County judge who backs bail suit can’t keep lawyer
The only Harris County judge to fight the county’s defense of its controversial bail system has been notified he will not get his own lawyer to appeal the highprofile federal lawsuit that has divided county leaders.
Judge Darrell Jordan — one of 16 criminal court at law judges sued over the county’s cash bail system — is fighting to keep a countyfunded attorney who will carry his push to end the lawsuit to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard, however, sent an email Thursday telling Jordan that the appeal for him and other judges will be handled as a group, even though Jordan disagrees with the other judges.
“By taking me out of the fight — by me not having an appellate lawyer — then I can’t attack the unconstitutional grounds that they’re coming from,” he said. “My lawyer should be coming in, and we should be going over what the other judges have filed. … We should be telling the truth from my viewpoint.”
He vowed to continue his challenge of the system.
“This fight is too important to just sit back and give up,” he said in an email to the Chronicle.
Soard said Friday that he could not discuss conversations between Jordan and the county attorney’s office because of attorneyclient privilege, but he said an attorney from his office is reviewing the matter.
In the email exchange with Jordan, however, Soard said the legal fight has centered on the county, diminishing the legal arguments needed on behalf of individual judges, the sheriff or six hearing officers also named in the case.
“Our office is of the opinion that additional filings on your behalf in this case are not appropriate or necessary at this time,” he said in the email, a copy of which was provided by Jordan to the Chronicle. “We have been unable to identify any claim or defense that you may assert that is separate from that of the County or the other County Criminal Court at Law Judges acting as a legislative body.”
Alleged exclusion
Jordan has ardently supported a recent ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal that held the county’s cash bail system unconstitutional, saying it keeps low-level defendants locked up while awaiting trial because they are too poor to pay for bail.
The judge ordered the county to begin a new system May 15 offering personal bonds to people facing misdemeanors, if they do not have additional charges or other legal constraints.
The appeals court ordered a temporary halt to the order while it considers the case.
The county has drawn criticism for its rising legal bills, which had reached close to $3 million for outside attorneys as of last week. The lawsuit has pitted county officials one against another over how justice is served in the thirdlargest county in the country.
Typically, the county provides legal representation when leaders are sued in their official capacity. Rosenthal’s injunction targets the judges in their “legislative capacity,” however, since the judges work together to set bail practices, according to Soard’s email.
No judge named in the case has a personal attorney in the appellate process, said Melissa Spinks, the county’s managing attorney for litigation.
Jordan said Friday, however, that he has been excluded from meetings where the 15 other judges discussed the case. He blamed County Attorney Vince Ryan for cutting off his legal representation.
“Vince Ryan has found a way to silence my voice,” he said in an email. “I have no other lawyers to call for advice.”
Soard said he was unaware of Jordan’s allegation that he had been excluded from meetings, but said his office would look into it.
The exchange comes as the case itself remains in limbo. In her ruling on April 28, Rosenthal wrote that cash bail is no more effective than releasing defendants accused of low-level crimes on personal recognizance bonds while they await trial. Requiring cash bail treats poor defendants differently than those with the means to gain their own release, in violation of the U.S. constitution, she concluded.
Push for reform
Over the objections from Jordan and a slew of other county officials — including Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, District Attorney Kim Ogg and Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis — the county had argued in two separate motions filed by different teams of lawyers that Rosenthal’s order would have upended the county’s bail system and put the public at risk.
Now, both sides are waiting for the appeals court to decide whether to reverse Rosenthal’s injunction or leave it in place, a decision that could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In either case, the case would still go to trial, barring a settlement.
The county has, in recent years, pushed for reforming the impact of its bail practices to minimize the impact on poor people who can not afford bail while awaiting trial.
On July 1, the county is expected to implement a new “risk assessment tool” that would help judges and hearing officers release those accused of crimes pending trial if they pose a low risk to the public.
The county this month approved spending nearly $1 million to beef up its pretrial services department to help run the new risk assessment program and monitor those released.
On Tuesday, the Harris County Commissioners Court is expected to vote on funding eight new positions in the public defender’s office. The public defenders would be present at bail hearings to help ensure those who cannot afford attorneys and are accused of a crime understand their rights and are not unfairly jailed.