Now that the Austin bombings are behind us and we can start looking ahead to the next session, who wants to bet that some new legislation will come from this crisis? It’s hard for politicians to resist legislating on any topic that grabs the voting public’s attention like that, regardless of whether there’s a need for a new law or not. We put the over/under on number of Austin bomber-related bills next session at 4.5; place your wagers now.

Update on guns in courthouses

Remember this issue that grabbed everyone’s attention last interim? Well, it’s still being litigated. For the latest update on the three-year saga over whether cities and counties can exclude certain licensed handgun owners from bringing their sidearms into local courthouses, read this recent legislative update from the Texas Municipal League regarding events in Waller County (used with permission of the TML author).

Changes to campaign finance filings for DAs?

Currently, the location in which a district attorney files his or her campaign finance paperwork varies by jurisdiction: Multi-county DAs file with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), while single-county DAs file in their local county, even though those same single-county DAs file their personal financial statements with the TEC. To improve uniformity and transparency for the public, the TEC may ask the next legislature to require single-county DAs to file their campaign finance reports with the TEC so that all of those records are held in one centralized location. (Note that none of this would affect county attorneys.) If this concerns you, contact Shannon for more information.

Interim committee hearings

With primary elections over, a flurry of interim hearings occurred during the latter part of this month. Here are some highlights.

A House Appropriations subcommittee reviewed the progress made by DFPS in the aftermath of legislative “fixes” passed last session and heard that CPS caseworkers’ average caseloads were decreasing, their retention on the job is increasing, and their face-to-face contacts with suspected abuse victims are also increasing. However, Adult Protective Services (APS) caseworker turnover remains high because they did not see the same raises as CPS caseworkers, among other factors. On the mental health side of the budget, the committee heard from HHSC that five state hospitals need to be replaced, five more need substantial remodeling, and the agency projects a need for 11,000 additional inpatient psychiatric beds over the next decade. (No word on if or how *that* will be funded, but everyone can dream, right?)

The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee spent the better part of a day discussing the death penalty with the usual suspects, although this hearing had a particular focus on its application to defendants with intellectual disabilities and serious mental illnesses and on the jury instructions used in the sentencing phase of capital cases. That discussion included testimony from Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Elsa Alcala, who provided the committee members with a list of nine potential reforms to the state’s capital punishment laws based on various cases the court has considered over the years (contact Shannon if you’d like a copy of that written testimony).

The House Select Committee on Opioids & Substance Abuse held its first hearing, which consisted mostly of a broad overview of the current opioid abuse situation (both nationally and in Texas). Among the interesting information that came out at this hearing was testimony that even though Texas is doing better than many states, it has still experienced a 32% increase in opioid overdoses since 2014. In addition, while only 14 percent (~19,000) of all TDCJ inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses, more than half of all inmates are in need of drug treatment when they arrive at TDCJ.

The House Government Transparency & OperationsCommittee reviewed the need for greater flexibility in the open meetings law during natural disasters but came to no conclusions as of yet.

And last but not least, the Sunset Advisory Commission met for the first time under its new chairman, State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), to preview the 31 state agencies it will be considering for revision and re-authorization next session, the most high-profile of which are DPS, DMV, and TABC. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on that review process and alert you if anything interesting comes up.

Future interim hearings

Relevant hearings posted for April (with links to official notices) include:

House Appropriations Subcommittee

Wednesday, April 18, 8:00 a.m., State Capitol Room E1.026

CHARGES: State crime lab funding mechanisms (including fees for services); funding formulas for adult and juvenile probation departments; rape kit backlogs.

House Appropriations Committee

Wednesday, April 18, 10:00 a.m., State Capitol Room E1.030

CHARGES: border security (and several other unrelated topics)

House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

Thursday, April 26, 10:00 a.m., at El Paso City Hall

CHARGES: Examine the use of alternative punishments to criminal enforcement and community supervision for low-level possession of marijuana; monitor the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 85th Legislature.

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee

Friday, April 27, 10:00 a.m., State Capitol Room E2.026

CHARGES: Impact of Hurricane Harvey on the state’s court system; simplifying and improving the state’s fee structure in civil and criminal cases; implementation of the statewide electronic database of court records (“re:SearchTX”).

If you have questions about any of these hearings, please contact Shannon for more details.

