Judge Denise Pratt is incompetent and should resign or be removed from office. And since it is too late for her to remove her name from the Harris County Republican Party Primary ballot, voters should reject her and put her out to pasture.
Sorry to have to keep reminding you of that but every day she sits on the bench is a day that families’ lives are being negatively affected and you need to realize that.
Okay, now that we’re past that, one of the cornerstones of Pratt’s “defense”, such that it is, is that it is only “liberal news media” and “liberal Democrats” that are attacking her. But she fails to mention the support she has from liberal Democrats. Take a look at her latest attempt to deceive voters (notice gadfly John Griffing’s involvement as well):
Okay, the first person lauding her is Ronnie Harrison. Harrison happens to be a family law attorney that makes more money off of court appointments in Pratt’s court than any other attorney. No, no conflict there! Puh-lease.
Also take a look at the money Harrison has contributed to Pratt’s campaign:
Ronnie Harrison contributions to Denise Pratt
Hmm. Not only is she a prolific contributor, but it looks like she gave more than the allowable $5,000. Might want to check getting donations directly from a law office as well.
But did you know that Ronnie Harrison is also one of those dreaded Democrats that Pratt publicly hates on? Yep, she’s run for office many times, including against then Sen. Kyle Janek out in Senate District 17.
So, <cough>Judge<cough> Pratt, you might want to be careful throwing stones, you never know where they will land. Them liberal Democrats lovin’ on you might offend conservatives.
I’m voting for Anthony Magdaleno because I think this court needs a competent judge with a fresh perspective.
Comments
Anthony Magdalenosays
Thank you David, for your support. I take all my endorsements very seriously.
WonkoTheSanesays
The sad reality is that the only people supporting Pratt are those who are making money off of her. For Pratt to claim that she’s being attacked because she’s so conservative and thus is a target for liberals is either a lie, or evidence that she’s completely delusional. And saying that she gets bad ratings and is targeted because she’s such a good conservative judge is an insult to people like David Farr, Roy Moore, Judy Warne, and the other family court judges who are respected by the family law bar.
As a candidate, I reviewed Judge Pratt’s JCOH filing and some contributions which you attribute to Ronnie Harrison were made by her husband Al who has a separate law practiice. While I am all for trashing Pratt on the facts we need to be accurate otherwise her defenders will use that to discredit the valid points we make.
David Jenningssays
Phil, as we have recently learned in the race for the 247th, a spouse is considered to be part of the individual and thus the max contribution is $5,000.
Believe me the last thing I want to do is defend Pratt but I believe that as a law firm the limit is a total of $15,000.00 with no more than $5,000.00 coming from any one attorney. See for instance Lilly, Newman, Van Ness.
David Jenningssays
You could be right Phil. But for the whole spouse/family thing is pretty clear. We’ll see if the TEC gets a complaint what happens.
Joel Grandstaffsays
I am voting for Anthony Magdelano. When I unsuccesslfully ran for the 311th District Court in 2010, I met Anthony who was a candfdate for the same bench. I was around Anthony a great deal of time during the campaign. I was very impressed with him and concluded that he was man of character and integrity. He will make a fine judge.
Truther1says
If you’ve done your homework, you’d know that Pratt got almost twice the campaign contributions of all 4 other candidates combined. I’ve done my homework, but it doesn’t appear like you’ve done yours. Also, being that the Baptist Ministers of Houston and Vicinity are endorsing her, it shows that Pratt can win in November because people from both parties have taken the time to learn the family values that she adheres to. Well, I guess most everybody but you.
There are plenty of family attorneys, Republican and Democrat alike, that support Pratt; that’s because family law is about family values and CHILDREN, not party politics. I’ve never heard that any of her decisions have been overturned, so she must not be as incompetent as you claim and is working for the families of this county and doing the job she was elected to do, not just trying to “promote the party”. BTW, Ronnie Harrison tends to vote Republican. Why didn’t you mention that?
I’ve noticed that usually when you decide to write about someone, whether you agree with them or not, you tend to have an interview with them first, then write about that interview. I’ve never seen any of your blogs say anything about an interview you’ve had with Pratt. Wasn’t it suggested that you talk to her? Didn’t you agree that you would? Have you ever interviewed Pratt? You’ve stated several times that you trust the voters will educate themselves on the candidates and vote accordingly. I do, too. Not to play favorites, but Republicans tend to be the more educated voter. I trust in that. When these candidates are researched, they’ll see Pratt for who she is and not what the likes of you or Greg Enos are trying to paint her to be…
David Jenningssays
non-Truther 1,
It is true that I tried to talk to Pratt. It is also true that for whatever reason, she never would agree to it. One of her paid lackey’s Stuart Mayper, agreed to set the last one up but didn’t come through. I can’t force any candidate to talk to me.
You say there are plenty of attorneys that support her, but the facts from the bar poll say that there are far more that don’t.
Here’s the deal. A Pratt win in the primary is going to hurt all Republican judges in November. Will it cost them their benches or life savings? Who knows but it will hurt them. Far more important is the pain she is currently inflicting on families and children in Harris County. I used to say that she was a fine person, just incompetent. But after so many months of seeing her and her supporters, I don’t use that term anymore. It is one thing to be incompetent but another thing altogether to intentionally hurt families and then blame it on anyone, anything, besides yourself. Just my two cents.
David Jenningssays
non-Truther 1,
One other thought. I don’t hide. Everyone knows who I am and what I stand for.
Why not come out from behind the curtain and tell the world who you are? I mean, if I supported someone and thought that they were being unjustly attacked, I promise you I would support them publicly and never hide behind a cloak of anonymity.
Truther1says
No, not Burt. But he wouldn’t be the only one to see who Ms. Harrison has put her support behind. And why all of the emphasis on my name? Am I your argument against Judge Pratt simply because I support this judge? Claiming that your lies are truths and my truths are lies simply because you post your name? But I’m wrong simply due to a lack of posting a name? Really, is that your argument? I would think civil discourse is more honest when you’re working your beliefs over your name. You don’t speak to me here as you would if we were in person. And as such, considering our opposing viewpoints, it would most likely be better served to keep this as civil as possible.Everything I’ve posted in support of this judge can be verified by any one of you. I doubt that you can make the same claim, David.
