The AP wire reports that Texas Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, a Republican with integrity (imagine that), has
chosen Judge Pat Priest to preside over the Tom DeLay trial. I know that this has been mentioned elsewhere in the diaries, but I am writing separately because I deal with Judge Priest on an almost-daily basis.
More on the flip....
I am a San Antonio criminal defense attorney who has been practicing for a little over five years now. Almost every day, I walk the halls of the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center to represent the criminally accused. One of the people that I see regularly is Judge Pat Priest.
I am always glad to see him.
Pat Priest is the kind of judge that attorneys, young and old alike, can look up to. One reason is that he has been around forever and has seen practically everything under the legal sun. If you have a question about some esoteric provision of the Texas criminal laws, you have to find Pat Priest, because he will know the answer. If he doesn't know, it is usually because you are asking the wrong question or because the Court of Criminal Appeals (our criminal supreme court) hasn't yet decided the issue.
Another important reason the San Antonio legal community reveres Pat Priest is because he will always, without fail, handle himself with the dignity and even-handedness that we should expect from judges. He can be counted upon to rule fairly and, even if he rules against you and your client, he rules in such a way that allows you to have no hard feelings about it. He is a kind, respectful man, which is somewhat ironic being that he is so kind and respected and does not have to reciprocate.
Judge Priest will preside over this trial with all the legal aplomb his long legal career can muster. He cannot be influenced and cannot be swayed from making rulings that will comport in a sensible way with the law on our books.
In short, Chief Justice Jefferson couldn't have made a better choice.
UPDATE: Judge Priest will remain on the case, despite a motion by the prosecution to remove Chief Justice Jefferson because of his Republican ties. I stand by my belief that Judge Priest is the best judge for the job. Story can be found at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/stories/MYSA110405.prieststays.en.2a430841.html
(Sorry, but I can't get the HTML to work right.)