Upcoming TDCAA training opportunities

Our annual Civil Law Seminar will be held in Corpus Christi on May 16–18 of this year. Whether you are a full-time civil practitioner, an occasional fill-in, or someone considering a move to a side of the office you haven’t been a part of before, this training is for you. Come join us for three days of relevant, timely training designed for you by your peers. Click here for registration and related information.

Registration has also opened for TDCAA’s Forensic Evidence Seminar. From DNA to firearms, this course will provide prosecutors and their investigators with the knowledge and skills necessary to see justice done. The course will be held June 13­–15 in Dallas. For more information, click here!

CLE scholarships available

The Criminal Justice Section of the State Bar of Texas is taking Applications for Scholarships for the courses listed below. You must be a current member of the Criminal Justice Section to apply. Preference will be given to lawyers licensed five years or less. Scholarship applications should be sent to the SBOT Sections Department and must be received no later than April 27, 2018.  

• 44th Annual Advanced Criminal Law Seminar, San Antonio, July 23–26, 2018
• Criminal Law Boot Camp 101, San Antonio, July 22, 2018
• Video Presentations for Advanced Criminal Law Seminar, Dallas, September 5–7, 2018 & Houston, September 19–21, 2018
• 31st Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course, San Antonio, June 21–23, 2018
• TDCAA Annual Criminal and Civil Law Conference, Galveston, September 19–21, 2018

Quotes of the Month

“I’ve been thrown out of better places than this.”

Arizona State Representative Don Shooter (R-Yuma), after the Arizona House of Representatives expelled him for “dishonorable” behavior, including allegations that he sexually harassed women for years.

“People are starting to understand … the DA to them is more important in many ways to their daily life than who’s the governor of Texas or who’s the president of the United States.”

Rob Smith, director of the Fair Punishment Project, arguing that the usual 15–25 percent turnover in Texas prosecutor offices is an indicator of criminal justice reformers’ success at the ballot box.

“Home Depot isn’t in the business of serving terrorists, but sometimes it does.”

Professor Jimmie Oxley,co-director of the University of Rhode Island’s Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response, explaining how the Austin bombing suspect obtained bomb-making materials so easily.

“It can never be called a happy ending, but it’s a damn good one for the people of this community and the State of Texas.”

Travis County DA Margaret Moore, after Austin’s recent bombing spree ended with the self-inflicted death of the suspected bomber.

How is it still only February? It feels like we’ve already had a year’s worth of “news” in 2018 and it’s only two months old. Heck, a state senator was just convicted in federal court of multiple counts of wire and securities fraud and it barely made the front pages. We are living in interesting times, friends.

Need a tout sheet for next week’s election?

Early primary voting is in full swing, so if you are curious to know which legislative races are most likely to come down to the wire, check out this Hot List maintained by the Texas Tribune or this Hot List provided by the Texas Association of Realtors’ PAC. (We have no comment on their endorsements, but TREPAC is just about the biggest single-industry PAC in the state capitol, so you can count on them to know how tight these races are likely to be.)

Good luck to all of you on the ballot this spring, and please let Rob ([email protected]) know the outcome of any contested prosecutor races in your area.

Interim committee hearings

Now that the early voting period is upon us, we’ve had a sudden flurry of interim hearings (what a coincidence!), including a few on issues that may be important to you. Here’s a recap of some of those issues on which we suspect we’ll have more to say as the 2019 session nears.

On Wednesday of last week, the Senate State Affairs Committee took up a proposal from the Office of Attorney General (OAG) to give that office more jurisdiction over multi-jurisdictional human trafficking cases to provide “more uniform enforcement.” The committee heard testimony from OAG lawyers and Carmen White, the chief of the Dallas County Criminal DA’s new Crimes Against Children Unit, who ably described how her office has been tackling these problems (with the help of a grant from the governor’s office) in a manner that obtains concrete results and helps rehabilitate the victims of these crimes. To be honest, there really wasn’t much of a case put forth for why the current arrangement is unsatisfactory or why the State needs yet another prosecutor cook in the human-trafficking kitchen. As the hearing progressed, the committee seemed to be more interested in other enforcement ideas—such as the potential creation of a statewide database to track trafficking victims—but don’t be surprised if a bill is filed next year to grant OAG more prosecutorial authority in this area simply because the current holder of that office wants it. (For those who want more details, archived video of the hearing is available here; the human trafficking discussion occurs from 0:00:01–1:02:30.)