So you’ve proclaimed that this judge is incompetent. Incompetence? You’ve never provided a shred of evidence to suggest that a judge who has never been overturned by the appellate court is incompetent. “I heard, I saw, I could’ve sworn that my wife’s sister’s girlfriend’s mom’s aunt said she heard”… blah, blah, blah. Nothing. Nothing more than a label to a blog title or her campaign website. You’ve written some fairly libelous things without even interviewing your subject. You claim that you can’t get her “paid lackeys” to arrange anything. Who are you talking to? Again, no names. And you know very well who her campaign consultant is and you know how to contact her; have been to some of the same events… but you couldn’t make an effort to approach her? Who’s “hiding behind the curtain” there?
I see you refused to print the whole truth about a case you claim the appellate court instructed Judge Pratt to rule on, when she had already ruled on it MONTHS BEFORE. The attorney didn’t do her job and check the court’s file. And that is your claim of incompetence? Sounds like the attorney should have a discussion with the grievance committee. And that Judge Pratt did her job timely. Now that you’ve finally seen the light on Jared Woodfill, maybe you’ll realize how wrong you are in this race also.
Using the bar poll as an argument as well. Wow. Who takes those polls… I mean despite a few who use it as a political tool, who else does? I never have, not even in support of Pratt. I guess I should go and do that, because a poll that nobody spends too much attention to is suddenly supposed to be relevant? Oh, come on.
And you put so much emphasis on Democrats supporting this judge along with Republicans. Alicia Franklin has been mentioned here. She’s a very proud Obama supporter. Donna Detamore, at a Cherry Tree Republican meeting, announced that she is the only challenger that has never voted as a Democrat. By that logic, that would make Mr. Magdaleno a Democrat. Is that correct? And you, sir, in your own words, after having a heart attack over Judge Pratt getting support from a Democrat, have described your opinion of the justice system this way; “And I think that the entire justice system would be better off being non-partisan, if we could just figure out a way to do that.” This quote can be found here:
You are a contradiction unto yourself. And yes, any of us that have followed your blogs see that you’ve contradicted yourself many times. And as I have previously stated, you are walking a fine line between protected speech and libel and I personally think you’ve crossed that line. With that, you are jeopardizing the candidates that you endorse with your reckless behavior. Feel free to continue your argument over our disagreement with more name calling and insults…..
Leifsays
That order that Pratt supposedly signed “months before” is nowhere to be found on the District Clerk’s website. Any lawyer who checked the file looking for an order on the motion to enforce would find a big pile of bupkis. (Go ahead and check Case Number 2009-66904 for anything signed on or around August 1 or August 17, 2012.)
The only place that order seems to exist is as an uncertified, unstamped attachment to a letter that Pratt had the Administrative Office send to the Court of Appeals only after the Court of Appeals told her to do her job and issue a ruling. Anyone can compare the order that Pratt “signed on August 1” with the order that Pratt actually signed and the clerk made a part of the record by looking at the 5/28/13 “Letter filed” entry in the appellate court case: http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=14-13-00347-CV
So: Did Pratt actually do her job, or is this another instance of her doing a little retroactive adjudicating?
Truther1says
Leif, thanks for a sane and civil response. Also, thanks for actually giving me something other than hearsay to look into. While I feel you might be referencing an issue with the clerks, I won’t assume that and will see what verification I can get on that. I’ll wait and respond after I’ve had a chance to look into it….
Truther1says
Leif,
OK, I don’t know if you’re being facetious or if you’re misinformed. No, I’m not being malicious, but I looked into your link as well as checking the Court’s file and found this to be part of the initial investigation into Pratt and the 311th. Is this the case in which it’s claimed that the Appellate Court had to tell her to do her job? It was actually a case of an attorney or two not doing THEIR job. Just check the file under the case number you quote. The attorney was supposed to do this before filing with the Appellate Court.
Apparently, the attorneys asked for the competing contempts to be ruled on at the same time; the first one was done and they reset for the 2nd to be heard. It looks like the attorneys reset it twice without the judge’s knowledge: the resets on the docket sheet are by the court staff, not the judge. Then they blew it off and didn’t reset it again. It seems that Pratt ruled after the 2nd reset. There is no indication in the court’s file, on the docket sheet, or any other place that the attorneys ever set it for a hearing to ask for a ruling before she heard both contempts, until AFTER she had already ruled.
Since the attorneys had to sign to check out files like a library book then, and neither attorney on that case checked that file out from the original hearing until after the appellate court ruled, it doesn’t look like they reviewed the file before filing with the Court of Appeals. Even the Grand Jury found that Judge Pratt did nothing wrong.
I hate to make it sound as if I’m changing the subject, but it was a 2 month investigation over a false claim by Greg Enos. No billed.Now his 2nd allegation appears to be going nowhere. I have a feeling that his 3rd allegation might get him into trouble when it’s also found to be false. And David pulled a play straight from a Democratic playbook and perpetuated this lie hoping that the uninformed voter would just follow his implications. I’m telling you, Leif, it looks like this whole thing started with Enos and should probably end with Enos… being investigated himself.
There was no requirement to sign in and out files like a library. Secondly you keep chanting that she was no billed but we keep asking why the Grand Jury never got to hear from any of the lawyers listed in the complaint. Not one. We can’t ask Devon Anderson what she was doing because that is confidential but we do know that the people with damaging evidence who were in the know including lawyers or her staff were ever called in front of the Grand Jury. With no evidence presented of course she was no billed. I am one of the lawyers that saw her change documents. I witnessed it personally. That is what made me so mad that I decide to run against her. Don’t wory about Enos he has enough evidence to defend any attack. I also find it funny that with every mistake and misdeed all Pratt’s attorney can say is his mantra “it was a mistake made by the clerk.”
Anthony Magdalenosays
Joel, I appreciate your kind words. Thank you, sir, for your support!
ANYONE BUT PRATTsays
Mr Magdaleno – When you get on the bench, please, please remember these sad times for the families on the 311th. When the hours are long and the cases pile up, please don’t ignore them allow them to because so backlogged that you can’t catch up.
