Posted on 07/22/2015 1:48:55 PM PDT by don-o
A recusal hearing to address a complaint against McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson related to the May 17 biker shooting at Twin Peaks will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday and be presided over by a Bell County judge, legal documents show.
The complaint, filed with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct by Dallas attorney Clinton Broden, alleges Peterson violated several judicial ethical canons when he set the initial $1 million bonds for the 177 jailed bikers.
Broden has said his complaint is based on comments Peterson made to the Tribune-Herald after the shooting.
“I think it is important to send a message,” Peterson said at the time. “We had nine people killed in our community. These people just came in, and most of them were from out of town. Very few of them were from in town.”
In Broden’s complaint, filed June 2, he alleges Peterson’s “public comments would cause persons to believe that they could not get a fair examining trial before Peterson.”
In the document, he says it is “completely unlawful” to set bonds to “send a message” and that Peterson’s quotes “indicate that he sets bonds out of bias against people who visit Waco.”
The complaint alleges Peterson set the bonds for the bikers without any individual consideration for the facts of the individual cases and that Peterson set them in group hearings without considering the rules for establishing bonds under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The complaint also charges that Peterson, a retired state trooper, “inappropriately refused to set probable cause hearings” in some biker cases until Aug. 6, only after consulting with the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.
“It is our belief that law enforcement chose Peterson to set the bonds in this case because of his lack of legal training and his willingness to ignore the requirements that each case be given individual consideration,” Broden said.
Broden represents Matthew Clendennen, of Hewitt, who was arrested on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. Clendennen has said he was sitting on the Twin Peaks patio when the violence broke out. He said he was not involved in the melee but is associated with the Scimitars motorcycle club.
Almost all of the $1 million bonds have since been reduced after hearings and negotiations between the bikers’ attorneys and prosecutors. Only three remained in jail Wednesday afternoon.
Joe Carroll, Senior Judge of the 27th Judicial District Court will preside over Thursday’s hearing. A gag order has been placed over all parties involved in Clendennen’s case and the complaint against Peterson.
“A gag order has been placed over all parties involved in Clendennen’s case and the complaint against Peterson.”
Seeing a lot more of those “gag orders” and “attempted gag orders” in our courts .... brings back memories of communist and EU third world nations.
Borden is absolutely correct.
This judge was way out of line.
Make that Broden.
Good, lots of people have been whining about these bonds, let’s see how an actual judge responds to the complaint.
This hearing relates to Broden's judicial ethics complaint. For what it's worth, even an unfavorable decision from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct does not force recusal. The recusal decision can be affected by, but is not determined by the outcome of the hearing before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Broden is attempting to get a real judge at the Examining Trial for his client.
JPs don’t have to have any legal training whatsoever.
And it shows.
The fact that all bonds were reduced (by a judge) is a sign they were set improperly in the first place. The preocess being discussed here is strictly the state against Petersen.
Sometimes this sort of thing is "out of the frying pan and into the fire," as judges, all of them, tend to help the state circle the wagons.
How so? Isn't it Clendennen v Peterson?
There is always an underlying case (or cases) involved, but technically this is a hearing on a complaint filed with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct. I don’t know exactly what the Commission is empowered to do in light of a complaint against a judge, but as Broden acknowledges in his recusal motion, a decision adverse to Petersen, before the Commission, does not force his recusal in State v. Clendennen.
I see don’t0 is still trying to push the rope uphill.
Texas judicial is not quite the same as FLA. Its doubtful the Dallas ambulance chaser attorney Clinton Broden is going accomplish anything more than milk Clendennen absolutely dry (in Texas an unsuccessful plaintiff pays ALL court costs) and pissoff more judges.
But hey, they need to keep on keepin on, its very entertaining to watch idiots spin in the wind.
“The fact that all bonds were reduced (by a judge) is a sign they were set improperly in the first place”
*Yawn*, we’ve heard you argue that before. Bonds are routinely reduced in courts all over the country, that is no evidence of some kind of tyrannical imposition.
“The preocess being discussed here is strictly the state against Petersen.”
Oh I understand that, but this seems a key part of the argument against him, so I am keen to see how another independent judge responds to that argument.
(e) "Sanction" means any admonition, warning, reprimand, or requirement that the person obtain additional training or education, issued publicly or privately, by the Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 1-a, Paragraph (8) of the Texas Constitution. A sanction is remedial in nature. It is issued prior to the institution of formal proceedings to deter similar misconduct by a judge or judges in the future, to promote proper administration of justice, and to reassure the public that the judicial system of this state neither permits nor condones misconduct.The Commission is also empowered to remove a judge from office.(f) "Censure" means an order issued by the Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 1-a, Paragraph (8) of the Texas Constitution or an order issued by a Review Tribunal pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 1-a, Paragraph (9) of the Texas Constitution. An order of censure is tantamount to denunciation of the offending conduct, and is more severe than the remedial sanctions issued prior to a formal hearing.
Ooops.
Meant to say - plaintiff pays ALL court and attorneys costs
Early on it was questioned if Peterson had received the required training that non lawyer JP’s are supposed to get. Can Broden subpoena Peterson’s file to determine that?
The evidence is what it is. Whether the label "tyrannical" is attached is strictly an opinion. Whether the label "improper" is attached is easier to determine, and if a judge doesn't follow the "formula" for setting bail, then the setting is per se improper.
-- I am keen to see how another independent judge responds to that argument. --
Me too, **yawn**.
all I want is the truth...
Black letter law, bail is set on a case-by-case basis, with several consideration being under review.
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