Next, that same committee discussed granting OAG greater prosecutorial authority over criminal violations of health and safety laws relating to abortion providers. That’s when the real “fun” began, especially when OAG representatives testified that they needed more criminal jurisdiction because some local prosecutors were refusing to enforce or defend recently-passed laws on that topic. Several senators were appalled to hear that, unaware of that the fact that such statements were completely false. Fortunately, Rob and Shannon were able to visit with committee members afterwards to correct the record and explain that some local prosecutors have opted out of the federal lawsuit challenging that new law because OAG has taken the lead in defending the state (as commonly happens in these situations), and that all prosecutors will be bound by the final result, regardless of who is involved in the litigation. But make no mistake—on this issue, facts may take a back seat to other legislative priorities, so we’re sure we’ll be talking about this again next session. (Video of this part of the hearing is available here, from 1:20:30–1:57:30).

On Thursday, the Senate Select Committee on Election Security took a day’s worth of testimony on various election fraud issues, including detailed testimony from a panel that included Starr County DA Omar Escobar and Asst. AG Jonathan White, who both encouraged the Legislature to provide state and local officials with more information and resources with which to investigate and prosecute local election fraud. This was a cordial and cooperative hearing, but it once again pointed out the confusion many people have about who prosecutes what in Texas. As a result, we have dusted off, revised, and re-issued our Texas Prosecution 101 memo to remind people of how prosecution works under the state constitution. We expect this to be a continuing topic of discussion heading into the next session, so please review that document (linked above) and educate your local legislators about how things work—and work well—under the constitutional framework established more than 140 years ago.

In other hearings this month … The House County Affairs Committee heard testimony on the implementation of the Sandra Bland Act, but nothing actionable came of it … and the Senate Transportation Committee used its interim charge on human smuggling to take extensive testimony on the problems of human trafficking, once again confusing people about the differences between smuggling and trafficking (oh well!).

Future interim hearings

Hearings posted for March (with links to official notices) include:

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Article II

Wednesday, March 21, 10:00 a.m., State Capitol Room E1.030
CHARGES: Monitor HHSC’s expansion of inpatient psychiatric capacity; monitor impact of critical-needs funding at DFPS.

Senate Health and Human Services Committee

Thursday, March 22, 9:00 a.m., Senate Chamber
CHARGES: Opioid abuse; substance abuse treatment; overprescribing and doctor-shopping; timeliness of DFPS home visits regarding reported abuse/neglect; services and support for children in foster care; foster parent recruitment.

House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

Monday, March 26, 11:00 a.m., State Capitol Room E2.014
CHARGES: Imposition of the death penalty on defendants with serious mental illness or intellectual disability; jury instructions used in capital sentencing.
[Note: This committee will hear only invited testimony, and it is likely to be entirely one-sided; if you wish to testify as an invited witness on either topic, please contact Shannon.]

House Government Transparency & Operation Committee

Tuesday, March 27, 10:00 a.m., State Capitol Room E2.010
CHARGES: Open meetings law and disaster assistance; state supreme court rulings on public information and government contracting and procurement; state agency cybersecurity.

If you have questions about any of these hearings, please contact Shannon for more details.

Governor’s campaign rolls out new sex crime proposals

As part of his re-election campaign, the governor recently rolled out a new policy proposals on human trafficking and related sex crimes. There are too many to list here, but some of the proposed changes include:

• Increased punishments for promoting prostitution, compelling prostitution, kidnapping of a child, sexual performance by a child, and child pornography;
• Expunctions for convicted prostitutes who were victims of human trafficking at the time of their offense;
• Increased funding to DPS to create regional human trafficking investigation squads;
• Increased funding for lab testing of rape kits to eliminate the backlog; and
• More GPS monitoring of certain family violence offenders, human traffickers, and repeat sex offenders.

Again, for the full agenda being proposed by the governor, click on the link above. Nothing can happen on these proposals until legislators file them as bills next session, but you might want to become familiar with them before then in case you are asked about them during election season.

Forensic Science Commission looks at blood spatter science

As we mentioned last month, the Forensic Science Commission has adopted an accreditation process for bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) due to increasing confusion in the courts over that type of evidence and related testimony from unaccredited entities. The Commission has exempted that discipline from these new accreditation requirements until May 1, 2019, to allow experts and entities who are currently performing BPA sufficient time to become accredited. The Commission is also offering training and related assistance to anyone who wishes to become accredited. If you or someone in your jurisdiction wants to learn more about BPA accreditation, contact Jody Koehler, the Commission’s Senior Scientific Advisor, or Leigh Savage, the Commission’s Associate General Counsel.