We support you, already voted for you, do all we can to make sure Harris County knows who you are trying to replace.
Make us proud. Everyone cannot win, with every battle there is a loser… but everyone should have a fair chance at winning. Be the Judge we can look back and say. YES! I helped him get in. I told a friend, who told a friend! Yes, we did it!
Thank you
Catherine Collinssays
David, let me introduce you to Truther1. He goes by the name Burt Levine when he is not hiding his ID in blog posts. You’ll find Truther1 posting on Off The Kuff and other liberal blogs. As Burt ..er Truther1 noted the Baptist Ministers of Houston and Vicinity are endorsing Pratt. This group endorses most Democrats or any candidate who will contribute. Watch for them to appear next week on Pratt’s next Campaign Finance Report. Apparently Burt knows Ronnie Harrison very well to be privy to her voting tendencies. Ms. Harrison herself has run unsuccessfully several times as a Democrat so it is unlikely that she voted Republican in those elections. Burt is full of misinformation about Pratt with the best example being a recent article in Houston Style magazine. Now that Burt has been outed, he will undoubtedly create a new handle to hide behind. Coming soon.
Leifsays
I don’t know what file you’re looking at, Truther. Unless the order is, for some reason unbeknownst to man or beast, unscanned, there is no such order in the District Clerk’s file. Pratt signed a July 17 order setting a hearing and an August 30 temporary injunction/order for counseling—and nothing between those dates. I don’t know if YOU’RE being facetious or not, but go ahead and look again. There is nothing there.
Nor do I know how you would find this to be “part of the grand jury’s initial investigation” as (a) a grand jury’s proceedings are confidential and (b) there would be no indication in the District Clerk’s records that this order was somehow checked out to a grand jury or prosecutor. And grand jury’s don’t find that someone did “nothing wrong;” they find that there isn’t probable cause to pursue a criminal investigation. As I wrote in my post, whether it’s criminal or not, backdating court documents—what it looks like Pratt did here—is underhanded and a sign of incompetence.
The copy that the Administrative Office mailed to the court of appeals isn’t certified, so no one swore it was in the file. If it were a part of the trial-court record, it would be stamped. It’s not. There’s no physical stamp from the district clerk’s office showing it was filed; there’s no electronic stamp from the district clerk’s office showing it was filed.
Family-court filings were available online in 2012. I looked up a bunch of them myself back then. Even if this were one of the documents that hadn’t been scanned back then—documents that were few and far between, at that point, especially ones that had been filed contemporaneously—there’s no reason that it wouldn’t have been scanned by now. And the wife’s lawyer would have had to be not just incompetent, but egregiously so, to have filed her response with the appellate court. When the other side demands a ruling from a judge, the proper response isn’t, “We don’t have any problem with you ordering the judge to rule;” it’s, “Uh, the judge already ruled on that, smart guy. You apparently forgot the part where she held you in contempt of court.”
It’s easy to blame Greg Enos. He’s a liberal Democrat complaining about a Republican judge to attempt to get Republicans to toss her in a Republican primary. But Republican lawyers can’t stand her, either—not only has Robert Clark announced himself several times as an example, but the HBA simply can’t get 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of its poll respondents to call someone a bad judge by votes from Democrats alone.
So accuse the accuser doesn’t work; smear the site’s host doesn’t work; blaming the lawyers doesn’t work; claiming a non-existent exoneration doesn’t work; pointing to a sheet of paper that exists nowhere in the district clerk’s record doesn’t work. I hope you’re getting paid well for your defense, Truther, because what else is left for you to conjure?
Leifsays
“grand juries,” smart guy.
Truther1says
OK, let’s look at some of the comments y’all are making here;
“I don’t know what file you’re looking at, Truther. Unless the order is, for some reason unbeknownst to man or beast, unscanned, there is no such order in the District Clerk’s file.”
I’m not sure what you’re arguing here, Leif. Check the court docket. It is the District Clerk’s job to have clerks put the orders in the file. If you’re not finding something on the District Clerk’s website, maybe you should take it up with their office.
“Nor do I know how you would find this to be “part of the grand jury’s initial investigation” as (a) a grand jury’s proceedings are confidential and (b) there would be no indication in the District Clerk’s records that this order was somehow checked out to a grand jury or prosecutor.”
Greg Enos put in ALL of his writings that he included this case when he filed with the District Attorney the first time. So there is indication that the Grand Jury checked out this case; check Enos’ blog and complaint, which he has made very public.
“There was no requirement to sign in and out files like a library.”
There was a sign-out sheet for files when we had paper files. The list goes back to her taking office. Maybe you never checked on your files. Or did you just not go by the rules? Other courts had them, too, and you should know this.
“Secondly you keep chanting that she was no billed but we keep asking why the Grand Jury never got to hear from any of the lawyers listed in the complaint”
Because she WAS no billed. How do you know the Grand Jury never heard from the lawyers listed in the complaint? The chatter around the courthouse was that they had ALL been interviewed by the Grand Jury. If you have a problem with the Grand Jury, you need to take it up with them. They seemed to find that there was nothing to the allegations.
” but we do know that the people with damaging evidence who were in the know including lawyers or her staff were ever called in front of the Grand Jury”
Then where was that “damaging evidence” in the investigation? Pratt was no billed; either they didn’t have evidence to tie her to wrongdoing or they didn’t have enough “evidence” to.
“As I wrote in my post, whether it’s criminal or not, backdating court documents—what it looks like Pratt did here—is underhanded and a sign of incompetence.”
And you’ve STILL provided no proof of this other than to claim your opinion as fact.
“all Pratt’s attorney can say is his mantra “it was a mistake made by the clerk.”
Wasn’t it? Do you personally have evidence to the contrary? Haven’t other courts had the same issues with the clerks? This is nothing unique to the 311th.
