TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RACES 2016 In the Court of Criminal Appeals all three races are contested in the Republican Primary and the winner of each of those races will face a Democratic opponent in the General PLACE 2- The lone Democrat on the court, incumbent Judge Larry Meyers, who was elected as a Republican but switched parties last cycle, is running unopposed in the Democratic Primary. Three Republican District Judges filed. This race may well end up in a Republican Primary Runoff. CHRIS OLDNER We feel that Chris Oldner is the best choice for voters in this race. Judge Oldner is a graduate of Texas Tech School of Law. His entire career has been in criminal law. He began as a prosecutor in the Smith County D.A.'s office and then in Collin County where he quickly rose to Chief Felony Prosecutor. He joined the judiciary in 2000 on a Collin County Court at Law bench and then the 416th District Court. He is board certified in Criminal Law. His resume of bar activities, awards, publications and accomplishments is arguably the best one of the three candidates in this race. He was assigned the task of overseeing the grand jury that was convened to hear the case against Collin County native Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Contrary to what many believe, he is not the judge who hired the two special prosecutors in that case and agreed to their fees. After the indictments were returned, Judge Oldner no longer has any role in that matter. But many of Paxton's supporters have attacked Oldner. Irregularities in the grand jury process were alleged but those matters were addressed by Judge Gallagher, the judge presiding over the Ken Paxton case and it was determined that Judge Oldner did not violate any rules and dismissed the complaints. The other Collin County District Court judge in the race, Ray Wheless has also been critical of Oldner on issues related to the Paxton matter. A Paxton supporter recently filed a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Commission against Oldner and announced it to the press. That is a common political tactic. The Commission will not rule on the issue until long after the election. It should be noted that the McKinney Police Association, the Collin County Deputies Association and the Dallas Police Association have endorsed Oldner. MARY LOU KEEL Judge Mary Lou Keel is a District Judge from Houston. She spent many years in the District Attorney's office before ascending to the bench in 1994. A University of Texas School of Law Graduate, Keel is board certified in Criminal Law. Several cases are problematic for Judge Keel. One of them is the Brandy Briggs case where a young mother was imprisoned for five years for killing her infant daughter. Despite the autopsy report's finding of cause of death being changed from "homicide" to unknown by a new medical examiner, and after medical testimony from three doctors who testified that the cause of death was from infection and medical treatment errors, Judge Keel refused to allow a new trial. An appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel was also turned down by Judge Keel. Ultimately the Court of Criminal Appeals did release Briggs from prison, disagreeing with Judge Keel in the case. Another case that in our view is controversial is the Mary Ann Rivera case. While most people believe (rightly so) that there is no statute of limitations in murder cases, Judge Keel dismissed the case against a 76 year old woman who spent more than four decades on the run after being accused of killing her husband by dousing him with hot grease. Mary Ann Rivera was arrested after a Texas investigator tracked her down in Lake Park, Ga. She was brought back to Houston to face the murder charge. Prosecutors claim Rivera threw grease on her husband, Cruz Rivera, in October 1970 at their home in Houston. He died several days later from liver problems caused by his burns. Authorities say she fled with her three children, including twin sons, after being indicted in November 1970 and eventually made her way to Georgia. Jules Johnson, one of Rivera’s public defenders, said District Judge Mary Lou Keel dismissed the charge because too much time had elapsed between Rivera’s indictment and her arrest, making it difficult for her to put on a defense. Johnson had filed a motion saying Rivera’s Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial had been violated in the case. Let's see here. She fled the state after she was indicted for murder, evaded arrest for 40 years and gets away with murder because her 6th Amendment right to a speedy trial had been violated. Really? Another case that raised eyebrows was the case of Former State Senator Don Henderson. After imbibing heavily, Henderson was driving his Jaguar, crossed the midline colliding head-on with oncoming traffic, severely injuring three people. They all eventually recovered. He was charged with three counts of intoxication assault and a Harris County jury found him guilty. He chose to have the jury determine his punishment and they gave him four years in prison and three $10,000 fines. He appealed, first to the Court of Appeals where he lost and then to the Court of Criminal Appeals where he lost again. He was sent to prison to serve his time but after only five months in jail Judge Keel ordered him released on "shock probation" and dismissed two of the $10,000 fines. While there is a role for shock probation in certain cases it is normally used when a defendant admits guilt, accepts responsibility and exhibits remorse. This author has asked 12 different District Court judges from all over the State of Texas if they have ever heard of using shock probation to release a prisoner-- over a jury sentencing of hard time. None of them had ever heard of it, expressed amazement and said that is not something they would ever do. The common thread of the responses was that the judge should not overturn the jury's decision in a case like this. We cannot recommend a vote for Judge Keel. RAY WHELESS The third candidate is Collin County Judge Ray Wheless. Prior to joining the bench he was a personal injury trial lawyer. He is board certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law but not boarded in Criminal Law. He was interviewed at the time of the Florida recount debacle in 2000 and expressed his opinion that the U. S. Supreme Court should not have intervened. (It was that intervention that led to George W. Bush becoming the 43rd President of the United States instead of Al Gore.) He has been attacked by Judge Keel over his record of reversals by the appellate court on many of his rulings, and most frequently his rulings that were reversed were when he ruled against the State and for the criminal/accused criminal. He has attacked both of his opponents. Judge Keel over several cases, including the Brandy Briggs case cited above as well as reminding voters that Keel's husband is a Democrat personal injury lawyer. He is critical of Judge Oldner's handling of the Paxton grand jury indictments. Collin County seems to be divided into two camps- a pro-Ken Paxton camp that is behind Wheless and against Oldner and a smaller group who support Judge Oldner PLACE 5 - (The only open seat, currently held by retiring Republican Judge Cheryl Johnson, drew four Republican filers and this race could easily end up in a runoff) SID HARLE We recommend a vote for Judge Sid Harle. Sid Harle is a super star in the Texas judicial world. A St. Mary's Law school graduate, Judge Harle entered private practice as a criminal defense lawyer in San Antonio. He won several high profile cases and quickly earned a reputation as "one of the good ones". He then was offered a job by the District Attorney as a chief felony prosecutor, bypassing the lower echelon positions that young prosecutors normally get. He again was very successful in the courtroom. After four years there, he returned to private practice until 1988 when Gov. Bill Clements appointed him to the District Court. He is still serving on that bench after 25 years. He has tried capital murder cases as a defense lawyer, a prosecutor and a trial judge. He has tried more capital murder cases than any other currently sitting judge in Texas. None of those cases were overturned on appeal. He was the first judge in Texas to rule that a viable but unborn fetus was a person in a murder case when the pregnant mother was murdered, making it a "capital" case. That ruling was appealed all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court and upheld. He was the first judge to preside over a capital murder case involving the mental retardation defense after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mentally retarded individuals could not receive a death sentence. He developed the protocols for defining mental retardation, the steps in the process that have to be followed in trying such cases and after a conviction in the case, it was appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court which concurred with Judge Harle's rulings. The protocols developed by Judge Harle are still the ones universally followed since the legislature has yet to address the issue and pass legislation codifying the procedures. He was also the judge who presided over the investigation of the miscarriage of justice when Michael Morton was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife.