Hutchison, DeLay Cases Have Parallels
Earle defends judge DeLay wants removed
washingtonpost.com
Hutchison, DeLay Cases Have Parallels
By JIM VERTUNO
The Associated Press
Monday, October 31, 2005; 9:28 PM
AUSTIN, Texas -- The same judge, the same prosecutor, the same defense attorney, the same Republican complaints of political payback, and the same courtroom strategy. The case against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is playing out like a rerun of a Lone Star court drama that unfolded in 1993-94.
Back then, it was Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison fighting for her political life against Democratic District Attorney Ronnie Earle. Ultimately, she was acquitted of misconduct charges with the help of defense attorney Dick DeGuerin.
DeLay, another Texas Republican, has hired DeGuerin to defend him as well, and DeGuerin is employing some of the same legal and media tactics that worked last time _ accusing the district attorney of misconduct, branding the case a political vendetta and demanding the removal of a Democratic judge for alleged bias.
The parallels between the cases are striking.
"It's like `Twilight Zone.' You're seeing the same pattern," said Brian Berry, a GOP consultant who was Hutchison's campaign manager when she first ran for Senate.
Delay is under indictment on conspiracy and money-laundering charges for allegedly funneling illegal corporate contributions to GOP candidates for the state Legislature. Texas law generally forbids the use of corporate money for campaigning.
Hutchison was charged with using state dollars, employees and computers for personal and campaign purposes when she was Texas treasurer in 1991 to 1993. She was also accused of tampering with state computer records to cover the alleged abuses.
In both cases, Earle brought charges against a prominent Republican after the GOP won a crucial Texas election. Both times, the district attorney was accused of trying to settle political scores.
When she was indicted, Hutchison had just won a Senate seat long held by Democrats, including Lyndon B. Johnson and Lloyd Bentsen. She joined Phil Gramm in the Senate, giving Texas two Republican senators for the first time since Reconstruction.
DeLay reached the highest levels of power in Congress as majority leader after the 2002 election. With his help, the GOP took control of the state Legislature and then pushed through a congressional redistricting plan that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004.
"Kay changed the face of politics in Texas by becoming the second Republican senator. ... Tom DeLay changed the face of politics by taking over redistricting. It's not coincidence," DeGuerin said.
In both cases, Earle insisted the charges were not politically motivated; he was just doing his job.
In Hutchison's case, DeGuerin got state District Judge Bob Perkins, a Democrat, removed because Perkins had donated to Hutchison's political opponent. DeGuerin also got the trial moved to Fort Worth.
Now, DeGuerin is asking that Perkins be removed from the DeLay case for contributing to John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004, the Democratic Party and the liberal group MoveOn.org.
Perkins has been subpoenaed for a hearing on Tuesday to consider the request. On Monday, the judge filed a motion to throw out the subpoenaed. DeGuerin also wants the trial moved out of Austin.
In addition, DeGeurin has accused of Earle misconduct, arguing among other things that Earle shopped the DeLay case around to grand juries until he found one that would indict the congressman.
In Hutchison's case, the defense attorney contended that a raid by prosecutors in which they seized computer and phone records from her state treasurer office was conducted improperly, and that the evidence was inadmissible.
DeLay supporters say they expect his case will end like Hutchison's.
Hutchison was acquitted in 1994 after Earle decided not to go forward with his case. The district attorney cited the judge's refusal to rule on the admissibility of the evidence before trial. Those close to Hutchison say that was just an excuse.
"The case was shoddily conceived," Berry said. "And he lost it."
Associated Press writers Kelley Shannon in Austin and Suzanne Gamboa in Washington contributed to this report.
© 2005 The Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/31/AR2005103100922.html
Oct. 31, 2005, 11:08PM
Earle defends judge DeLay wants removed
Congressman's attorney says the DA's court brief 'misses the point'
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN - Travis County prosecutors Monday said U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's efforts to have the judge removed from his criminal case are "much ado about nothing."
District Attorney Ronnie Earle defended state District Judge Bob Perkins in a new court brief, saying state courts have consistently ruled that campaign contributions alone do not prove a judge is biased against a defendant.
In a hearing today, DeLay's attorneys will seek to have Perkins removed because he has made political contributions to Democratic organizations.
Earle said DeLay's lawyers had failed to cite any case that said "a judge should recuse himself or be disqualified from sitting in a case merely because he has previously exercised his constitutional right to make political contributions."
DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin of Houston filed a reply brief saying the dispute was not merely a matter of Democrat versus Republican.
"The state misses the point," DeGuerin said. He argued that Perkins' donations were "always in opposition to Tom DeLay and Tom DeLay's politics. ... He should not be the judge to preside over the trial proceedings relating to a person to whom he is opposed politically."
More than $5,000 in 5 years
DeLay wants Perkins removed from his case because the judge has made more than $5,000 in political donations to Democratic groups in the past five years.
Late Monday, DeGuerin subpoenaed Perkins to testify at the hearing.
