Jerry Eversole’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, says the feds were trying to criminalize a friendship.

The “friendship” argument apparently was a part of deliberations. At one point the jury sent Hittner a note asking, “Friendship or not, where do you draw the line to justify continuing to accept things of value (as an elected official) with someone who does business with the county?”

County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, has escaped yet again from allegations of having a rather loose interpretation of ethics rules. A federal jury could not come to a decision on whether Eversole took $100,000 in bribes from a contractor, and U.S. District Judge David Hittner declared a mistrial.

On Tuesday after the jury said it was deadlock in two notes to Judge David Hittner, a third note was then sent to the judge from the jurors, which said the areas they needed to address include:

1. Re-stating the argument that this was a conspiracy.
2. What was the relationship between Surface and Eversole from their first meeting until 1999, and did the pattern of behavior change?
3. Friendship or not, where do you draw the link to justify continuing to accept things of value (as an elected official) with someone who does business with the county?

When our legal analyst read that last question, he knew there was no hope.

“This is a hung jury. You have jurors there who bought the friendship defense, that clearly say there is a line between friendship and criminal responsibility and we don’t know where that line is,” KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy said.

The judge made the announcement today, March 30, 2011, just before noon, saying he’d like for a new jury to be chosen as early as this coming week with a new trial underway in April. Attorneys, however, said they would like more time.

As for the jury and where they stood on the four counts:

- Conspiracy: 5 guilty, 7 not guilty
- Bribery: 10 guilty, 2 not guilty
- 2003 tax misstatement: 10 guilty, 2 not guilty
- 2004 tax misstatement: 7 guilty, 5 not guilty

“We all agreed he took the money — that was evident. We all agreed he used his office or his influence — the question for two of us was did he do that corruptly,” Hopkins said.

But now, both sides know a lot more about how their case played to a jury. And to the majority of jurors who voted to convict, Eversole’s acceptance of big dollar gifts, even with a friend, didn’t play well.

“I think it was ludicrous. I think the guy knows exactly what he was doing. He skirted the law,” jury foreman John Hopkins said.

“At the end of the day, 10 of us thought he was guilty on at least 2 charges. We couldn’t sway the other 2,” said “jury foreman John Hopkins.

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©Rose Turner
March 30, 2011
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Tags: $17 thousand Eversole received in landscaping, $30 thousand in antique firearms, 2003 tax misstatement 10 guilty 2 not guilty, 2004 tax misstatement 7 guilty 5 not guilty, accepting bribes, alleged bribes, and $63 thousand to pay off his mortgage, Anna Nicole Smith, Anna Nicole Smith trials, Bribery 10 guilty 2 not guilty, campaign finance violations, charged with filing false income tax returns, Chicago, cleaning up the Texas politics, Conspiracy 5 guilty 7 not guilty, County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, did the pattern of behavior change, Eversole could receive $700 thousand in fines, Eversole could receive a maximum of 21 years in prison and $700 thousand in fines, Eversole jury foreman John Hopkins, Eversole maximum 21 years in prison, fame Texas defense lawyer, fame Texas defense lawyer Rusty Hardin, federal jury, filing false income tax returns, four federal indictments, friends helping friends, Harris County Attorney Mike Driscoll, Harris County County Commissioner, High Profile Trials, hint of the good ole boys, Houston Chronicle, houstonpress.com, Howard K Stern, J. Pierce Marshall, Jerry Eversole, Jerry Eversole charged with filing false income tax returns, Jerry Eversole Harris County Commissioner, Jerry Eversole Trial, Joel Androphy, John Hopkins, Jon Lindsay, Jon Lindsay represent northern Harris County in the state Senate, Judge Sharon Keller, Judge Tony Lindsay, jury foreman John Hopkins, justify continuing to accept things of value as an elected official, KTRK, KTRK Legal Analyst, KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy, Legal Analyst Joel Androphy, loose interpretation of ethics rules, Mark Jones, Michael Surface, Minneapolis, northern Harris County in the state Senate from 1996-2006, Re-stating the argument that this was a conspiracy, retired Judge Tony Lindsay, Rice University, Rice University political science chairman, Rice University political science chairman Mark Jones, Rusty Hardin, Rusty Hardin Esq., Sharon Keller fined $100 thousand by the Texas Ethics Commission, six-term Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay, Steve Sadow Esq., Texas Ethics Commission, Texas Ethics Commission fined Eversole $75 thousand, U.S. District Judge David Hittner, What was the relationship between Surface and Eversole from their first meeting until 1999, “criminalizing” a 30-year friendship

What caught my attention in this trial is that in the Houston Chronicle coverage there is mention of a lot of names that overlap all things Anna Nicole Smith trials.

At one point the Houston Chronicle says; “So how corrupt is the local scene? It all depends on what you compare it to, said Rice University political science chairman Mark Jones. “If you reference Chicago,” he said, “it’d be more similar. To Minneapolis? More corrupt.”

I have said many times since I return to Texas in 1990, what happened to “my Texas”, the one I grew up in and moved out of in 1977.

Who is Jerry Eversole? He is a County Commissioner in Harris County Texas that has been slammed with four federal indictments accusing him of accepting bribes and filing false income tax returns.

After demanding a quick and speedy trial after being indicted at the end of December 2010 and a three week trial in March 2011, the case went to the federal jury last Friday, March 25, 2011, with the defense led by fame Texas defense lawyer Rusty Hardin, deciding to put on NO defense. Rather it was the hint of the good ole boys and just friends helping friends like we do in Texas that Hardin rested on. Was it a gamble, yes per court analysts. Hardin of the fame J. Pierce Marshall and Anna Nicole Smith Probate fight way back in the early nineties, decided to take the same position that Steve Sadow did with Howard K. Stern in California. Very simply put, the U. S. government did not put on a case that Hardin felt was based on facts and so no defense other than friends do favors for friends in his closing arguments was his choice as a defense for Jerry Eversole.

The Houston Chronicle article also mentioned one of our old friends, Judge Tony Lindsay and the hot water her husband Jon Lindsay landed in 1993. That’s the year six-term Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay called it quits after being indicted for perjury, accused of lying on a campaign finance report and being accused by a federal convict of accepting a bribe to reroute a county road to boost the prospects of a housing development. The perjury indictments eventually were thrown out, and no criminal charges resulted from the bribery allegation. Still, Lindsay suffered a battering at the hands of then-County Attorney Mike Driscoll, who filed suit to remove the judge from office. Even that, however, was not enough to keep him out of office, as Lindsay went on to represent northern Harris County in the state Senate from 1996-2006.

The jury deliberated two hours on Friday and returned this morning and is deliberating again on the charges of alleged bribes cited by prosecutors included $17,000 Eversole received in landscaping, $30,000 in antique firearms, and $63,000 to pay off his mortgage. Eversole also was charged with filing false income tax returns in connection with the benefits.

Jerry Eversole’s friend Michael Surface also was indicted in December and is expected to go to trial in October. Defense attorneys maintain that prosecutors are “criminalizing” a 30-year friendship.

The other thing that caught my attention is the Judge Sharon Keller ongoing problems with the Texas state congress trying to impeach her and there has been another charge against her with the State Bar to disbar her, she was fined $100,000.00 by the Texas Ethics Commission, the highest ever fine, Jerry Eversole holds the second highest ever levied at a record $75,000 against him for campaign finance violations. If convicted Eversole could receive a maximum of 21 years in prison and $700,000 in fines.

Is this the beginning of cleaning up the Texas politics of hey friends help friends, or will it be business as usual and Jerry Eversole will walk this week?

Read the indictment and other papers filed before this quick trial and tell us if you think Eversole will walk?

12-20-10-Indictment (262)
12-28-10-Protective-Order (258)
1-10-11 Eversole Motion Limine (421)
1-11-11-Order-Allow-Additional-Motions (246)
1-11-11-Order-Setting-Deadline-Pretrial-Motions (241)
1-18-11-Order-Deny-Eversole-Request-Contact-Surface (247)
1-19-11-Motion-Severance-Trial.pdf (95)
1-24-11 Surface Motion Continuance (295)
1-24-11-USA-Response-Surface-Motion-Countinuance (236)
1-26-11-Surface-Reply-Continuance (365)
1-27-11-Order-Granting-Severance (247)
2-7-11-Order-Setting-Deadlines (250)
2-9-11-Eversole-Opposition-USA-Motion-Discovery (242)
2-9-11-USA-Motion-Discovery (270)
2-15-11-Eversole-Motion-Disclosure-Evidence (241)
2-16-11-Order-Granting-Part-Discovery (244)
2-17-11-Order-Granting-Motion-Disclosure (242)
2-28-11-USA-Trial-Memorandum (263)
3-6-11 USA Motion Limine (248)
3-8-11-Eversole-Response-USA-Motion-Limine (249)

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©Rose Turner
March 28, 2011
All Rights Reserved, do not reproduce in whole or in part without the express written consent of the author.

