CONTENTS:
Basic Information for Defendants
CONFUSED ABOUT YOUR CASE: INDIGENT ACCUSED PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A COURT-APPOINTED LAWYER BY LOCAL STATE JUDGES, UNDER THE SOMEWHAT ARCHAIC COURT-APPOINTED LAWYER SYSTEM USED IN HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, MAY FIND SOME ANSWERS TO THEIR BASIC QUESTIONS IN THIS BRIEF 24 PAGE MANUAL:
THIS WEB SITE PROVIDES INFORMATION TO DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH JAIL TIME (CLASS A & B) MISDEMEANORS.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR RIGHTS ARE WHEN DEALING WITH THE POLICE, DOWNLOAD THIS CARD THAT TELLS YOU
AND PUT IT IN YOUR WALLET OR PURSE.
(The manual and the card are in PDF format which requires that your computer have a
free downloadable Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
HERE IS WHAT THE U.S. AND TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS SAY ABOUT
EVERY AMERICAN'S BILL OF RIGHTS
HERE'S INFORMATION ABOUT CASES THAT HAVE BEEN FILED.
HERE IS A GROUP OF SHORT ARTICLES THAT MAY HELP YOU UNDERSTAND BASIC CRIMINAL LAW AND THE WAY IT WORKS.
HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS (1) THAT CLIENTS SOMETIMES ASK WHEN SHOPPING FOR A LAWYER TO HIRE TO REPRESENT THEM.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE STATUS OF A CRIMINAL CASE IN HARRIS COUNTY , CRIMINAL RECORDS SEACHES, & MANY OTHER FAQ ABOUT HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL CASES,
FOR LOCAL RULES OF THE CLASS A &B MISDEMEANOR COURTS - (COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTS AT LAW), MISDEMEANOR BAIL (1) SCHEDULES, INFORMATION ON FREE LAWYERS FOR THOSE UNABLE TO AFFORD A LAWYER, PETITIONS FOR NON-DISCLOSURE OF A DEFERRED ADJUDICATION, ETC. , GO TO THIS WEB SITE.
UNDERSTANDING LAWYER-TALK:THOSE WHO ARE CONFUSED BY SOME OF THE LEGAL MUMBO-JUMBO WORDS USED DOWN AT THE COURTHOUSE MAY GET SOME HELP FROM THIS GLOSSARY (1) OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE TERMS.
INFORMATION ABOUT TEXAS COURTS
COURT WATCHERS & MY LAW STUDENTS: TRIALS TO WATCH
(Under the previous District Attorney, this site provided you with a list a list of the most interesting jury trials that then taking place at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center. The new District Attorney, Ken Magidson, has taken the site down. The Chronicle reports daily on the juciest trials. You can also ask the people on duty at the first floor reception area whether there are any interesting trials taking place. If you want to observe a specific trial, you may
wish to call the court beforehand and verify that the trial is still underway before
making a trip. To do so: Dial 713 755 and the extension number beside
(not the number in parenthesis) the judge's name
from the list of courts set out below.
DRESSING FOR COURT: STUDENT COURTWATCHERS SHOULD DRESS COMFORTABLY BUT WITH APPROPRIATE RESPECT FOR THE COURT.
NEVER WEAR, SHORTS, TANK TOPS OR FLIP-FLOP SANDALS;
AVOID T-SHIRTS WITH DEROGATORY MESSAGES OR SALACIOUS IMAGES.
FINDING THE CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE:
CRIMINAL CASES ARE HANDLED IS A BUILDING CALLED
THE HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER
THE DESTINATION ADDRESS IS:
1201 FRANKLIN
HOUSTON, TX 77002-1900
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: IF YOU NEED DRIVING DIRECTIONS FROM YOUR HOME OR PLACE OF WORK TO THE HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER, PRESS Google, Maps, Yahoo, Mapquest, MapsOnUs, or Rand McNally. PUT YOUR LOCATION IN AS TO YOUR STARTING PLACE AND PUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER ADDRESS "1201 Franklin, Houston, TX. 77002" AS YOUR DESTINATION ADDRESS, OR GET DRIVING DIRECTIONS BY PUNCHING ANY STREET ADDRESS INTO THE GOOGLE SEARCH BOX ON YOUR COMPUTER.
THERE IS NO FREE PARKING. DO NOT PARK AT METERS; YOU RISK AN EXPENSIVE PARKING TICKET IF YOU DON'T FEED THE METER. PARKING AROUND THE COURTHOUSE RUNS FROM $2 TO $14 A DAY.
