee
[or
Scotch, it
all
depend
to other attorneys about your case, chatting with investigato
fielding calls from the same concerned relatives who wou
not cough
up a dime for your client's bail, etc. Now, take
second sip, and say aloud how often you bill for that. Tha
what I
thought.
Maybe
not on
every case,
but on one
whe
you worked especially hard, why
not
quit cheating yourself a
actually
put in
for
that
time?
series
of
memos
to
the
file as
well
as
a
good
diary-like capture
If
these
tip
are
usefu
great.
If no
bill the Sta
for the tim
and good luc
THE DEFEN
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Mike Ramsey
Lifetime Achievement Awa
o
E ~ E E D S E ~ P E T R T
on
HCCLA's annual banquet was held May 10, 2007, at
the
downtown Hyatt
Regency.
Over
350
tickets were
sold and many who could
not
be
accommodated
for
the seated dinner joined the cocktail crush immediately
preceding. Faces
in
the crowd were a veritable
who's
Navy
Lt
. Cmdr. Charles Swift
gives the Keynote Address
who of the legal community, s the venerated objects
turned
out to honor
the ultra-venerated Mike Ramsey
recipient
of the Lifetime
Achievement
Award and
George Mac Secrest chosen Attorney of the Year.
The banquet was outgoing President Robb Fickman's
GRACE accepts the Torch of Liberty Award
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8/11/2019 2007 Summer Defender
19/24
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8/11/2019 2007 Summer Defender
20/24
George Tyson
and
Kent Schaffer entertained the
group with various anecdotes from the life and times of
Mr. Ramsey many of which served
to
remind those of a
certain age that, while it sometimes seems as though the
good
old days are long gone the Old Guard marches on,
bringing excitement and color to a world
that
desperately
needs both .
Keynote speaker Navy Lt.
Cmdr.
Charles Swift
the military lawyer who successfully challenged the
government s
plan
to
deny fair trials for
Guantanamo
detainees shared stories of his incredible victory and its
aftermath. His remarks
weL
an inspirational coda to an
evening devoted
to
the celebration of due process and
those lawyers who spend their lives in pursuit of justice.
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21/24
President Pat McCann presents
the
Unsung
Hero
Award
to
Vivian King
Member
of
the
ear
JoAnne Musick
is thanked
by
Pat &
Robb
BANNED
IN
BOSTON!
CITY
COUNCIL'S
WORST NIGHTMARE!
DENOUNCED FROM PULPITS
COAST
TO COA
Is t eep Throat
Tropic
oP Cancer
Hust
NO irS
EVEN
BmER:
REASONABLE DOUBT
WITH
TODD DUPONT
TUNE
IN
TO
THE
CABlE ACCESS CHANNEl
THAT
HOUSTON'S
GUARDIANS
OF
PUBliC
DECENC
TOTAllY
A-TWITTER TO
SEE
TODD)
HIS CO-HOSTS
HIS GUESTS SPIN CRIMIN l JUSTICE CONTROVE
BE INFORMED
AND
ENTERTAINED.
CATCH IT
WHILE
YOU CAN
THURSDAYS
AT 8:00 P.M.
CABLE ACCESS CHANNEL
17
SPONSORED BY HCCLA
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BECOMING
MEMBER?
HCCl
Promotes a
productive
exchange of ideas and
encourages
better communication with prosecutors
and
the
judici ry.
Provides continuing legal education programs for improving
advocacy
skills
and
knowledge.
Promotesa
ust
application of the
court-appointed lawyer
system for
indigent
persons charged with
criminal
offenses.
Rles amicus
curiae briefs
in
support of freedom and
human rights.
APPLICATION
Applicant:
Mailingaddress:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Wehsite:
FirmName:
Dateadmittedto bar :
Law
school:
Prol'cssionalorganizations
in
whichyo uarc amember
in
good sranding
m of
membership:
o Student($25annual
tee
Expectedgraduationdate: _
o Newlylicensed(firstyear)attorney($75)
o
Regularmembership($150)
Date:
Signatureof applicant:
Endorsement:
I,amemberin goodstandingofHCCLA believethisapplica
to
bea person
of
professional competency, integrity and go
moralcharacter.Theapplicant
is
activelyengaged in thedefen
of criminalcases.
Signamre
of
member:
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MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO:
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P.O. Box924523 Houston,Texas77292-4523
713.227.2404
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