During the break, White approached Shook and offered 10 years probation if Wooten would waive her right to appeal. She said that from the beginning, the cases against the judges seemed off. The filing may have been careless, but it wasnt a crime. Change). Texas Crime Statistics. The whole thing was a Catch-22. This case, like so many others brought by Roachs office, had nothing to do with truth. And thats how I talk to my kids about it. She had continuous advertising on the most popular, hard-right talk shows. And Milner and White, their henchmen, have moved on to private practice. Steve Spencer was set for trial in December 2012. Lindsay Lohan used it. Terms run for four years, and there are no term limits. Even though filing paperwork to run for judge isnt illegal, and supporting a candidate who shares your political and social ideals in the hope that the person will be elected and rule in your favor isnt illegal, and there was no allegation of an explicit agreementin fact, there was absolutely no evidence of money ever making its way from the Carys to Wootenthe case was allowed to proceed. His eponymously punny company, Spen-Off Strategies, touted itself as offering comprehensive and tailored strategies for operations, marketing, finance, technology, government relations, regulatory compliance and much more, with a global network of experts as support. It just seemed like there had to be some kernel of truth to the whole bribery thing, some questionable if not illegal activity that allowed the Collin County DAs office to prosecute four innocent people, convict three of them, and force the fourth to plead guilty. In 2020, Dave Cary was riding his bike home from his office in Richardson around White Rock Lake when he was hit by a car and killed. The police eventually tracked her down in a womens shelter in Louisiana, and the district attorneys office brought her before Wooten for a bench trial. How could he decide to go to trial and leave his freedom up to a jury after seeing what had happened to the three whod gone before him? Its a battle scar. He knew the prosecutors were acting like cops, and there was Supreme Court case law that said if you act like a cop, you get qualified immunity like a cop. Otherwise, virtually every campaign donation would be criminally suspect. With that in mind, Best Life set out to determine the most corrupt state in America. Enjoy!!!! His close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair is receding. After her divorce from her first husband, she was living on a working cattle ranch outside of Waxahachie, breeding horses and miniature donkeys, when she decided to adopt two children from Russia. Montgomery County Texas Watchdog. But when her first financial report was due in mid-January, the Secretary of States office told her they didnt have her listed as a candidate. Shortly after the settlement was announced in January of this year, I drive up to McKinney to meet with her in her law office, which is on the second floor of a building just off the historic town square, to find out how she was able to magically free herself through no action of her own. Lubbock's. Dave Cary went to trial in April 2013. Assistant Attorney General Harry White would argue that the consulting agreement was fabricated after the fact to cover the real purpose of the $150,000the bribery of Wootenand that the only work Spencer did was to pass off industry analyses from places such as the Harvard Journal of Legislation as his own. Shortly thereafter, when she stopped by her bank, they told her they were going to have to close her account because they had received grand jury subpoenas for her bank records. (LogOut/ The DAO has acted with seeming disregard for the personal, emotional, and financial costs to the individuals concerned., They also pointed out that Roach had been absent for at least one-third of the days normally worked by others in the courthouse, and that he was present at the seating of the grand jury and declined, in open court, to challenge any member of it as unfit.. Even though hes not a lobbyist and has never been to college, he says he has an effective network of people to help him if he doesnt have the answer. Wooten was familiar with his namethey ran in some of the same circles and had some of the same friendsand she needed the help. Spencer arrives for our meeting at the coffee shop in the Hilton Anatole dressed in a black zip-up polo, jeans, and gray loafers. The Judicial Campaign Fairness Act places limits on judicial campaign contributions. Milner told Schulte that Wooten had one week to resign. And everybody was innocent because they didnt do anything wrong. Consulting on other legislative issues for pay was his job. The court then went one step further. They got married in December 2006, joining households with their four young children. But for that, Wooten would never have obtained her exoneration. 07-01-2019, 03:09 AM augiedogie : Location: Northern Wisconsin . Whatever was going on, her bank didnt want to be involved. I remember going home thinking, What did I do? As I said, Im a lawyer. During Wootens trial, Judge Russell refused to admit any evidence about the political motivations underlying the case: neither the communications between Sandoval and the DAs office that started the whole thing nor the half-dozen grand juries it took to get an indictment. A recent poll on a parental rights website had identified some of the worst judges in the country. In practice this has not held true for politicians, especially in Texas. Witnesses appeared to have been badgered, and despite the numerous grand juries, there never appeared to be any evidence of a crime. EDINBURG, Texas - When it comes to corrupt public officials aiding the smugglers of drugs and illegal immigrants, this is the dirtiest town, in the most crooked county, in the most bribable state along the U.S.