“Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cop handle it. Not enough drug addiction funding, let’s give it to the cops. Here in Dallas we got a loose dog problem. Let’s have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail, give it to the cops. Seventy percent of the African-American community is being raised by single women. Let’s give it to the cops to solve that as well. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.”
—Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown, at a press conference after five Dallas peace officers were killed at a protest. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/us/dallas-police-chief-brown-protests.html
“We just want people to hire us, either as lawyers or for their bar mitzvah.”
—Waco defense attorney Will Hutson, who, along with law partner Chris Harris, wrote and recorded “Don’t Eat Your Weed,” a song they uploaded to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQZRA7wft1I). It’s been viewed more than 328,000 as of press time. http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texas/story/2016/jul/12/singing-lawyers-send-message-dont-eat-your-weed/631143
“They tell me before she became hooked on heroin, she was a very loving and attentive parent.”
—James Bogen, court-appointed attorney for April Corcoran, 32, of Ohio. Corcoran was sentenced to 51 years to life in prison for loaning her 11-year-old daughter to her drug dealer in exchange for heroin. Judge Leslie Ghiz, who sentenced Corcoran, told her from the bench that this was by far the worst crime that had come before her in her 31/2 years as a judge. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/20/the-worst-thing-that-has-come-before-this-court-ohio-mom-financed-her-addiction-by-letting-drug-dealer-rape-her-child
“‘Pokemon Go’ is not a valid defense for violating a no-contact order.”—@lawyerthoughts on Twitter
“As reflected by many public speeches that he gave to various organizations and graduation ceremonies, he was eternally grateful for the opportunity that America gives to those who work hard, particularly to a young barefoot boy who herded goats and later graduated from law school.”
—Obituary for the Honorable Gerald Goodwin, onetime district attorney and district judge in Angelina County (and a member of our Foundation’s Texas Prosecutors Society), who died in August after a battle with lung cancer. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lufkindailynews/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=180947871#sthash.yIeFGOLf.dpuf
“Yeah, if you are speeding through McLennan County, you just might get pulled over by The Dude.”
—actor Jeff Bridges, well-known for playing The Dude in The Big Lebowski, at the premiere of Hell or High Water, a new movie in which he plays a West Texas sheriff. He based his performance on McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, and the two men hit it off so well that Sheriff McNamara made Bridges an honorary deputy. An audience member at the premiere asked Bridges about being deputized, and he proudly whipped out his ID card so everyone could see it. http://www.wacotrib.com/news/mclennan_county/sheriff-mcnamara-the-inspiration-for-jeff-bridges-new-movie-role/article_c3c1b95b-e27b-5ec5-afbd-344941f6f606.html