This is a reprint from the September 3, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. This is a long article and my proof consists of many pages of pay vouchers that Alicia Franklin submitted the month before she became a judge. Click here to read my complete, 19 page article: "Alicia Franklin Submitted CPS Pay Vouchers That Simply Cannot Be True." This article includes my legal explanation of why knowingly submitting a false CPS pay voucher to the county for payment is a crime. Here is the executive summary of my article: Attorneys, like Alicia Franklin, appointed by judges to represent abused children or their parents in CPS cases, must sign the pay vouchers they submit to the county. In the family courts, the vouchers say that they are submitted "under penalty of perjury." I looked at four consecutive work days in May 2014 and pulled her charges for those days from dozens of pay vouchers submitted by Franklin. I then added up the hours she billed for each day. Here is what I found Franklin ... Read More >
Intro to the Alicia Franklin Scandal
This sad, heartfelt introduction to the Judge Alicia Franklin scandal is reprinted from the September 3, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. We understand our parents more and more as we age ourselves. "Enthusiasm" was something my father had for everything in his life: his work as a school principal, organizing his garage, caring for the yard, serving his church, taking apart and reassembling a washing machine just for the challenge, and raising four boys. My Dad loved his work, and for good reason was one year named "National Principal of the Year." When the school district would move him to yet another troubled school that needed help, the parents and teachers at his old school would protest and demand that he stay. The only time I can recall my father ever being really upset about his work that he ... Read More >
I Make It Really Easy For Polland to Give Me His Side of the Story
Reprinted from the August 26, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. Gary Polland is a very busy man. He barely has time for his political work, all of his court appearances, home visits I am so sure he personally performs, meetings with investment bankers, etc. So, I sent Polland a fax that should make it easier for him to reply to my questions quickly and accurately, so that his side of the story can be shared with you: Mr. Polland, I know you are a very busy man and perhaps you lack the time to respond to my questions about the work you have done as an appointed attorney ad litem in CPS cases. I am therefore providing you the following answers to my questions so that you can take just a few seconds to check the appropriate responses and fax your answers back to me. I truly do want to be fair to you and deal with facts instead of rumor or supposition. I know there are almost always two sides to every story and I really want to get your side of this story and share it with my many ... Read More >
Judge Alicia Franklin: Please Provide an Explanation!
Reprinted from August 26, 2014 Mongoose newsletter. I take a fair airing of facts about Judge Alicia Franklin and her work as an appointed CPS attorney very seriously. I played a significant role in the chain of events that resulted in Franklin becoming a judge and I genuinely like her. I have helped Franklin in ways no other lawyer could and I contributed financially to her campaign when she was running against Denise Pratt. I also know and really like the Democrat running against Franklin, Sherri Cothrun. Cothrun provided me most of the information described below, but I have done my own home work as well. I write below about facts I have verified, not partisan attacks from the opposing candidate. I now have a box of copies of every fee invoice Ms. Franklin ever submitted to the county and I have someone doing my own independent, non-political analysis of those vouchers. I really hope to announce soon that I have found a sterling example of how ad litem attorneys should do ... Read More >
The Crime of Tampering With a Government Record
Texas Penal Code Sec. 37.10 states in part: 37.10. TAMPERING WITH GOVERNMENTAL RECORD. (a) A person commits an offense if he: (1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, a governmental record; (2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent that it be taken as a genuine governmental record;.... Sec. 37.01(2) defines a "government record" to mean: (A) anything belonging to, received by, or kept by government for information, including a court record; This is the law former Judge Denise Pratt is alleged to have violated when she apparently back-dated court orders. One example of how attorneys can run afoul of this law arose in San Antonio recently: Former defense attorney Hilda Valadez, who pleaded guilty to charges of forging judges' signatures and double billing the county for indigent defense work, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison. .... Valadez, 52, was once regarded as the ... Read More >
Meca (M.L.) Walker Returns Illegal Contributions But Keeps The Shady Cash
M.L. (AKA "Meca") Walker's campaign says it has returned $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions but has kept $25,000 given under very suspicious circumstances. Click here to read last week's story about how Walker accepted $45,000 in contributions on one day from nine people associated with a rich car dealer with a divorce in Walker's court. Once I pointed out to Walker that some of those contributions exceeded the $5,000 per person (or married couple) contribution limit, Walker checked with the Texas Ethics Commission. Once the Commission confirmed that the law actually says what it says, Walker claims she returned $20,000 of the contributions. Click here to read the Houston Chronicle story that went way too easy on Walker, who should have never accepted any of those contributions in the first place. If my teenager comes home from school with an expensive gold Rolex watch, I am going to ask where he got it from. If the kid tells me some dude he doesn't know sold it to him ... Read More >
The Dynamic Duo of Houston Radio Blast Judge Denise Pratt
Rob Clark and I appeared on the Matt Patrick Radio Show on 750AM last week to rebut some of the blatant falsehoods Pratt said on the show the week before. Click here to hear this new "Dynamic Duo" of Houston radio explain why Pratt is such a disaster from the points of view of a liberal Democrat (me) and a life long ardent Republican (Clark). The discussion about Pratt starts at about the 11:00 minute mark. Yes, I did call an incumbent judge a "liar" on the radio. Toward the end, you will hear me praise some of the great Republican family judges we are so lucky to have, such as Judges Farr, Moore and Dean (I must occasionally kiss a little arse in hopes I can practice in at least a few courts). ... Read More >
More Bad News for Judge Denise Pratt
(1) The Harris County GOP Judicial Screening Committee evaluated the candidates for the 311th and not a single member of the committee rated Judge Pratt positively (half were Neutral and half were Negative). In contrast, 100% of the committee gave Donna Detamore a "Positive" rating. (2) 72% of Republican precinct chairs did not support Pratt in a just-completed "straw vote." Donna Detamore came in first with 42% and Anthony Magdaleno received 36%. Pratt was the choice of 28% and Alicia Franklin got 5%. Remember, 85% of attorneys in the Houston Bar Association Judicial Qualifications Survey rated Judge Pratt as "Not Qualified." ... Read More >
A Republican Appellate Lawyer Destroys Judge Denise Pratt With This Article
A conservative Republican appellate attorney, Leif Olson, has written a lengthy and absolutely devastating article explaining why Denise Pratt is a disaster as a judge. Pratt cannot blame this blog on liberal Democrats or even disgruntled family law attorneys, since Mr. Olson does not practice in our field. Click on this link to read the most complete encyclopedia of what is wrong with Denise Pratt ever written: Attorney Leif Olson on Judge Denise Pratt . ... Read More >
Proof That Judge Denise Pratt Backdated A Court Order and Committed the Crime of Tampering With a Public Record
I have filed another,third criminal complaint against Denise Pratt and this is surely the one to get her indicted. This time there are two eye witnesses to Pratt backdating a court order and the District Clerk's records back up their stories. I have two sworn affidavits from the eye witnesses. Click this link to download my criminal complaint and see Exhibits 1 - 6, including the sworn affidavits of the witnesses, the order Pratt backdated and proof from the District Clerk website that Pratt backdated the order: Feb 2014 Criminal Complaint re Karen Hyde - part 1 Click this link to see Exhibits 6 - 12 of my criminal complaint: Feb 2014 Criminal Complaint re Karen Hyde - part 2 Here is proof Judge Pratt Intentionally Backdated a Court Order: The Osborn - Hyde child custody modification case (2008-40895) has been pending in the 311th Family District Court of Harris County since July 2012. The mother in this case, Karen Hyde, is representing herself and is pro se. On February ... Read More >