By Rob Kepple
TDCAA Executive Director in Austin
January 2023 marked the tenth anniversary of the murder of Mark Hasse, an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Kaufman County, as he got out of his car to go into the courthouse. This was a dark time for our profession in Texas, as there were no immediate suspects.
It became exponentially worse when the elected criminal district attorney, Mike McClelland, and his wife, Cynthia, were murdered in their home in March. Again, no immediate suspects. We lost two humble public servants and three wonderful people. We were painfully reminded that standing in the way of crime in your community can be a dangerous thing. During those dark days before the capture of the killer in April, I am proud to say that TDCAA was flooded with calls from prosecutors (and former prosecutors) who volunteered to go to Kaufman County and stand up to announce ready for the State.
The offers weren’t necessary. They weren’t necessary because the attorneys in the Kaufman County CDA’s office refused to abandon their posts. Erleigh Wiley, a county court at law judge, courageously took the appointment as the elected CDA and led her unified office. They never missed a beat in representing their community, even in the face of tremendous uncertainty in the weeks before the killer was identified and arrested. In recognition of that courage, the entire staff of the Kaufman County CDA’s Office was recognized with TDCAA’s Lone Star Award in 2013, which recognizes those prosecutors “in the trenches” whose work might otherwise go unheralded. We at TDCAA are proud to serve such dedicated public servants, and we do so in memory of Mark, Mike, and Cynthia.
Membership dues increase in September
We are proud to have such a robust membership here at TDCAA. Payment of dues gives prosecutors access to the TDCAA membership database; a $50 discount on our legendary Legislative Update training; a copy of the bimonthly journal, The Texas Prosecutor (if you aren’t already working in a prosecutor office); and starting in September, access to two hours of free online MCLE ethics training every year. We are also proud that our dues have remained low—we haven’t raised them in over 20 years.
Starting with the new fiscal year in September 2023, we will be raising our dues by $25, which means the new dues structure will be:
elected prosecutors $100
assistant prosecutors $85
investigators $80
key personnel and VACs $75
general membership $85
law students $60
We hope you will agree that membership in TDCAA, your professional home, continues to be a true value to you. We love serving you here at TDCAA World Headquarters!
Rule 3.09 gets another public hearing
On April 12 the State Bar Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Referenda (CDRR) held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to Rule 3.09 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Responsibility. As I reported in the March–April 2023 edition of this journal, the proposed amendments would add parts of the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rule 3.8 relating to ethical duties of prosecutors regarding newly discovered evidence of innocence found post-conviction. The CDRR has worked for nearly two years to slowly narrow the original proposal to make it a notice provision: that prosecutors must give certain people notice if they know of new and credible information creating a reasonable likelihood that a convicted defendant did not commit the crime.
Jack Roady, Criminal District Attorney in Galveston County and our Board Chair, testified to thank the committee for their careful work but also alerted them that prosecutors were still opposed to the amendments relating to a new ethical duty to essentially turn the State’s entire file over to the defense if some new information is indeed discovered. Steve Condor, Appellate Division Chief of the Tarrant County CDA’s Office, did a great job of summarizing problems with the existing language. The next step is to await a vote by the CDRR on the final version of the rule that the committee intends to send to the State Bar Board for a vote. We will keep you informed.
The need … the need for speed
It is always fun to learn that our friends in prosecution also have interesting lives outside of the courtroom. For instance, a couple years ago I discovered that our very own State Prosecuting Attorney Stacey Soule is a professional driving instructor, and is, well, wicked fast. I had the honor to drive Stacey’s beloved Porsche GT 4 on a parade lap on the Circuit of the Americas track (most fun I ever had at 50 miles an hour!). And if you read the April 2023 edition of the Texas Bar Journal, you saw a great piece on Philip Mack Furlow, the 106th Judicial District Attorney, and his Porsche Cayman S. It seems like a great alternative to being in the courtroom!
I had just one question after going to the track with them both: What’s up with the pajama pants that everyone wears? Turns out the track requires long pants made of cotton for safety, but this is Texas and it is dang hot on the track. So all the drivers pride themselves on sporting some colorful PJs!
SafeSport, a new resource in fighting abuse in sports
We have recently been introduced to a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting athletes, young and old, from abuse from coaches and others involved in sport training. In the wake of the repeated scandals involving the U.S. gymnastics program, the U.S. Center for SafeSport was established by Congress to devote resources to the investigation of complaints of abuse by sports coaches. You’d be surprised by how many coaches and athletes come under the Center’s watch—thousands in Texas alone. If SafeSport investigators discover allegations of criminal conduct, the local prosecutors are going to hear about it. And if you have a case involving a youth sports coach, you might check the Center’s robust online database to see if your suspect has a case file with SafeSport. You can learn more about the program on page 34 and online at https://uscenterforsafesport.org.
Emily Teegardin
Congratulations to Emily Teegardin on her appointment by Governor Greg Abbott as the 110th Judicial District Attorney serving Briscoe, Dickens, Floyd, and Motley Counties. Until February, Emily had served as the County Attorney in Briscoe County since 2006. Best wishes as you adjust to your new duties!