“So accuse the accuser doesn’t work”
I’ll point out that I didn’t attack the accuser over a single allegation, but more because he has shown a pattern and propensity of abusing the system with false or reckless allegations again and again. He had been contacting attorneys for nearly a year asking them to vote negatively on the judicial poll. And he had asked those attorneys to provide him information about anything they don’t like about Pratt, even if it wasn’t bad, so that he could change it up and publish it. Did you know he interviewed the original amicus of this latest allegation? Did you know that she informed him that the info he has from the 2 affiants is completely wrong? Did you know he didn’t investigate or print any of that? Just made up his own version of the facts and went to press? Did you know that several attorneys believed him when he said “if you write in to the Mongoose I will print your response without changes”? Did you know some did, and he didn’t print what they wrote at all? Did you know one of them was his opposing counsel on his first divorce, who has informed a few people of how unethical Enos is? Have you asked attorneys how they feel about Mr. Enos? Start with the many, many who donated to Pratt’s campaign, and provided her with almost twice the funds as the other candidates COMBINED before the January 15 filing. Have you bothered to check the reputation through AVVO or any other reporting service, of Enos or Clark? Of the 32 that he got to sign his “petition”, more than a few have never had cases in the 311th while Pratt was the judge. So you’ll believe people with no personal knowledge of her at all? I will always have a rebuttal against liars and those who would perpetuate those lies.
I feel sorry for you and others that have been completely bamboozled by the media. I feel sorry for people that believe everything they read in the newspaper or on the internet. As they saying goes, “if it’s in the paper/internet, it must be true, right?”; makes fun of that kind of naivte. I worry about people that perpetuate this stuff when they have never been in the 311th court, met the judge, or conducted their own research. They usually adhere to a different party. (Myself, I’m an Independent.) Didn’t you wonder why, after Matt Patrick talked with Judge Pratt, he had a completely different attitude towards her? Didn’t you wonder why, when Enos guaranteed she would be indicted, after 12 grand jurors, an investigator, and 2 asst District Attorneys investigated and reviewed the FACTS and the FILES, they did not feel that way and she was No Billed? Good grief. Wake up.
And Leif, if you’re going to make a personal attack and sarcastically refer to me as a “smart guy” over a typo, perhaps you should make the same comment to Mr. Placzek (wory?), smart guy.
Leifsays
Le sigh.
Signed orders go in the file. Everything that goes in the file gets stamped. By 2012, the district courts in Harris County had gone electronic—EVERYTHING got scanned. This was done to save money, but also to save time and preserve file integrity by putting the files where people could see them without checking them out.
I am amused beyond belief that a person who criticized the HBA poll is urging people to look at Avvo, of all places. Attacking Enos isn’t defending Pratt.
I will now, indeed, sarcastically refer to you as “smart guy”—I was replying to my own post to correct my own typo. Bit on the defensive, are we? I would be, too, if my defense boiled down to, “He sucks! People are giving me, the incumbent with control over their cases, money! And EVERYONE BUT ME is at fault!”
Truther1says
“Le sigh” Heheheh…. OK, I chuckled out loud over that one. I’ve said it to myself repeatedly with some of the opposing arguments that I get here at BJP. Am I defensive? Yes, but only here. I agree with much of what I read here and either Ed or a guest writer had brought up the “80/20” rule; I agree 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the time with you, but disagree 20{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of it. So, aside from 2 stories about this judge, there have been only a couple of other times that I’ve ever felt the need to respond to a blog or one of the commenters in the responses. In doing so, I have seen my typos get me vilified, raising questions of my intelligence, reading comprehension, identity, station in life, etc. So when I saw that “smart guy” comment, I assumed it was aimed at me. If it was merely an example of a good sense of humor, then I respectfully retract my remark about it and ask for it to be removed from the record.
Again, in terms of this document you are criticizing, I think it is a matter to take up with the District Clerk’s office. I can’t prove a negative and if you think they’ve left out any of the case files, you need to ask them about it.
So you question why I’d be more willing to use AVVO instead of the HBA poll? Well, the HBA poll is completely anonymous, easy to abuse and no expansion of thought as to why an attorney might vote the way they do. You’ve even pointed this out in a blog you wrote for BJP; you admitted that it wasn’t much evidence of the candidate BECAUSE it is easy to abuse and more often than not, used only as a political tool. Then you proceeded to use those same numbers you had just criticized as an argument against Pratt. AVVO is a great place to get information on a judge or attorney. Not only do you get a “rating”, you get commentary to back up that rating. It doesn’t matter that it’s anonymous because you get the “thought behind the vote” as it were. THAT allows YOU to determine how honest and accurate that rating is. By disparaging that source, you insult people like Mr. Placzek who have several excellent reviews there. Are you saying he didn’t earn them?
And my defense does NOT boil down to “he sucks”, “she’s terrible”, “he’s horrible”, “she’s incompetent”, as I’ve seen here, without providing some detail as to why I think the way I do. I’ve seen matters of opinion, speculation, and conjecture posed as proof, evidence or fact. If you want to try this case in the “Court of Public Opinion”, then I get to cross examine witnesses and evidence. It isn’t an “attack” so much as it’s clarifying the veracity of the witnesses and evidence and providing a rebuttal. Apparently, there is a “treasure trove” of witnesses and evidence that have been provided for the 3 official complaints against this judge; that “treasure trove” of witnesses and evidence has proven absolutely nothing insofar as to the claims against her. None of these complaints have gone anywhere.
ANYONE BUT PRATTsays
@Truther1 – Offically one year later no answer on an enforcement or motion to modify. I am glad Mr Enos filed the complaint to get her investigate (charged or not) because AT LEAST she began to show up to court. Did you sit there day after day waiting and hoping your Judge would show up to work so you did not miss ANOTHER day of work for nothing? Lost your job because there were so many resets. Did not see your children because she REFUSED to give a ruling. A ruling, isn’t that her job?
Forget the media, the lawyers and the politics of this all. WE THE PARENTS GET SCREWED BY HER REFUSAL TO DO HER JOB EVERYDAY! Defend that….. Defend the children not seeing mom or dad because Judge Pratt would not come to work. Defend her ignoring the filings by the very amicus she placed on the cases. Defend the babies whose parents can’t afford the extra things for them anymore because each court appearance cost them in fees. Defend the parents that come to court to get a resolution but instead get NOTHING. I am not talking about not getting what you want, I am speaking of getting NOTHING. No answers, no verdicts, no decisions. NOTHING. Working parents and children, that’s who suffers.