The expressions in this blog article are based on the opinions of Rose Turner or our featured authors, please remember we are not lawyers and those opinions expressed here are each of our individual opinions and should not be taken as legal advice and/or legal opinions. The comments following this blog article are the opinions and sole property of the blog site members and do not necessarily reflect those of the site owners. If comments to this or any other articles are not related to the article or does not meet the terms of use for Rose Speaks, they will be removed by the moderators.

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Tags: "criminalizing" a 30-year friendship, $17 thousand Eversole received in landscaping, $30 thousand in antique firearms, accepting bribes, alleged bribes, and $63 thousand to pay off his mortgage, Anna Nicole Smith, Anna Nicole Smith trials, campaign finance violations, charged with filing false income tax returns, Chicago, cleaning up the Texas politics, Eversole could receive $700 thousand in fines, Eversole could receive a maximum of 21 years in prison and $700 thousand in fines, Eversole maximum 21 years in prison, fame Texas defense lawyer, fame Texas defense lawyer Rusty Hardin, federal jury, filing false income tax returns, four federal indictments, friends helping friends, Harris County Attorney Mike Driscoll, Harris County County Commissioner, High Profile Trials, hint of the good ole boys, Houston Chronicle, Howard K Stern, J. Pierce Marshall, Jerry Eversole, Jerry Eversole charged with filing false income tax returns, Jerry Eversole Harris County Commissioner, Jerry Eversole Trial, Jon Lindsay, Jon Lindsay represent northern Harris County in the state Senate, Judge Sharon Keller, Judge Tony Lindsay, Mark Jones, Michael Surface, Minneapolis, northern Harris County in the state Senate from 1996-2006, retired Judge Tony Lindsay, Rice University, Rice University political science chairman, Rice University political science chairman Mark Jones, Rusty Hardin, Rusty Hardin Esq., Sharon Keller fined $100 thousand by the Texas Ethics Commission, six-term Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay, Steve Sadow Esq., Texas Ethics Commission, Texas Ethics Commission fined Eversole $75 thousand

The Houston Chronicle is carrying the story by Mary Flood that famed billionaire attorney John O’Quinn’s live in companion for over 10 years has asked to be named as O’Quinn’s common-law-wife in order to get part of O’Quinn’s Estate.

Darla Lexington’s attorney has approached the Executor of O’Quinn’s Estate, Gerald Treece to ask that she be named as O’Quinn’s common-law wife and thus that would make Lexington entitled to part of O’Quinn’s billion dollar Estate.

However as the copy carried here at Rose Speaks.com stated, John O’Quinn’s will was written in the summer of 2008 well into his relationship with Lexington and left her nothing and further stated that O’Quinn was “single” and that all of his money and property was to go to his charitable foundation. .

Jimmy Williamson is the attorney for Lexington, Houston Chronicle Article states that he said; “They are trying to handle this claim diplomatically and have filed no legal papers yet. There’s no question that Darla and John loved each other and John introduced Darla as his wife on many, many occasions.”

Lexington who lived with O’Quinn in a million dollar plus River Oaks Estate in Houston Texas moved out so it could be sold. “Selling the home was painful for Darla. It had been her home for 10 years,” Williamson said in the article.

Dale Jefferson, a lawyer for the estate, told the paper that; “They are also selling many of O’Quinn’s beloved antique cars and his ranch as well. The estate executor, and the foundation are completely aligned in thinking O’Quinn was single and the money goes to the foundation.

During O’Quinn’s life, Lexington headed the nonprofit corporation, Classy Classic Cars Ltd., which oversaw O’Qunn’s massive antique care collection numbering close to 1,000 vintage cars at one time. Lexington and O’Quinn had plans to establish a car museum before his sudden death in October 2009.

Wonder who else might want a piece of this billion dollar estate, guess time will only tell that?

Be sure to participate in our MEMBERS ONLY FORUMS, get the most out of the site by learning your way around in the forums where you can safely discuss things you do not want to see copied and pasted on another site.

©Rose Turner
April 21, 2010
All Rights Reserved, do not reproduce in whole or in part without the express written consent of the author.

