The new DA speaks

Meet the new temporary District Attorney, Kenneth Magidson.

"My main purpose in being here today is to address the people of Harris County and tell them that I expect, and this office expects us to uphold their trust and faith that they put in us," Magidson said Friday. "We are going to run this office in a professional manner that will seek justice (and) we expect to provide quality legal representation while maintaining the integrity of the judicial system."

A federal prosecutor for the past 25 years, Magidson said that he comes in with no agenda and has no particular changes in mind.

"I'm not planning on do anything until I see what's going on," he said. "When I see actions that need to be taken, I will take the appropriate actions. I can't make comments on things I'm not familiar with or facts I don't know. What needs to happen is that people need to take this job seriously and do the job that they're employed to do. We're all here, again, with that trust in our hands."

He said the office would continue to "zealously" pursue the cases brought to it, "but tempered with justice."

"We're going to make sure we're doing the right thing. What's the right thing? Well, the facts and the law are going to determine that," he said.

Magidson, 59, declined to comment on legal issues surrounding or the conduct of his predecessor, Chuck Rosenthal, who resigned last month under pressure amid a controversy over embarrassing and inappropriate e-mails sent and received on his county computer.

He said he had no plans to discuss his new job with Rosenthal.

"I know the people I want to consult, and it doesn't include that gentleman. I have a pretty good idea of what the goals and expectations of this office are, and the people I need to speak to I will. Right now I have no plans to talk to any prior district attorney," Magidson said.

I think those are all the right things to say. Honestly, if we look back in ten months' time and say it's been a quiet year, then Magidson's stewardship will have been very successful. He seems to have the right mindset for what he's getting into, and that's encouraging. Here's hoping it stays that way.

And we have some news on the Rosenthal front, too:

In a related matter, Rosenthal filed an affidavit in federal court Friday saying part of a previous sworn statement he gave in a civil lawsuit -- the same suit that indirectly led to the scandal that forced him from office -- was incorrect.

He said he is "unable to rely" on his own memory in testifying about the steps he took in deleting more than 2,500 e-mails after they had been subpoenaed in the civil rights lawsuit.

"While I am seeking treatment to address these matters currently, I am concerned and wish the court to take into account that my prior testimony and Declaration must be considered in this context," Rosenthal wrote in his affidavit.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal would have had zero sympathy for such a declaration from a defendant? I'm trying to keep an open mind, but it's really hard not to think he's being a weasel here.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 15, 2008 to Local politics