DeGuerin argues that Perkins is one of the few Travis County criminal court judges who give money to national Democratic organizations. Earle countered by saying public records are kept only for persons who donate $200 or more to a federal campaign.
"What this ultimately means is, none of the exhibits offered by (DeLay) purporting to compare the political contributions made by Judge Perkins with the political contributions made by other local judges can possibly be considered reliable," Earle's brief said.
A lot at risk
Earle's brief, written by Assistant District Attorney Rick Reed, also said the Texas Committee on Judicial Ethics in 1979 said judges do not violate the state code of judicial ethics by making donations to political committees.
The brief said Perkins has not shown animosity toward DeLay or given money to any group that opposed DeLay at the time the donation was made.
DeGuerin has argued that Perkins should be disqualified for a $200 donation he made to MoveOn.org in September 2004. Perkins said he made that contribution in connection to the presidential race. Move On.org since that time has used attacks on DeLay as a fundraising tool.
MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser has been subpoenaed by prosecutors to testify at today's hearing.
Retired state District Judge C.W. Duncan Jr. is hearing the motion to remove Perkins.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting on Monday filed court papers fighting a DeLay motion for all party fundraising materials from 2000 to 2005.
He said that the action would require retrieving documents from all 254 counties in Texas and would be overly burdensome.
DeLay has more at stake in today's hearing than just removing a left-leaning judge from overseeing his case.
It also is about removing a judge who has twice rejected many of the arguments DeLay, R-Sugar Land, will make about why the indictments against him should be thrown out.
Arguments rejected
DeLay stepped down as majority leader when he was indicted in September.
His hopes of regaining the position rest partially on getting a quick resolution to his case, and nothing could make that happen faster than having the indictments against him thrown out by a judge.
But Perkins, on indictments returned in 2004 against DeLay's co-defendants John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, has rejected arguments that the state election laws and money laundering statutes did not apply to the activities of the DeLay-founded Texans for a Republican Majority.
The two men, along with DeLay, were indicted this fall on additional but similar charges involving how corporate money was spent in 2002 Texas House races.
"Judge Perkins rejected our motions for dismissal as to the money laundering counts in the first two indictments, and is not likely to change his ruling on the pertinent issues as to the later indictments," J.D. Pauerstein, a lawyer for Ellis, said Monday.
"Accordingly, arguing the issues to a new judge would give us an opportunity to obtain a fresh look at the issues being raised as to the fourth and fifth indictments."
All three men are also challenging the new indictments on grounds that the state conspiracy statutes did not apply to the election code until 2003, a year after the alleged wrongdoing.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3429531
washingtonpost.com
Hutchison, DeLay Cases Have Parallels
By JIM VERTUNO
The Associated Press
Monday, October 31, 2005; 9:28 PM
AUSTIN, Texas -- The same judge, the same prosecutor, the same defense attorney, the same Republican complaints of political payback, and the same courtroom strategy. The case against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is playing out like a rerun of a Lone Star court drama that unfolded in 1993-94.
Back then, it was Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison fighting for her political life against Democratic District Attorney Ronnie Earle. Ultimately, she was acquitted of misconduct charges with the help of defense attorney Dick DeGuerin.
DeLay, another Texas Republican, has hired DeGuerin to defend him as well, and DeGuerin is employing some of the same legal and media tactics that worked last time _ accusing the district attorney of misconduct, branding the case a political vendetta and demanding the removal of a Democratic judge for alleged bias.
The parallels between the cases are striking.
"It's like `Twilight Zone.' You're seeing the same pattern," said Brian Berry, a GOP consultant who was Hutchison's campaign manager when she first ran for Senate.
Delay is under indictment on conspiracy and money-laundering charges for allegedly funneling illegal corporate contributions to GOP candidates for the state Legislature. Texas law generally forbids the use of corporate money for campaigning.
Hutchison was charged with using state dollars, employees and computers for personal and campaign purposes when she was Texas treasurer in 1991 to 1993. She was also accused of tampering with state computer records to cover the alleged abuses.
In both cases, Earle brought charges against a prominent Republican after the GOP won a crucial Texas election. Both times, the district attorney was accused of trying to settle political scores.
When she was indicted, Hutchison had just won a Senate seat long held by Democrats, including Lyndon B. Johnson and Lloyd Bentsen. She joined Phil Gramm in the Senate, giving Texas two Republican senators for the first time since Reconstruction.
DeLay reached the highest levels of power in Congress as majority leader after the 2002 election. With his help, the GOP took control of the state Legislature and then pushed through a congressional redistricting plan that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004.
"Kay changed the face of politics in Texas by becoming the second Republican senator. ... Tom DeLay changed the face of politics by taking over redistricting. It's not coincidence," DeGuerin said.
In both cases, Earle insisted the charges were not politically motivated; he was just doing his job.
In Hutchison's case, DeGuerin got state District Judge Bob Perkins, a Democrat, removed because Perkins had donated to Hutchison's political opponent. DeGuerin also got the trial moved to Fort Worth.
