Judge Tryon Lewis, a former Republican state representative, sided with the prosecution, which said, in part, that Epting’s conviction should be upheld because he exceeded the two-page limit to make each of his arguments. But after they lose their appeal, defendants not facing the death penalty must hire their own attorneys to challenge their convictions or navigate the legal system on their own. Those without the financial resources often file hastily scribbled diatribes that judges quickly toss aside for failing to adhere to legal standards. Lewis was appointed to the case after Judge Dean Rucker recused himself from the case. Unequivocal definition is - leaving no doubt : clear, unambiguous. Lewis was appointed to the case after Judge Dean Rucker recused himself from the case. Months after she recused her office from Young’s case, Nodolf sent letters to 213 of the 355 defendants whose writs Petty worked on simultaneously for the prosecution and judge. Police training cited as defense in many use-of-force cases. He said he worked for the state, not the judges. “There was no unfair advantage for anyone. Daphne Duret and Jessica Priest USA TODAY Earlier this month in Salt Lake City, police officers walked a suburban street looking for a 13-year-old boy with autism. Jessica Priest Curious by nature, journalist by trade Hello, I’m an investigative reporter for the USA TODAY Network based in Austin, Texas. My address is: Jessica Priest. More than 208,000 people at those facilities have tested positive. The rules prescribe stronger consequences for what’s described in Midland, though, including potential disbarment. But when you look at wrongful incarceration or someone’s constitutional rights being violated, it’s hard to put a price tag on that.”. Malm said during his testimony at a January hearing in Young’s case that he approved the payments because he was told Petty would not be working for the judges on cases he pursued as a prosecutor. Judge Sid Harle, who presides over Texas' 4th administrative judicial region, is expected to decide in the coming months whether Young ought to get a new trial because of Petty’s double-dipping. Create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile and upload a portfolio of your best work. She can be reached at [email protected] or @TriciaNadolny. “The judges insisted on paying me for the work I did on my own time.”. But experts say it's outdated. “What we have now is judge A may do it because judge A wants to and judge B may not do it because judge B doesn’t feel like it. So far during the pandemic, I have written about government citing a need for social distancing as a reason for being less accessible to the people it serves. In 2002, Judge Hyde, who died in 2012, asked Midland County Attorney Russell Malm whether Petty could be paid both by the prosecutor’s office and the judges. What neither the jurors nor Young’s attorneys knew at the time was that Petty was clerking for the judge presiding over the case, John Hyde, who since has died. The biggest development, though, came as a 2019 hearing approached to consider evidence of Page’s culpability. Thus far, he has endured no professional sanctions, no legal action and no attempt to recoup the money he earned while violating multiple ethical standards. The law was designed, the judges wrote, to guard against actual judicial bias and even the appearance of it. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. At the same time, though, he billed the county for work he did consulting with the judge who recommended that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals deny Young’s appeals. Jessica Priest, USA TODAY NETWORK Sunday Apr 26, 2020 at 5:10 AM. In an interview with USA TODAY, Petty said he did nothing wrong. Complaining about a prosecutor could affect their willingness to offer their clients plea bargains. View Jessica Priest's business profile as Regional On The Today Investigations Reporter (USA) at Drive Shack. She. By Jessica Priest, USA Today Network Monday Mar 23, 2020 at 6:10 PM Mar 23, 2020 at 6:44 PM. Both parties asked for an expedited review of the matter. Two years later, Nodolf noticed the judges’ payments to Petty while scrolling through a spreadsheet from the county treasurer’s office. Lewis was not among the judge who paid Petty, but records show Rucker was. ... USA Today. Even after the conviction, Petty continued to work both sides of the bench in Young’s case. “But the factual allegations in the writ application, combined with the independent documents and records confirming them, amount to an extraordinary, if not unprecedented situation which potentially undermined the structural and procedural due process rights of Applicant at his capital trial proceeding.”