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September 28th, 2016:

Judicial Q&A: Judge Mike Engelhart

Sep 28th, 2016
by Charles Kuffner.
1 comment

(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As always, this is to help you the voter know a little bit more about the candidates on your ballot. I will be publishing these in the order I receive them. You can see the Q&As and interviews I did for the primaries on my 2016 Election page.)

Judge Mike Engelhart

Judge Mike Engelhart

1. Who are you and in which court do you preside?

Judge Mike Engelhart, 151st Civil District Court.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

Civil disputes where one side is suing the other for money, usually arising from a business dispute, real estate issues, or a personal injury matter.

3. What have been your main accomplishments during your time on this bench?

I was the first Judge in the history of Harris County to issue a standing order for all new lawsuits that required them to be filed electronically. This caused a ripple effect that, within a few years, led to statewide mandatory electronic e-filing as ordered by the Texas Supreme Court. This has saved countless jobs and millions of dollars for taxpayers, and millions of trees as well.

In 2016, I was awarded the Public Sector Achievement Award by the University of Houston Law Center Alumni Association, as well as the Trial Judge of the Year Award by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.

4. What do you hope to accomplish in your courtroom going forward?

First, I would like to keep moving the courts forward technologically. We need to update courtroom AV equipment with Bluetooth and sound equipment and projecting whiteboards, etc.

Second, I want to experiment with new approaches to involving the jury more in the process of trial itself, including some manner of jury questions during the course of the trial.

5. Why is this race important?

This race is important because we need to continue to have a balanced courthouse, and judges who are not driven by ideology. I have demonstrated that I am fair and provide a level playing field. There is a real danger that that could change if my opponent were to win.

6. Why should people vote for you in November?

People should vote for me because I am efficient, and because I am the most qualified for this position.

I routinely have among the 3 lowest (if not the lowest) inventories of cases in the 151st of the 24 civil district courts because I work my cases and try my cases.

I am the most qualified because I am a Board Certified attorney and my opponent is not, and because I have outperformed him by a 6.5 to 1 margin on the Houston Bar Association poll of attorneys who practice before our courts.

The taxpayers of Harris County are getting an excellent bang for their tax buck.

It’s not just Precinct 4

Sep 28th, 2016
by Charles Kuffner.
1 comment

There are problems with evidence rooms in other Constable precincts as well.

Constable Mark Herman

Constable Mark Herman

With Harris County’s Precinct 4 Constable’s Office mired in scandal over the improper destruction of 21,000 pieces of evidence, serious evidence cataloging and control problems also have been uncovered in the constables’ offices in Precincts 3,6 and 7, according to interviews and audits obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

While there is no proof yet that evidence has been unlawfully destroyed in those other three offices, 2,000 items were initially reported missing in Precinct 3; guns, jewelry, electronics and cash were misplaced in Precinct 6; and Precinct 7’s evidence room has been described as “a shambles.”

In Precinct 4, where the evidence destruction scandal is still unfolding, prosecutors so far have dismissed 100 criminal cases and are still determining how many convictions could be affected by years of careless work blamed on a corporal fired for illegally disposing of drugs, guns and evidence. The episode remains the subject of a criminal probe.

Only time will tell whether chaotic evidence handling practices reported in Precincts 3,6 and 7 will result in case dismissals, appeals or further investigations.

Harris County auditors in May 2015 uncovered evidence problems – never made public – in a review of the overstuffed property room inside the Precinct  6 Constable’s Office in the East End. There, auditors reported finding 28 percent of the evidence missing along with $54,000 in cash in a review of a sample of 799 items, the audit shows. Their visit to the office came only months after the previous constable, Victor Treviño, resigned after pleading guilty to misappropriating money from a charity he ran out of his office.

Constable Heliodoro Martinez, who replaced Treviño, said in an interview Friday that he immediately contacted the Harris County district attorney after receiving those results. It took five months for a team of two Harris County sheriff’s deputies and two of his own officers to locate the missing cash and other items. Martinez said he is still trying to impose order in an evidence room that hadn’t been cleaned out or organized in 26 years.

Unlike the Precinct 4 scandal, neither defense attorneys nor front-line prosecutors have been notified to review cases. So far, county lawyers have not deemed that any notifications or criminal investigations are necessary.

“To this point, we haven’t been made aware of any pending cases that have been affected in any way, shape or form,” Martinez said.

JoAnne Musick, a defense attorney who is past president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, said she is skeptical that no cases have been adversely affected.

“Every property custodian comes in and testifies how great their system is – but in these audits that’s not what they’re finding,” she said. “They’re having to dig stuff up. … How do you know it’s not been tampered with, it’s not altered, it’s not decayed?”

See here, here, and here for the background. None of the other precincts have had anywhere near the problems that Precinct 4 have had, but it’s too early to say that no cases have been affected. There are also some questions about the way the audits were conducted and the results communicated. The current auditor for the county is retiring, so perhaps there should be a high priority on re-reviewing all eight Constable precincts and ensuring we know what issues there are. And then maybe, as suggested by some people in the story and by commenter Steven Houston in an earlier post, it’s time to take these evidence rooms away from the constables and put sole authority for them in the Sheriff’s office.

