Lawmakers: Dismiss attorney in bail bond suit
Attorney defending county says inmates are jailed by choice
A lawyer hired to represent Harris County judges in a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging pretrial bond keeps poorer people locked up longer for minor charges comes under fire for suggesting that some people accused of crimes choose to remain in jail rather than bond out.
Two Houston lawmakers called on Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan on Friday to dismiss an attorney hired to represent county judges in a federal civil rights lawsuit, after that attorney claimed in a hearing that many people jailed in Harris County were there by choice, not because they could not afford to post bond.
Among other statements, the attorney, James G. Munisteri, told a federal judge Wednesday that as few as “zero” defendants are jailed pretrial who can’t afford to pay and some choose to stay locked up in one of the nation’s largest jails because it’s cold outside.
The ongoing civil rights lawsuit challenges Harris County judges and other officials for granting very few no-cost pretrial bonds to misdemeanor offenders — as few as 8 percent in May when the suit was filed, according to county statistics. The lawsuit claims that judges routinely violate the civil rights of
the poor by failing to consider the inability to pay before jailing thousands of people annually before trial for minor crimes like marijuana possession and trespassing.
The county argued in a hearing this week that the lawsuit should be tabled because officials have made improvements and that as many as 20 percent of those accused of misdemeanors were released on no-cost bond as of October 2016.
But Chief U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal declined to put the case on hold Wednesday, saying there was not enough evidence to support the county’s claims.
Before Rosenthal made her ruling, Munisteri argued on behalf of the county that some individuals “decide they do want to go to jail and stay there” and argued that the number of people in jail because of their inability to pay bond might be “zero.”
Rosenthal herself reacted to Munisteri, comparing his argument to a white Southerner’s antebellum defense of slavery. Rosenthal said his argument reminded her of the “historical argument that people enjoyed slavery because they were afraid of the alternative.”
Others break away
State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a former state senator, both of whom support bail bond reform, challenged Munisteri’s remarks as “indefensible.” Both argued that “tax dollars should not be used to fund this reprehensible representation.”
First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said officials planned to review the matter.
“The quote should be placed in the context of presentations being made by both attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants during a hearing that lasted over one hour. We are awaiting a copy of the actual transcript to determine the actual context and an appropriate response,” he said via email.
Munisteri was not immediately available for comment.
In other developments, two county officials named as defendants in the case have broken away from other judges who have defended the current system, federal court records show.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who has called the county’s bail system unconstitutional, said in a filing this week that he hopes the pressure of the lawsuit will “spur the parties to hasten their settlement discussions” and result in improvements that all find acceptable.
Similarly, newly elected County Court at-law Judge Darrell Jordan has argued that the “current bail bond system is broken and needs reform.”
“Jordan has carried out reform in his courtroom, but does not see how the lawsuit is effecting reform in the rest of the bail bond system,’” Jordan’s attorney argued on his behalf in a court filing.
Expressing shame
Ellis sat in the courtroom gallery during Wednesday’s argument, wincing when Munisteri made comments about individuals wishing to stay in jail.
As a county commissioner, Ellis has argued against funding the legal battle.
This week, he expressed a sense of shame that the county is using its resources to fight the lawsuit rather than putting its efforts toward reforming the bail system.
“God knows how much money has been spent already to defend a system that’s indefensible. I wish the public could have watched the proceedings today,” he said.
Gonzalez and Jordan are now represented by assistant county attorneys.
Munisteri, a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP who specializes in international energy and corporate governance cases, is described in his law firm’s online profile as “extraordinarily tenacious” and “not always conventional in how he approaches cases.” It goes on to say, “He effectively balances diplomacy and a warrior nature.”
The county attorney’s office has defended the work of two different law firms hired to represent the county, its other criminal court at-law judges and hearing officers. No updated amount of the county’s legal bills was available Friday.