Delay's Lawyer Asked Judge to Recuse Himself, and He is Going to send...

[Ioo]

this to a Sr judge to make the call.

They are saying that he gave to MoveOn.org, and can not be fair...

[liberal N proud]

1. From?????

[Ioo]

7. From the whole case.

Moving it out of Austin, and finding another judge.

[slackmaster]

25. It's really a setup for a possible avenue of appeal if DeLay is convicted

I doubt very much that the judge will recuse himself.

[QuettaKid]

2. does it matter?!?

evidence is evidence....

[QuettaKid]

8. Delay's attorney is a Dem.

why doesn't he recuse himself...

[Zen Democrat]

37. And Ken Starr was a Republican activist ... why didn't he recuse himself

of investigating Bill Clinton?

This is just more legal wranglings -- theatre of the absurd.

[derby378]

3. Not yet...

I think his superior calls the ball on this one.

[DS1]

4. That's helpful

:eyes:

[The Witch]

5. Because Democrats have standards

and want it to be a fair trial.

[whatever4]

12. And they aren't afraid to take a hit sometimes

rather than appear artificially perfect, complete with halos, and above reproach.

[melissinha]

19. and set a good example

but will a Republican judge let politics guide his ruling????

[rkc3]

21. So they need to find a judge who never contributed to any political org?

Good luck finding one of those.

[melissinha]

32. I know I know

That might be hard. But it sure made Judge Perkins look fair and reasonable. That, in and of itself, will hopefully dispel notions of "judicial activism" in this case.

[rkc3]

36. With the repubs - they'll view it as playing politics.

Perkins wants to give the "appearance" of being fair and balanced will be the mantra from here on out.

[melissinha]

39. yep

its a fine game of chess we have here.... Perkins countered nicely, but now we have to wait for Judge BB Schraub's opinion.....

[TayTay]

6. No, he's not

He saying that he's submitting it for review to a more senior judge.

That's waht Delay's attorney wants. It's going to go through a process and the judge will tell later on if the senior judge thinks he should recuse himself.

It's not settled yet, it's put off.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. He donated to MOVEON.ORG!!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: UNFREAKIN'BELIEVABLE!!!!

[TahitiNut]

10. False. He's referring the motion to the stuporvising judge.

Only card-carrying Republicans are qualified to judge Republicans, according to DeLay and Co.

[WiseButAngrySara]

30. Apparently so! But both Rove and DeLay choose Dem. attorneys!!!!

How do you explain them apples?

[TahitiNut]

35. Because true intelligence and commitment to Justice are LIBERAL values.

:shrug: Liberals today are generally Democrats, independents, Greens, or Socialists, probably in that order. Sadly, even today we cannot conclude the reverse is true.

[WiseButAngrySara]

38. Well stated. You have no argument from me. I so long for justice for

all of these evil, hypocritical RW Republicans! I'm sick of them.

[hang a left]

11. No Delay's defense is asking for the judge to recuse himself.

The are going to have a hearing.

[progressoid]

13. Looks like supervising judge will decide.

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. Nope! That was a defense request. The judge is allowing the

supervising judge to decide. It's a typical tactic and is hilarious in it's desperation.

[panader0]

15. So What?

So he's a democrat. Does Delay's lawyer have to have a republican judge? So what if he belongs to Move on? I think he should not step down.

[Pacifist Patriot]

18. I doubt it will go through. It's a stretch and I suspect

Delay's attorneys damn well know it. It's political maneuvering plain and simple. They want to cast aspersions on the judge. It won't stick.

[ptolle]

42. echos

I suspect your analysis is absolutely correct. They wish to create the appearance of impropriety here and give the frightwingshrieker echo machine something to repeat endlessly as this case progresses. You know it doesn't matter to them whether any of it is true or even relevant as long as they can muddy the waters, create a big noise and some stink. I hate to set myself up for possible disappointment here, but I'm inclined to rely on the integrity of the individuals involved- except for delay and his shyster. Plus I think there is enough negative feeling about the hammer and his tactics that moves like this will backfire on him.

[Pacifist Patriot]

43. If they push too hard it will indeed backfire.

I'm looking forward to seeing that.

