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 >
Archives for December 2014
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 >
Book Review: The Secret History of Wonder Woman
Any woman lawyer at the end of 2014 might have a hard time imagining a time in America when women could not vote, when the few women with college degrees seldom could find jobs and people were sent to prison for selling contraceptives. The struggle of women to be treated as equal citizens is just one of the many stories told in "The Secret History of Wonder Woman" by Jill Lepore. This book is a biography of William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman's creator, but it is also the tale of the struggle for women's rights in the early 20th Century. Beginning in his undergraduate years at Harvard, Marston was influenced by early suffragists and feminists, which is why they play such a prominent role in the book. Marston was a lawyer, pioneer psychologist, Hollywood screenwriter and inventor of the polygraph machine. The seminal 1923 U.S. Supreme Court case of Frye v. U.S., which held that expert testimony must be based on scientific methods that are sufficiently established and ... Read More >
Most Heavy Drinkers Are Not Alcoholics!
Click here to read more about a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study which found that 90% of heavy drinkers fell short of the criteria for alcoholism. Women who have eight or more drinks per week and men who have 15 or more are considered heavy drinkers. Signs of alcoholism include an inability to stop or reduce drinking, continuing to drink even after it causes problems with family or work, and excessive time spent drinking each day. Judges need to realize that heavy drinkers are not necessarily alcoholics. Only a third of those who admitted binge drinking 10 or more times in the previous month were alcoholics, the study found. The CDC defines binge drinking as consuming four drinks for women and five drinks for men in a single occasion. This study should be sobering news for those "alcohol addiction specialists" who consider almost every regular drinker an alcoholic. I can imagine a great cross-examination of someone like Vicki Longwell based on this ... 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 >
Illegal Electronic Evidence and Family Law Part 1: Attorney Beware!
Lawyers can be sued, arrested and sent to prison and disbarred for mishandling illegal electronic evidence, such as recordings, e-mails and text messages. This article is the first in a series on what makes electronic evidence illegal, the many ways that electronic evidence is being obtained illegally these days, how law firms and clients can safeguard their computers and phones and what can happen to clients and lawyers who break the law. This first article focuses on what attorneys should never do with illegally obtained evidence.An attorney can face personal, criminal and civil liability for using or disclosing an illegal recording or illegally intercepted electronic communication (e-mail or text message) provided to the attorney by a client. For example, the following can be separate and independent federal and state wiretap act violations: (1) a client's disclosure to an attorney of an illegally obtained e-mail, (2) the attorney's disclosure to his staff, co-counsel or expert ... Read More >
Thank you Judge Janis Yarbrough
We say "good bye" to many fine judges who are retiring and leaving the bench on December 31. We will all miss the friendly and hard working Judge Jim York, even as he passes his mantle of the most pro-mother judge in custody cases on the planet to Galveston County Associate Judge Steve Baker. Bonnie Hellums was an amazing breath of fresh air and reform when she was first elected in the 1994 Republican sweep that knocked off all of the Democratic incumbent judges. It was revolutionary then to think that a family court judge would rule based on the law and the facts and what was best for children instead of who the lawyers were. Now, thanks to judges like Bonnie Hellums, that is the least we expect in our family courts. Harris County is also losing some amazing associate judges: Robert Newey and Michael Hay. The family judge that has meant the most to my life and professional career has been Galveston County Family District Judge Jan Yarbrough, who is retiring after twelve years as ... Read More >
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