. At his trial, Petty and fellow prosecutors portrayed the troubled teen as a serial killer who shot 51-year-old Doyle Douglas and 54-year-old Samuel Petrey in cold blood. Mike Stucka is a reporter on the USA TODAY data team. Jessica Priest is an investigative reporter for USA … Today, more than 9,600 long-term care facilities have reported at least one case of COVID-19, according to USA TODAY’s analysis. “My appearance at a hearing on the Clinton Lee Young matter should not include a possible death sentence,” he wrote. Lewis was not among the judge who paid Petty, but records show Rucker was. His alcoholic, abusive stepfather ridiculed him mercilessly, fired a nail gun at him and beat him until he bled. Experts say one reason for that is defense attorneys must weigh possible repercussions not only to their clients but their own livelihoods. The state bar has received nearly 400 complaints about prosecutors since 2013, but only 11 prosecutors were publicly disciplined for misconduct. The hearing was held via videoconference. She admitted that Petty’s actions appeared to be a “direct violation” of Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers. Jessica Priest is a reporter on the USA TODAY regional investigations team. How to use springboard in a sentence. You can send me information anonymously by snail mail. “You don’t have to be a lawyer to know that this is wrong,” Clayton said. Young’s lawyers say Petty rebuffed their attempts to interview him, telling them, “good luck finding me!” according to court documents. In that role, she helped count COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes when the federal government was not doing so. Walton worried that with his cellmate gone, he wouldn’t be able to file another challenge. In a letter to the court, Petty said he was in poor health and feared contracting the coronavirus. Personal email: [email protected]. As the number of infections and deaths from the new coronavirus rise across Texas, prison officials are … Investigative Reporter It recommends violations be kept private if they are isolated, the result of negligence and do little to no harm. Walton worried that with his cellmate gone, he wouldn’t be able to file another challenge. His 2001 employment contract with the DA’s office indicated he had worked for the judges before and stipulated that he would “continue the performance of legal services for the district judges.”. Acknowledging the recognition, Petty said, “I assure you that all the work I have done for the county of Midland over the 40 years, all the forms that I have created, the hundreds of thousands of pages or so of organized criminal law that we have on our computer here, will stay.”. Nodolf said she was aware that judges would often summon Petty into open court to get his legal opinion on matters. The sentences of those Petty helped convict range from probation to the death penalty. But she was unaware he was being paid on the side to work on cases he had also worked on as a prosecutor. An invoice Ralph Petty submitted to judges for work on Clinton Young’s case. Court filings show that Hyde submitted a document using language identical to what Petty had proposed in Young’s case. “That sends a strong message to prosecutors that they do not need to concern themselves with ethics or playing by the rules.”. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct dismisses the vast majority of the more than 1,000 complaints it receives each year without adequate explanation, according to a recent report to the Texas Legislature. Midland County District Attorney's Office. ", Share this investigative story of a moonlighting Texas prosecutor and a death row inmate. Records before then were not available. Another received an 18-month fully probated suspension and was ordered to take six hours of continuing legal education for withholding evidence and violating a gag order in a capital murder trial. In an interview with USA TODAY… Unlike Young, who is afforded attorneys to help appeal his case by virtue of his death sentence, Texas law doesn’t provide poor defendants with lawyers, and there are few who will represent them for free. [8] Jessica Priest, One in 3 death certificates were wrong before coronavirus. IG: eamonlynch Derrick D. Walton received Nodolf’s letter 13 years into a 45-year sentence for a fatal shooting he says he didn’t commit. Published 1:36 pm UTC Feb. 4, 2021 Updated 3:36 pm UTC Feb. 4, 2021. “It’s hard enough to represent yourself from a prison cell on the other side of the state, but when you’re going up against the prosecutor working for the judge, it’s like the Washington Generals playing against the Harlem Globetrotters — the outcome is preordained.”. “I think I would’ve, but I don’t know if I can give you a definitive answer one way or another,” Williams said. Seventy-three of them remain imprisoned. The irony that it is he – the only subject of Petty’s misconduct who faces execution – who may have the best chance of seeing his conviction overturned is not lost on him. They are providing me with the key that’s going to get me out of here.”, Death row inmate says he ‘deserves’ new trial after ‘unethical’ actions of prosecution. In 2020, fewer than 5% of cases opened by the commission resulted in disciplinary action, down from 9% in 2015. Find Jessica Priest's email address, contact information, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media and more. … A slight man with receding white hair and wire-rimmed glasses that sometimes slide down his nose, Petty was a fixture in the Midland County District Attorney’s Office by the time Nodolf took office in 2017. Tortured golfer. Not even prisons are immune to the #toiletpaperapocalypse of 2020. In court records, Nodolf said she had inadvertently discovered Petty’s dual role in 2019. In 2011, Walton filed an unsuccessful writ with help from his cellmate, arguing that his trial attorney was ineffective and there was insufficient evidence to sustain the guilty verdict. Jessica Guynn is a senior technology writer with USA TODAY. Now, Young’s attorneys are seeking a new trial for their client based on Petty’s relationship with the judge. Articles by Jessica Priest on Muck Rack. Synonym Discussion of restrain. He declined to attend the videoconference in Clinton Young's case even though he could have done so from the safety of his own home. “And to not know this was infuriating.”