A very small, select number of attorneys make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year because they are appointed by family and juvenile court judges to be amicus attorneys representing children in private custody cases where the parties can afford to pay very large fees. The law that requires random appointment of lawyers for most positions (infamously called the "wheel") specifically does not apply to amicus attorneys or discovery masters. Each judge has the unfettered, and largely secret, ability to reward certain lawyers with these very lucrative appointments. There is no way to really track who gets these appointments, which judges make the appointments or how much the appointees are paid. Public transparency and accountability has been sorely lacking for years. Now the Harris County Family District Judges are requiring a new reporting form to bring transparency to this issue. I applaud the judges, but more is needed. In a case where wealthy parents are fighting over ... Read More >
Expect Delays Getting to the 15th and 16th Floors
Harris County voters in 2007 approved bonds to fund construction of a new family law center, but instead the family courts were moved to the Civil Courthouse. Suddenly, the number of visitors to the Civil Courthouse quadrupled. Worse, all but two of the family courts were put at the top of the building, on the 15th and 16th floors. Now, we are all going to pay the price for this poor planning for months because of elevator problems. Six elevators serve floors 8 - 17 and six elevators serve floor 2- 8. All public elevators and the one freight elevator serve the basement and the first floor. The one freight elevator serves all floors. Judges and court staff have private elevators. Recently, three of the six public elevators that serve the upper floors where most of the family courts are have been out of operation. This week, even the freight elevator went out. Judge David Farr sent this announcement out last week: I know that there has been tremendous frustration with the ... Read More >
Judge Julia Maldonado: Words Matter, Not Money
I was prepared to write the headline, "Houston, We Have a Problem" during the second week of newly elected Judge Julia Maldonado's term, but I truly think things have turned around in the 507th. I am ready and willing to criticize a Democratic judge if the facts warrant, but I am starting to be impressed by what I am seeing. Judge Julia Maldonado cannot raise campaign funds for a while as she is not up for re-election until 2020. Usually, once a lawyer is elected judge, attorneys swarm to contribute money after the fact. However, Maldonado’s post-election fund-raising was surprisingly anemic, despite the fact that a large number of family law attorneys are progressive and really Democrats. Maldonado had to stop raising funds on March 8 and I think that some of the unusual and concerning procedures she initially adopted upon taking office discouraged many lawyers and dampened financial support for her. Currently, the 507th is not, thank goodness, requiring the filing of sworn ... Read More >
Judges & Money: The Races for 2018 – Part One
Our family law judges can start fund-raising in May if they are up for election in 2018. Lawyers can expect to be hit up from many of different directions for contributions during the next year and a half. Democrats sense that the unpopularity and incompetence and policies of the Trump administration may change the usual voting patterns in Harris County, where Republicans usually win in non-presidential election years. It is easier to motivate voters with anger and fear than it is civic duty. It is well known that demographic changes in Harris County will mean that sooner or later all of our judges will be Democrats. The Legislature is considering eliminating straight ticket voting for trial judges, but it is not clear to me which side that will really help. Judge Roy Moore is far ahead of the judicial pack in organization and he has a fund-raiser planned for Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at B&B Butchers, located at 1814 Washington Avenue. Judge Moore has for months been sending out ... Read More >
Three New Associate Judges
Reprinted from the November 14, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. Harris County family court judges-elect have announced who their Associate Judges will be. So far Judge Dean and Judges-Elect Prine and Schmude have announced their picks. John Schmude has selected Paula Vlahakos to be the next Associate Judge of the 247th District Court. Vlahokos got her J.D. from South Texas in 1998 and was licend in 1999. She worked for Short Jenkins Kamin from 1999 until 2007 and for Short Carter Morris since 2007. This first major decision by Mr. Schmude should give us all even more confidence in his good judgment. Schmude is going to be assisted by a very experienced and smart attorney and not a political hack. Prior to becoming an attorney, Vlahakos worked as the legislative coordinator for Service Corporation International and later as the community outreach coordinator for The Children's Assessment Center/Harris County Children's Protective Services. Paula has also taught at Houston ... Read More >