The expressions in this blog article are based on the opinions of Rose Turner or our featured authors, please remember we are not lawyers and those opinions expressed here are each of our individual opinions and should not be taken as legal advice and/or legal opinions. The comments following this blog article are the opinions and sole property of the blog site members and do not necessarily reflect those of the site owners.

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Tags: billion dollar Estate, Dale Jefferson Esq., Darla Lexington, Executor Gerald Treece, Gerald Treece, High Profile Trials, Houston Chronicle, Jimmy Williamson Esq., John O'Quinn, John O'Quinn's Estate, John O'Quinn's Executor Gerald Treece, John O'Quinn's Foundation, John O'Quinn's Will, MARY FLOOD, million dollar plus River Oaks house, ommon-law wife, reporter Mary Flood, River Oaks Houston Texas, The O'Quinn Law Firm

John O’Quinn has been as complex in death as he was in life. There are no simple answers or simple liquidation of his assets and as a lawyer bigger then Texas itself that is how it should be.

The name of O’Quinn will continue to circle for I predict five to seven years. Mr. Neil McCabe of the O’Quinn Law Firm told me on the record a few months ago, that the Law Firm had just signed a new five year lease. John O’Quinn was not a stupid man, in fact all who knew him or went up against him in court are in agreement he was one of the smartest litigators as Texas will ever see again, or the U. S. for that matter.

O’Quinn’s tragic death in October 2009 has created gossip, a rush to read his Will, and attempting to get a quote from the Executor of the Estate or the board members of the John M. O’Quinn Foundation. However the Executor or Board of Directors have given few quotes on the record which leaves us scrambling for answers, especially for those of us in adversarial roles in lawsuits with the O’Quinn Law Firm.

The Estate is being handled by a life long friend, T. Gerald Treece. Mr. Treece was of counsel to the O’Quinn Law Firm before O’Quinn’s death. Treece wrote the formal obituary and gave a moving eulogy by all accounts at the funeral of O’Quinn. Mr. Treece also is an assistant dean at Southwest College of Law, counsel to the president of the law school, and instructor at the law school as time permits.

Upon John O’Quinn’s death everything concerning the law firm was moved into the O’Quinn Law Firm Trust with three co-trustees at the helm, Mr. Treece, C. David Towery and David L. Griffis. They are to make all decisions for the slow dissolution of the firm, and those of us who live in Texas know full well that a civil suit in Texas can last from five to seven years. Mr. O’Quinn would not have those pending suits with money due him hanging in the wind so to say. Just like the Overstock.com lawsuit he was heading to a mediation meeting with a fellow lawyer on the day of his death, there are many pending lawsuits that owe Mr. O’Quinn’s Estate, O’Quinn’s share of the winnings, or the debts if that is the case.

The complex John O’Quinn remains just that from a loving Super Bowl Sunday to his prize cars owned by Classy Classic Cars LTD, which Darla Lexington, Mr. O’Quinn’s long time partner and described as the love of his life is president.

This week before the Super Bowl, Dexter Manley, nicknamed the “Secretary of Defense”, has been given the showy championship ring he won as a Washington Redskin on Jan. 30, 1983, back from the Executor of O’Quinn’s Estate on behalf of the Estate. In an interview with Houston Chronicle, Mary Flood, Treece shared that O’Quinn had given him the super bowl ring with explicit instruction on how and when to return the ring.

Manley had an illustrious eleven year football career, mainly with the Washington Redskins before being banned from the game permanently for the use of Crack Cocaine.

“During one of many relapses in 1998, Manley walked into a pawn shop in the southwest part of Houston. Low on cash, on the verge of eviction, he took the first of two Super Bowl rings he won in Washington and gave it to the man behind the counter; he walked out with $5,000, which soon disappeared in puffs of white smoke.” John O’Quinn heard the story and without Manley knowing it went to the same “pawn shop about a year later to find the ring had not yet been sold he handed over the $15,000 resale value in cash”.

Manley continued his descent into addiction and O’Quinn held on to the ring, saying when Manley got sobered he could have the ring back and so it went for ten years. When asked Manley would say, “See, in order to know your history, you got to know yourself. I knew myself enough to know someone else needed to have that ring then.”