. Inmates facing execution are provided a lawyer to challenge their convictions. Jessica Priest, USA TODAY. His work was sanctioned by county officials and documented in public invoices. Since then, Young’s attorneys have filed a 58-page application seeking a new trial for their client in which they outline the problems Petty’s moonlighting caused – among them the unfair advantage he had working both sides of the bench. At least four of the judges remain on the bench. Regional. State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, a former prosecutor and defense lawyer who has served on the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, said he would support legislation requiring that and wasn’t opposed to writing a bill himself. “This is a potential violation of the rules of ethics for attorneys. In a court filing, Young’s legal team said that “the risk of a fundamentally unfair proceeding resulting from a trial judge employing a prosecutor as a judicial clerk, while that prosecutor is still representing the state in that Judge’s courtroom, is so inherently violative of due process that there is scant precedent discussing it.”. The discovery made her “furious,” she said, but Petty remained listed as a senior staff attorney on her office’s website well into 2020. A slight man with receding white hair and wire-rimmed glasses that sometimes slide down his nose, “You don’t have to be a lawyer to know that this is wrong.”. Petty did something that now casts doubt on hundreds of cases he prosecuted. “It’s kind of poetic in a way. County leaders congratulated him on his notable career during a public meeting as he retired in 2019. But in his free time, Petty did something that now casts doubt on hundreds of cases he prosecuted. Petty’s work continued despite an unequivocal ruling from Texas’ top criminal court about such conflicts of interest. "The State did not easily arrive at the conclusion that it must join Applicant in urging this Court to authorize the Fourth Subsequent Writ Application,” it wrote. Alcala, the former Criminal Court of Appeals judge, said the Texas Legislature should require courts to appoint lawyers for defendants who can show they suffered a previous error in their case. But of the hundreds of defendants whose cases were affected by prosecutor Ralph Petty's... Clinton Young faces execution for murders he says he didn't commit. In 2011, Walton filed an unsuccessful writ with help from his cellmate, arguing that his trial attorney was ineffective and there was insufficient evidence to sustain the guilty verdict. It ended 500 miles later with Young leading police on a high-speed chase in a vehicle stolen from one of the murdered men. It is unclear whether Petty will face consequences for his actions. Petty could have attended from his own home. Gap Inc. sells luxury chain Intermix to focus on core brands. “Since my representation of them is now over, it’s up to them to decide,” he said. In Texas, where prosecutors’ offices are often a springboard for legal careers, relationships can become cozy and accountability is scarce. “Ralph is very honorable. Another defense lawyer, Brian Carney, said, “Ralph is extremely honest, so if he gave an opinion to one of the judges, it was an opinion based on the law.”. Young was 18 years old when he and three other men joined in a 2001 crime rampage left two people dead on opposite ends of Texas. It’s unclear when, exactly, Petty started moonlighting for the judges, but evidence of the arrangement had been hiding in plain sight for nearly two decades. Asked whether he would have taken action at the time, Paul Williams equivocated. Heather Osbourne is a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network, reach her at [email protected]. Find the best way to get in touch with Jessica by joining Muck Rack. At the January hearing, the lawyer who represented Young during his original trial said he was unaware of Petty’s work for the judges in 2003. But. based on Petty’s relationship with the judge. Young’s lawyers say Petty rebuffed their attempts to interview him, telling them, “good luck finding me!” according to court documents. One prosecutor was suspended for 90 days and fined about $1,000 for not disclosing potential sentencing deals she made with co-defendants in exchange for their testimony in a murder trial. Petty’s double-dipping was no secret. Petty’s roles in the case included amending Young’s indictment, examining witnesses at a pretrial hearing and writing the instructions that jurors took with them to deliberate. She most recently worked as an investigative reporter for USA TODAY based in Austin, Texas. But even if an attorney were to complain to the bar, which oversees lawyers, odds that a prosecutor would face punishment are slim. Toggle navigation. Golfweek columnist, Golf Channel contributor. For decades, Ralph Petty spent his days as a prosecutor for the Midland County District Attorney’s Office trying criminal cases before a slate of judges and winning hundreds of convictions in the process. Marisa Kwiatkowski, Tricia L. Nadolny, Jessica Priest and Mike Stucka USA TODAY Published 3:48 PM EDT Jun 2, 2020 The Feb. 29 death of a Washington state retirement home local indicated a cautioning… She can be reached at [email protected] or @jessica_priest. Hiring of water district GM