And while we’re talking about forensic science, note that the Commission is in the final stages of developing the licensing program for the following disciplines: seized drugs; toxicology; forensic biology (including DNA); materials (trace evidence including chemical analysis and pattern comparison); questioned documents; and firearm and tool mark examination. Remember, the Legislature has required all forensic analysts to be licensed beginning January 1, 2019, which includes anyone who performs a forensic analysis, technically reviews a forensic analysis, or draws conclusions from or interprets a forensic analysis for a court or crime laboratory.

Rapid DNA update

Another emerging issue in forensic science concerns the passage of the Rapid DNA Act of 2017 by Congress. As a result of that new law, the DPS Crime Laboratory is receiving questions about the use or potential use of that technology, so it recently posted answers to some frequently asked questions on its website, which you can read here. Check out that webpage if you have questions of your own about this cutting-edge technology, and visit the FBI’s webpage about Rapid DNA for further information.

Hemp oil CBD

Based on the inquiries we’ve received over the past month, there seems to be a lot of confusion throughout the state (and country) about the legal status of cannabidiol (CBD) oil. Part of this confusion may stem from news this month of first legal prescription of state-regulated CBD oil in Texas for certain epileptic patients. However, that state program has nothing to do with most of the CBD-related products being sold over the counter at pharmacies and health stores in unregulated form. Those products are being sold in apparent violation of a change in federal drug scheduling that occurred last year and is currently being challenged by the hemp industry through a lawsuit now pending before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. While interested observers monitor that case, there is one other Texas change to note.

Unbeknownst to everyone we’ve talked to, back in May 2017, our own HHSC scheduled a new, broader definition of “marihuana extract” to match that adopted by the Feds. On its face, the new change appears to make any CBD oil derived from any cannabis plant a Schedule I substance unless it is derived from “extracted resin.” This is broader than the statutory definition of “marihuana” in the Controlled Substances Act, which means a prosecution under the new, broader definition would have to be pursued under the miscellaneous substances offense in that Act (for a scheduled substance that is not in a penalty group). We’re still working all of this out, but if you have questions or comments about how this might be playing out in your jurisdiction, contact Shannon for more information.

Crimes Against Children registration is open

Our 2018 Crimes Against Children course is now open for online registration! This four-day event will be held from April 10th to the 13th in centrally-located San Marcos, Texas. One of our most requested specialty schools, Crimes Against Children attendees will receive 18.25 CLE / TCOLE hours, including 3 hours of ethics. In addition to the normal in-depth training for prosecutors who try some of our most difficult cases, we have added a third track of training for prosecutors assigned to CPS caseloads. The instruction will be fantastic, as will the company! Click here for course and registration details.

Quotes of the Month

“Where can we make the most impact? … [P]risoner re-entry reform. The problem is, there’s so much pushback from the right on mandatory minimum sentences, especially in the [U.S.] Senate, so we wanted to reduce that, but that’s a project for another day. … We feel like prisoner re-entry—we can do, we can get Jeff Sessions on board.”

Doug Deason, GOP donor from Dallas (and Right on Crime advocate), explaining why he and others affiliated with the Koch Brothers may now be focusing on prisoner re-entry and rehabilitation instead of other, more controversial criminal justice reform measures.

“I’ve been trying since 1983 to get lawyers inside a grand jury, so I’m going to work on that again. I’m going to work with the Tea Party on that. I work with everybody, I don’t care who they are. Ain’t no shame in my game.”

State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), Texas’ longest-serving female legislator, on one of her policy goals for next session.

“[The Uresti case] is one for the record books. This is the case that keeps on giving to an ethics professor.”

Dennis Elam, a Texas A&M-San Antonio professor, when asked why he planned to use details from the federal fraud trial and conviction of State Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) in his upcoming accounting ethics class.

“If we’re going to bring about lasting change, real change, in our criminal justice system, it will start with the people in this room.”

Sharon Watkins Jones, director of political strategies for ACLU Texas, at a DA candidate forum in Dallas County earlier this month. The ACLU expects to spend as much as $300,000 mobilizing voters for that contested race this fall.

“They passed a budget that they knew was dependent upon a 14 percent increase in your local property tax, and yet at the same time, they point fingers at the local [governments] and say we’re out of control.”

