A Plot To
Control The Bench
----
“The
Club’s” Code Words: “KEEPING
THE POWER DRY”
----
… JUDGE MARISELA
SALDANA’S CAMPAIGN WORKER THROWS AWAY ABOUT 500 COPIES OF EL DEFENZOR FROM THE
COURTHOUSE & BRAGS ABOUT IT TO STAFF
Corpus
Christi/Nueces County, TX –
udge Marisela Saldana (a candidate
for the 148th District Court) and John Martinez (a candidate for
County Court At Law #3) have been chosen by a very powerful downtown
“Millionaire Lawyers Club” as the recipients of their investment in the Judicial
Bench. These are just two candidates “The Club” wants in the respective seats.
Please read on to learn why.
One of the most severe errors a person can make is
assuming that one will always receive a just and impartial trial from an unbiased
judge here in
It seems as though a few judges regard their oath of office as a mere ritual to
be handily ignored as soon as they occupy their chambers. Once
comfortably in place in their courtrooms, they take on the mantle of demigods
and proceed as if they have carte-blanc to do as they please. Instead of
objectivity administering true justice, they rule according to their personal
biases and political allegiances, legislating from the bench with a wave of the
hand, confident in the knowledge that their misdeeds have scant chance of ever
reaching the Supreme Court.
Case in point. Judge Marisela Saldana (who currently is serving as County Court At Law #3 and is seeking a seat in the 148th District Court) not too long ago was taken to court by an Afro-American (by the last name of Watson) who accused her of abusing her authority and even poking his chest. The charge of “official oppression” was never allowed to be considered seriously because the case landed in a courtroom of a judge whom she had helped politically in the past.
The Defenzor newspaper revealed in the first part of this specific series about a week ago that there have always been suspicions that a downtown power group of “millionaires” has been attempting to influence the judicial bench, the day-in and day-out functions of the courthouse, and specific judges that are receptive to their power agendas or financial incentives. However the objective data or proof has always been miniscule or lacking. Part I of this series revealed – beyond a doubt -- that millionaire Injury Lawyers that have amassed mammoth fortunes (especially in Nueces County and South Texas) from the pain and suffering and injuries of the poor and disenfranchised and working class of the region (mostly Hispanics) are now clearly utilizing the courthouse to perpetuate their monopoly on power. “They are trying to crush the little guy,” one downtown attorney told El Defenzor, “They are relentlessly trying to tear down parts of the structure that ensures they abide by the rules of fair play.”
In October 15, 2003, an email by Power Broker Attorney Mikal Watts was obtained by a local publication that glimpsed at such political dictates. It reads: “Crew: … Vilma Luna is our hero, and Jaime Capelo is our enemy. First, Vilma wisely established a working relationship with Republicans in control of the House. Second, she arranged for me and her to have a meeting with rep. Joe Nixon, the author of H.B. 4, and did an outstanding job negotiating with him to save our practice. Third, I wrote an amendment that created large exceptions to the products bill as originally written, including exceptions re: adequate standards, misleading the government, or failing to warn of defects, and she caused Nixon to meet with us, and to actually consider it… At 12:30 a.m. this morning the house passed H.B. 4 with Vilma’s amendments in it.”
However the above email is politically inconsequential and now even considered miniscule by many readers when they compared it to the new documents and information cited by this newspaper – in addition to, oral interviews officially taken from persons that consistently work inside the courthouse and others who are affiliated with prominent law firms. From “delicate interactions” with a few of the Millionaire Lawyers to outright glimpses of game plans to “filthy backroom” deals have been shared and will be shared with our readers in the next few additions when we begin a new series.
