I highly recommend that you click the following link to download this article in PDF, which includes copies of the court documents and campaign contribution report: Franklin accepted a contribution from a party to a case she was amicus on. This PDF article contains images of the court order, motion and contribution report. As a lawyer, Alicia Franklin mostly worked on cases in which she was appointed an attorney ad litem or amicus attorney by a judge. Some of those cases involved the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (CPS) and some were private child custody cases. In CPS cases, the county pays the appointed attorneys. In private child custody cases, the parents or other people seeking custody or visitation of the child are ordered to pay the amicus attorney. An amicus attorney is supposed to be a neutral attorney who represents the child’s best interests. Ms. Franklin was appointed an amicus attorney for a young boy in a hotly contested custody case by ... Read More >
Meca (M.L.) Walker Returns Illegal Contributions But Keeps The Shady Cash
M.L. (AKA "Meca") Walker's campaign says it has returned $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions but has kept $25,000 given under very suspicious circumstances. Click here to read last week's story about how Walker accepted $45,000 in contributions on one day from nine people associated with a rich car dealer with a divorce in Walker's court. Once I pointed out to Walker that some of those contributions exceeded the $5,000 per person (or married couple) contribution limit, Walker checked with the Texas Ethics Commission. Once the Commission confirmed that the law actually says what it says, Walker claims she returned $20,000 of the contributions. Click here to read the Houston Chronicle story that went way too easy on Walker, who should have never accepted any of those contributions in the first place. If my teenager comes home from school with an expensive gold Rolex watch, I am going to ask where he got it from. If the kid tells me some dude he doesn't know sold it to him ... Read More >
The Dynamic Duo of Houston Radio Blast Judge Denise Pratt
Rob Clark and I appeared on the Matt Patrick Radio Show on 750AM last week to rebut some of the blatant falsehoods Pratt said on the show the week before. Click here to hear this new "Dynamic Duo" of Houston radio explain why Pratt is such a disaster from the points of view of a liberal Democrat (me) and a life long ardent Republican (Clark). The discussion about Pratt starts at about the 11:00 minute mark. Yes, I did call an incumbent judge a "liar" on the radio. Toward the end, you will hear me praise some of the great Republican family judges we are so lucky to have, such as Judges Farr, Moore and Dean (I must occasionally kiss a little arse in hopes I can practice in at least a few courts). ... Read More >
More Bad News for Judge Denise Pratt
(1) The Harris County GOP Judicial Screening Committee evaluated the candidates for the 311th and not a single member of the committee rated Judge Pratt positively (half were Neutral and half were Negative). In contrast, 100% of the committee gave Donna Detamore a "Positive" rating. (2) 72% of Republican precinct chairs did not support Pratt in a just-completed "straw vote." Donna Detamore came in first with 42% and Anthony Magdaleno received 36%. Pratt was the choice of 28% and Alicia Franklin got 5%. Remember, 85% of attorneys in the Houston Bar Association Judicial Qualifications Survey rated Judge Pratt as "Not Qualified." ... Read More >
A Republican Appellate Lawyer Destroys Judge Denise Pratt With This Article
A conservative Republican appellate attorney, Leif Olson, has written a lengthy and absolutely devastating article explaining why Denise Pratt is a disaster as a judge. Pratt cannot blame this blog on liberal Democrats or even disgruntled family law attorneys, since Mr. Olson does not practice in our field. Click on this link to read the most complete encyclopedia of what is wrong with Denise Pratt ever written: Attorney Leif Olson on Judge Denise Pratt . ... Read More >
Proof That Judge Denise Pratt Backdated A Court Order and Committed the Crime of Tampering With a Public Record
I have filed another,third criminal complaint against Denise Pratt and this is surely the one to get her indicted. This time there are two eye witnesses to Pratt backdating a court order and the District Clerk's records back up their stories. I have two sworn affidavits from the eye witnesses. Click this link to download my criminal complaint and see Exhibits 1 - 6, including the sworn affidavits of the witnesses, the order Pratt backdated and proof from the District Clerk website that Pratt backdated the order: Feb 2014 Criminal Complaint re Karen Hyde - part 1 Click this link to see Exhibits 6 - 12 of my criminal complaint: Feb 2014 Criminal Complaint re Karen Hyde - part 2 Here is proof Judge Pratt Intentionally Backdated a Court Order: The Osborn - Hyde child custody modification case (2008-40895) has been pending in the 311th Family District Court of Harris County since July 2012. The mother in this case, Karen Hyde, is representing herself and is pro se. On February ... Read More >
The Worst Thing Judge Denise Pratt Has Ever Done
Click this link to read the craziest order Judge Denise Pratt has done in her three years of judicial madness: Crazy Pratt order The District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit is investigating another instance of Pratt tampering with a government record. In this case, the D.A. reached out and called the lawyers in to discuss the case without me even being involved. Pratt's behavior in this case will seem bad to the general public but to family law attorneys, what Pratt did in this case is sure proof she is crazy and you will hardly be able to believe it. The parents and attorneys in this child custody modification case (no. 2007-28477) agreed to temporary orders which Pratt approved on a handwritten order on August 29, 2013. The typed temporary orders were submitted in September 2013 and months went by without Pratt signing them. Last month, after reading about Pratt's "New Year's Eve Massacre," one attorney checked and to her horror discovered that Pratt had taken the ... Read More >
New “Mongoose” Newsletter Exposes Judge Pratt’s “New Year’s Eve Massacre”
The January 12, 2014 edition of the "Mongoose" newsletter discussed the illegal and horribly unwise dismissal of 661 cases by Judge Denise Pratt on December 30 just to make her court's statistics look better. Click here to read the newsletter. Here is one story from this newsletter: Pratt's "New Year's Eve Massacre" Dismisses Hundreds of Cases Here is one example of what Judge Pratt did to hundreds of cases on December 30. Cause number 2012-06882 is a post-divorce suit to address undivided property pending in the 311th since February 2, 2012. The case has been set for trial seven times and six times it was continued by Judge Pratt. On December 2, 2013, Judge Pratt continued the trial until January 27, 2014 and told the attorneys that the case had to go to trial in January or she would dismiss it. On December 30, 2013, along with hundreds of other cases, this lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Pratt without notice or hearing. The attorneys received notification that the case ... Read More >
Houston Press writes about Judge Pratt and The Mongoose
Click here to read the article in The Houston Press about Judge Denise Pratt and her many problems as exposed by my newsletter, The Mongoose. ... Read More >
Houston Chronicle: Letter a rallying cry to oust embattled district judge
Click here to read the November 4, 2013 Houston Chronicle story about the letter from Houston attorneys calling on District Judge Denise Pratt to resign. Letter a rallying cry to oust embattled district judge Posted on November 4, 2013 | By Kiah Collier A letter sent to hundreds of Houston-area lawyers on Monday asks them to support a call to oust an embattled state district court judge by signing a petition, withholding election endorsements and contributions and reporting any criminal wrongdoing to the Harris County District Attorney’s office. Family Court Judge Denise Pratt of the 311th District has come under fire for altering court records to mask tardy rulings, as well as a host of other doings that many lawyers have described in interviews as not criminal but highly unusual, unprofessional or unethical, including rampant absenteeism and communicating with lawyers on one side of a case without the other side knowing. Pratt, a Republican judge first elected in 2010, did ... Read More >