5.04.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts






Not that big a story, but it reminded me of how Becky Oliver was confronting unsuspecting Lockheed workers ten years ago. If you wonder where she has been, she retired in 2015.  

  • Yesterday, as part of the Wise County Courthouse restoration project, core soil samples were taken. The last report I got was that they had discovered that the building, built in 1895, was sitting on about four inches of concrete followed by another four inches of brick underneath it and then another layer of concrete underneath it. I'll try to get the exact details today. 
  • The storms yesterday at 5:00 p.m. split the county into. The west half was sunny while the east side looked like the Wrath of God was about to be unleashed. 
  • This is a wild story out of DeSoto that broke late last week. A 19 year old was murdered and during a "balloon release" in his memory, his brother flat out executed a 22 year old who he believed was the murderer. It turns out he was wrong. The rumors about the 22 year old being the killer were just false rumors online. 

  • She's the most honorable Republican in the country.

  • This story is making the rounds today but the juror attended a rally in D.C.  But his questionnaire only asked if he had attended a rally in Minneapolis, so the juror didn't lie. Amazingly, no lawyer asked about attending rallies elsewhere.

  • The COVID economic recession is over. In March, Texas consumers paid $3.4 billion in sales tax. That is an all time monthly record.  But I suppose the stimulus checks might have had something to do with that. 
  • Of course they did.

  • I listened to WBAP yesterday afternoon where the fill-in host Brad Staggs (who is dumber than a box of rocks) took calls as to why they weren't getting the vaccine. The responses were jaw-dropping. And I'll say it again: Beware of anyone who announces "I did my own research online." 

  • He gets no sympathy from me. Story.

  • The Granbury mayor was arrested a couple of weeks ago for DWI, but now they have discovered he has two prior convictions that make the case a felony offense instead of a misdemeanor.

    • The cops actually got a new arrest warrant for him which was absolutely unnecessary.
    • From the story, it looks like one of those prior convictions might have been deferred adjudication out of Missouri which, if true, should knock the case back down to a misdemeanor.
    • Very, very nerdy legal point: Texas, for offenses on or after 9/1/19, allows deferred adjudication in DWI cases but specifically says they still count as "convictions" which can be used for enhancement in the future. So do out of state deferreds now count as convictions for enhancement purposes? I don't think so from my reading of section 49.09.
  • The Bidens and The Carters. I've got to tell you, something about the perspective in this photo isn't right.

  • Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced after 27 years. (Uh, what's up girl?) In all seriousness, that's both sad yet, dare I say, inspiring. After all that time to decide both of them aren't happy and be willing to mutually walk away takes quite a bit of bravery. Most people would just ride it out in misery. 

  • Legal nerd stuff #2: Want to hear a complete appellate oral argument in federal court that lasts only three minutes and where one of the lawyer says "Are you serious, judge?" and, sarcastically, "I see that you read the briefs thoroughly" before being escorted out of the courtroom? The lawyer was later disciplined.



at 8:32 AM

5.03.2021

Random Monday Morning Thoughts







I was also big on predicting that there would be a lot of conspiracy theories about Bin Laden's death since the U.S. immediately buried him at sea and never released a photo of the body.  That never really panned out, and I'm not sure why.    

  • Big changes in Bridgeport politics as three candidates for the city council (who just happen to be female) knocked off three male incumbents. 

  • I told you that the Tarrant County ME's office would be cleaned out due to the recent scandal. On Friday, we learned that long-time ME Dr. Nazim Peerwani would retire.

  • Feel bad for restaurants and bars during the pandemic? Hold that thought. There's a massive restaurant financial bailout which has just started. As I understand it, the government will write a check for all of a restaurant's lost revenue in 2020 when compared with 2019 no need to pay the money back. Note: We are talking about lost gross revenue and not lost net income. What a deal.  The only requirement is that the money has to be used on the following expenses by March 11, 2023. The max is $5 million per location (with a $10 million max.) 

  • Rep. Ron Wright's widow, Susan Wright, made the runoff on Saturday for Texas Congressional District 6. On Friday, there were reports of a "robocall" sent out of accusing her of murdering her husband (he died of COVID.) I'm suspicious about this. Listen. 

     
  • QAnon showed up at a Keller polling place on Saturday.

