Lubbock Criminal Defense Lawyers Association

Congratulations to The Tangler! Fred Stangl passed his certification exam, and is now Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. (He promised me he failed the test, big time. Right.) Good job, partner.

The 28th Annual Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law Seminar was another spectacular success. The final numbers are not yet in, but approximately 200 lawyers participated. We were particularly impressed by the number of out-of-town lawyers in attendance this year, from all over the state.

Next year, preliminary plans are to schedule Prairie Dog in early March, in conjunction with the TCDLA quarterly board of directors meeting. The new addition to TTUSL will be completed by then, and we will have access to the new auditorium, with seating for 300-plus. Some of us got a tour of the new facilities Friday, and it will be a wonderful addition to Texas Tech and the Lubbock community at large.

The LCDLA Annual Membership Party Thursday evening at Kirshner’s 4-Bar-K was also a great success, with Jeff Nicholson and the Caprockers providing quality entertainment. Again, final numbers are not yet available, but we think we sold about 300 tickets for the event. Proceeds will benefit the Brendan Murray TTUSL scholarship fund.

Congratulations to Perfesser Pat! Pat Metze this morning was named full-time TTUSL Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Texas Tech Criminal Justice Clinic. Beginning in September, Pat will take on full-time duties at TTUSL, on the tenure track. I just saw Pat over at the courthouse, and he is a happy camper, looking forward to moving into his ivory tower.

This is a good move for Pat, and a great move for the law school.

Nicky Boatwright received the Destination Dignity…Celebrating People Award from Lubbock MHMR and Advocacy Inc. This special recognition was for her role in the development of a method to train interested attorneys in the representation of mentally challenged persons as well as the innovation of a rotational system for their representation by qualified attorneys. I know Nicky would want to give recognition also to Ted Hogan for the work he has done in the above areas as well.

LCDLA member Bill McNamara was recently certified as a specialist in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Less than half of the lawyers who sat for the exam passed this year. Congratulations to Bill.

Congratulations to LCDLA member Melissa McNamara, who has been named Lubbock County Criminal Magistrate by the Board of Judges.

LCDLA received this email recently and I felt it needed to be posted here:

We are all flattered that you would put our very first wins on the site. We appreciate the continuing support of the LCDLA.

Lisa Marie Minjarez

Good luck on the Bar, students!

Longtime member Dennis Reeves was honored February 17 as the 2005 John Crews Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year by the Equal Justice Volunteer Program of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Ron McLaurin was also recognized with a Certificate of Achievement for his pro bono work in 2005.

Not long along I got appointed to a case, and that person informed me that they were seriously thinking about negotiating with the DA. Then, they came across the LCDLA brochures, and quoted back to me, “The DA works for the State…” This person concluded that the DA was not their friend nor there to work for what was in their best interest. Anyway, I just wanted to say how proud I am to be part of an organization that keeps the public and criminally accused informed. It reminds me of Clooney’s movie – “Good Night and Good Luck” – (a profound movie in my opinion about keeping the public informed and invoking thought).

Anyway, I also recently saw Rusty Gunter on a mission to talk with a person who negotiated or was negotiating with a DA pro se; I was not present for the exchange in conversation, but it’s my understanding that that person was not fully informed of the ramifications of taking a deferred. I just wanted to say kudos to Rusty.

Elizabeth McRae-Juarez

LCDLA gets good PR in the March, 2006, Texas Bar Journal for our annual seminar held each year in January. Jim Bethke, the director of the State Task Force on Indigent Defense has written an article for the Bar Journal which credits our seminar as an example of the good things TCDLA has been able to accomplish with the help of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and, of course, with the hard work of the membership of LCDLA. To read the entire article, click here.

Your recognition of my year as President is greatly appreciated. I was somewhat embarrassed last night and lost for words to properly thank you. But, during this year I only stood at the helm. If you want to know the strength of LCDLA look at this web page. Look at the names in yellow to see the extent the membership of LCDLA gave of their time, talents and money to benefit the general good. I can’t remember everything, but here is a partial list:

* Opposing unrepresented misdemeanor pleas
* Reducing the time citizens stay in jail without charges being filed
* Removal of the stone monument to injustice on our Courthouse lawn
* Encouraging professionalism by renewing the annual DA/LCDLA softball game
* Helping an out of town Judge enforce the integrity of her Court
* Addressing pre-trial discovery issues
* Providing thousands of hours of pro bono representation of the poor
* Providing information on current local issues to members on a daily basis
* Keeping the membership informed of changes in the law
* Providing a forum for discussion of issues
* Providing a wide variety of legal resources for the membership
* Providing a brief bank for the membership
* Keeping the membership informed of legislative changes in the law
* Continuing the fight to obtain computer access to the Courthouse records
* Giving more than $5000 to victims of Katrina
* Giving $10,000 to the Texas Tech School of Law Criminal Justice Clinic
* Winning the State Bar of Texas Star of Achievement Award
* Forming a public relations committee for public outreach and education
* Reprinting, updating and distributing pamphlets on the rights of the accused
* Participating equally with Student Legal Services at Texas Tech for the production of a similar pamphlet aimed at concerns of the University students
* Reaching out to Denton County, Abilene and others to assist in the creation of their local criminal bars
* Honoring our 50 year lawyers
* Hosting a record setting seminar educating 216 lawyers from throughout the State
* Mourning the loss of our good friends Jim Aldridge and Alton Griffin
* Mentoring young lawyers and assisting them in trial, pro bono
* Fighting like Hell every day to protect the Rule of Law and our Constitution.

You did these things. You have done these things for years, but now with this website we have a way to showcase our efforts. My contributions this year are insignificant to the cumulative value of your everyday service to Justice. My thanks goes to you, the membership. Your fingerprints are all over these efforts. Let’s have another successful year!

Pat Metze
President, 2005-2006