I have personally been going to each Republican meeting and putting Pratt information on cars. Going downtown daily and doing the same. The more people that become informed the better chance we have at getting someone, ANYONE, on that bench that will… at very least… DO THE JOB.
ANYONE, please father in heaven, ANYONE BUT PRATT!
anyonebutprattsays
@truther – But you ignore my proof on each post. I get it, I don’t call her names instead I call out the actions in her courtroom. The parents I have spoken with after spending days and days and days waiting to see if we would be reset yet again. Defend her until you are blue in the face but the fact that she was OFTEN not at work in 2012 and 2013 is easy to verify. The number of resets due to her not being there, also easy to verify. Ask the parents who can’t get her to give a ruling!
Election day people. I have already been at different sites handing out information!
Truther1says
@anyonebutpratt – “But you ignore my proof on each post.” What proof? And what “each post”? You’d posted once and it was clearly your ramblings of OPINION.
Thank you David, for your support. I take all my endorsements very seriously.
The sad reality is that the only people supporting Pratt are those who are making money off of her. For Pratt to claim that she’s being attacked because she’s so conservative and thus is a target for liberals is either a lie, or evidence that she’s completely delusional. And saying that she gets bad ratings and is targeted because she’s such a good conservative judge is an insult to people like David Farr, Roy Moore, Judy Warne, and the other family court judges who are respected by the family law bar.
Thank you for providing this info!
Say NO to Pratt!
As a candidate, I reviewed Judge Pratt’s JCOH filing and some contributions which you attribute to Ronnie Harrison were made by her husband Al who has a separate law practiice. While I am all for trashing Pratt on the facts we need to be accurate otherwise her defenders will use that to discredit the valid points we make.
Phil, as we have recently learned in the race for the 247th, a spouse is considered to be part of the individual and thus the max contribution is $5,000.
Believe me the last thing I want to do is defend Pratt but I believe that as a law firm the limit is a total of $15,000.00 with no more than $5,000.00 coming from any one attorney. See for instance Lilly, Newman, Van Ness.
You could be right Phil. But for the whole spouse/family thing is pretty clear. We’ll see if the TEC gets a complaint what happens.
I am voting for Anthony Magdelano. When I unsuccesslfully ran for the 311th District Court in 2010, I met Anthony who was a candfdate for the same bench. I was around Anthony a great deal of time during the campaign. I was very impressed with him and concluded that he was man of character and integrity. He will make a fine judge.
If you’ve done your homework, you’d know that Pratt got almost twice the campaign contributions of all 4 other candidates combined. I’ve done my homework, but it doesn’t appear like you’ve done yours. Also, being that the Baptist Ministers of Houston and Vicinity are endorsing her, it shows that Pratt can win in November because people from both parties have taken the time to learn the family values that she adheres to. Well, I guess most everybody but you.
There are plenty of family attorneys, Republican and Democrat alike, that support Pratt; that’s because family law is about family values and CHILDREN, not party politics. I’ve never heard that any of her decisions have been overturned, so she must not be as incompetent as you claim and is working for the families of this county and doing the job she was elected to do, not just trying to “promote the party”. BTW, Ronnie Harrison tends to vote Republican. Why didn’t you mention that?
I’ve noticed that usually when you decide to write about someone, whether you agree with them or not, you tend to have an interview with them first, then write about that interview. I’ve never seen any of your blogs say anything about an interview you’ve had with Pratt. Wasn’t it suggested that you talk to her? Didn’t you agree that you would? Have you ever interviewed Pratt? You’ve stated several times that you trust the voters will educate themselves on the candidates and vote accordingly. I do, too. Not to play favorites, but Republicans tend to be the more educated voter. I trust in that. When these candidates are researched, they’ll see Pratt for who she is and not what the likes of you or Greg Enos are trying to paint her to be…
non-Truther 1,
It is true that I tried to talk to Pratt. It is also true that for whatever reason, she never would agree to it. One of her paid lackey’s Stuart Mayper, agreed to set the last one up but didn’t come through. I can’t force any candidate to talk to me.
You say there are plenty of attorneys that support her, but the facts from the bar poll say that there are far more that don’t.
Here’s the deal. A Pratt win in the primary is going to hurt all Republican judges in November. Will it cost them their benches or life savings? Who knows but it will hurt them. Far more important is the pain she is currently inflicting on families and children in Harris County. I used to say that she was a fine person, just incompetent. But after so many months of seeing her and her supporters, I don’t use that term anymore. It is one thing to be incompetent but another thing altogether to intentionally hurt families and then blame it on anyone, anything, besides yourself. Just my two cents.
non-Truther 1,
One other thought. I don’t hide. Everyone knows who I am and what I stand for.
Why not come out from behind the curtain and tell the world who you are? I mean, if I supported someone and thought that they were being unjustly attacked, I promise you I would support them publicly and never hide behind a cloak of anonymity.
No, not Burt. But he wouldn’t be the only one to see who Ms. Harrison has put her support behind. And why all of the emphasis on my name? Am I your argument against Judge Pratt simply because I support this judge? Claiming that your lies are truths and my truths are lies simply because you post your name? But I’m wrong simply due to a lack of posting a name? Really, is that your argument? I would think civil discourse is more honest when you’re working your beliefs over your name. You don’t speak to me here as you would if we were in person. And as such, considering our opposing viewpoints, it would most likely be better served to keep this as civil as possible.Everything I’ve posted in support of this judge can be verified by any one of you. I doubt that you can make the same claim, David.
So you’ve proclaimed that this judge is incompetent. Incompetence? You’ve never provided a shred of evidence to suggest that a judge who has never been overturned by the appellate court is incompetent. “I heard, I saw, I could’ve sworn that my wife’s sister’s girlfriend’s mom’s aunt said she heard”… blah, blah, blah. Nothing. Nothing more than a label to a blog title or her campaign website. You’ve written some fairly libelous things without even interviewing your subject. You claim that you can’t get her “paid lackeys” to arrange anything. Who are you talking to? Again, no names. And you know very well who her campaign consultant is and you know how to contact her; have been to some of the same events… but you couldn’t make an effort to approach her? Who’s “hiding behind the curtain” there?