Coming back to the US90A rail extension

Sep 28th, 2016
by Charles Kuffner.
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Lots of talk, and a case for action sooner rather than later.

HoustonMetro

A Metro rail extension from southern Houston to Missouri City is gaining momentum, fueled by rare near-unanimous support from local, state and federal officials who represent the area.

The hope is one day whisking commuters from Fort Bend County into the Texas Medical Center and other nearby job hotspots. But as the rail project picks up speed, a few officials worry the transit agency might get ahead of itself, to the detriment of other possible bus and rail improvements as money and resources perhaps shift to the rail line.

“I don’t know that I see it as being the next project,” said Metro board member Lisa Castaneda, who urged officials to slow down on some aspects of studying the rail link and soliciting possibilities for private investment in it.

The issue earlier this week touched off a sometimes-contentious exchange between Metropolitan Transit Authority board members, though most were supportive of moving forward with some of the rail plan. Still, even those eager to advance the line stress Metro has not made any final decisions, and still has no firm way for how to pay for the line despite vocal support from U.S. Reps. Al Green, D-Houston, and John Culberson, R-Houston.

[…]

At a Metro committee meeting last week, board members had what one called a “spirited” discussion about potential private investment in local commuter rail projects. The discussion was prompted by a request for information prepared by Metro staff, which could be circulated to gauge interest in development deals.

Metro board chairwoman Carrin Patman said while staff was authorized to release the request without board approval, she sought their input before sending it out. The action, however, was delayed when board members, primarily Castaneda, chafed at moving ahead.

While not opposed to the rail line – as it requires much more study – Castaneda balked at some of the eagerness other board members showed to press ahead and seek proposals from private developers interested in joining with Metro for a Missouri City rail line.

“I am not optimistic we are going to get a back a product that doesn’t require a lot of commitment from Metro,” she said.

Patman countered during the discussion that transit officials won’t know their options unless they explore them, especially when local elected leaders are eager to press ahead. Mayors, including those outside the Metro service area such as Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella, have offered full-throated support for the line for more than a decade.

“The lost capital of not doing something… is going to send I believe the wrong signal, and I believe a very costly one,” Patman said.

Green, who has committed to use his role in Congress to muster support and potentially federal money for the line, said “it is my hope that the real prospects for this continue to move forward judiciously as well as expeditiously.”

See here for some background. The main issue here is how to pay for this line, as for once there’s basically no political opposition. Metro has no more funds available from the 2003 referendum, and the short-term budget outlook is not optimal. Metro could float another bond referendum, but I can’t see them doing so until they have a full rail package put together to vote on all at once. There would likely be some federal money available for this, but that would not cover the whole thing. Metro will have to come up with something, which includes the money needed to do environmental impact statements. There’s also the question of how this would work inside Fort Bend County given that Fort Bend is not part of Metro. (Look for my interview with County Commissioner Richard Morrison next week, as this question will come up with him.) A public-private venture is certainly one option, one that we may also consider when and if a rail line connecting the proposed high speed rail terminal to downtown happens. I’d like to see this line get built – it makes a lot of sense, and we did vote for it back in 2003 – but I want it done in a way that works for Metro as well as for the potential riders. Let’s keep this moving, but don’t rush it. Get it right and go from there.

Endorsement watch: Sung in the special

Sep 28th, 2016
by Charles Kuffner.
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The Chron endorses Anne Sung in the HISD special election.

Anne Sung

Anne Sung

Out of the four names on the ballot, Anne Sung is the only candidate who will be prepared to do a good job immediately. Sung, 38, a product of HISD schools, not only says that “education is the foundation of the American Dream,” but her life demonstrates that dream. The Bellaire High School alumna went on to graduate from Harvard University.

Sung has been a Teach for America Corp member, an award-winning HISD physics teacher, and the cofounder of an education advocacy group, Community Voices for Public Education. She’s currently filling another role in the education landscape by serving as the chief strategy office and vice president of the nonprofit Project GRAD Houston. Her opponents, John Luman and Victoria Bryant, both seem to have what it takes to become strong board members. As a practicing lawyer, Luman would bring analytical skills to board deliberations. Bryant’s background in pharmacy would be useful in a district where 75.5 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged. But the breadth of Sung’s professional career has given her a multi-faceted and nuanced perspective on the district that her opponents Luman and Bryant don’t come close to matching. Candidate Danielle D. Paulus did not answer our requests for a screening.

The Chron had endorsed Harvin Moore over Anne Sung in 2013, though they were “impressed” by her at the time. Looks like that good impression has remained. I’ll have candidate interviews for this election in the coming weeks. There’s a lot going on and thus a lot to talk about. If you live in this district, what are your impressions of the candidates? Leave a comment and let us know.