-Mexico border, court records show. Because judicial elections are rarely contested, gubernatorial appointments play an outsize role. His clients run the gamut: crypto, natural gas, medical device inventions, nutritional supplements, vertical farming, cybersecurity, edge computing, bottled water. This time, Sandoval named Jennifer the sole managing conservator of the girls, sanctioned Dave $50,000 for filing numerous frivolous pleadings, and ordered him to pay Jennifers attorneys fees in the amount of $417,000. Spencer told her that, while in Austin, he had heard of some interesting developments in the oil industry, including new pumping and smart grid tech, that might make for good investments. Since 1846, the Texas Constitution has mandated that all Texas judgesfrom the Supreme Court of Texas to justices of the peaceare to be selected by general election. Two were in Fort Worth, but they werent up for reelection. Stacy says she hasnt seen them since. Suzanne Wooten did the impossible and became the first candidate to defeat a sitting judge in Collin County. She didnt even know he was suffering from thrombosis until she discovered theyd moved him to the medical unit in Galveston. Collin County District Attorney | 2011 present, Greg Abbott Assistant Attorney General | 2003 2015, Peter Schulte I dont think this set of facts has ever happened, he says. Then there was the older man whod stolen a bottle of $20 shampoo but was charged by prosecutors with felony theft because it was his third offense. Its tempting to think that things have improved. Then he read the comments and saw a thread that mentioned Sandoval. In fact, he was so concerned that they might miss the statute of limitationsit wasnt clear based on the facts if they had one or two yearsthat he brought in Sean Cox, an appellate lawyer, to help with the drafting. Or a six-figure settlement. In all, the campaign ended up costing Wooten $112,000: $27,000 of it for the one radio ad that ran on several stations prior to the primary, $25,000 for Clements services, $7,500 for Spencers fee, and the rest for everything else. Weird stuff kept happening. Im like, Bribery? New York drops to No. I felt like that was the right thing to do, she says, not to put him in jail so that when he gets out he reoffends because he has nothing, hes getting no tools, hes not getting any help., The whispers about Wootens sentences made their way back to her. 1 in overall corruption convictions, followed by California, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. But election fraud is now a national rallying cry. The usual process is for the police to do their investigation and make an arrest, and then they turn the case over to the DAs office. Wooten couldnt appeal. With respect to legal corruption, Kentucky is the most corrupt state followed by Illinois and Nevada while Massachusetts is the least corrupt state followed Michigan, Oregon, and Vermont. It would be disappointingwe might not have money to pay for another one for a whilebut thats how he talked to me about failure my whole life. She adjusted her calendar, found something to wear, and got to work. Report Public Corruption. A Dallas federal jury will soon decide the matter - at least in the case of local developer Ruel Hamilton, who is accused of bribing two former Dallas City Council members. They saw only a small piece of it, the rest obscured by evidence withheld by the judge or by the vagaries of criminal trials, where defendants often dont testify in each others cases, and maybe not even their own. Mr. The 43-year-old Collin County District Court judge was used to observing the courtroom from the opposite vantage point. As for Sandoval, he was running against Judge Betty Caton for the newly created 380th seat. He had been wanting to move out there for 20 years, and when the pandemic hit, he finally did. Actually, thats the easiest one to understand. Yet Sandoval had agreed to let Hythiam Inc., the L.A.-based biotech firm behind the drug (which was founded by a former junk bond salesman for Michael Milken), use his courtroom for clinical research trials. He didnt understand that he couldnt just indict people to get them to do what he wanted them to do.. Since the first district court was established in Collin County in 1846, no one had challenged an incumbent judge, whether in a primary or general election. But before the agency could conclude its investigation, Milner got what he had been after. But during the trial, when the jury stopped making eye contact with her, Wooten knew she was in trouble. You have to understand what novices we were; of course, most of us are. So she decided to sit out the race and spend the next four years getting ready. John Roach Sr. Harris County Democrats (Houston) have been using the same ballot corruption playbook George Soros owned Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is. New York does come up in No. But Spencer confirmed what her law partners had already told her: to run in Collin County as anything other than a Republican would be futile. For a moment, she thought maybe it would be better for them if she were dead. The Texas Rangers' Public Integrity Unit and Public Corruption Unit are tasked with investigating crimes committed by state officers and state employees, as well as allegations of public corruption. This one was a plea to prison officials