Glen Whitley, GOP county judge in Tarrant County, going “unplugged” (his word) in explaining how some people at the state capitol are trying to have their cake and eat it too.

Thanks to the mapmakers, most of the political action in Texas happens during primary season. That means legislators are currently more focused on their political survival than on policymaking, so there are only a few interim committee hearings to tell you about below. But while we have your attention, we’ll use this election-induced lull in the action to dedicate this update to several non-legislative issues you might find interesting.

Longevity pay for assistant prosecutors

If you attended our Elected Prosecutor Conference last month, you know that the state’s current system for funding assistant prosecutor longevity pay is not sustainable. The revenue source dedicated to that purpose comes from fees on surety bonds that have been decreasing in usage over the past several years while the number of eligible recipients of longevity pay continues to increase (which arguably indicates the program is working as intended, because one of its original goals was to keep qualified, experienced prosecutors in the profession). As a result, this important benefit may be reduced or eventually eliminated altogether unless a new funding mechanism can be established. But before we can discuss fixing that problem, we need to make sure that everyone is aware of how the existing program is supposed to work in practice. To that end, we have posted on our website a short primer on the longevity pay program. Please click on that link to review it and then check with your local office manager, auditor, or treasurer (as appropriate) to make sure your eligible assistant prosecutors are receiving the correct amount owed to them under this program. And if you want to help ensure that program’s continued viability, contact Rob by email or at 512/474-2436.

Help for complying with new TDCJ notification mandate

In response to questions we’ve received about the Legislature’s mandate requiring you to notify TDCJ’s Victim Services Division about certain indictments, we have created a handy one-page list of offenses that may trigger that new duty. For more information, visit the victim services page of our website and download the “HB 104 Notification – list of offenses” PDF.

Proposed State Bar disciplinary rule changes

   In response to sunset review legislation passed last session, the Chief Disciplinary Counsel (CDC) and the Texas Supreme Court have put forth proposed revisions to the attorney disciplinary process and are seeking public comment on them. The proposed changes primarily relate to encouraging earlier resolution of complaints and increasing consistency in the sanctions handed down. Among the many new provisions, two in particular caught our eye. One would create a preliminary investigative hearing, complete with subpoena power for the CDC that can be challenged only by complaint to the grievance committee chairman. The other is the creation of new guidelines for grievance committees imposing sanctions after a finding of professional misconduct—guidelines that are particularly interesting to read with potential spurious allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in mind.

  If this topic interests you, review the full text of the proposed disciplinary procedure rules and submit public comments about them here. The deadline for those comments is Thursday, February 8, 2018, so don’t put it on your back burner and forget about it.

Forensic Science Commission looks at blood spatter science

As some of you may have heard, the Forensic Science Commission is investigating the possibility of formally accrediting the analysis of bloodstain patterns from a crime scene. (Some have argued that bloodstain pattern analysis is already subject to accreditation under prior DPS rules, but the courts have never ruled on it.) For those of you who have contacted us about this development at the behest of some of our friends in law enforcement, rest assured that the Commission is working collaboratively with all interested parties to ensure the continued validity and reliability of this useful forensic evidence. One of the members of subcommittee looking into this issue is Brazos County DA Jarvis Parsons, who is doing all of you a great service in representing our profession on this issue. If you have further questions about this topic, contact Jarvis or Shannon for more details.

Interim legislative committee hearings begin

The first relevant interim hearing of the new year was to be on the death penalty, but Austin’s 2018 Icepocalypse forced it to be re-scheduled for a later date. As a result, the only other relevant hearing occurred yesterday when the Senate Finance Committee reviewed the infamous Driver Responsibility Program (DRP, aka the DPS surcharges). The hearing included a presentation by the Legislative Budget Board (available here) and related discussions about how to pay for trauma care and road construction—the two dedicated purposes for the surcharge funds—by a means that won’t lead to millions of driver’s license suspensions. It was the same debate that’s been heard under the dome for 15 years, and at the end of the day, nothing new came up. There was some discussion of HB 2068, the bill from last session that would have replaced the DRP with criminal court fines assessed as part of the criminal case. That bill passed the House late in the session but received little attention in the Senate. However, the concept received a more thorough vetting from the state’s budget writers in this hearing, including a discussion of the problems inherent in relying on the courts—and their newly-granted discretion in collecting fines, fees, and costs—as a reliable source of guaranteed revenue. This uncertainty bothered some members of the committee when compared to the current DRP system, which consistently brings in about $150 million per year for the state despite collection rates of only around 40 percent. For now, the issue is likely to remain in limbo until the committee issues its recommendations at the end of the year, but barring divine inspiration, we don’t expect any easy solutions to this problem as we head into another tight budget session.

