Texas Judge Forced To Resign After Being Caught Texting Instructions To Assistant DA During Trial
from the a-broken-system-suffers-another-set-of-fractures dept
Oh, the hilarity that is the phrase "criminal justice system." Talk to any defense attorney and they'll tell you how the deck is stacked against defendants and defense lawyers. The ideal of "innocent until proven guilty" has become little more than a disclaimer tacked onto cop-centered reality shows. Defendants are guilty until the jury is somehow tricked by the defense into handing down a "not guilty" verdict. A lot of effort goes towards dissuading defendants from even making it this far, as prosecutors will present worst-case scenarios comprised of every violation conceivable in order to get an agreement to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
The prevailing perception that the person charged is guilty, with the only answer yet to be determined is how guilty, makes defending arrestees an uphill battle. Judge (former judge) Elizabeth Coker took this uphill battle, increased the grade to 85 degrees, covered it with a sheet of ice and sprinkled it with a 50/50 blend of Teflon and motor oil.
Elizabeth E. Coker may forever be known as the "texting judge," but her notoriety will soon be all that is left of her days on the bench of the 258th District Court of Polk, Trinity, and San Jacinto Counties. Coker signed an "AGREEMENT TO RESIGN FROM JUDICIAL OFFICE IN LIEU OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION" with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct…The good news is that Coker is being stripped of all of her judicial power. Once the resignation goes through, she won't even be able to perform a wedding. The bad news is that this texting incident was only one of several alleged incidents in which Coker undermined the justice system. [Perhaps someone should have passed her, and any prosecutors dealing with her courtroom, a copy of this letter from a Texas DA warning his staff away from ex parte discussions...]
The agreement comes in the wake of a recent investigation revealing Coker texted instructions from the bench to a Polk County Assistant District Attorney who was assisting in the prosecution of a case in Coker's court.
[J]udge Coker used Assistant District Attorney Jones to privately communicate information about the Reeves case to the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case; to suggest questions for the prosecutor to ask during the trial; to ensure that a witness was able to refresh his memory and rehabilitate his testimony by reviewing his videotaped interview with law enforcement before he took the stand for the second time the following day; and to discuss legal issues pertinent to the case. in an unsuccessful effort to assist the State obtain a guilty verdict in the case…Add to all the alleged misconduct above the apparent fact that she kept using the same questionable tactics right up to her appearance before the Commission.
[t]he Commission investigated claims that Judge Coker allegedly engaged in other improper ex parte communications and meetings with Jones, other members of the Polk County District Attorney's Office, the San Jacinto County District Attorney, and certain defense attorneys regarding various Cases pending in her court; Judge Coker allegedly exhibited a bias in favor of certain attorneys and a prejudice against others in both her judicial rulings and her court appointments: and Judge Coker allegedly met with jurors in an inappropriate manner, outside the presence of counsel, while the jurors were deliberating in one or more criminal trials…
[t]he Commission also expressed concerns that Judge Coker discussed the Commission's investigation and Judge Coker's written responses to the investigation with a material witness prior to that witness' testimony before the Commission in an apparent attempt to influence that witness, and that the judge may not have been candid and truthful in her testimony before the Commission when questioned about her contact with the witness...In addition to stripping her judicial powers, the Commission also leaves her solely responsible for bearing the cost of any litigation arising from her alleged misconduct. The Commission, however, chose not to pursue these allegations in exchange for her immediate resignation. Coker utilizes that out in her public statement.
"The Judicial Commission made no finding or determinations of fact in my voluntary resignation, and I have not admitted guilt, fault or liability in my voluntary resignation. While I could have fought these allegations, it would have involved significant time, significant expense, and disruption to everyone involved. I did not feel that was in the best interests of the taxpayers, our court system, my family or myself" Coker stated.Yeah, that sounds about right. Coker sacrificing herself for the good of a long list of others, including the taxpayers who paid her salary and the court system she allegedly abused from a position of power. Thanks to the commission's decision, these will forever remain allegations -- the equivalent of "getting off on a technicality." If Coker ends up in court because of her previous improprieties, I would imagine she'll have to search well outside her district for a defense lawyer.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: elizabeth coker, judges, texting
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
all these 'officers of the court' are *SUPPOSED* to be REQUIRED to report all these kinds of ethics failures and shenanigans that go on, but HOW MANY EVER DO ? ? ?
(asymptotically as close to zero as you can get, is how many...)
thus eviscerating the ONE and ONLY 'reason' the (in)justice system in general, and lawyers in particular are *supposedly* 'self-policing'...
bullshit, they close ranks and dare not speak against a fellow parasite, er, lawyer...
same as doctors, kops, military, kongresskritters, etc: ALL these *public* institutions have become opaque, and their 'self-policing' less than worthless, in fact, harmful...
but, i'm certain this was the one and onliest judge/lawyer in Empire who has ever engaged in such egregious behavior...
i'm certain that must be the case, otherwise we would have heard about all the other incidents from the assiduous 'self-policing' these public servants are subject to...
one law for thee, no law for meeeeeeeeeeee ! ! !
art guerrilla
aka ann archy
eof
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Leeeeeeroy!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Plus, these corrupt judges make it nearly impossible to defend yourself.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Invalidation?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Which avoids lots of time and headaches in removing her, and avoids the possibility of her escaping with a slap on the wrist based on technicalities.