When rumors began to circulate in April of last year that District Judge Rose Vela would not be seeking reelection to the 148th District Court, this “Millionaire Lawyers Club” or powerbase began to plot an orchestrated attempt to influence the judicial bench. To illustrate this point, in our last edition we cited an email by Attorney Mikal C. Watts send to the organized “powerbase”:
Subject: RE: Keeping Our Power Dry on the
148th
Date: Monday, April 18, 2005 7:36 AM
From: Mikal C. Watts mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com
To: David Perry dlperry@perryhaas.com,
Williams Edwards <
Cc: Attorneys – Corpus Christi attorneys-cc@wattslawfirm.com,
Brantley White <bwhite@swbtrial.com>,
Craig Sico csico@swbtrial.com,
Doug Allison <doug@dallisonlaw.com>,
Jeff Wigington jwigington@wigrum.com,
Kathy Snapka <ksnapka@snapkaturman.com>, Roger Braugh rbraugh@swbtrial.com
Marisela Saldana is going to go. She called asking
my advice, and you guys can Expect similar calls
shortly.
Others rumored:
Robert Pate
David Jones
John Martinez
Elbert Ocanas
Hector Rene Gonzalez
David Huerta
What does
everyone think about a meeting two Fridays from now to discuss a plan of
action?
Mikal
Of course there were other emails that predated the above. One was drafted on April 13 of last year. Please read it carefully; it reflects the “organized” agenda of the power base.
RE: Keeping Our
Power Dry on the 148th
I totally agree
-----Original
Message -----
From: Mikal C.
Watts [Mailto:mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 6:28 PM
To: David Perry; Edwards, William; Craig Sico;
Doug Allison; Roger Braugh; Brantley White; Doug
Allison; Jim Ragan; Jeff Wigington; David L. Rumley; Kathy Snapka; Attorneys –
Corpus Christi
Subject: Keeping Our Power Dry on the 148th
Perry/Edwards/Sico, White Braugh/Wiginton, Rumley, Allison, Ragan,
I am in trial
right now, and in 15 minutes after court, received 7 phone messages from
prospective candidates from the 148th. I suspect each of you
received such calls today. My strong suggestion is that no one commit until we
all get a chance to get together to discuss this. We operate with a lot more
clout and effectiveness when we operate together. Let me know anyone’s
thoughts.
Mikal
There was a response to Mikal Watts’ email:
On 4/13/05 7:23
PM, “David Perry” dlperry@perryhass.com
wrote:
I am also in
trial and also agree entirely.
Who is
interested?
Thanks
DLP
“Edwards,
William” <wedwards@edwardsfirm.com>
But the most amusing email came from Attorney Doug Allison who opened admitted his frustration with a failed past election of one of his sponsored Hispanic candidates and its resulting repercussions of having lost a sizeable amount. The email reads:
Subject: RE:
Keeping Our Power Dry on the 148th
Date: Monday,
April 18, 2005 7:58 AM
From: Doug Allison
Doug@dallisonlaw.com
To: <JIMRAGAN@aol.com>, mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com, dlperry@perryhaas.com, wedwards@edwardsfirm.com
Cc: attorneys-cc@wattslawfirm.com, bwhite@swbtrial.com, csico@swbtrial.com, drumley@wigrum.com, jwigington@wigrum.com, ksnapka@snapkaturman.com, rbraugh@swbtrial.com
Gentleman:
I
have been away from my emails for a bit, and thus not weighed in on this
discussion (except my phone conversations with mikal). Here
are my thoughts (my 2 cents).
First and foremost,
I want everyone to be spending money on the same candidate for the 148th. I am on board for this goal ….. completely.
As many of you
know, I just finished dumping a chunk of money into john
Let’s all talk
when we can……. Subject to the on-going trials.