BY BUS OR RAIL: FOR ROUTE INFORMATION RE METRO RAIL OR BUS - WWW.RIDEMETRO.ORG OR CALL (713) 635-4000.
FINDING THE COURTROOM: HERE'S A HANDY GUIDE TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER THAT TELLS YOU HOW THE STRANGE ELEVATOR SYSTEM WORKS AND WHAT FLOOR THE COURTROOM YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS ON.
Note to law students: I encourage my criminal law students to visit a criminal trial. All courts are open to the public. Except for the occasional high profile trial, you will never have trouble finding a seat. Directions to the Criminal Justice Center, 1201 Franklin, in downtown Houston, TX, 77002, are contained on the "Announcements" page of our class' criminal law web site . If you are planning a trip to the local Harris County Criminal Justice Center to watch trials, you may want to check with a particular court to determine if a trial is under way. I will include the phone number of each court and my most current information re the name of the court coordinator for each trial court.
Most trials occur in the afternoon, after the court has completed its morning docket call. If you want to watch some of the better (not afraid to go to trial) criminal trial advocates at work, check the newspapers for crime stories of current trials. The trials reported in the press are typically the juiciest and often involve the most talented prosecution and defense advocates. The prosecutors are Assistant District Attorneys. The defense lawyers are either "retained" (hired) for those defendants with money or "appointed" by the court for those without money, i.e., indigents. [Note: Harris County has been the subject of recent national attention as the "Death Penalty Capitol of the U.S." There has been continued national criticism of the highly irregular practices of the Houston Police Crime Lab. Justice in Harris County, Texas, for those who can't afford to pay for it, may be a bit undercooked. To some indigent defendants, it may seem downright raw.]
We must ask ourselves whether our system of criminal justice ensures fundamental fairness to accused criminals who cannot afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves against accusations filed by the government. With its archaic system of appointing attorneys for indigents, Harris County remains the last major metropolitan area of the United States without an organized public defender office (1). If that is not disturbing, think of a system where we had court-appointed prosecutors in every case, instead of the DA's office of highly-trained devoted career public prosecutors that we do have. If that idea of a public defender seems to makes no sense, why does it make sense to have an ad hoc system of oft ill-trained court-appointed defense attorneys, instead of an organized office of dedicated adequately trained public defenders? Does the ad hoc system foster a culture of "meet 'em, greet 'em and plead 'em" defenders? Why don't we have a public defender system in Houston? Possible Answer: Maybe it's just local partisan politics, imbued with motives of power and control over the administrative process. Maybe not. Some people suggest that the indigent defense function is not free from undue political influence of the judiciary. It is a fact that the candidates for Harris County District Attorney in 2008 profess to support the current system of court-appointed counsel for indigent accuseds.
NOTE: If you are interested in learning how the various counties throughout the State of Texas provide lawyers for indigent persons accused of crime, check out this web site containing each county's indigent defense plan and payment schedule. Unlike the rest of the country, where public defenders are the overwhelmingly popular choice for providing defense services to indigents, the three branches of Texas government with oversight have managed to thwart this method. If you want more information about the right to cousel and public vs. private defenders, see Professor Moses' Assignment Fifteen in Bushrod's Notes II.
The information collected below regarding prosecutors and judges is current as of:
March 25, 2008.
All numbers are Area Code 713 Prefix 755
The year the judge was first elected follows the judge's name.
Name of Court Coordinator is below judge's name.
Three prosecutors (last names, chief first) are typically assigned to each court.
Floor location in the Criminal Justice Center is in (__th).
[I believe all of the District Judges are ex-prosecutors. Some have had experience as practicing lawyers. Some have only seen practice from the prosecution side.]
Jurisdiction: Felonies (crimes that carry possible pen or state jail time)
Names in red are outstanding judges and prosecutors who are STCL grads.