My Letter to the District Attorney About Gary Polland
Reprinted from the November 14, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. Now that the election is over, I have written District Attorney Devon Anderson's Public Integrity Unit about Gary Polland. Similar letters send by me in the past led to the indictment of Judge Dupuy and the forced resignation of Judge Pratt. The actions of Mr. Polland are particularly important because of his influence with judges as the former Republican Party Chair, one of the "Big Three Endorsers" who dominate local GOP primaries and as a Houston television personality (on Channel 8 at least). This is what I wrote to the D.A.: I attach documents relating to attorney Gary Polland and what I contend are false pay vouchers he submitted to the county for work he did as a lawyer appointed on CPS cases. I believe that the crime of tampering with a government record may have been committed. I am providing you: 1. A legal article that establishes that a court appointed ad litem in a CPS case cannot bill the ... Read More >
The “No Shame, No Consequences” Power Trip
Reprinted from the October 23, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. Attorney Doug York is taking cases in the court where his fiance, Judge Alicia Franklin, presides. If you want a case out of the 311th, York is the attorney to hire. Both York and Franklin should have enough sense and ethics to realize that York should simply not accept cases that are already pending in the 311th, especially those cases where Franklin has already heard something or where there is already a hearing set. Franklin should not automatically recuse herself in cases where York allows himself to be hired knowing the case is in his wife-to-be's court. In Cause No. 2004-02532, Sheikh v Sheikh, a final divorce decree was entered in the 311th in March 2005. The ex-wife's attorney, Scott Boyd requested a writ of execution on July 18, 2014 to try to collect on the 2005 divorce judgment. In September 2014, a Fort Bend Constable seized a house belonging to the ex-husband worth about $152,000. The ex-husband hired a ... Read More >
Family Judges Resist Reform
Reprinted from the October 23, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. The Board of Family Judges met and decided not to follow the example of Judges Farr and Hellums regarding CPS ad litem appointments and fees. The most the judges could agree to do was require ad litems to clearly state on their fee applications if any of the work was done by someone else. Click here to see the administrative order that will apply to all CPS cases in the nine family courts in Harris County. So, the politically connected favorites will still get a lot of appointments in some courts and they will be allowed to bill the county for work done by associates and social workers despite the fact it does not appear to be legal for them to do so. Reform and change will not always happen as fast as it should, but the fight goes on! ... Read More >
Polland Reads the Mongoose!
Reprinted from the October 23, 2014 Mongoose. Gary Polland at least reads The Mongoose. Polland once almost always billed 5.0 hours for every single home visit that someone in his office did. Now, after I reported that odd fact, Polland has started billing in less round, less easy to question amounts. In Cause No. 2014-41117, Polland submitted an invoice to Judge Lombardino claiming that Polland spent 4.2 hours on August 29, 2014 for a home visit with the mother and to prepare a report. The attorney for the mother e-mailed me to say: Pollard did visit with my client on August 29, 2014 (Friday) from about 4:45 to about 5:15 p.m. [30 minutes total] .... I have a tape recording of the home visit.... The drive according to MapQuest (59 to 45 south. Freeway miles) from Polland's office to my client's home is 8.12 miles -- about 11 minutes. Pollard billed 4.2 hours for 8/29/2014 --that is impossible. ..... Gary's report [on the home visit] was about two pages long and he had ... Read More >
CPS Appointment Reform is Starting!
My efforts to reform the crooked system of CPS appointments in Harris County is paying off. Two family law courts and one juvenile court have adopted new policies that require random selection of ad litems and forbid billing for other attorneys except in unusual circumstances. Click here to see the policies of the 315th Juvenile Court (Judge Schneider) and click here for the policies of the 312th Family District Court (Judge Farr). Judge Hellums adopted basically the same policies as Judge Farr. Now, attorneys are required to sign this verification of their hours when they ask for fees in CPS cases in the courts of Judge Farr and Judge Hellums: Cause No. :____ Attorney Name: ________ In submitting this voucher I swear that I have billed only for time incurred by me personally, unless I have received prior court authorization to have an associate or support staff perform the task for which the billing is submitted. In addition, I swear that this ... Read More >
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