Thanks
Doug
----Original
Message-----
From JIMRAGAN@aol.com [mailto:JIMRAGAN@aol.com]
Sent: Mon
4/18/2005 7:41 AM
To mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com; dlperry@perryhaas.com; wedwards@edwardsfirm.com
Cc: attorneys—cc@wattslawfirm.com; bshite@swbtrial.com; csico@swtrial.com; Doug Allison; drumley@wigrum.com; jwigington@wigrum.com; ksnapka@snapkaturman.com; rbraugh@swbtrial.com
Subject: Re:
Keeping Our Power Dry on the 148th
Sounds good
There were other names thrown into the political pot of consideration by the “Millionare Club” although they were not recruited for the current races. Attorney David Bright writes in an email addressed to the clique:
Subject: RE:
Keeping Our Powder Dry on the 148th
Date: Monday,
April 18, 2005 10:57 AM
From: David
Bright dbright@wattslawfirm.com
To: drumley@wigrum.com, “Mikal
C. Watts” <mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com> , David
Perry <dlperry@perryhaas,com>, William Edwards wedwards@edwardsfirm.com, John Gsanger jgsanger@edwardsfirm.com
Cc: Attorneys –
Corpus Christi attorneys-cc@wattslawfirm.com,
Brantley White bwhite@swbtrial.com,
Craig Sico csico@swbtrial.com,
Doug Allison doug@dallisonlaw.com,
Jim Ragan JIMRAGAN@aol.com, Doug Allison doug@dallisonlaw.com, Jim Ragan JIMRAGAN@aol.com, Jeff Wigington
jwigington@wigrum.com, Kathy Snapka ksnapka@snapkaturman.com,
Roger Braugh rbraugh@swbtrial.com
By the way, it
is my understanding that both Elbert Ocanas and David
Huerta would only run for the 148th if Marisela
did NOT. Otherwise, they will run for Marisela’s
vacated bench on
Also, someone
named Patrick Martinez is thinking about running for the 148th. I
think he would run as a Democrat. I know nothing about him.
David Bright
Watts Law Firm,
L.L.P.
Tower II
Building, 14th Floor
Telephone: (361)
887-0500
Toll Free: (888)
997-0560
Facsimilie: (361) 887-0055
On 4/18/05 9:51
AM, Drumley@wigrum.com ,drumley@wigrum.com>worte:
sounds good.
The
emails indicate that these affluent attorneys led by Mikal
Watts are attempting to consolidate their power in order to put the judges they
want on the bench. Marisela Saldana, John
Martinez and a few others.
Will
“Grassroots Politics” become something of the past? Since September 2003 since
House Bill 4 took effect, many powerful trial lawyers are trying to influence
the bench and most likely are searching for judicial candidates like John
Martinez that accept huge contributions from such powerful attorneys as Doug
Allison who live in mansions and who color their signs with the same hue
selected by the elite group that runs Spohn Memorial
Hospital. It should be considered blasphemous for
Also a
reception for John Martinez will be held about three days from now – barefacedly
– on Thursday, February 9 at the home of Doug Allison (
There have been a few judges in the past that
have bragged that they run huge tabs at the HAVANA CLUB (downtown) and are
picked up by silent parties. However, there is a price, some of these judges it
has been alleged are then ask to sign “midnight orders” of many a case.
When this publication put out its last
edition (which carried Part I of this story), about 500 copies at the Nueces Courthouse
were thrown away in the trash by an Hispanic attorney’s sister-in-law (a clear
attempt to suppress the story and damage the business) and many other Defenzor copies throughout the Corpus Christi also
mysteriously disappeared. The sister-in-law in question works at a law firm
(the firm is located in the same building where Mikal
Watts has his). This dodgy lady that likes to sycophant to “The Club” that
threw copies of El Defenzor away is an integral part
of the “inner core” of Marisela Saldana’s Campaign
and is affiliated with what has been referred to as the “peon rung” of the Mikal Watts’ machine. One source stated: “She allegedly went
to mama
But Mikal Watts
(and some of his associates) have been implicated in the “disappearing of newspaper
copies” before – even though the person that did it was never caught. On
February 23 and February 24 of last year, the San Antonio Express-News ran
articles entitled “Juror’s relationship with lawyer (working for the Watts Law
Firm) stalls Ford trial” and another entitled “Mystery man attempts to keep
To share a few bytes of a pertinent business arrangement made here locally. A few years ago (mid-1990s), Marisela Saldana (after being installed as a judge) sold her law office (which is located a few blocks from the courthouse) to a couple who are attorneys. Court archives reveal that one of these attorneys who brought the property was given court appointments by Judge Saldana after the transaction. Did such appointments provide a robust financial compensation to make payments on the purchased property? This needs to be investigated in detail.
