Tag Archives: District Attorney

On prosecutor caseloads

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still thinking about this. When a line of prosecutors stepped up to the microphone at Harris County Commissioners Court in February, they told tales of long hours, endless to-do lists and bloated caseloads well into the triple digits. Their … Continue reading →

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Lineup shuffling at the DA’s office

Posted on May 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This was a surprise. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s top lieutenant is out the door after the latest staffing shake-up at an office already plagued by high turnover and ongoing retention problems. Tom Berg, a former defense attorney who … Continue reading →

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County brings charges related to ITC fire

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Responding to what it called “criminal levels” of contamination, the Harris County District Attorney’s office said Monday that it has charged Intercontinental Terminals Company with five misdemeanor counts of water pollution arising from a March plant fire … Continue reading →

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Prosecuting polluters

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It really shouldn’t have to come to this, but here we are. The Harris County District Attorney’s office is calling for a tripling of the number of prosecutors dedicated to environmental crimes in the wake of a series of chemical … Continue reading →

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Ogg hires Bradford

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A familiar face for the DA’s office. Former Houston City Councilmember and Police Chief C.O. “Brad” Bradford has joined the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as a senior adviser. District Attorney Kim Ogg has hired Bradford to serve in a … Continue reading →

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Marijuana diversions

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good progress so far. What can we do to build on it? The Harris County District Attorney’s Office estimated on Friday that it’s saved $35 million and arrested 14,000 fewer people since the start of a program to divert low-level … Continue reading →

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January 2019 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One last set of finance reports I want to look at, from Harris County officials. I’m dividing them into a few groups: Lina Hidalgo, County Judge Diane Trautman, County Clerk Dylan Osborne, County Treasurer Marilyn Burgess, District Clerk Kim Ogg, … Continue reading →

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Ogg’s second ask

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how this goes. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is planning to head back to county leaders with another request for more prosecutors in light of the massive case review sparked by fallout from last month’s botched Houston … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court rejects Ogg’s request for more prosecutors

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I fully expected that Commissioners Court going from 4-1 Republican to 3-2 Democratic after the last election would signal big changes in how business was done in Harris County, but I didn’t expect this to be the first milestone on … Continue reading →

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How many prosecutors do we need?

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Opinions differ, but it’s a big question in Harris County right now. Hanover is one of many prosecutors Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said are overburdened — the reason she has asked Commissioners Court for a budget that would … Continue reading →

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Bail lawsuit 2.0

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This one will be tougher to tackle, but the principle remains the same. A hard-fought battle to reform Harris County’s bail system has prompted a second civil rights action. The legal team that successfully challenged the county’s bail practices for … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know that Fort Bend County went blue in 2018 as well? Of course you did. Let’s take a closer look at how that happened. Dist Cruz Beto Dikeman Cruz% Beto% Dike% ====================================================== HD26 32,451 33,532 406 48.88% 50.51% … Continue reading →

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Another straight-ticket truther

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, outgoing Fort Bend DA John Healey! When John Healey began his career as a young prosecutor in Fort Bend County in the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan was president, MTV had just gone on the air and the then-rural county … Continue reading →

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The Fort Bend blue wave

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s not forget that what happened in Harris County happened in Fort Bend, too. Across the state, the “blue wave” that had long been a dream of the Democratic Party faithful failed to materialize in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Republicans … Continue reading →

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More on the Woodfill raid

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah. Former Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill is being investigated on theft and money laundering allegations, accused of misappropriating funds of at least two of his law firm’s clients, according to an affidavit by the Harris County District … Continue reading →

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Police raid Jared Woodfill’s office

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. Authorities on Monday raided the law office of former Harris County Republican Party chairman Jared Woodfill. Investigators with the Harris County District Attorney’s office wheeled carts of documents from Woodfill’s office at 3 Riverway at least an hour … Continue reading →

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Omnibus election report

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s after midnight, I’ve mostly posted stuff on my long-dormant Twitter account (@kuff), and I will have many, many thoughts in the coming days. For now, a brief recap. – As you know, neither Beto nor any other Dem won … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fort Bend DA

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One last recommendation. The race for Fort Bend District Attorney presents voters with a choice that’s starting to feel familiar in Texas politics: An experienced Republican who represents the past and an upstart Democrat who wants to welcome the future. … Continue reading →

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The Fort Bend DA race

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been a lot of focus on how Harris County will vote this year after Hillary Clinton’s wide margin of victory in 2016 – I’ve certainly contributed to that – but it’s important to remember that Clinton carried Fort Bend … Continue reading →

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“Viva Texas! Viva Beto!”

