5.12.2023

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




We had the Jodi Arias verdict and the beginning of two years of Benghazi hearings. 


  • Look, I like Chief Steve Stanford. I like him a lot. But the statement below was a little "out there." These boys -- who have had their faces plastered all over DFW -- are charged with a Class B misdemeanor. That's one level above a traffic ticket.

  • Rep. Jeff Leach might have run up to Allen last Saturday to get in front of the cameras to offer thoughts and prayers, but he's back in Austin working passionately to actually do something about it try and get sports betting passed.

  • Legal (alleged) crime blotter.
    • Lawyer out of Wichita Falls, Dean Colin Godfrey, 34. Story. Pay-walled.

    • Former Dean of St. Mary's Law School in San Antonio. Story. Pay-walled. 

  • Seems like a big deal: The Texas Supreme Court has approved, and made available online, do-it-yourself wills. 

  • Trump double-downed and repeated the accusation which cost him $5 million this week.  This gives rise to some pretty interesting legal theories/principals.  A jury has found Trump's statements to be (1) false (2) made with actual malice, and (3) that she had been harmed.  Once that verdict becomes final after appeals, those issues will forever been judicially determined. So when Trump says the exact same thing again, winning becomes real easy. I'm not sure the verdict form wouldn't just ask (1) Did he say it again? (2) How much does he have to pay?

  • I'm not sure what was going on at Mar-a-Lago last night, but Trump was hanging out with ladies and dancing to the Village People (video). 


  • Woah. Woah. Woah. Let's tap the brakes on this. 

  • Almost all of the NFL teams release a video promoting the newly announced schedules for the upcoming season.  This one by the Titans made me actually laugh out loud. It's two minutes. It's great. Do yourself a favor.

  • Extremely nerdy current events legal stuff for lawyers only: It made news this week when the Texas House made the historic decision to kick out a member for misconduct -- the first time in 100 years.  But check out how the  official Committee of General Investigating's landmark 16 page report, which recommended expulsion, handled legal citations. The committee is made up of five people - four are lawyers, including a law professor.  

  • Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office, despite having a full male DNA profile, has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 3 years, 310 days.