It is truly sad that power can corrupt even the one who resides in the highest
level of the pyramid of justice. Nowhere is this more evident than with
some of the judges who operate from the Nueces County Courthouse. Time after
time, County Court At Law and District and Appellate
Court judges ignore Supreme Court rulings, misinterpret statutes whose meaning
is perfectly clear, and bully litigants, pro se litigants and witnesses. But,
despite all the injustices, let us not forget the Mexican saying: “La subida mas alta, es la caida mas dolorosa” (The most
painful climb can turn out to be the most painful fall).
Unfortunately for the public and the
integrity of the entire judicial system, many corrupt lower court judges
blatantly ignore Supreme Court rulings that are contrary to their own agenda
that many a time seems to be in partnership with a certain powerbase of Trial
Injury Lawyers. Not only do they calculatedly pervert the path of justice
but in so doing they create flawed case law, which may be consequently cited by
other lower court judges. This practice leads to a vicious cycle in which
one erroneous ruling is piled on top of another, forming a judicial 'cancer'.
Extensive interviews (with both attorneys and
laymen) suggest that if it appears that one is dealing with one of these few dishonest
judges, it is really imperative that one at once rid oneself of any fantasy
that he/she will spontaneously become impartial later in the proceedings.
Once a judge reveals his/her dishonesty, you must take a stand. Corrupt
judges are a serious threat to the fabric of
Judge Marisela
Saldana has a seamy reputation for making defendants pay their fees and fines
even if they are considering pleading not guilty. Attorney X (this pseudonym to
protect his identity) insights: “I have heard from victims that Judge Saldana
takes these defendants that are claiming to be innocent into a room and then scares
them stiff by stating that if they hire attorneys to attempt to proof their
innocent they will only spend needless money in that they will more likely be
found guilty by her.” How is
such a practice functional for a judge? Attorney X explained: “This way she
does not have to work hard the rest of the week.”
The post of Judge can also have perks.
District Judge Sandra Watts when she took office in 2003 or so immediately
requested a computer/laptop docking station (for the office/bench) – the cost
is estimated anywhere from nine to eleven thousand. No judge at the time had
such a system. Then again, Judge Watts was in good terms with the
Word is also circulating in the courthouse
that when Marisela Saldana was initially going to run
for the post that District Judge post that Sandra Watts now occupies, she was
persuaded by “The Club” that she would have their support when she ran for a
similar office at a future date.
Judge Saldana is not a poor woman. She has a
house in Doddridge area of
Some of the judges at the courthouse have taken the Justice System from the
citizens of Nueces County and placed it into the hands of unethical and
dishonest and bad judges and under the influence of cunning Downtown
Millionaire Trial Lawyers that have no fear of the penalty and cost because
they are protected from any serious discipline and liability by their fellow judges
and the “Millionaire Lawyers Club.” One attorney at the courthouse told
El Defenzor: “Our system is no longer a showground
where you must fear being on the wrong side of the law for it does not matter
if you are on the wrong or right side of the law, it only matters if your on the wrong side of the judges’ agenda.”
One female attorney – whom we shall refer to
hereafter as Ms. Y, injected: “A few of the female judges here in courthouse
have complained that Judge Saldana refers many of her cases
to County Court At Law judges such as James Klager
and Robert Vargas when these two judges already have their own workload. A few
of the female judges disapprove of her lack of Saldana’s work ethic.” Court records obtained by various parties
indicate that Judge Saldana has a history of arriving on many an occasion late
to work: “at 11 a.m.” and at even at “1:30 p.m.”).
