If you're like a lot of people you probably find it unconscionable that tax payers have to foot the bill to private lawyers to defend judges in recusal proceedings.
They make a ton of money and most of them seem to be determined to work as few hours as possible, so it's a bunch of crap that they don't come out of pocket to pay their own legal bills. Especially when they probably have a bunch of cases in front of them of people that somehow make to much money for indigent defense and have to come out of pocket for their own attorneys.
Legal bills can get pricey. And even if you are acquitted, there's no refund policy.
Now the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct says the Council of Judges shouldn't be paying for legal representation, and judges are divided on the issue. But this all comes down to politics. None of them want some wild allegation from someone like Theresa Caballero to end up as a public document and be used against them when it comes time to be re-elected to their cushy jobs they don't really work all that hard at.
The argument is that they shouldn't have to pay their own legal bills because they are conducting the duties of their office while a recusal is being sought.
So if that is the argument for why we have to foot their legal bills then this appears to have a very easy solution.
Let the judges use the County Attorney's Office. The County Attorney's office routinely acts as legal representation for County officials and staff that need legal representation as a result of conducting their official duties.
So that is a solution to the situation without increasing the burden on tax payers.
That or the judges can just decide to pay for their damn lawyers all on their own.
They make a ton of money and most of them seem to be determined to work as few hours as possible, so it's a bunch of crap that they don't come out of pocket to pay their own legal bills. Especially when they probably have a bunch of cases in front of them of people that somehow make to much money for indigent defense and have to come out of pocket for their own attorneys.
Legal bills can get pricey. And even if you are acquitted, there's no refund policy.
Now the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct says the Council of Judges shouldn't be paying for legal representation, and judges are divided on the issue. But this all comes down to politics. None of them want some wild allegation from someone like Theresa Caballero to end up as a public document and be used against them when it comes time to be re-elected to their cushy jobs they don't really work all that hard at.
The argument is that they shouldn't have to pay their own legal bills because they are conducting the duties of their office while a recusal is being sought.
So if that is the argument for why we have to foot their legal bills then this appears to have a very easy solution.
Let the judges use the County Attorney's Office. The County Attorney's office routinely acts as legal representation for County officials and staff that need legal representation as a result of conducting their official duties.
So that is a solution to the situation without increasing the burden on tax payers.
That or the judges can just decide to pay for their damn lawyers all on their own.