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been too long since the last time I posted a video. It all came from a love of the law and a shared dislike of Ted Cruz. It was a few bigwig local prosecutors, a capital defense attorney, a … Continue reading →

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Arkema indictments

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This will cause a stir. A Harris County grand jury on Friday indicted the French chemical company Arkema and two executives for the “reckless” release of toxic chemicals during Hurricane Harvey last August, a move that alarmed industry leaders and … Continue reading →

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Darian Ward indicted on charge of violating public information laws

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s former press secretary, Darian Ward, was indicted by a grand jury this week for failing to turn over public records in response to a reporter’s request late last year. The indictment, handed up Tuesday but released … Continue reading →

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Orlando Sanchez is not happy with the dominatrix investigation

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This case is going to challenge headline and blog post title writers for the foreseeable future. Two elected Harris County officials squared off Tuesday over a bizarre case in which a top treasury official was charged in a $35,000 check … Continue reading →

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Misdemeanor diversion

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds good to me. Houston’s non-violent misdemeanor offenders will soon be cleaning up trash and invasive plant species plants along Buffalo Bayou in an initiative to help offenders clear up their criminal record, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced … Continue reading →

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Kim Ogg’s first year as DA

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I certainly approve of the job DA Kim Ogg has done so far. The accomplishment Kim Ogg is most proud of after her first year as Harris County District Attorney was not implementing a new drug policy, energizing the division … Continue reading →

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A little concern trolling from the WSJ

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is a story that tries to stir up concerns about all those Democratic Congressional candidates spending money and energy running against each other in the primaries. I flagged it mostly because of the CD07 content at the end. In … Continue reading →

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About that lost evidence

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry about that. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has sent notices to lawyers in 10,000 closed criminal cases that evidence, which was kept in storage, may have been lost or destroyed between 2007 and 2016. The bulk of the … Continue reading →

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Charges against Dukes dropped

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

She beat the rap. Travis County prosecutors have dropped their criminal charges against state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, saying Monday that a felony case against the state lawmaker should never have been brought. The announcement ends a months-long legal saga … Continue reading →

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More pre-trial diversion

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

DA Kim Ogg moves forward on more campaign promises. During a press conference Tuesday, Ogg laid out in broad strokes the policy recommendations written by the committees and emphasized that she is seeking participation from experts and Houston’s leaders. “We … Continue reading →

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DA’s office ends trace case prosecutions

Posted on October 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has stopped prosecuting thousands of so-called trace drug cases, which typically stem from glass pipes seized from users containing little more than residue of crack cocaine, officials said Thursday. The recent change means … Continue reading →

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Dukes gets deferral on felony charges

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly good news for one embattled legislative incumbent. The Travis County district attorney will not pursue, at least for now, the most serious charges against state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, saying prosecutors have renewed their investigation into the travel vouchers at … Continue reading →

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Local government buildings took it on the chin from Harvey

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Houses, businesses, schools, churches, government offices – the destruction caused by Harvey and the bill to fix it all keeps adding up. Local governments grappled Tuesday with the staggering costs of responding to and cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey, a … Continue reading →

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OutSmart talks to Kim Ogg

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Another good read about our new DA, one that goes into her personal background in some depth. John Wright: Your father, Jack Ogg, was a longtime Texas state legislator, and your late mother was well-known for her charity work. What … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend DA to retire

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The end of an era, and an opportunity for change. Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey announced Friday that he will not seek re-election, marking an end to what will be 26 years in office, according to a news … Continue reading →

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