Per the Washington Post interview with Manley’s wife she said; “John kept telling him he gave it to me on the plane that day and finally I said to him, ‘Dexter, you know John has it, I said, He’s not giving it back to you yet because he doesn’t believe you’re whole. He still thinks the ring needs to be safe. …At one point O’Quinn told Lydia, during one of Dexter’s relapses, ‘Don’t stop talking to him. He might not hear everything. But he hears something. We all hear something.’ What few people knew at the time is that O’Quinn was fighting his own addiction with alcohol one he beat, so he knew of the demons of addiction and “the destructive things the disease make you do. …He would only give the ring back if Dexter was now sober and healthy,” said Lydia, whose husband has not had a relapse since June 16, 2006. “That was real important. He, [Treece], asked me that about four times. …And you know what? He, [O’Quinn] fulfilled his purpose. He kept that ring safe. He kept that ring safe until Dexter could keep himself safe.”

The interview went on to say that Manley; “About a week after his death Dexter called Treece, the executor of O’Quinn’s estate, to share condolences. ‘The first time I smiled after John’s death, Treece recalled. Dexter was so much like John — a golden heart who would do anything for anybody.”

Near the end of the conversation Manley asked if Treece knew where his super bowl ring was and it was then that Treece said he had instructions from O’Quinn about the ring and he needed to talk to Lydia, Manley’s wife. Lydia Manley picked the ring up on Wednesday night at the law school office of Treece. While looking at it she mused; that “she liked that it was a little tarnished, but still just as valuable. It’s not all shiny right now, it’s just as it should be. It’s got a little wear on it.”

So today as we all watch the Super Bowl a sober Dexter Manley will have his super bowl ring with him; “This day is bittersweet,” said Lydia Manley, happy her husband deserves the ring back after being sober since 2006 but sad O’Quinn isn’t around to see that day.” Manley said of getting his ring back, “I can be trusted now; I’m safe, it, [the ring], may be best in my wife’s capable hands.”

I will be looking at the crowd Sunday afternoon here in my home as millions of us tune in for the Super Bowl and thinking about that tarnished ring, probably shined and sparkling as it should be by this day. It is 18-carat solid gold, heavy and gaudy. On its crown is a diamond-encrusted football with burgundy backing. One side is engraved with the Roman numerals XVII and the words “Super Bowl.” Under the words “Hail to the Redskins” are the Lombardi Trophy and the Capitol. Engraved on the other side is “MANLEY,” which sits above a Redskins helmet and his No. 72.

I believe a part of O’Quinn will be there with Manley sharing the common love both men had for the other and both understanding the tough road to sobriety. A very complex man, Mr. O’Quinn was.

Part two will be put up after the Super Bowl and will deal with the rumor car sales and what happens now with the Estate of John M. O’Quinn.

Be sure to participate in our MEMBERS ONLY FORUMS, get the most out of the site by learning your way around in the forums where you can safely discuss things you do not want to see copied and pasted on another site.

©Rose Turner
February 7, 2010
All Rights Reserved, do not reproduce in whole or in part without the express written consent of the author.

The expressions in this blog article are based on the opinions of Rose Turner or our featured authors, please remember we are not lawyers and those opinions expressed here are each of our individual opinions and should not be taken as legal advice and/or legal opinions. The comments following this blog article are the opinions and sole property of the blog site members and do not necessarily reflect those of the site owners.

Please also read our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

Tags: C. David Towery, Celebrity Trials, Classy Classic Cars LTD, Crack Cocaine, Darla Lexington, David L.Griffis, Dexter Manley, Dexter Manley #72, diamond-encrusted football, Executor of John M. O'Quinn's Will, Executor of O’Quinn’s Estate, Hail to the Redskins, High Profile Trials, Houston Chronicle, John M. O'Quinn's Will, John M. O’Quinn Foundation, John O'Quinn, John O’Quinn’s death, Lombardi Trophy, Lydia Manley, MANLEY, MARY FLOOD, MARY FLOOD - HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Mr. Treece, Neil McCabe, Overstock.com, Overstock.com lawsuit, Overstock.com litigation, pawn shop, Redskins helmet, rumor car sales, Secretary of Defense - football, Southwest College of Law, southwest part of Houston, Super Bowl, super bowl ring, Super Bowl Sunday, Super Bowl XVII, T. Gerald Treece, The John O'Quinn Law Firm, The O'Quinn Law Firm, The O'Quinn Law Firm Trust, Washington Post, Washington Redskins

Anonymity of some threatened; others try to bury public records
By MARY FLOOD
mary.flood@chron.com.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 21, 2009, 6:06AM

Freedom of expression may seem boundless on the Internet, but in Houston and around the nation, computer users are increasingly finding their speech is not infinitely protected.