174th District Court - Judge George Godwin (1989)- 6324
Delores Phillips (19th)
Prosecutors: 6106 (K. Johnson, Calligan, Tsiros)
176th District Court - Judge Brian Rains (1988)- 6328
Carol Cummings (19th)
Prosecutors: 6908 (B. Hart, Nichols, Selinidis)
177th District Court - Judge Devon Anderson (2005) - 6332
(Spouse of Judge Mike Anderson)
Joey DeBruyn (19th)
Prosecutors: 6912 (Mitchell, T. Bennett, Shapiro)
178th District Court - Judge Roger Bridgwater (2007*) - 6336
(*very experienced from many years as a practicing lawyer)
Karen Hailey (19th)
Prosecutors: 6916 (Shipley, Keagle, Killinger)
179th District Court - Judge Michael Wilkinson (1989) - 6340
James McCabe (18th)
Prosecutors: 6957 (Weissfisch, DeAngelo, Fortenberry)
180th District Court - Judge Debbie Stricklin (1995)- 6344
(Spouse of Judge Don Stricklin)
Annette Manuel (18th)
Prosecutors: 6970 (Baldassano, Flader, Peden)
182nd District Court - Judge Jeannine Barr (1995) - 6350
Diane Hasler (18th)
Prosecutors: 6144 (Hartman, Walter, Butera)
183rd District Court - Judge Vanessa Velasquez (2005)- 6354
Eloisa Sanchez (18th)
Prosecutors: 6150 (Nielsen, George, Omodele)
184th District Court - Judge Jan Krocker (1995)- 6358
Mary McClinton (17th)
Prosecutors: 6154 (Devine, Irvine, Thompson)
185th District Court - Judge Susan Brown (1999) - 6362
Marian Trammell (17th)
Prosecutors: 6162 (Barnett, Donnelly, Hill)
208th District Court - Judge Denise Collins (1992)- 6374
Mona Natemeyer (17th)
Prosecutors: 6162 (Exley, Leuchtmann, L. Johnson)
209th District Court - Judge Michael McSpadden (1982)- 6378
(very welcoming to law students - the Senior Judge)
Kathy Joachim (17th)
Prosecutors: 6166 (Jocher, T. Johnson, Baily)
228th District Court - Judge Mark Carter (2003)- 6650
Vanessa Guerrero (16th)
Prosecutors: 6132 (Rendon, Palmer, Rahman)
230th District Court - Judge Belinda Hill (1997)- 6782
Anita Gunter (16th)
Prosecutors: 6136 (Petroff, Hawkins, Nachtigall)
232nd District Court - Judge Mary Lou Keel (1995)- 6778
Holli Rich (16th)
Prosecutors: 6140 (Moore, S. Graham, R. Bennett)
248th District Court - Judge Joan Campbell (1999)- 7094
Vickie Oliver (16th)
Prosecutors: 6128 (Jordan, Newaz, Falk)
262nd District Court - Judge Mike Anderson (1999) - 6961
(Spouse of Judge Devon Anderson)
(very welcoming to law students)
Virginia Almanza-Cerda (15th)
Prosecutors: 6173 (Tise, Vinas, Meriwether)
263rd District Court - Judge Jim Wallace (1995) - 6944
Erica Thomas-Brice (15th)
Prosecutors: 7050 ( Newman, Loper, W. Graham)
337th District Court - Judge Don Stricklin (1999) - 7746
(Spouse of Judge Debbie Stricklin)
Melisa Hamlin (15th)
Prosecutors: 5605 (Thomas, Elmilady, Lorenz)
338th District Court - Judge Brock Thomas (2002)- 7774
Karen Garrett (15th)
Prosecutors: 5609 ( McDaniel, Rucker, Lacayo)
339th District Court - Judge Caprice Cosper (1993)- 7784
Vickie Long (14th)
Prosecutors: 5613 (Newman, Sederis, Miller)
351st District Court - Judge Mark Ellis (1997)- 5620
Karen Woolf (14th)
Prosecutors: 7252 (Freyer, Stephenson, Sepolio)
Concurrent No. 2 Prosecutor
Hampton
All numbers are Area Code 713 Prefix 755
The year the judge was first elected follows the judge's name.
Name of Court Coordinator is below judge's name.
Two or three prosecutors (last names, chief first) are assigned to each court.
Floor location in the Criminal Justice Center is in (__th).
Jurisdiction: Jail- time (Class A & B) misdemeanors
CCCL #1 - Judge Reagan C. Helm (1995) - 6180
Karen Harrison (8th)
Prosecutors: 5847 ( M. Townsend, Goldman, Garcia)
CCCL #2 - Judge Bill Harmon (2007*) - 6184
(*Note: Bill Harmon served honorably for many years as a District Court judge.)