Not exactly optimal, but not a bad trade off all things considered.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
'Oh no, she lost her job'... considering she was stacking the deck against defendants, actively working to subvert the legal system by being anything but impartial and directing cases, the fact that she 'only' get's fired is essentially a slap on the wrist 'punishment'.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
This story needs to be pushed in the press. She may be able to escape criminal prosecution, but she cannot escape the court of public opinion. Also just because they don't pursue a criminal investigation that doesn't grant her immunity from civil liability over this. I would expect to see plenty of cases filed on behalf of former defendants in her court that bring civil suits.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I suppose that could be one person's point-of-view...unless you are one of the dozens of citizens innocently sitting in some horrendous county, state or federal prison because of this corruption ....my mother was a corrupt court clerk back in the old days of ticket fixing and what-not...many in my family were corrupt law enforcement...racist, thieving, counterfeiting... and when the court system more closely resembles "The Price is Right" ...with the judge playing Bob Barker...we all know there is something terribly wrong in our country..and has been for over fifty years... I think convicting and publicly hanging this woman would have been a much more effective method of deterrence...as we begin to really root out the political and judicial corruption...we need to remember the tricks and tools these people have used over our lives to lie, cheat, steal and kill us and our families...and we need to continue to make sure as much as possible that this BS doesn't happen again..
Regards,
RJ O'Guillory
Author-
Webster Groves - The Life of an Insane Family
Regards,
RJ O'Guillory
Author-
Webster Groves - The Life of an Insane Family
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Had they looked into this, there would have been countless other cases that would have turned up resulting in automatic cause for appeals and likely overturn of those cases.
Definitely something the state does not want. Better to sweep it under the rug as fast as possible....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
and like in the article, anyone who thinks this is an isolated judge is out of their tree! i bet anything you like, there is all sorts of 'help' given to other judges and prosecutors, particularly when dealing with copyright cases
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Other lawyers protected her as much as could...
"First kill all the lawyers." That's Shakespeare.
Where economist Mike brags of hanging out with the really cool kids: lawyers!
03:37:21[d-370-3]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Other lawyers protected her as much as could...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Other lawyers protected her as much as could...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Other lawyers protected her as much as could...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And that's the real problem with the plea process. It turns the criminal justice system into an assembly line process. But when someone wants to get off the line and actually protect his rights, e.g., demand full discovery, interview witnesses, have a trial, the whole process goes of whack and it really pisses off judges and prosecutors who are used to doing it the easy way.
To such judges and prosecutors, exercising your rights is a waste of everyone's time.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Shocks and sickens me...
I'm just a dumb ol' programmer, so WTF?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Face facts, counsellor.
The system is incapable of giving a fair trial to everyone who wants one. You know, I know it, and everyone else knows it, too.
But the system can't be allowed to just break down. It's vital. So face facts, counsellor—and do your job: Help keep the system groaning and creaking along for another day, another week, another year. That's what you're paid for.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
FTFY.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Ima Fish's observation in court
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
At least there's no wind.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But if a prosecutor or a judge makes a complete mockery of the court and populates it with marsupials, they get to resign and are never charged.
There's a reason people are saying we've got a high court/low court system theses days.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
As of right now, the vast majority of the posters are screaming "do as I say, not as I do", a tenet even MORE common in this country.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Right. Judges are supposed to remain impartial.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
If you're a judge in the course of performing your duties -- as in this case -- absolutely.
If you're a cop, your job isn't to determine guilt or innocence so it doesn't matter. Express away. Same with reporters.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
“ ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ has become little more than a disclaimer tacked onto cop-centered reality shows.” Ain't that the truth.
Do you believe the shit you see on the boob-tube reality shows?
Maybe you believe in pro-wrassling, too. That's real.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You've also got to look at the facts. She did resign in lieu of disciplinary action (FACT). You don't do that sort of thing when you're innocent unless you expect to lose the battle. So there are two possibilities either she did what they claim, or she is being forced out for other unspecified politics and she doesn't believe she can win or isn't interested in fighting it.
At the very least you have a very obviously corrupt justice system. One that has not been kind to the citizens it's supposed to be protecting.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That will learn them
Man I bet her wrist really stung after that.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give Texas Back!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is why common folk lose confidence in judicial systems, otherwise known as kangaroo courts.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
just one of Many!
Thomas Jefferson
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Words have power.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Corrupt Judge
IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE TOO FAR GONE TO REDEEM YOURSELF WITH NEW BEHAVIOR, THEN RETIRE! OR GO GET A REAL JOB IN THE REAL MARKET PLACE, LIKE ALL THE REST OF US WHO HAVE TO SUPPORT YOU JERKS.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: texting judge
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What about the ADA?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Objectively speaking...
And yet somehow the defense has the uphill battle? Either the author is stupid or intentionally misrepresenting the truth in order to push an agenda...namely, encouraging unwarranted suspicion of the justice system. Shameful. And so many of these responses seem to buy it! Idiots!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Awkward i am funnybot
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Texting judge
[ link to this | view in chronology ]