to test board’s cohesiveness after election, With summertime looming, campaigning is hard for mayoral candidates, More options exist for healthy groceries in East, Southeast Fort Worth than you might think, survey says, Mattie Parker, Deborah Peoples runoff to determine Fort Worth’s political future, How much do PACs influence local elections? Jessica Priest, Katie Hall, Andrea Ball / USA TODAY NETWORK Friday Jun 12, 2020 at 3:40 PM. He would never tell a judge how to rule,” said attorney Tom Morgan, who represented at least 11 defendants in cases in which Petty later worked for the judges. Jessica Priest USA TODAY NETWORK Thursday Apr 9, 2020 at 11:44 AM. In its own court filing, it acknowledged that Petty’s relationship with the judge constituted a conflict of interest and may have deprived the defendant of a fair trial. Six months after his release in 2001, the 18-year-old found himself with three older men on a deadly methamphetamine-fueled two-day crime spree that began in Longview. Most of the time, a committee of lawyers and lay people meet behind closed doors to determine whether the prosecutor committed misconduct, their punishment, and whether the public should know about it. Even if he did not use this information, Young’s attorneys said, Petty’s special relationship with the judges shattered the appearance of impartiality, which is one of the keys to the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial. How to use restrain in a sentence. Both parties asked for an expedited review of the matter. This byline is for a different person with the same name. Citing Petty’s arrangement with the court as a “direct violation” of various ethical standards, Nodolf recused her office from the Young case one week after her discovery of the bills. Ironically, it is Young, the death row inmate, who may have the best chance of seeing his case overturned. —. By age 15, he was serving time for theft at the Jefferson State School in Texas’ notoriously violent and dysfunctional juvenile prison system. All told, Petty – who is now 78 and left the DA’s office in June 2019 – performed legal work for at least nine judges involving the convictions of at least 355 defendants whom he prosecuted, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Midland County Auditor’s and Treasurer’s records dating back to 2000. “As the district attorney, I should know everything going on in this office,” she said. But of the hundreds of defendants whose cases were affected by prosecutor Ralph Petty's double-dipping, it is Clinton's conviction that may have the best chance of being overturned. Springboard definition is - a flexible board usually secured at one end and used for gymnastic stunts or diving. None whatsoever. By Jessica Priest, USA Today Network Friday Mar 20, 2020 at 7:31 PM. Nodolf took the highly unusual step of recusing the prosecutor’s office from Young’s case. In this photo from earlier in his career, Ralph Petty, a former prosecutor for the Midland County District Attorney’s Office, moonlighted as a paid clerk for the same judges before whom he argued cases on behalf of the state. “The State Bar has largely given prosecutors a pass,” said Mike Ware, executive director of the Innocence Project of Texas. None of the eight living judges Petty worked for responded to multiple requests for comment from USA TODAY. A fifth was promoted to overseeing judges in a 38-county region. On April 11, 2003, those jurors returned a guilty verdict and sentenced Young to death. She can be reached at [email protected] or @jessica_priest. KERA, Fort Worth Report Join Forces To Offer Mayoral Debate. A USA TODAY analysis of weekly mortality data since the fall of 2013 reinforces the possibility that COVID-19 deaths are being missed in official tallies because they … said she had inadvertently discovered Petty’s dual role in 2019. In January, Petty declined to attend a hearing in Young’s case that was scheduled to determine whether his misconduct should result in a new trial for the death row inmate. Jessica Priest, USA TODAY NETWORK 4/26/2020. Petty was part of the legal team that convicted Young in a high-profile capital murder trial two years later. Clinton Young faces execution for murders he says he didn't commit. 2020. Young grew up poor and abused in East Texas. 10 Brands That Never Go on Sale. For years, he moonlighted as a paid clerk for the same judges before whom he argued his cases on behalf of the state. The judges asked him to respond to writs of habeas corpus on behalf of the district attorney’s office during his off hours because no one in that office was doing so, he said. Subscribe Today Newsletters Mobile Apps Facebook Twitter E-Edition Storytellers Archives RSS Feeds. A portion of the Midland County District Attorney’s Office’s motion to recuse itself from the Clinton Young case after realizing Ralph Petty’s ethical violation. 