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.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the way the leadership handled this matter and take a look at her campaign finance account to see why they handled it the way they did.
Writing in the Houston Chronicle, Kiah Collier has this from HCRP Chair Jared Woodfill:
Party Chairman Jared Woodfill said in an interview Wednesday that the party’s advisory board, which has asked candidates to withdraw from races in the past, is leaving this one to “the good judgement of the voters.”
“The advisory board and myself ultimately decided to let the voters decide,” Woodfill said Wednesday. “They’re intelligent and they’re well informed… Obviously, there’s been a lot of coverage in the media.”
When Pratt was under investigation by a grand jury for allegedly backdating court records, Woodfill had said the special committee would consider asking her to withdraw if she were indicted, but the investigation ended in a no-bill.
“I’m sure the voters will make the right call,” Woodfill added.
Jared is far more trusting of the voters than I am, especially with at least one of the pay-for-play slates endorsing Pratt. But we want to know why Woodfill and the advisory committee chose not to demand her resignation or to ask her to remove her name from the ballot when there was still time. To do that, we do what everyone knows to do: follow the money. From Pratt’s January 15th campaign finance report:
That’s a total of $45,750. Although Polland has said publicly he is not going to support her, he hasn’t released his rag yet so there is still time for him to do that. I’d guess that the $10,000 check to Blakemore on 12/18 is tied to Dr. Steve Hotze’s Conservative Republicans of Texas endorsement but that is just a guess.
If you were Jared, would you distance yourself from that kind of money? And why is Paul Simpson, Woodfill’s opponent for HCRP Chair, sitting on the sidelines while families are torn apart?
The good news is that more and more people are aware of Judge Pratt’s incompetence and lack of integrity. There will be a press conference on the steps of the Family Law Courthouse next Thursday, 1/23. At this time it is set for 11:45 am but I hope they move it to 11:oo am and then walk over to the weekly meeting of the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club and pass out flyers about the club’s former president. Many of the family law attorneys that are behind the press conference are bringing their clients so that the press can get first hand information of the pain and suffering that Judge Pratt’s incompetence has caused.
In addition, my friend George Scott is all over this mess, as relates to the slate endorsements and the outsized influence they have on Harris County Republican Party candidates. I’m good at digging through finance reports but George is on a whole different level. He is a pit bull and will not release his bite until he has had his full and complete say. Head over there and check out these posts:
- Michael Franks Says Hotze-Blakemore Endorsement Process Was Predictable
- Some Of Hotze’s Endorsements Are Inexplicable – Here Comes The Microscope
- Hotze’s Endorsement Of Robert Talton Over Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht Guided By Spite Over Brother Bruce’s Legal Defeat?
- Surrendering The Responsibility Of Citizenship To The Slates Of Power Brokers
- The Sad Spectacle Of Conservative Republican Surrender To Slate Politics
More to come – how did Judge Denise Pratt raise $146,020.23 in the past six months while under investigation and who gave her that money?
I understand that people are mad that it takes forever to get orders signed in the 311th. I understand that they are now mad that some number of cases got DWOPed in the 311th and they have to file a motion to reinstate and get a hearing. In fact, now that the Supreme Court has said we can’t do FreeFile at the District Clerk’s office any more, they will have to pay (probably about $12, depending on which Supreme Court approved vendor they use) to file their motion to reinstate.
But this article misses the mark.
The advisory board has no authority to force someone not to file. We have open filing in the Republican Party. 22 years ago, GOP leadership begged Denise Collins not to run against John Kyles for the 208th District Court. She ran anyway, won in a squeaker, and has served ever since.
Blakemore is a consultant. He does not own Steve Hotze. He works for Hotze, just like he works for Pratt.
Gary Polland sold Pratt advertising. Numerous websites (including this one) and newsletters sell advertising. Those electrons don’t organize themselves, and the post office has a nasty habit of returning mail if postage isn’t paid.
By the way, if Gary took all that money and doesn’t endorse her, will you take back what you said about “pay to play”?
The local party asks incumbents to carry their own weight when it comes to paying for campaigns. If she did not “donate” to the joint judicial campaign, she would have had to get her petitions signed at a booth in front of the local Kroger, instead of the Galleria. If she did not pay the $2500 filing fee, she would not have been on the ballot. If she did not join the RLC, only one of her opponents would have been listed on the HCRP website as a member.
Since George is going to investigate further into who has donated money to Pratt’s campaign, I’ll make a suggestion where else to look: See if the same people donating to Pratt’s campaign are donating to other incumbents. I would venture that with the exception of one Verna Pratt of Baytown, Texas, most, if not all of them are.
I’m Tom Zakes and I approve this message.
Tom,
As always, thanks for reading BJP.
I’m dismayed that you, and others, so quickly dismiss the real and true harm that Judge Pratt has brought to families that are already in a crisis. I understand your longtime friendship with Judge Pratt but simply cannot understand your cavalier attitude towards real hurt imposed upon real people. Perhaps you can attend the press conference next week and listen to their stories.
As for Polland, (and the rest by inference), the “pay to play” or “pay for play” terms are still relevant. Until the “big 3” for profit slates have a reduced role in HCRP primaries, those terms will stay relevant.
I take it that you haven’t bothered to look at those reports because if you had, you would not have made your challenge to George. Stay tuned, I promise you that he is far more aggressive and “pit bullish” than I am.
DJ
What is this “Pastoral Council” listed on the Judge’s financial report as being a part of the Harris County Republican Party? I am not aware of any such party-linked group, although I am aware of the similarly named group led by anti-gay activist Dave Welch.
You are quite welcome.
I read the Jan 15 report this afternoon before making a comment. I know most of her donors, including her mom. Judge Pratt is the fourth judge I have practiced in front of in the 311th.
I could tell stories about Bill Elliott that would curl your hair. The protestors who set up camp outside the building in ’93 and ’94 were definitely justified.
Bill Henderson, who has also served as president of Pachyderms, also took forever to sign decrees. Lawyers were just as frustrated with him, but did not have the social media to voice their frustration. Instead, they just complained among themselves in the coffee shop in the basement.
Doug Warne was definitely one of the best to ever sit at 1115 Congress.
I was in the 311th in December when Associate Judge Newey was telling parties and lawyers to get their cases resolved before the 20th or there would be dismissals shortly thereafter. But he also said that they would be happy to reinstate the cases after the first of the year.
Needless to say, I got my paperwork in before the 20th. And the clerk told me today that the orders in both of those cases are now signed, although one of them has yet to be imaged into the new mandatory electronic system. You know, the one that the Supreme Court told us was going to make life so much simpler?
But I digress. However, I could point out three judges from the class of ’94 who annually dismissed many more cases than whatever number Judge Pratt may have done in all of 2013.
I won’t be able to make it to a press conference on the 23rd. I will be inside the Family Law Center that day doing my best to prevent “real hurt to real people” that unfortunately happens on a regular basis in family courts throughout the state, despite our best efforts.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: As a general rule, Polland, Hotze and Lowry make their endorsements based on who they think is best for the job. I endorse people as well based on who I think is best. The Realty Business Coalition does too. There will always be an element of self interest in each of these decisions. There will also be a factor (especially in the larger operations) of who they think is going to win anyway.
I’m Tom Zakes and I approve this message.
So, was Judge Newey telling people they have no right to their scheduled trial? That they have to come to an agreement? Even if they can’t come to an agreement?