Recent Harris County cases have shown that the worldwide forum offered by the Internet ups the ante and consequences of everything from idle chatter to the information in public records.

Dave Heller, staff lawyer for the Media Law Resource Center in New York, said anonymous bloggers and commenters might have “reason to pause in the current climate” because of cases around the country where judges have ordered their names revealed in court cases.

At the same time, he said, courts are trying to strike a balance between public access and privacy as their own records become more accessible.

“Some people are naturally freaked out,” he said, when public documents move from musty courthouses to online.

What was gossip over coffee before the Internet becomes a permanent stain viewable by the universe once posted. What were once obscure but long-public government documents, become potential identity theft time bombs and privacy invasion headaches when easily accessible online.

In Houston just this summer, the specific demands of the law smashed up against the Web in these instances involving speech and public records:

• • Two bloggers, [Lyndal Harrington and Teresa Stephens], who posted their opinions, or hosted the thoughts of others about Anna Nicole Smith’s mother were stunned when they were jailed for contempt of court for refusing to give the court their computers for forensic review. …

…”Courts continually struggle to interpret and apply free speech and privacy laws that were written generations ago with newspapers in mind”, said Chip Babcock, a Texas media lawyer who represents journalist Art Harris, sued along with several bloggers in the defamation case filed by Anna Nicole Smith’s mother, Virgie Arthur. “The Internet is such a powerful tool and such a potentially intrusive thing that judges are being pulled away from the model.”

In the Arthur defamation case, Harris County District Judge Tony Lindsay temporarily imprisoned two bloggers and confiscated the computers of Babcock’s entertainment journalist client.

Identities sought

A more common problem for bloggers and commenters is losing just their anonymity when they’ve made negative comments and are sued for defamation. …

…Most newspapers and electronic media fight back to some extent but most also post warnings that the media will relinquish identity information if required to in a legal proceeding. Trying to keep everyday speech on these Web sites secret has been a losing battle.

Another battleground

Another place law and the Internet are clashing locally is in district courts as Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson is swiftly updating the system and putting public records online…

…These growing pains are likely to continue as local and federal the laws are applied to the content on the Internet, which the U.S. Supreme Court has called essentially the most democratic mass media ever invented.

You can read the full article on the Houston Chronicle site at the following URL:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6628615.html.

Also because of the most recent rulings by both federal courts and state courts and the fiasco of the MySpace.com Lori Drew case please read out TOS and our PRIVACY POLICY, as both have changed EFFECTIVE TODAY, including that you must be 18 years old to supply personal information if you sign up for the main site, blog, forums or the chat link.

However with that said, all of us here at Rose Speaks.com thank you for flying Rose Speaks.com and hope you continue to come back, read and/or interact with our blogs and forums.

Ken and Rose Turner and all of your volunteer and hard working moderators and administrators, if you need to reach one of us, Ken can be reached at webmaster @ rosespeaks.com, Rose at rose @ rosespeaks.com, Roxanne at Roxanne @ rosespeaks.com, Heath at heath @ rosespeaks.com and the moderator of the forums Diamond Girl at diamondgirl @ rosespeaks.com. Any and all of us will try to answer your questions in keeping with out TOS and Privacy Policy while keeping you our readers up to date and enjoying all of the sections of Rose Speaks.com.

This article is the sole property of Rose Speaks unless otherwise stated. This article as with other articles is based on the opinion of Rose Turner, or our guest authors if so indicated. Please remember we are not lawyers and those opinions expressed here are each of our individual opinions and should not be taken as legal advice and/or legal opinions. The comments following this article are the opinions and sole property of the site members and do not necessarily reflect those of the site owners.