I see you refused to print the whole truth about a case you claim the appellate court instructed Judge Pratt to rule on, when she had already ruled on it MONTHS BEFORE. The attorney didn’t do her job and check the court’s file. And that is your claim of incompetence? Sounds like the attorney should have a discussion with the grievance committee. And that Judge Pratt did her job timely. Now that you’ve finally seen the light on Jared Woodfill, maybe you’ll realize how wrong you are in this race also.
Using the bar poll as an argument as well. Wow. Who takes those polls… I mean despite a few who use it as a political tool, who else does? I never have, not even in support of Pratt. I guess I should go and do that, because a poll that nobody spends too much attention to is suddenly supposed to be relevant? Oh, come on.
And you put so much emphasis on Democrats supporting this judge along with Republicans. Alicia Franklin has been mentioned here. She’s a very proud Obama supporter. Donna Detamore, at a Cherry Tree Republican meeting, announced that she is the only challenger that has never voted as a Democrat. By that logic, that would make Mr. Magdaleno a Democrat. Is that correct? And you, sir, in your own words, after having a heart attack over Judge Pratt getting support from a Democrat, have described your opinion of the justice system this way; “And I think that the entire justice system would be better off being non-partisan, if we could just figure out a way to do that.” This quote can be found here:
https://bigjolly.com/2014/02/23/2014-primary-texas-supreme-court-races/#respond
You are a contradiction unto yourself. And yes, any of us that have followed your blogs see that you’ve contradicted yourself many times. And as I have previously stated, you are walking a fine line between protected speech and libel and I personally think you’ve crossed that line. With that, you are jeopardizing the candidates that you endorse with your reckless behavior. Feel free to continue your argument over our disagreement with more name calling and insults…..
That order that Pratt supposedly signed “months before” is nowhere to be found on the District Clerk’s website. Any lawyer who checked the file looking for an order on the motion to enforce would find a big pile of bupkis. (Go ahead and check Case Number 2009-66904 for anything signed on or around August 1 or August 17, 2012.)
The only place that order seems to exist is as an uncertified, unstamped attachment to a letter that Pratt had the Administrative Office send to the Court of Appeals only after the Court of Appeals told her to do her job and issue a ruling. Anyone can compare the order that Pratt “signed on August 1” with the order that Pratt actually signed and the clerk made a part of the record by looking at the 5/28/13 “Letter filed” entry in the appellate court case: http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=14-13-00347-CV
So: Did Pratt actually do her job, or is this another instance of her doing a little retroactive adjudicating?
Leif, thanks for a sane and civil response. Also, thanks for actually giving me something other than hearsay to look into. While I feel you might be referencing an issue with the clerks, I won’t assume that and will see what verification I can get on that. I’ll wait and respond after I’ve had a chance to look into it….
Leif,
OK, I don’t know if you’re being facetious or if you’re misinformed. No, I’m not being malicious, but I looked into your link as well as checking the Court’s file and found this to be part of the initial investigation into Pratt and the 311th. Is this the case in which it’s claimed that the Appellate Court had to tell her to do her job? It was actually a case of an attorney or two not doing THEIR job. Just check the file under the case number you quote. The attorney was supposed to do this before filing with the Appellate Court.
Apparently, the attorneys asked for the competing contempts to be ruled on at the same time; the first one was done and they reset for the 2nd to be heard. It looks like the attorneys reset it twice without the judge’s knowledge: the resets on the docket sheet are by the court staff, not the judge. Then they blew it off and didn’t reset it again. It seems that Pratt ruled after the 2nd reset. There is no indication in the court’s file, on the docket sheet, or any other place that the attorneys ever set it for a hearing to ask for a ruling before she heard both contempts, until AFTER she had already ruled.
Since the attorneys had to sign to check out files like a library book then, and neither attorney on that case checked that file out from the original hearing until after the appellate court ruled, it doesn’t look like they reviewed the file before filing with the Court of Appeals. Even the Grand Jury found that Judge Pratt did nothing wrong.
I hate to make it sound as if I’m changing the subject, but it was a 2 month investigation over a false claim by Greg Enos. No billed.Now his 2nd allegation appears to be going nowhere. I have a feeling that his 3rd allegation might get him into trouble when it’s also found to be false. And David pulled a play straight from a Democratic playbook and perpetuated this lie hoping that the uninformed voter would just follow his implications. I’m telling you, Leif, it looks like this whole thing started with Enos and should probably end with Enos… being investigated himself.
Truther1,
There was no requirement to sign in and out files like a library. Secondly you keep chanting that she was no billed but we keep asking why the Grand Jury never got to hear from any of the lawyers listed in the complaint. Not one. We can’t ask Devon Anderson what she was doing because that is confidential but we do know that the people with damaging evidence who were in the know including lawyers or her staff were ever called in front of the Grand Jury. With no evidence presented of course she was no billed. I am one of the lawyers that saw her change documents. I witnessed it personally. That is what made me so mad that I decide to run against her. Don’t wory about Enos he has enough evidence to defend any attack. I also find it funny that with every mistake and misdeed all Pratt’s attorney can say is his mantra “it was a mistake made by the clerk.”
Joel, I appreciate your kind words. Thank you, sir, for your support!
Mr Magdaleno – When you get on the bench, please, please remember these sad times for the families on the 311th. When the hours are long and the cases pile up, please don’t ignore them allow them to because so backlogged that you can’t catch up.
We support you, already voted for you, do all we can to make sure Harris County knows who you are trying to replace.
Make us proud. Everyone cannot win, with every battle there is a loser… but everyone should have a fair chance at winning. Be the Judge we can look back and say. YES! I helped him get in. I told a friend, who told a friend! Yes, we did it!
Thank you
David, let me introduce you to Truther1. He goes by the name Burt Levine when he is not hiding his ID in blog posts. You’ll find Truther1 posting on Off The Kuff and other liberal blogs. As Burt ..er Truther1 noted the Baptist Ministers of Houston and Vicinity are endorsing Pratt. This group endorses most Democrats or any candidate who will contribute. Watch for them to appear next week on Pratt’s next Campaign Finance Report. Apparently Burt knows Ronnie Harrison very well to be privy to her voting tendencies. Ms. Harrison herself has run unsuccessfully several times as a Democrat so it is unlikely that she voted Republican in those elections. Burt is full of misinformation about Pratt with the best example being a recent article in Houston Style magazine. Now that Burt has been outed, he will undoubtedly create a new handle to hide behind. Coming soon.
