Reprinted from the August 21, 2014 Mongoose. Most Republican judges and party leaders, to their credit, realize that the brewing scandal involving court appointments and their former party chair, Gary Polland, has the potential to effect the November elections. They also realize that the current system just is not right. They point out to me that Democratic politicians, such as legislators who are also attorneys, are getting lucrative appointments from Democratic civil judges. The solution is very simple: a commitment by judges to appoint attorneys based on merit only and transparency of information. All judges of both parties should simply stop using court appointments as political patronage and ALL appointments and fees should be reported and made available to the public. Currently, the system hides appointment fees and makes it very difficult to determine accurately how much various attorneys are being paid. The County Auditor website is a great example of sharing ... Read More >
The Top 22: Who Got Paid the Most Since 2010 for Court Appointments
Reprinted from the August 13, 2014 Mongoose. Click here to see a list from the County Auditor showing everyone who has been paid by the County for court appointments since January 1, 2010. This report has a slightly different total for Mr. Polland than the other report I received, even though it covers the same time period. Here are the top 22 recipients of county funds for court appointments out of 1,574 payees according to this report: Oliver Sprott Jr $1,682, 655 Gary Polland $1,676,194 Jerome Godinich $1,161,871 R.P. Cornelius $1,619,476 Ricardo Gonzales $1,596,910 National Screening Center $1,297.398 Danny Easterling $1,036,530 Alvin Nunnery $1,031,498 George Clevenger $1,001,987 Donna Everson $981,361 William Thursland973,759 Angela Phea $973,650 Michael Trent 965,053 Hattie Shannon $950,180 Geraldo Acosta $917,927 The Griffin Law Firm $910,299 Sylvia Escobedo $901,981 Bonnie Fitch $852,952 Jimmy Ortiz $843,672 John Maisel ... Read More >
How to Make Millions from Abused Children & Taxpayers
Reprinted from the August 13, 2014 Mongoose. There can be no doubt: Gary Polland is a smart, successful lawyer who knows how to make a lot of money from the practice of law. Polland is politically powerful and able to influence and profit from every Republican primary election. Polland should be your hero and role model if high income and political influence are your goals in life. I asked a bunch of attorneys with experience in CPS cases how much they guessed Gary Polland had been paid in four and a half years for court appointments. Their guesses ranged from $300,000 - $700,000. They were totally floored to hear that Polland had been paid $1.9 million by Harris County since January 1, 2010 for court appointments. Just to be very clear, that is taxpayer dollars being paid to this one man for government court appointments only. It does not count the many cases where Polland was appointed by judges but paid by private parties. My investigation into this incredible situation ... Read More >
Really Good News: Meca Walker to be Judge Franklin’s A.J.
Judge Alicia Franklin gave the Family Bar an early Christmas present by announcing she has selected Meca Walker to replace Bob Newey as Associate Judge in the 311th. Franklin is generally getting really good reviews for her work as a judge and her selection of M.L. Walker is a brilliant choice. Judge Walker has served as Associate Judge for Judges Rynd, Dean and Hellums. It is great news that her experience and superb judicial demeanor will continue to serve the families of Harris County. I have given Franklin grief over her outrageous billing as a CPS attorney before she was appointed judge, but I will give her credit for making a really great selection as A.J. to replace Bob Newey. I know Commissioner Cagle is thrilled, but this decision smells more like a "what is good for the court and the families and attorneys we serve" sort of pick instead of the purely political selection some were dreading. Way to go Alicia! ... Read More >