(very welcoming to law students)
Rosario Khalaf (8th)
Prosecutors: 5850 (Robinson, Neyland, Haynes, Nelson)
CCCL#3 - Judge Don Jackson (1992)- 6188
Margaret Wolfe (8th)
Prosecutors: 5853 (McClees, Gordon, Wakefield, Muldrow)
CCCL#4 - Judge Jim Anderson (1987)- 6192
(very welcoming to law students)
Yolanda Florido (8th)
Prosecutors: 5856 (Reyna, Knorr, Raifee, Benavides)
CCCL#5 - Judge Margaret Stewart Harris (2003) - 6196
Virgilee Saulsberry (9th)
Prosecutors: 5859 (Keiter, Hopke, Brodsky, Leonard)
CCCL#6 - Judge Larry Standley (1999) - 6200
(very welcoming to law students)
Caprice Rubal (9th)
Prosecutors: 5862 (Khawaja, Moss, Reiss)
CCCL#7 - Judge Pam Derbyshire (1999) - 620
Peggy Gunder (9th)
Prosecutors: 5865 (Byrom, Womble, Passo, White)
CCCL#8 - Judge Jay Karahan (2003)- 6208
(very welcoming to law students)
Donna Ramos (9th)
Prosecutors: 5868 (A. Smith, Pope, Campbell, Driver)
CCCL#9 - Judge Analia Wilkerson (1995) - 6212
Corina Ramos (10th)
Prosecutors: 5871 (Antu, Bhargava, Alfaro)
CCCL#10 - Judge Sherman Ross (1981)- 6216
Cindy Bernd (10th)
Prosecutors: 7086 (H. Carter, Conrad, Morton)
CCCL#11 - Judge Diane Bull (1995) - 7780
Rachel Ferrel (10th)
Prosecutors: 7693 (Peneguy, St. Julian, Teare, Chu)
CCCL#12 - Judge Robin Brown (1995) - 7738
Brenda Bedford (10th)
Prosecutors: 7696 (Warrenh, Samuel, Estrada, Somers)
CCCL#13 - Judge Mark Atkinson (1987) - 7950
Mary Smith ( 11th)
Prosecutors: 8321 ( Miller, Garraton, Pitoniak, Skinner)
CCCL#14 - Judge Michael Fields (1999) - 5683
Aileen Walker (11th)
Prosecutors: 8327 (G. Miller, Byrne, Whited)
CCCL#15 - Judge Jean Spradling Hughes (1995)- 4760
Laura Colbert (11th)
Prosecutors: 4745 (Logan, Bard, E. Jackson)
All numbers are Area Code 713 Prefix 755
Located in the Family Law Center , 1115 Congress Avenue
Floor location in the Family Law Center is in (__th).
313th - Judge Pat Shelton (1995) - 713 222- 4900
Prosecutors: 5713 (M. Oncken, Longoria, Collier, Cooper)
314th - Judge John Phillips (2003) - 713 222- 4910
Prosecutors: 5714 (Windham, Wood, Maldonado, Skillern)
315 - Judge Michael Schneider (2006)- 713 222- 4950
Prosecutors: 5712 (Allen, Richards, Lewis, McCauley)
Truancy Grant 713 368-3923
Moore, Mason, Munoz, Hernandez
Names and phones of Harris County JP's are listed below.
Year that the JP was first elected follows the JP's name.
JP Courts are located throughout Harris County.
Jurisdiction: Fineable only (Class C) misdemeanors
Dale M. Gorczynski (1993) - 713 697 1224
David Patronella (1989) - 713 755 5125
Jo Ann Delgado (2000) - 281 481 9630
George Risner (1987) - 713 920 1828
Mike Parrott (1993) - 713 450 2409
Tony Polumbo ( 1991) - 281 427 7449
Tom Lawrence ( 1983) - 281 446 7191
Russ Ridgway (2003)- 713 661 2276
William V. Yeoman (1979) - 281 463 2341
Richard C. Vara (1974) - 713 921 1576
Armando Rodriquez (1973) - 713 921 6141
Molly Maness-Barnes (1989) - 281 479 6900
Louie Ditta (1997) - 281 488 8780
Zinetta Burney (2005) -
J. Kent Adams (2005) -
Justice of the Peace Court Prosecutors: 5930
Craft (Chief),
Bolletino, Brodsky, Burdette, Matthews, Neyland, Sample, Wakefield, Womble
4th Floor , Harris County Criminal Justice Center
Information Web Site: www.co.harris.tx.us/da or
www.hctx.net/da - on this site, you will find general information
about the local DA's Office and answers to many F.A.Q's about
the law, e.g., links to individual courts and staff, non-disclosure
procedures and a downloadable form petition for non-disclosure,
drug courts eligibility under "courts," etc.