to let his wife bring his wedding ring to prison and to let him wear it. According to a Dallas Morning News article published at the time, the judge also found that Jennifer had alienated the girls with false accusations against their father. The losing judge said there was no way Wooten could have won without cheating, and the DA needed to find the crime. His next stop was the Collin County Democratic Party, which told him that Wooten was talking about running for Sandovals seat. That for this money, youre going to do X.. When I ask him what he thinks makes him good at his job, he points up to the open hotel atrium above us. He said he had gotten a grand jury subpoena requesting records related to the vacation home she had purchased several years before her election. To say she needed Stacys money to win simply isnt true. Her first cases are still fixed in her memory. His family had a background in local politics, and he soon discovered that he had a natural affinity for it. She has the no-nonsense, salty-for-emphasis, English teacher-ish temperament of an effective mediator, which she now is. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevio talks to reporters Oct. 31, 2011, at the Hidalgo County sheriff's office in Edinburg, Texas. In December 2008, a few weeks before Wooten was to take the bench, Milner reached out to Attorney General Greg Abbotts office. Harry White currently has a law practice in Fort Worth. Both indictments were thrown out; the judge in Bowles case noted that the sheriff had been prosecuted for behavior that, even if true, did not constitute a criminal offense. She wasnt stealing, Wooten says. A tall man with piercing eyes, Milner had the aura of someone youd best not mess with. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. 44 South Carolina Shutterstock Public corruption convictions per 10,000 residents: 20 Adverse action reports filed from 1990 to 2020: 11,763 Medical malpractice reports filed from 1990 to 2020: 4,737 Stacy had also appeared before her briefly after she had sued Jennifer for trying to garnish her personal investment accounts in Daves custody case, and the lawsuit had been subsequently transferred to the 380th because it was related. Here is the cast of characters that you will be reading the most about: First Assistant District Attorney Brandon Baade-A man whose physical unattractiveness is only surpassed by his lack of intelligence and moral bankruptcy, but has somehow tricked the people in the courthouse that he is brilliant and that they have to heed every bit of horrible advice that he gives, even though it took him 3 years to pass the bar exam after graduating law school from the LESS THAN PRESTIGIOUS Regent University Law School. Most try both criminal and civil cases, but in larger counties, such as Dallas, individual courts may specialize in civil, criminal, juvenile, or family law. She didnt do anything wrong, Palmer says. I had started to think Spencer must be some sort of Keyser Sze, a con man hiding in plain sight. Wooten now has a busy mediation and trial consulting practice in McKinney called North Texas Litigation Solutions. Stacy did appeal, but the panel of judges hearing it upheld her conviction. Wooten had been a trial attorney for nearly a decade when, in 2003, she decided to challenge the 59-year-old jurist for his seat on the 380th District Court. A big part of his job is to help the police department implement a consent decree issued by the Colorado Attorney Generals Office after it found a history of racial bias in the department. Spencer, after all, was the fulcrum between Wooten and the Carys. But before doing so, Stacy wanted to make sure they had somewhere to park the proceeds so they wouldnt have to pay taxes on the substantial capital gains. The prayer for relief included damages for mental anguish, lost wages, and punitive damages. Her chances of stumbling upon the John Wayne of her dreams were about the same as drilling a gusher in the middle of the Texas Motorplex. And then there were the lawyers. Civil penalties can be assessed for violations of up to three times the amount of the political contributions accepted in violation of the section. He became passionate about criminal justice reform and started working with Doug Deason and his eponymous criminal justice reform center at SMU. Hes brilliant. And a member of Roachs staff now holds Wootens former bench in the 380th District Court. To be eligible to run for a district court judge seat, you must be a citizen of the United States and Texas, be aged 25 to 74, be a resident of the district for two years, and be a practicing lawyer or judge for a total of at least four years. So when he saw the report of her exoneration in the Dallas Morning News, his one thought was, Geez, sue the shit out of these people.. She wasnt allowed to leave Collin or its touching counties without a travel permit, which had to be arranged well in advance, so when her mother-in-law was dying in the hospital, she couldnt be with her in College Station, and when her mother had a heart attack, she couldnt care for her in Austin. He seemed to believe that they must have cost an exorbitant amount, and he suggested that they were paid for with secret funds paid to Spencer, her media consultant, by an unidentified third party. I couldnt tell you. In all, I am told, 443 Texas judges are new to their jobs. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Sometimes Im the guy who knows the guy.. It was a great struggle. But since the State Commission on Judicial Conduct never removed her, she technically remained the elected judge on the 380th until the end of December 2012. Thats the type of man he was. Its funny, because, as a police officer or whatever, John Roach used to refer to me as the faggot from Dallas because Im a gay man, Schulte says. They started making trips to the state capitol, trying to learn the ins and outs of parental rights legislation. My experience is completely different from Wootens. We just pissed some people off.. I will lose myself in the crazy, corrupt, centuries-old history of the Collin County court system. It was just crazy. She found the woman not guilty. Texas Ranger John Vance-A CORRUPT Texas Ranger, who in 30 years or so of investigating public corruption has never found a law enforcement officer guilty of wrongdoing (a statistical impossibility), but was instrumental in the FAKE sexual harassment investigation that led to Brandon Baade taking over the Wood County DAs office under the name of Angela Albers. He looks like a middle-aged dad, which he is. City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Lubbock: Most corrupt city I have ever lived in (Lubbock, West: waterpark, school) . She gets convicted. It was followed by Los Angeles with 1,547 and New York's Southern Judicial District with 1,360. One morning, she woke up and realized she was surrounded by elderly farmers. The FBI is cracking down on rampant corruption in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. I didnt know that you can be unknowingly bribed without. In an interview with the FBI, she stated that the grand jury was like a reunion. There were also ads run on the most popular morning and evening shows. And it was the best thing that ever happened in my career. These are seasoned, experienced former federal prosecutors. Normally you cant sue prosecutors, because they are entitled to absolute immunity. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. He thought the consultant might be able to help develop a government sales pipeline for his companys tech products. When Wooten reached out to him the following spring to see if hed be willing to represent her in a civil action, he didnt hesitate. (LogOut/ After serving as an NCO in the Army in the 1970s, he became a CPA, got his M.B.A. at SMU, and went on to become the CFO of i2 Technologies Inc. Wooten, having done nothing wrong, refused to leave the bench. Wootens criminaldefense attorney. He made his fortune when the Irving-based business went public in the late 1990s, going from a $1 million operation to a $5 billion behemoth with Dave as CFO. Before Wooten was sworn in on January 1, 2009, Charles Sandoval made his first attempts at sabotage. There is no dispute that Wooten, for her part, paid every bill she received from Spencer. The controversial course of treatment, which a study in the scientific journal Addiction determined doesnt work better than a placebo, could cost up to $15,000 per person and didnt have FDA approval. At one point, according to a Collin County Bar Association judicial poll, it was 12 percent, the lowest in the history of the survey. "Southern Texas, specifically the Rio Grande Valley, is the most corrupt area along the border, " said Guadalupe Correa, a professor of government at the University of Texas at Brownsville. There would be no opponent in November. First he approached Michael Puhl, a McKinney attorney who had run and lost in 2006. Her bangs are now tinged with gray, but her diamond stud earrings match the intensity of her bright blue eyes. Schulte now lives with his partner, Brett, in West Arvada, Colorado, between Boulder and Denver. Suzanne Wooten had 10 minutes to decide her own fate. In July, Wooten received a call from her real estate agent in Colorado. When the judge read the verdict out loud, Wootens husband collapsed and had to be carried out of the courtroom. Should she say she was sick and had to go away to the hospital? Stacy appealed her conviction first. Dave had been involved in an ongoing contentious custody dispute with his ex-wife, Jennifer, in Sandovals court. Sandoval and Roach have retired. Two widely publicized cases in 2013 involved a former Hidalgo County sheriff and his son, a former police officer. If she didnt, he threatened, she was going to face indictment and would lose her house, law license, family, and reputation, and he would put her in prison for a long time. She remembers the woman charged with felony theft for an unpaid bill with a furniture rental company. For district courts where the population is more than 1 million, individual contributions are limited to $5,000, law firm and their member contributions are limited to $30,000, and PAC contributions are limited to $52,500 per court. Federal prosecutors convicted 206 defendants on public corruption charges in She lived under a bridge for days before finally hitchhiking to Louisiana. Im not sure theres anything he couldnt do., The juror continued to press for more specifics. And even if it had, it wasnt a crime. Dave Cary had already seen a series of judges do 180s in his child custody case. She had been accused of taking bribes from a couple, whom she swore she had never personally met, to fund campaign expenses, which she had checks to show she had paid for, in return for favorable decisions in a custody dispute, which she had recused herself from and never heard. Direct evidence proving that a payment to a judge is a bribe and not a campaign contribution is, understandably, difficult to establish. So I had to scramble, do some FedExing, get some paperworkI had copies of everything, Wooten says. Well, crapShawshank Redemption, Wooten thought. 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