Inadmissible: Future of Law Biz

Three weeks after a fire badly damaged the Texas Civil Rights Project‘s Austin office, director Jim Harrington said he dreamed he went to work on Monday and found walls painted “a beautiful, florescent-green color.” Those walls might not be green when repairs are complete in about three to four months, but Harrington said the office would “definitely” be colorful again. Before the fire covered the walls with black soot, every one was a different color, since each worker chose a favorite hue for his or her space. Working from rented space in the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid office, TCRP staffers remain “upbeat” despite the Oct. 30 fire, said Harrington. They’ve sorted through stuff that survived the blaze, and now a professional remediation company will clean and deodorize the items. Harrington said insurance coverage will handle the structural repairs and replace ruined office furniture. But he said he expects a shortfall of $40,000 to $60,000 for full recovery. The TCRP raised $20,000 toward the goal at its recent Bill of Rights dinner, and it will continue fundraising to make up the rest, said Harrington. “It could be a lot worse. It also could be a lot better,” he said. “So we’ll keep plugging on. The staff spirit and the solidarity is really terrific, so we’ll have a greater sense of that when we’re back in the office together.”

Freedom for “San Antonio Four”

As a prosecutor, Mike Ware investigated old cases and sometimes found that convicts should go free. This week, he did it from the other side of the bar. Ware, a former assistant district attorney in the Dallas County D.A.’s conviction integrity unit, said it was “a roller-coaster ride” as he watched his three clients walk out of prison on Nov. 18. “Except for the anxiety and waiting and frustration, it was wonderful,” said Ware, now a Fort Worth criminal-defense solo. “It was very emotional and very satisfying to finally be able to walk out with them.” Ware represents the “San Antonio Four,” women who maintained their innocence after being convicted of assaulting two young girls. This week, Ware won habeas relief from a state district court for Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera and Kristie Mayhugh. The fourth woman, Anna Vasquez, was already out on parole. Ware used a 2011 law to argue for habeas relief because the women’s convictions were based on bad science. An expert in their 1997 and 1998 trials testified that she found physical evidence confirming the girls were sexually assaulted. Ware said that modern science shows the finding is “completely erroneous.” He said the evidence and testimony “was extremely harmful” and “tainted the entire trial process.” He sees similarities in his work as a prosecutor and defense lawyer. As a prosecutor reviewing convictions, he said, “I was only after the truth: Let the truth lead me wherever it did. Sometimes it leads to an exoneration; sometimes it didn’t.” Even though he clearly wants to exonerate his four clients, he said his goal is “one and the same” now as it was when he was in the D.A.’s office. “I’m not going to take on a huge legal undertaking pro bono unless there is a cause involved. In this case, the cause is the truth: the horrible injustice that was done to these women, who were incarcerated on charges that were preposterous from the beginning,” said Ware.

Future of Law Biz