True Bill, Volume 6, Number 1, January-February 1985 Page: 4
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General News
Public Testifies on Council BehalfPublic testimony at the Sunset Commis-
sion hearing October 30th strongly supported
the Council. Over a dozen prosecutors were
available to testify.
The Hon. Mark M. Humble, C.A.F.R. for
Milam County, testified the Council serves
as a technical assistance clearinghouse,
matching the resources of one office to the
needs of another. He felt the burden of
providing 25% of technical assistance cost
would make it impossible to prosecute some
cases. For example, it would mean asking
commissioners to fund prosecution of a local
official with whom they have dealt closely
for years. As regards the "true conflict of
interest" standard for providing technical
assistance, he discussed the example of a
prosecutor prosecuting another elected
official, leading to :he defense claim that
the action is politically motivated. In this
situation, he argued, public confidence calls
for an outside prosecutor, even though a true
conflict of interest does not exist.
The Hon. Robert Morris, C.A. for Martin
County, said, "The Prosecutor Council is one
state agency that really helps us do our job."
He came to prosecution with no experience;
the Council was the Dnly source for training.
He, too, said many offices cannot afford to
cover 25% of travel expenses.
The Hon. John R. "Randy" Hollums, D.A.
for the 110th Judicial District and a Council
member, emphasized how needed full funding
of technical assistance is by the example of
a capital murder case in his jurisdiction.
The cost to prosecute the case would have
exceeded the county's entire annual budget!
He also said the Council provides training in
an effort to reduce the need for technical
assistance. He suggested that the
recommendation to limit travel
reimbursement would burden offices where
one person needs the training of several
courses. He noted :hat some cost is borne
now by offices when they pay registration
fees, which are not reimbursed.In support of technical assistance by the
Council, the Hon. Tom Wells, C.A. for
Lamar County, discussed an instance wherein
the Council coordinated other prosecutors to
assist him - at no cost.
The Hon. Pat Ridley, C.A. for Bell
County and President of TDCAA, presented
copies of the October 29th TDCAA
resolution recommending to the Commission
that the Council be maintained (see copy of
the Resolution, p. 5.)
The Hon. Mac Smith, D.A. for Parker
County and a newly-elected Council member,
spoke on the recommendation to reduce the
size of the Advisory Committee, pointing out
that the size provides a good mix from all
types of offices throuhgout the state and
takes the place of a full-time staff attorney
with prosecutorial experience. It would be
unrealistic, he said, to expect the same work
from a committee of only 8.
Amy Hodgins, Assistant Director of
TDCAA and former Executive Coordinator of
the Oklahoma D.A.s Training Coordination
Council, testified regarding Oklahoma's
system requiring prosecutors to get funding
from county commissioners for cases needing
technical assistance. To date, corruption
among Oklahoma county commissioners has
generated 160 convictions - all handled by
the U.S. Attorney, because local prosecutors
would have had to ask those very
commissioners to get funding to prosecute.
Oklahoma has since abolished the system in
favor of full state funding.
Also available to testify for the Council
were the following persons: The Hon. Steve
Cross, then D.A. for the 84th Judicial
District; the Hon. Jerry Cobb, C.D.A. for
Denton County; the Hon. Margaret Moore,
then C.A. for Travis County; the Hon.
William Rugeley, C.D.A. for Hays County;
Carroll Schubert, Asst. C.D.A. for Bexar
County; and Steve Capelle, Executive
Director of TDCAA. Q4
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Texas. Prosecutor Council. True Bill, Volume 6, Number 1, January-February 1985, periodical, 1985-01/1985-02; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth903210/m1/4/: accessed June 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.