Future interim hearings

Hearings posted for February include:

House County Affairs

Tuesday, February 6, at 9:15 a.m., in Houston (UH-Downtown Campus)
CHARGES: Hurricane Harvey; flooding in unincorporated areas of counties; implementation of the Sandra Bland Act (SB 1849).

House Transportation

Thursday, February 8, at 9:00 a.m., Capitol Extension Room E2.012
CHARGES: Overweight permitting; technology advances in transportation (autonomous vehicles, drones, etc.).

Senate Transportation

Wednesday, February 21, at 9:00 a.m., Capitol Extension Room E1.028
CHARGES: Port investments; highway naming; best practices for combatting human smuggling.

Senate State Affairs

Wednesday, February 21 at 10:00 a.m., Senate Chamber
CHARGES: Religious freedom; “Examine the Attorney General’s jurisdiction on issues of alleged violations of state laws regarding abortion and multi-jurisdictional human trafficking cases. Make recommendations to ensure uniform enforcement across the state.”

If you have questions about any of these interim hearings, please contact Shannon for more details.

New player in prosecutor elections?

We’ll finish with this little item of interest. As we mentioned a few months ago, the election of President Trump has been a financial windfall for various groups like the ACLU that generally reside on the opposite side of the political aisle. One way the ACLU has decided to spend the tens of millions of new dollars they now have in the bank is to get more involved in local prosecutor races under the guise of voter education. For an example of what that looks like in a current race, check out http://dallasda.org/. The link is certainly not what an unsuspecting person looking for the actual DA’s website might expect based on that URL, but perhaps most interesting is that it includes the results of a candidate survey containing 27 yes/no questions that highlight the ACLU’s wide-ranging policy goals in criminal justice (a completed sample of that questionnaire can be found here, as returned by one of the candidates in that race). Some of you may want to check that out to get a head start on studying up for your potential new pop quiz!

Quotes of the Month

“The fact is that crime dropped in America dramatically from the 1990s, and there aren’t really good, clean, nationwide explanations for it.”
 

Bernard Harcourt, Columbia University law professor, in an NPR story on the successes and failures of the “broken windows” theory of policing.

“We have gone from governing first and campaigning second to campaigning first and governing second. When you run the place based on campaigning, you do it for party, while governing is about the people.”

State Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), when asked how Speaker elections in the Texas Legislature have changed over his three decades in that chamber.

“What I will miss least is the current polarization and common refusal to listen to or respect others’ ideas.”

Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Plano), commenting upon his impending retirement; read this Politico article for other responses from various Congress members who are leaving.

“I’ll miss least the people who have no discernible political principles. I’ll miss most the people who do.”

Retiring Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-Dallas), from that same article.

“The whole video has a feeling of, ‘Let’s quick[ly] minimize liability on every front—watch this video.’”

Joanna Grossman, SMU law professor, after reviewing the new sexual harassment training video for Texas House members and staffers.

“That would break us. The impact would be enormous.”

Camille Cain, new TJJD Executive Director, when asked whether the juvenile system could handle an influx of 20,000 additional 17-year-olds per year if “Raise the Age” legislation passes.

“I want to kill them.”
 

Contents of the note Justice Sotomayor says she sometimes shares with her peers when a criminal defense lawyer performs poorly in oral argument.

“If you get into a biting competition with a police dog, you’re not going to win. They’re pretty good at that.”
 

Lt. Jason Killary, Boscawen (NH) Police Department, referring to a fleeing suspect who bit the police dog used to apprehend him. (Don’t worry, the K9 was uninjured and soon returned to duty.)

“Lots of times, external things beyond your control impact your race. The farther down the ballot you are, like I am, the stronger that is.”
 

State Rep. Tony Dale (R-Cedar Park), as quoted in a story looking at three legislative swing districts in the Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin areas.

“I’ve never sought any other political office and, frankly, being the DA is a terrible way to do it. You piss off too many people either by prosecuting them or not prosecuting them.”
 

Josh Marquis, the Clatsop County (OR) prosecutor who recently announced his retirement, on why he never ran for higher office.