Attorney X alleged: “It does not matter if
the Constitution or the law is on one’s side, it only
matters if you have enormous money as ‘The Club’ does and the judge is on your
side. Many are unaware of this because they have not had to undergo
it. It is also the unawareness of the public that has allowed the judicial
system to become so shady and dishonest and corrupt. It is the education
of the public of the abuses in our courts that will be the only means to
restore truth and justice to our courts.’
Attorney Ms. Y added: “Most voters I believe
don’t differentiate between female judges; thus other female judges have
complained of Saldana for the reasons cited.”
But the threat of “The Club” is arguably more
alarming. Some are claiming that their influence is starting to extend not only
to the sanctified parameters of the bench but even beyond: it is beginning to
penetrate the various layers of the system. The most alarming scenario now
would be to eventually determine in which court the cases filed by members of
“The Club” will land – if it has not do so already. Venue shopping? Their influence
has reached media figures; some affiliated with the Coffee Club, even some of
the leadership of civil rights organizations. It is beginning to sip into the
police officers and the firefighters associations. The Democratic Party has
been, in the last few years, been kept unstable and fragmented by such
influences according to many party activists.
Their influence is not only regional but spreading state wide. An
article in the Dallas Morning News in July 20, 2003 listed 21 law firms of
Texas lawyers heading the list of funding to Save Texas Courts, a group
fighting Proposition 12, which would limit awards in medical malpractice cases
(7 out of those 21 listed were from Corpus Christi – Mikal
Watts, Guy H. Allison, Constant, Law Offices of Thomas J. Henry, and Sico, White & Braugh, and The
Edwards Attorneys.
Many honest citizens are losing their homes, their children, and their freedom
not because they disobeyed the law but because bad judges have their own
agendas. They are writing their own laws, ignoring legislative laws,
disregarding Supreme Court decisions, and swaying their decisions to favor
parties such as “The Club” that will further their careers.
The egotism and overconfidence of some of
these attorneys who are members of “The Club” can be disquieting. Case in
point: Mikal Watts. He writes in a letter addressed
to the attorney who is defending American Electric Power (former CP&L):
“Dear Don: … After repeatedly consulting with clients, I now have been authorized
to extend to you’re their combined settlement of $60,000,000.00 The article in
this morning’s paper, and the fact that AEP is self-insured, remind me that you
will most likely need to travel to Columbus to get the very large amount of
settlement authority it will take to settle this case. In this regard, I am preparing
a videotape settlement brochure for your client’s consideration… First and
foremost in any lawsuit the quality of the plaintiffs, and the jury appeal they
will have the case need to be tried… My evaluation is that I have a squeaky
clean plaintiff who every jury I could draw from the jury pool will absolutely
love. Sam is the truest of gentlemen, and due to his vocation, is extremely
eloquent and well-spoken in vocalizing his grief and damages caused by the loss
of his wife… a true saint.”
But the most disturbing part of Watts’ letter
is that he refers to
One Hispanic lawyer who runs an office near
the courthouse said: “It is time ‘We the People’ terminate Judicial Corruption
and Immunity The Judicial system was originally intended
to be the most politically weak branch of our government. In
The source cited above continues: “Judges
cannot be sued for their errors, they have personally
written laws to disallow it. The only means of recourse are state
Judicial Tenure Commissions. These Commissions receive tens of thousand
of complaints each year against judges yet only reprimand less than one percent
of those complaints.”
Consequently, the
[Note from El Defenzor staff: “Stand up to
this injustice before someone you love or you yourself must endure this
abuse. Write your State
Representatives and Senators demanding accountability to judges and attorneys.
This problem will not get better, go away or be taken care of by someone
else. EVERY American must stand up for their
Constitutional Rights. Demand truth and justice return to our courts. Put
a stop to bad judges and bad lawyers.”
You can get contact information from
you Congressman at www.house.gov and Senators at www.senate.gov. It is
also important to notify the various Committees on the Judiciary, which can be
contacted at:
Committee
on the Judiciary
2138
Rayburn HOB
http://www.house.gov/judiciary
Committee
on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building