Judge’s no-plea vow leaves some in shock
Lawyers groups considering action after Facebook post about officers
GALVESTON — A Galveston County judge is facing sharp criticism — and possibly a formal complaint — for declaring on Facebook this week that he had issued an order barring anyone accused of threatening or endangering a law enforcement officer from entering a plea agreement.
“I may only be one person, one Judge, but I will do what I can to stop the disrespect and aggressive behavior against our police officers,” District Judge Kerry Neves wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “If you are an officer, spouse of an officer or know an officer, make sure they know of this change in my Court.”
Neves’ Facebook post came within days of police
officers being killed in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La., although it’s unclear whether those events inspired his court order. He did write that he would allow a plea bargain in compelling circumstances, but only if accompanied by a “sincere” written apology and approval of the officers involved. He said “prior criminal history” would play a major role in whether he approved a plea deal, in which a lesser sentence is typically recommended by the prosecution in exchange for a guilty or nocontest plea.
Neves did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“He has literally prejudged a class of cases that may come before him, and that violates the code of judicial conduct,” said James Alfini, dean emeritus and law professor at Houston College of Law and co-author of “Judicial Conduct and Ethics,” a textbook used in law schools.
Alfini continued, “He could have said the same thing about pregnant women. Aren’t they just as vulnerable in this society? Why has he singled out police? That’s not his job.”
The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association as well as criminal lawyers’ associations in Galveston and Harris counties were quick to condemn the judge’s declaration. The state association has formed a task force that is considering whether to take action against the judge, said San Antonio lawyer John Convery, the group’s president.
“We are looking into the appropriate response,” Convery said. “It raises issues of whether or not to file a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Commission, of whether individual lawyers would be making motions to recuse him from that group of cases.”
‘Grandstanding’?
Convery said Neves’ order was unfair and cast doubt on his impartiality.
“How would Judge Neves feel if a judge said, ‘I’m not going to accept any plea agreements on police who beat up citizens at a traffic stop?’ ” Convery said.
The San Antonio lawyer was also troubled that police would have a say in a sentencing agreement. Victims are typically consulted by prosecutors about plea agreements, but never judges, he said.
Convery suggested that Neves was seeking publicity by posting his order on Facebook. ”A cynic might call that grandstanding,” he said.
Neves practiced personal injury law before his election to the 10th District Court in 2012. He is a former Galveston County Republican Party chairman and was legal counsel for the county Republican Party from 2002 to 2013.
Before becoming a judge, Neves was a Dickinson city councilman for nearly 15 years. He served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1972 and was discharged as a sergeant. His wife, Sharon, is district math coordinator for Dickinson ISD. Neves faces Democrat Cornel Walker in the November general election.
Walker said that Neves violated the code of judicial conduct. “It shows that you favor one party over another, and it does nothing to protect those who may have been harmed by the very police he is attempting to protect,” Walker said.
Mixed online reception
In his Facebook post, Neves began, “Please make sure any one in Law Enforcement sees this.”
He said his order applied to plea bargain agreements “for deferred adjudication or probation involving Assault on a Public Servant, Evading Arrest, Resisting Arrest or any other offense in which a member of Law Enforcement is threatened or placed in danger.”
Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Friday, “We appreciate what he is trying to do for law enforcement as long as it’s within his boundaries as a judge.”
On Facebook, the post drew immediate praise from some followers. “Bravo Judge Neves,” read one comment. Another read, “Can’t thank you enough for standing in the gap to support law enforcement! God Bless you Your Honor!”
Others were less complimentary. “That’s (expletive) up,” said the first response listed under the post. “You’re here to protect the public. If it takes a lawyer five years to learn the law, how can you trust a cop to do it in six months, and then blatantly say you will support their decisions blindly.”
A study of assaults against officers by Seth Stoughton at the University of South Carolina School of Law shows that assaults against officers from 1970 to 2015 declined even as the number of officers per 100,000 residents increased.
Houston attorney David Ryan, a board member of both the state and Harris County criminal lawyer associations, heads the task force deciding how to respond to Neves’s order.
“Obviously we have concerns with what the judge has done and it needs to be looked into to see what redress is proper.”
The presidents of the criminal defense lawyer associations in Harris and Galveston counties both blasted Neves’ order.
“I am appalled by that post, and I think I speak for all our members,” said Tyler Flood, president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association.
‘Kind of a shock’
Mark Diaz, president of the Galveston County Criminal Lawyers Association, said, “For most of us here locally it was kind of a shock,” Diaz said. “I guess I understand his sentiment that he was trying to show support for law enforcement, but I guess he went too far.”
Lupe Salinas, a former district judge now teaching law at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, said Neves’s order showed partiality.
“A judge takes an oath to keep an open mind on all matters,” Salinas said. “An order of this nature may require more study by the Commission on Judicial Conduct.”