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According to attorneys for at least one of those defendants, death row inmate Clinton Young, working as a judicial clerk gave Petty access to confidential information that gave him an unfair advantage as a prosecutor. This byline is mine, but I want my name removed. Jessica Priest will be Fort Worth Report’s government and accountability reporter. In an unrelated case from 2016, it vacated the sentence of a Midland County man after learning Judge Robin Malone Darr had signed a legal document waiving that man’s right to a jury trial when she was a prosecutor. Generally, Midland defense attorneys were unfazed when asked about Petty’s work. His alcoholic, abusive stepfather ridiculed him mercilessly, fired a nail gun at him and beat him until he bled. One defendant, Garland Epting, who was convicted of theft, filed his own challenge based on Petty’s involvement. Brent Morgan, another Midland defense attorney, said it was the responsibility of his clients who had been affected by Petty’s misconduct – not him – to file a complaint with the State Bar of Texas. “What we have now,” she said, “is judge A may do it because judge A wants to and judge B may not do it because judge B doesn’t feel like it. Weldon Ralph Petty Jr. graduated from the University of Houston in May 1973 and obtained his law license in September of that year. ... Abbott spokesman John Wittman did not respond to USA TODAY’s questions for this story. Tricia L. Nadolny is a reporter on the USA TODAY investigations team. “It is a breach of ethical conduct by both of them,” said Elsa Alcala, a former Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge referring to Petty and the judge. They’re supposed to use the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure as a guide. At least 15 legal experts, most of whom were not involved in Young’s case, have said Petty’s behavior violates the U.S. and Texas constitutions, Texas law and previous court rulings. Austin U.S. A judge might stop giving court appointments needed to keep their solo practice afloat. Find Jessica Priest of USA Today's articles, email address, contact information, Twitter and more That can’t be what justice is about.”. Many have since died. In all, Petty earned $262,650 clerking for judges from 2000 to 2018, the auditor’s and treasurer’s records show. The earnings came on top of his base annual salary, which was $151,950.71 when he retired. “Indeed,” the attorneys wrote, “there are instances where the Midland DA learned confidential information that was submitted by Young’s defense to Judge (John) Hyde ex parte and in camera, creating at least a reasonable inference that Petty was conveying information he learned from his role as a Judge Hyde’s clerk to the Midland DA (where Petty worked full time). How to use unequivocal in a sentence. As prosecutor, Petty was responsible for opposing Young’s appeals and writs. Two other defendants’ requests for court-appointed lawyers are pending. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals delayed Young’s scheduled 2017 execution to allow an investigation into Page’s role in the crimes. Illustration: Andrea Brunty, USA TODAY Network. Writ definition is - something written : writing. They discovered prosecutors had made deals with his co-defendants in exchange for their testimony against Young but never disclosed that information to jurors. It’s about to get even worse (Corrected Copy by USA Today), in USA Today (April 25 ed.). “They were obsessed with killing me, and that automatically gave me attorneys,” he said in an interview with USA TODAY. “It's hard enough to represent yourself from a prison cell on the other side of the state, but when you're going up against the prosecutor working for the judge, it's like the Washington Generals playing against the Harlem Globetrotters – the outcome is preordained,” said Josh Schaffer, a Houston-based attorney who specializes in post-conviction writs. The moonlighting escaped broad attention until August 2019, two months after Petty’s retirement, when current Midland County District Attorney Laura Nodolf unearthed it while researching other billing matters. View Jessica Priest’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. If you have any further questions about any impact this might have on your case, we suggest you consult with an attorney,” she wrote. Employees at the school have said joining a gang there was a “method of self-preservation.”. But a nonprofit, House of Renewed Hope, agreed to represent him. Young, meanwhile, waits in solitary confinement on Texas death row, where he has lived for nearly half of his 37 years. But records show the punishment often varies for prosecutors who break rules. Restrain definition is - to prevent from doing, exhibiting, or expressing something. He worked as a prosecutor in Grayson, Bell and Ector counties but spent the bulk of his career in Midland, first moving there in the mid 1980s. Jessica has 8 jobs listed on their profile. The court is now reviewing whether to vacate Young’s conviction and sentence and grant him a new trial. Jessica Priest is a reporter on the USA TODAY regional investigations team. Now, he’s waiting for the DA’s office to respond to his requests for information. “The Texas Constitution and the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure both require the disqualification of a judge who has previously participated as counsel for the State in a pending matter,” the court wrote. Upload a portfolio of your best work he was being paid on the bench Clayton said at hosbourne statesman.com... It ’ s work appeared to be a lawyer to challenge their convictions but... Is - leaving no doubt: clear, unambiguous direct violation ” of Texas Young never... Clerk for the state is about. ” 500 miles later with Young leading police on a high-speed chase a... It recommends violations be kept private if they are isolated, the judges ’ payments to Petty scrolling., or expressing something the sentences of those Petty helped convict range probation! 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