Please also read our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

Tags: Anna Nicole Smith, Anonymity internet posters, Anonymity of bloggers, Anonymity of posters online, anonymous bloggers, anonymous commenters, Art Harris, Bonnie Stern, Celebrity Trials, Charles "Chip" Babcock, Dave Heller, Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson, Harris County Texas, Harvey Levin, High Profile Trials, Honorable Tony Lindsay, Houston Chronicle, HOUSTON CHRONICLE - online, Howard K Stern, Judge Tony Lindsay, Ken and Rose Turner, Ken Turner, L. Lin Wood, Lin Wood, Luke Lantta, Lyndal Harrington, MARY FLOOD, MARY FLOOD - HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Media Law Resource Center - New York, Neil McCabe, posters right to privacy, right ot privacy online, Rose Turner, Teresa Stephens, The O'Quinn Law Firm, TMZ.com, Virgie Arthur

No it is not Art Harris the blogger. When I talked to Charles “Chip” Babcock in February 2009 we briefly discussed an article he had written in November 2007 about bloggers and lawsuits. In that article he had mused wouldn’t it be interesting if a blogger had the money to defend them self in a defamation suit. We talked about as more and more print media folded in this economy, and Mr. Babcock agreed, that more people were turning to the internet for news, whether a traditional media turned internet as, the Houston Chronicle, or “BLOGS”. I had mentioned to Mr. Babcock about him musing in November 2007 about what if a blogger had the money to fight a defamation case and if so would it change the rules and responsibility of blogs and their owners and/or protect other blogs under the First Amendment. I left there telling Mr. Babcock that my wish was that one day there was a blogger rich enough to hire him and fight a defamation case all the way. He smiled and just nodded not saying really anything.

Little did I know he was already representing a blogger in a defamation case right here in my home county, Smith County Texas, in the Tyler Federal Court in a federal suit about defamation from a blogger. That case went to a jury trial this past Monday, September 14. Mr. Babcock has received his wish, a blogger case that will go to a federal jury finally and all bloggers are watching it intently, including me. In fact I wish we had someone who could go to Tyler each day sit in the gallery and take notes so we could have real time reporting, but sadly that is not the case.

However other bloggers have picked up the case and are following it intently, like “The Prior Art: One reporter’s notes on the IP, [Intellectual Property] beat”.

The “professional” blogging community is watching this case as it will probably set standards by which other bloggers might rely on in Texas.

The background, an East Texas Trademark and Patent attorney, sued the blog called “Patent Troll Tracker”. Patent Troll Tracker, was a blog popular with IP lawyers and others interested in reports on companies that allegedly buy patents simply to bring infringement suits,” per the Texas Lawyer.

The statements being sued over are ones made by the “Troll Tracker” on October 17 and 18, 2007. The October 17, 2007 blog entry states in part beginning with the headline of “Troll Jumps the Gun, Sues Cisco Too Early,” no one can read the edited post because the Patent Troll Tracker has been set to “open to invited readers only”.

However, I regress. The post listed in part by The Prior Art, although showing 08 while the Texas Lawyer and dates in the court filings show 07 and in subsequent articles by The Prior Act does list the posts as October 2007. The posts that caused the uproar went like this:

The 10/17/07 Troll Tracker post begins:
“Well, I knew the day would come. I’m getting my troll news from Dennis Crouch now. According to Dennis, a company called ESN sued Cisco for patent infringement on October 15th, while the patent did not issue until October 16th. I looked, and ESN appears to be a shell entity managed by the President and CEO of DirectAdvice, an online financial website. And, yes, he’s a lawyer. He clerked for a federal judge in Connecticut, and was an attorney at Day, Berry & Howard. Now he’s suing Cisco on behalf of a non-practicing entity.

I asked myself, can ESN do this? I would think that the court would lack subject matter jurisdiction, since ESN owned no property right at the time of the lawsuit, and the passage of time should not cure that. And, in fact, I was right:”

The Troll Tracker goes on to say on October 17, 2007:
“One other interesting tidbit: Cisco appeared to pick up on this, very quickly. Cisco filed a declaratory judgment action (in Connecticut) yesterday, the day after ESN filed its null complaint. Since Cisco’s lawsuit was filed after the patent issued, it should stick in Connecticut.

Perhaps realizing their fatal flaw (as a couple of other bloggers/news items have pointed out), ESN (represented by Chicago firm McAndrews Held & Malloy and local counsel Eric Albritton and T. Johnny Ward) filed an amended complaint in Texarkana today – amending to change absolutely nothing at all, by the way, except the filing date of the complaint. Survey says? XXXXXX (insert “Family Feud” sound here). Sorry, ESN. You’re on your way to New Haven. Wonder how Johnny Ward will play there?”
On October 18, 2007 Troll Tracker went on to post in part; “…This is yet another example of the abusive nature of litigating patent cases in the Banana Republic of East Texas”.