Now, DeGuerin is asking that Perkins be removed from the DeLay case for contributing to John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004, the Democratic Party and the liberal group MoveOn.org.
Perkins has been subpoenaed for a hearing on Tuesday to consider the request. On Monday, the judge filed a motion to throw out the subpoenaed. DeGuerin also wants the trial moved out of Austin.
In addition, DeGeurin has accused of Earle misconduct, arguing among other things that Earle shopped the DeLay case around to grand juries until he found one that would indict the congressman.
In Hutchison's case, the defense attorney contended that a raid by prosecutors in which they seized computer and phone records from her state treasurer office was conducted improperly, and that the evidence was inadmissible.
DeLay supporters say they expect his case will end like Hutchison's.
Hutchison was acquitted in 1994 after Earle decided not to go forward with his case. The district attorney cited the judge's refusal to rule on the admissibility of the evidence before trial. Those close to Hutchison say that was just an excuse.
"The case was shoddily conceived," Berry said. "And he lost it."
Associated Press writers Kelley Shannon in Austin and Suzanne Gamboa in Washington contributed to this report.
© 2005 The Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/31/AR2005103100922.html
Oct. 31, 2005, 11:08PM
Earle defends judge DeLay wants removed
Congressman's attorney says the DA's court brief 'misses the point'
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN - Travis County prosecutors Monday said U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's efforts to have the judge removed from his criminal case are "much ado about nothing."
District Attorney Ronnie Earle defended state District Judge Bob Perkins in a new court brief, saying state courts have consistently ruled that campaign contributions alone do not prove a judge is biased against a defendant.
In a hearing today, DeLay's attorneys will seek to have Perkins removed because he has made political contributions to Democratic organizations.
Earle said DeLay's lawyers had failed to cite any case that said "a judge should recuse himself or be disqualified from sitting in a case merely because he has previously exercised his constitutional right to make political contributions."
DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin of Houston filed a reply brief saying the dispute was not merely a matter of Democrat versus Republican.
"The state misses the point," DeGuerin said. He argued that Perkins' donations were "always in opposition to Tom DeLay and Tom DeLay's politics. ... He should not be the judge to preside over the trial proceedings relating to a person to whom he is opposed politically."
More than $5,000 in 5 years
DeLay wants Perkins removed from his case because the judge has made more than $5,000 in political donations to Democratic groups in the past five years.
Late Monday, DeGuerin subpoenaed Perkins to testify at the hearing.
DeGuerin argues that Perkins is one of the few Travis County criminal court judges who give money to national Democratic organizations. Earle countered by saying public records are kept only for persons who donate $200 or more to a federal campaign.
"What this ultimately means is, none of the exhibits offered by (DeLay) purporting to compare the political contributions made by Judge Perkins with the political contributions made by other local judges can possibly be considered reliable," Earle's brief said.
A lot at risk
Earle's brief, written by Assistant District Attorney Rick Reed, also said the Texas Committee on Judicial Ethics in 1979 said judges do not violate the state code of judicial ethics by making donations to political committees.
The brief said Perkins has not shown animosity toward DeLay or given money to any group that opposed DeLay at the time the donation was made.
DeGuerin has argued that Perkins should be disqualified for a $200 donation he made to MoveOn.org in September 2004. Perkins said he made that contribution in connection to the presidential race. Move On.org since that time has used attacks on DeLay as a fundraising tool.
MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser has been subpoenaed by prosecutors to testify at today's hearing.
Retired state District Judge C.W. Duncan Jr. is hearing the motion to remove Perkins.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting on Monday filed court papers fighting a DeLay motion for all party fundraising materials from 2000 to 2005.
He said that the action would require retrieving documents from all 254 counties in Texas and would be overly burdensome.
DeLay has more at stake in today's hearing than just removing a left-leaning judge from overseeing his case.
It also is about removing a judge who has twice rejected many of the arguments DeLay, R-Sugar Land, will make about why the indictments against him should be thrown out.
Arguments rejected
DeLay stepped down as majority leader when he was indicted in September.
His hopes of regaining the position rest partially on getting a quick resolution to his case, and nothing could make that happen faster than having the indictments against him thrown out by a judge.
But Perkins, on indictments returned in 2004 against DeLay's co-defendants John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, has rejected arguments that the state election laws and money laundering statutes did not apply to the activities of the DeLay-founded Texans for a Republican Majority.
The two men, along with DeLay, were indicted this fall on additional but similar charges involving how corporate money was spent in 2002 Texas House races.
"Judge Perkins rejected our motions for dismissal as to the money laundering counts in the first two indictments, and is not likely to change his ruling on the pertinent issues as to the later indictments," J.D. Pauerstein, a lawyer for Ellis, said Monday.
"Accordingly, arguing the issues to a new judge would give us an opportunity to obtain a fresh look at the issues being raised as to the fourth and fifth indictments."
All three men are also challenging the new indictments on grounds that the state conspiracy statutes did not apply to the election code until 2003, a year after the alleged wrongdoing.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3429531
posted by JimG at 12:11 PM
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