  • Fox and Friends reporting this morning on "anti-woke parents" winning positions on the Southlake School Board. The candidates opposed "diversity training."  Video. 

  • I find this to be mind-boggling. 

  • I'm feeling really good about my prediction that Texas won't crack over 40% being fully vaccinated. And this graph is about to flatline. 

  • As controversial (?) as the Texas bill is for allowing for concealed/open carry without a license, think about this: The bill just puts handguns on par with an AR-15 which can already be carried without a license.  Most recent poll on the issue: 

  • Postcard of the Wise County Courthouse that County Judge J.D. Clark located. I'll ballpark it in the very early 1960s.

  • I heard that the ballpark in Arlington doesn't take cash for concessions and, for those who forgot their debit or credit card, there are machines available which convert cash into instant debit cards. Question: Are the cards good outside the stadium just like cash? If not, is everyone just eating the balance left on the card at the end of the game -- something that will happen every single time? 



at 8:30 AM

4.30.2021

It's Friday -- Let's Get Out of Here

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts






Ten years ago this week we had the tornados strike across the South with Alabama taking the biggest impact. The tornados actually occurred over a three day period with April 28, 2011 being the worse with 316 people killed that day.  
  
  •  Here's what will probably end up being an award winning photo of the drug raid of a home this week in Decatur on Washburn Street. 

    • I've been handling drug cases for 30 years, and I've never heard of the drug "DMT." I've also never heard of the law enforcement agency named "Big Sandy SRT."
  • At least 45 dead in Israel were killed when crushed at a religious festival attended by thousands. "The stampede began when large numbers of people thronged a narrow tunnel-like passage during the event, according to witnesses and video footage. People began falling on top of each other near the end of the walkway, as they descended slippery metal stairs, witnesses said." Video.

    • I bet you anything that most of the deaths were caused from not being trampled but because of “compression asphyxia” -- being packed in so tightly that you simply can't breath. That's what happened at The Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979. People died even if they were in the upright position because they couldn't expand and contract their diaphragm.
    • The Wikipedia list of events where people have died because of stampedes or being crushed at huge events is mind-boggling. 
  • There might actually be a chance that possession of a small amount of weed becomes a fine-only offense in Texas. (It still has to pass the Senate.) 

  • Dan Patrick announced yesterday that the Texas Senate will actually vote on HB1927 which would legalize open carry/concealed carry without a license. There's no way he let's that get a floor vote if it won't pass, right? 

  • Remember earlier this week when the Empower Texans backed media outlet Texas Scorecard (run by Michael Quinn Sullivan) decided to "out" a lobbyist in Austin who they accused of assaulting a "legislative staffer" with a date rape drug? Remember I said they were the only media outlet to name a suspect? Remember that I said, "They better be right"?  Well, they might want to get out their checkbook.  DPS announced yesterday that "we have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support these allegations and that criminal charges are not appropriate." That is, there is not enough evidence to support charges against anyone, named or unnamed. Texas Scorecard began to do damage control immediately about their error saying the guy they outed might have been "framed."  

  • A local Decatur attorney announced he will run for the governor. Here's the podcast by the Messenger this week where Paul Belew made the announcement.  

  • Weirdest part from this story: "Police said two witnesses reported seeing someone who matched Massey’s description get out of the water Tuesday morning . . . . She was reported to have stood on a bench and then gotten off, police said."

  • So he's saying this was done by Trump appointee and buddy AG Bill Barr?

  • Johnny Crawford, who played Mark McCain in The Rifleman, has died. I loved that show as a kid, and still get sucked into it whenever it's on.  Never has a man killed so many people in justified self-defense than Mark's pa, Lucas McCain. (I once did a quick post about a Decatur resident having had his picture taken with Johnny Crawford.)

  • The Bidens visited Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter yesterday. 

     
  • I was over at the courthouse the other day and talked to a friend who is going on vacation this summer. She mentioned that they would probably go by "The Noah's Ark in Kentucky." That stopped me down in a moment of confusion but, I'll be dang, there is one. I had no idea.


  • Random college sports: Someone explain this play that occurred during the UT Spring Game. Video. It's the craziest throw I've ever seen. 

  • Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 665 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold



at 8:31 AM

4.29.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts






Charlie Sheen, in the midst of his craziness, actually held a show at the AAC.  That's a photo taken "seconds" before he took the stage. The now deceased Kidd Kraddick hosted.   