I don’t know what file you’re looking at, Truther. Unless the order is, for some reason unbeknownst to man or beast, unscanned, there is no such order in the District Clerk’s file. Pratt signed a July 17 order setting a hearing and an August 30 temporary injunction/order for counseling—and nothing between those dates. I don’t know if YOU’RE being facetious or not, but go ahead and look again. There is nothing there.
Nor do I know how you would find this to be “part of the grand jury’s initial investigation” as (a) a grand jury’s proceedings are confidential and (b) there would be no indication in the District Clerk’s records that this order was somehow checked out to a grand jury or prosecutor. And grand jury’s don’t find that someone did “nothing wrong;” they find that there isn’t probable cause to pursue a criminal investigation. As I wrote in my post, whether it’s criminal or not, backdating court documents—what it looks like Pratt did here—is underhanded and a sign of incompetence.
The copy that the Administrative Office mailed to the court of appeals isn’t certified, so no one swore it was in the file. If it were a part of the trial-court record, it would be stamped. It’s not. There’s no physical stamp from the district clerk’s office showing it was filed; there’s no electronic stamp from the district clerk’s office showing it was filed.
Family-court filings were available online in 2012. I looked up a bunch of them myself back then. Even if this were one of the documents that hadn’t been scanned back then—documents that were few and far between, at that point, especially ones that had been filed contemporaneously—there’s no reason that it wouldn’t have been scanned by now. And the wife’s lawyer would have had to be not just incompetent, but egregiously so, to have filed her response with the appellate court. When the other side demands a ruling from a judge, the proper response isn’t, “We don’t have any problem with you ordering the judge to rule;” it’s, “Uh, the judge already ruled on that, smart guy. You apparently forgot the part where she held you in contempt of court.”
It’s easy to blame Greg Enos. He’s a liberal Democrat complaining about a Republican judge to attempt to get Republicans to toss her in a Republican primary. But Republican lawyers can’t stand her, either—not only has Robert Clark announced himself several times as an example, but the HBA simply can’t get 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of its poll respondents to call someone a bad judge by votes from Democrats alone.
So accuse the accuser doesn’t work; smear the site’s host doesn’t work; blaming the lawyers doesn’t work; claiming a non-existent exoneration doesn’t work; pointing to a sheet of paper that exists nowhere in the district clerk’s record doesn’t work. I hope you’re getting paid well for your defense, Truther, because what else is left for you to conjure?
“grand juries,” smart guy.
OK, let’s look at some of the comments y’all are making here;
“I don’t know what file you’re looking at, Truther. Unless the order is, for some reason unbeknownst to man or beast, unscanned, there is no such order in the District Clerk’s file.”
I’m not sure what you’re arguing here, Leif. Check the court docket. It is the District Clerk’s job to have clerks put the orders in the file. If you’re not finding something on the District Clerk’s website, maybe you should take it up with their office.
“Nor do I know how you would find this to be “part of the grand jury’s initial investigation” as (a) a grand jury’s proceedings are confidential and (b) there would be no indication in the District Clerk’s records that this order was somehow checked out to a grand jury or prosecutor.”
Greg Enos put in ALL of his writings that he included this case when he filed with the District Attorney the first time. So there is indication that the Grand Jury checked out this case; check Enos’ blog and complaint, which he has made very public.
“There was no requirement to sign in and out files like a library.”
There was a sign-out sheet for files when we had paper files. The list goes back to her taking office. Maybe you never checked on your files. Or did you just not go by the rules? Other courts had them, too, and you should know this.
“Secondly you keep chanting that she was no billed but we keep asking why the Grand Jury never got to hear from any of the lawyers listed in the complaint”
Because she WAS no billed. How do you know the Grand Jury never heard from the lawyers listed in the complaint? The chatter around the courthouse was that they had ALL been interviewed by the Grand Jury. If you have a problem with the Grand Jury, you need to take it up with them. They seemed to find that there was nothing to the allegations.
” but we do know that the people with damaging evidence who were in the know including lawyers or her staff were ever called in front of the Grand Jury”
Then where was that “damaging evidence” in the investigation? Pratt was no billed; either they didn’t have evidence to tie her to wrongdoing or they didn’t have enough “evidence” to.
“As I wrote in my post, whether it’s criminal or not, backdating court documents—what it looks like Pratt did here—is underhanded and a sign of incompetence.”
And you’ve STILL provided no proof of this other than to claim your opinion as fact.
“all Pratt’s attorney can say is his mantra “it was a mistake made by the clerk.”
Wasn’t it? Do you personally have evidence to the contrary? Haven’t other courts had the same issues with the clerks? This is nothing unique to the 311th.
“So accuse the accuser doesn’t work”
I’ll point out that I didn’t attack the accuser over a single allegation, but more because he has shown a pattern and propensity of abusing the system with false or reckless allegations again and again. He had been contacting attorneys for nearly a year asking them to vote negatively on the judicial poll. And he had asked those attorneys to provide him information about anything they don’t like about Pratt, even if it wasn’t bad, so that he could change it up and publish it. Did you know he interviewed the original amicus of this latest allegation? Did you know that she informed him that the info he has from the 2 affiants is completely wrong? Did you know he didn’t investigate or print any of that? Just made up his own version of the facts and went to press? Did you know that several attorneys believed him when he said “if you write in to the Mongoose I will print your response without changes”? Did you know some did, and he didn’t print what they wrote at all? Did you know one of them was his opposing counsel on his first divorce, who has informed a few people of how unethical Enos is? Have you asked attorneys how they feel about Mr. Enos? Start with the many, many who donated to Pratt’s campaign, and provided her with almost twice the funds as the other candidates COMBINED before the January 15 filing. Have you bothered to check the reputation through AVVO or any other reporting service, of Enos or Clark? Of the 32 that he got to sign his “petition”, more than a few have never had cases in the 311th while Pratt was the judge. So you’ll believe people with no personal knowledge of her at all? I will always have a rebuttal against liars and those who would perpetuate those lies.