Area Code 713 Prefix 755
Elected D.A.: Presently Unoccupied - 5810
Interim Appointed D.A.: Ken Magidson
District Attorney's Office - Information - 5800
First Assistant: Bert Graham - 5814
Public Service Bureau: Marie Munier - 0104
Intake Division: Lynne Parsons - 6103
Trial Bureau: Lyn McClellan - 5822
Professional Development Bureau: Ted Wilson - 5846
Special Crimes Bureau: Kelly Siegler (On Leave) - 5840
Identity Theft: 4519 John Brewer, Still
Major Fraud: 5840 - Lester Blizzard, Dolan, McGee,
Roberts, Trent, Vollman, Williford
Major Offender: 6178- Vic Wisner, Doyle, Dozier, Long,
Magness, McCorvey, Primm, St. Martin
Felony Division Chiefs: (A) Luci Davidson, (B) Denise Bradley, (C) Maria McAnulty,
(D) Julian Ramirez, (E) Craig Goodhart
Misdemeanor Division: 3796 Marc Brown, Evans
Child Abuse: 5546- Denise Oncken, Darby, Davis, Devlin, Gilbert, Guiney, Spence
Consumer Fraud: 5836 - Russel Turbeville, Lawrence, Stroud, Turner
Special Projects : Terry Wilson - 5930
Legal Services Bureau: Bill Delmore 5826
Governmental Affairs Bureau: Don Smyth 8330
Intake Division: 6103 Lynne Parsons Police Intake: 5894
Hearing Court: 1048 Chief Investigator: 5813
Grand Jury: 6170 Dan Rizzo, Feazel, Hannerman, Mayr
Child Abuse: 5546
Family Criminal Law: 5888 Jane Waters, Barron, Flader,
Hamilton, Hicks, Shukla, Smith, Zack
Check Fraud: 7883 Consumer Fraud: 5836 Welfare Fraud: 5277 Carl Hobbs
Environmental Crime: 5834 Roger Haseman, Bily, B. Smith
Appellate: 5826 Post-Conviction Writs: 6657
Bond Forfeiture: 5824 Kathy Braddock, Fuller, Norris
Asset Forfeiture: 5461 Karen Morris, Beavers, Hart, Spalding
Public Integrity: 8330 Donna Goode, Andrews, Blackburn, Buess, Emmons
Police Integrity: 7077 Joe Owenby, Diepraam, Porter
Justice of the Peace Court Section: 5930
Information Technology: 5742
Juvenile Intake: 5874 Kris Moore Detention Court: 5874 Moss
County Switchboard: 713 755 - 5000
DA address: 1201 Franklin, Suite 600, Houston, TX 77002
Note: Harris County has one elected District Attorney. There are roughly 250
Assistant District Attorneys in Harris County - a relatively small number
for the fourth largest city in the U.S., particularly when compared to
Los Angeles, California, where, even after recent budget cuts, there
are over 1000 Deputy D.A.'s. (about 600 doing criminal prosecution),
Chicago (Cook County), Illinois - which has almost 1000 Assistant State Attorneys,
and the Bronx area of New York City - which has almost 400 Assistant District Attorneys.
Federal Courts in the Houston Area
Note: There are 9 federal judges (listed below) and 4 federal magistrates (also listed below) in the local Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas. The federal courts regularly hold criminal trials, but nowhere near the number that are held in the state courts. Federal trials are more likely to involve white-collar corporate criminals and high-dollar retained lawyers, though the somewhat draconian federal drug laws yield many defendants. The prosecutors are Assistant U.S. Attorneys. The defenders may be retained, appointed CJA panel members, or lawyers employed by the quite competent Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Texas.
If you want to observe a federal trial, you may walk (above ground or by tunnel) 8 blocks from the school to the federal courthouse. All courtrooms are open to the public. Compared to the bedlam of the state courthouse, you may find the atmosphere in federal court more akin to a ritzy funeral parlor.
The address is listed below. Happy hunting!
UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
515 Rusk
Houston, Texas 77002
(Month and Year Judge Began Service on Current Court)
The Area Code is 713 Prefix 250
NANCY F. ATLAS (August 1995) 5407
KEITH P. ELLISON (February 2005) 5806
VANESSA GILMORE (June 1994) 5512
MELINDA HARMON (June 1989) 5518
KENNETH M. HOYT (April 1988) 5515
LYNN N. HUGHES (October 1985) 5516
SIMEON LAKE (September 1988) 5177
GRAY H. MILLER (April 2006) 5377
LEE ROSENTHAL (July 1992) 5517
Federal Magistrates
(Month and Year Magistrate Began Serving on Current Court)
The Area Code is 713, Prefix 250
CALVIN BOTLEY (October 1979) 5536
MARY MILLOY (October 1992) 5158
FRANCES STACY (February 1990) 5565
NANCY JOHNSON (January 1982) 5534
STEPHEN SMITH (July 2004)5100
United States Attorney for Southern District of Texas
713 567 9000
Directory of Criminal Courts
for Harris County, Texas
for Professor Moses' Criminal Law & Trial Advocacy Classes
copyright © ray moses 2001