  • Some of the images I found of the hail in Keller last night are reminiscent of Fort Worth's Mayfest 1995.


  • Images from President Biden address to the joint session of Congress last night.
    • Two women behind him. That's never happened before. 

    • Cruz was dreaming of Cancun as he dosed off. Video. 

    • Compare and contrast.


    • Fox and Friends found some grumpy Trumpers having breakfast in Pilot Point before 6:00 a.m. this morning to criticize the President:

  • The story below gives me another reason to yell about Medical Examiner's: They should never rule a death a "homicide." First, that declaration from an ME only means that he believes the death was caused at the hands of another human being. That could be because of murder, negligence, or a complete accident. It has nothing to do with intent. Secondly, ruling something a "homicide" also has nothing to do with the medical cause of death which is the only expertise an ME has. That is, he can tell me a body ceased to function because of a bullet pieced someone's heart, but he has no idea from examining a body as to whether someone else caused that bullet to enter the body. 

  • That sentencing hearing in the district court in Decatur yesterday actually took place. The guy got 40 years. (CR21856)
  • I'm not a fan of federal prosecutions for what should be state crimes -- especially when a state prosecution has already begun.

  • I finally watched the oral arguments in the Amber Guyger appeal and have some hot opinions:
    • There is almost a 100% chance the conviction will be affirmed.
    • The problem on appeal, and I mentioned this at the time of the trial, is that the trial judge gave her almost everything she wanted which leaves almost nothing for appeal.
    • The only real argument that Guyger's lawyer has made is that she was mistaken about which apartment she was in so this "mistake of fact" should cause the evidence to be considered insufficient to convict for murder. But I could tell from the court's questions that their position was: This isn't a "mistake of fact" case but a "self-defense" case. That is, in considering self-defense, the jury could take into consideration the evidence that she believed she was in the the wrong apartment and felt she was in apparent danger, but the jury rejected self-defense.
    • Here's the problem for Guyger: Maybe the jury believed her claim she was in the wrong apartment yet didn't believe she needed to use lethal deadly force in her believe of self-defense. Bottom line: That's a rational finding by the jury and the appellate court isn't going to touch it. 
    • Any defendant's best shot is in the trial court with the jury. If convicted, it's all uphill after that and that hill might was well be Mount Everest. 
    • The only thing that Guyger didn't get at trial was that the judge excluded the testimony of the Texas Ranger who said he did not believe the case even met the the "probable cause to arrest" standard. But her lawyer did not make this a Point of Error on appeal so the court won't even consider it. 
    • Her appellate lawyer seems to be well respected but some things he did were weird. For example, when it came for his chance to rebut the State's argument (Guyger's lawyer has the right to go first and last), he completely declined! That's unheard of. He got 20 total minutes to save Amber Guyger from 10 years in prison and he didn't use his remaining five minutes.
    • A very nit picky thing he did was to start off the argument by reciting the cause number of the indictment. Uh, who cares, the Court already knows it, and that's not an attention grabbing opening line.   
    • The lawyer for the DA's office, Doug Gladden, was very, very good. 
    • You know Guyger is in trouble when one judge complimented Gladden on his brief and the font he used. Really. 
    • The Court took the video of the hearing down yesterday (which seems wrong), but have kept the audio up here.
  • Rudy Giuliani's apartment in Manhattan was searched by the Feds yesterday. I would hope that a "detached and neutral" federal judge found "probable cause" to believe "evidence of a crime" was there, but I have no faith in the system to believe those legal requirements were met. On a lighter note, the most famous landscaping company in America weighed in with a little comedy:

  • Funny weather graphic out of Houston to explain the difference between a watch and an warning. 

  • I was trying to figure out who new reporter Peyton Yager on Fox 4 replaced, and I'm guessing it it is Allison Harris who has become a D.C. reporter for the new (and struggling) NewsNation.

  • These two photos of Uptown in Dallas around the AAC taken 20 years apart are really amazing. Click here to see the enlarged photos and easily flip back and forth. 

  • The Musers on The Ticket named Rod Hill, drafted by the Cowboys in the first round in 1982, as the worst draft pick of all metroplex teams in history. I brought his name up to Gil Brandt, the man responsible for the pick, on Twitter 10 years ago and got blocked. It may have been my first block ever. 



at 8:31 AM
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