I feel sorry for you and others that have been completely bamboozled by the media. I feel sorry for people that believe everything they read in the newspaper or on the internet. As they saying goes, “if it’s in the paper/internet, it must be true, right?”; makes fun of that kind of naivte. I worry about people that perpetuate this stuff when they have never been in the 311th court, met the judge, or conducted their own research. They usually adhere to a different party. (Myself, I’m an Independent.) Didn’t you wonder why, after Matt Patrick talked with Judge Pratt, he had a completely different attitude towards her? Didn’t you wonder why, when Enos guaranteed she would be indicted, after 12 grand jurors, an investigator, and 2 asst District Attorneys investigated and reviewed the FACTS and the FILES, they did not feel that way and she was No Billed? Good grief. Wake up.
And Leif, if you’re going to make a personal attack and sarcastically refer to me as a “smart guy” over a typo, perhaps you should make the same comment to Mr. Placzek (wory?), smart guy.
Le sigh.
Signed orders go in the file. Everything that goes in the file gets stamped. By 2012, the district courts in Harris County had gone electronic—EVERYTHING got scanned. This was done to save money, but also to save time and preserve file integrity by putting the files where people could see them without checking them out.
I am amused beyond belief that a person who criticized the HBA poll is urging people to look at Avvo, of all places. Attacking Enos isn’t defending Pratt.
I will now, indeed, sarcastically refer to you as “smart guy”—I was replying to my own post to correct my own typo. Bit on the defensive, are we? I would be, too, if my defense boiled down to, “He sucks! People are giving me, the incumbent with control over their cases, money! And EVERYONE BUT ME is at fault!”
“Le sigh” Heheheh…. OK, I chuckled out loud over that one. I’ve said it to myself repeatedly with some of the opposing arguments that I get here at BJP. Am I defensive? Yes, but only here. I agree with much of what I read here and either Ed or a guest writer had brought up the “80/20” rule; I agree 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the time with you, but disagree 20{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of it. So, aside from 2 stories about this judge, there have been only a couple of other times that I’ve ever felt the need to respond to a blog or one of the commenters in the responses. In doing so, I have seen my typos get me vilified, raising questions of my intelligence, reading comprehension, identity, station in life, etc. So when I saw that “smart guy” comment, I assumed it was aimed at me. If it was merely an example of a good sense of humor, then I respectfully retract my remark about it and ask for it to be removed from the record.
Again, in terms of this document you are criticizing, I think it is a matter to take up with the District Clerk’s office. I can’t prove a negative and if you think they’ve left out any of the case files, you need to ask them about it.
So you question why I’d be more willing to use AVVO instead of the HBA poll? Well, the HBA poll is completely anonymous, easy to abuse and no expansion of thought as to why an attorney might vote the way they do. You’ve even pointed this out in a blog you wrote for BJP; you admitted that it wasn’t much evidence of the candidate BECAUSE it is easy to abuse and more often than not, used only as a political tool. Then you proceeded to use those same numbers you had just criticized as an argument against Pratt. AVVO is a great place to get information on a judge or attorney. Not only do you get a “rating”, you get commentary to back up that rating. It doesn’t matter that it’s anonymous because you get the “thought behind the vote” as it were. THAT allows YOU to determine how honest and accurate that rating is. By disparaging that source, you insult people like Mr. Placzek who have several excellent reviews there. Are you saying he didn’t earn them?
And my defense does NOT boil down to “he sucks”, “she’s terrible”, “he’s horrible”, “she’s incompetent”, as I’ve seen here, without providing some detail as to why I think the way I do. I’ve seen matters of opinion, speculation, and conjecture posed as proof, evidence or fact. If you want to try this case in the “Court of Public Opinion”, then I get to cross examine witnesses and evidence. It isn’t an “attack” so much as it’s clarifying the veracity of the witnesses and evidence and providing a rebuttal. Apparently, there is a “treasure trove” of witnesses and evidence that have been provided for the 3 official complaints against this judge; that “treasure trove” of witnesses and evidence has proven absolutely nothing insofar as to the claims against her. None of these complaints have gone anywhere.
@Truther1 – Offically one year later no answer on an enforcement or motion to modify. I am glad Mr Enos filed the complaint to get her investigate (charged or not) because AT LEAST she began to show up to court. Did you sit there day after day waiting and hoping your Judge would show up to work so you did not miss ANOTHER day of work for nothing? Lost your job because there were so many resets. Did not see your children because she REFUSED to give a ruling. A ruling, isn’t that her job?
Forget the media, the lawyers and the politics of this all. WE THE PARENTS GET SCREWED BY HER REFUSAL TO DO HER JOB EVERYDAY! Defend that….. Defend the children not seeing mom or dad because Judge Pratt would not come to work. Defend her ignoring the filings by the very amicus she placed on the cases. Defend the babies whose parents can’t afford the extra things for them anymore because each court appearance cost them in fees. Defend the parents that come to court to get a resolution but instead get NOTHING. I am not talking about not getting what you want, I am speaking of getting NOTHING. No answers, no verdicts, no decisions. NOTHING. Working parents and children, that’s who suffers.
I have personally been going to each Republican meeting and putting Pratt information on cars. Going downtown daily and doing the same. The more people that become informed the better chance we have at getting someone, ANYONE, on that bench that will… at very least… DO THE JOB.
ANYONE, please father in heaven, ANYONE BUT PRATT!
@truther – But you ignore my proof on each post. I get it, I don’t call her names instead I call out the actions in her courtroom. The parents I have spoken with after spending days and days and days waiting to see if we would be reset yet again. Defend her until you are blue in the face but the fact that she was OFTEN not at work in 2012 and 2013 is easy to verify. The number of resets due to her not being there, also easy to verify. Ask the parents who can’t get her to give a ruling!
Election day people. I have already been at different sites handing out information!
@anyonebutpratt – “But you ignore my proof on each post.” What proof? And what “each post”? You’d posted once and it was clearly your ramblings of OPINION.