[Norquist Nemesis]

22. Welcome, panader0!

:hi:

I wholeheartedly agree with the "so what?" etc. Does Lady Justice remove the blindfold for political partisanship?

Whether or not DeLay is found guilty, his typical attack dog partisan tactics are criminal. His sheer hatred for anything "Democrat" is wasting taxpayer dollars.

The citizens of Texas should take to the streets in protest!

[Hepburn]

16. No, the judge did not recuse himself.

He turned the motion to recuse him over to the supervising judge.

[Walt Starr]

17. Nope, he stated he would have another judge make a ruling on it.

Smart judge. He didn't remove himself, but he didn't force his opinion on it, goign to another judge.

[catabryna]

23. Totally a smart move...

This case will end up at the Texas Supreme Court. The question is, will it be sooner rather than later? I'm certain that DeLay's lawyers already had a brief prepared to present to the Appeals Court in Austin in the event that the Judge made a decision to deny the request for his own recusal. So, yes, the judge did make the right decision in this instance, and I'm sure Ronnie Earle knew that this would play out exactly as it has.

[WiseButAngrySara]

34. The Texas Supreme Court? Are they the only 'higher' judge, as Perkins

referred to? Also, I'm confused now about Earle's role in all of this. He's a judge, right? (Sorry, I have attorneys in my family, but my mind and legal matters just don't mix well.)

[Geoff R. Casavant]

40. Nope, here's how it plays out

Earle is not a judge, he's the district attorney for Travis County.

As for the recusal, under Texas law when a judge is asked to recuse himself, he may do so, but he doesn't have the power to refuse to recuse himself. If the judge doesn't want to recuse himself, he refers the matter to a different judge, usually the supervisory judge, who is a judge with a few additional administrative duties. The supervisory judge then hears the motion and all arguments and makes a decision.

[WiseButAngrySara]

44. Thanks so much for your very clear response! I realized my dumb

question as soon as I'd posted this; i.e. I recalled that Earle is the DA. By your answer, the judge wanted to refuse to recuse himself (or he would have done so.) Wonder why this hasn't been explained well by the M$M? They tried to make Earle look bad, and now they're going for the judge!

[catabryna]

41. Four layers...

Perkins is a District Judge in the Criminal Court in Travis County (Austin).

B.B. Schaud is the Administrative (Supervisory) Judge over Travis County.

The Third Court of Appeals, Texas, Austin has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the District or Administrative Judge. (there are exceptions to this rule)

The Supreme Court of Texas has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Third Court of Appeals.

Hope this helps!

[WiseButAngrySara]

45. It helped tremendously! Thanks catabryna. ....n/t

[Hobarticus]

20. So only a Republican-contributing judge can be fair?

Riiiiiiight...it's the soft bigotry of lowered expectations, once again.

[slackmaster]

24. There are other possibilities

A judge who has never contributed to any political campaign, or one who has contributed to a mix of parties and causes.

[Hobarticus]

31. Is that kind of like trying to find a jury pool for a celebrity trial?

That'd be pretty hard.

Or, the higher court could just say, tough. This sets a ridiculous precedent.

[shenmue]

26. Oh please

How pathetic. Whining already! Imagine what the actual trial will be like! "Help me! Help me! Waaaaaaah! I deserve special treatment!"

This is going to be great.

:evilgrin:

[warrens]

27. Like the DC judges (Senelle, et al) were unbiased when they named Starr

And removed Fiske. Fuck Tom DeLay. I hope this guy fucks the little punk so hard his dentures pop out. Payback's a bitch, nazis.

[annabanana]

28. So.. Who's the "Senior Judge" that gets to decide if this one

must recuse?

Is it someone specific, or can DeLay shop THAT guy too??

[mondo joe]

29. "Criminal's atty asks judge to recuse himself because he supports the law"

might as well be the headline.

[dogday]

33. By that standard, should criminals be judged by other

criminals?.. Addicts could judge other addicts, perverts could judge other perverts. I think this is a lot of smoke to blow up the public's ass... Already trying to set up for an appeal.... DeLay is low down dirty dog.... Just tell the truth DeLay and stop trying to twist the story....