That post was the equal in blog land of the shot heard around the world for Legal bloggers writing about intellectual property matters. It also caught our attention since Ken and I are blog owners now embroiled in a defamation suit about blogging. We both met Mr. Babcock during my discussion with him on February 8, 2009 about what if a blogger ever had the money to fight a suit, was blogging the new news media since bloggers can get things out to the world via the internet instantly.

The lawsuit expected to last two weeks has brought in the big hired gun media expert litigator and very expensive lawyer, Charles “Chip” Babcock of Oprah Winfrey fame, along with other lawyers as back up from the firm of Jackson Walker, where Mr. Babcock is a partner out of the Houston, Texas office.

Back to the jury trial now underway in the Tyler Texas federal court, not to be deterred lawyers Johnny Ward Jr. and Eric Albritton ,of East Texas decided to try and find the anonymous poster called Troll Tracker and if the blog owner had money, sue them.

How does a blog owner afford to hire the likes of Charles “Chip” Babcock and a full federal jury trial in East Texas where the first attorney up for trial, Mr. Albritton sued the blog owner, you ask?

Well Troll Tracker in March 2008 unmasked himself as Richard Frenkel, once Johnny Ward Jr. and Mr. Allbritton had the name they went to work and was ready to file, Mr. Albritton filed his defamation suit on June 16, 2008. Why did a successful east Texas lawyer sue a blogger? Well the blog owner ended up being Richard Frenkel whom filed his Answer on June 25, 2008 and “was” an in house attorney for Cisco System Inc. which also filed their Answer on June 25. Mr. Eric Albritton in court papers alleges that Frenkel’s superiors at Cisco knew of his blogging, in fact the case alleges it was part of Frenkel job, to blog about the East Texas federal courts. The why is as the Texas Lawyer says, “The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which attracts a huge number of the nation’s IP suits because of its so-called “rocket docket.”

Thus although it is not a “poor misfortune” blogger that Mr. Babcock took up the First Amendment rights of, it is in fact a trademark and patent blog which at that time was ran by a lawyer for Cisco Systems Inc., which by the way Richard Frenkel is no longer with Cisco; as Babcock ended his opening statement to the jury by noting that the lawsuits had succeeded in silencing Frenkel, who is now of counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in California.

The jury has been picked, five (5) men and five (5) women, opening statements were finished on Monday Babcock expects the trial to last about two weeks. Another attorney was observing court on Monday, Johnny Ward Jr., who is another E.D. Texas lawyer with a similar lawsuit pending against Cisco Systems Inc. Ward is likely to be called as a witness in the Albritton lawsuit; his own case is scheduled to go to trial in February 2010.

So in the end Babcock is not fighting for the little blogger but instead is being paid by a corporation worth approximately 33 billion dollars and can well afford the very best in Texas hired guns in the field of media and litigation. Now how can Art Harris afford this kind of fire power, when CBS Productions Inc. file their Answer in Harris County District Court, we might have our answer.

What I will be watching in this is how an east Texas jury reacts between the statement of “Banana Republic of East Texas” opposed to Chip Babcock’s good ole country boy facade. Babcock is after all the very best and knows in what markets to be that good ole country boy and in other markets an arrogant assured lawyer as someone once told me that had watched him in action in a different setting.

DISCLOSURE: First I feel like I am doing disclosures with every article, however that said; Ken and I have met both Lin Wood and Chip Babcock, not that we ever wanted to meet either of them. Lin Wood comes across as an arrogant lawyer and makes no bones about just being that, as that is who he is. However Charles “Chip” Babcock, comes across like a good ole Texas boy, although not raised in Texas. He is disarming and very nice, I am told and have witnessed in the attacks on Rose Speaks.com and myself that he and his fellow lawyers at Jackson Walker can turn that disarming personality and cut you up into shreds.

I have been reading papers on this pending lawsuit for the last two days, and in the end once again it is about money and who has it to fight the good fight, and who does not. That said it is about defending a blogger, even if it was being done on behalf of a mega corporation; perhaps some good will come out of this suit for all of us, I can hope. I suggest reading The Prior Art for the latest in the trial as they appear to have someone in court.

You can pick up these papers in our download section open to All not just members of Rose Speaks.com, as I go through the mega amount of filings since June 16, 2008 any of interest will be loaded for your reading and discussing pleasure.

©Rose Turner
September 16, 2009
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