Another Win For Freedom

[DABTL]

Lawyer from DA's office wins federal court case against county


A lawyer in the Denton County District Attorney’s Office won a federal racial discrimination suit against the county Thursday and was awarded a little more than $500,000 plus attorneys’ fees.

Denton lawyer Bill Trantham, who represents Nadiya Williams-Boldware, filed the suit Dec. 1, 2009, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman.

The suit alleged that felony prosecutor Cary Piel made racially insulting remarks in Boldware’s presence; that his wife, Susan Piel, who was Boldware’s supervisor in the misdemeanor crimes section of the office, did not protect Boldware from having to hear those remarks; and that Ryan Calvert, Susan Piel’s brother and another prosecutor with the district attorney’s office, made remarks later that harassed Boldware and contributed to a hostile work environment.

“Justice got done,” Trantham said in a telephone interview Thursday night. “Cary said those things in the harshest possible way. Granted, the DA moved on it quick. They told Tom Whitlock [chief of felony prosecutors at the time] to get in the middle of that guy and he did. Cary confessed the whole thing, and they sent him to school [sensitivity training]. But the county human resources didn’t do a thing to help her.”

First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck, who acts as spokeswoman for District Attorney Paul Johnson, declined to comment until county commissioners had been briefed on the suit.

Denton County Judge Mary Horn said that commissioners would discuss the lawsuit and its outcome Tuesday during executive session.

She could not say whether there would be an appeal before that, she said.

“Until we’ve talked about it, I really can’t comment on it,” Horn said.

Trantham said the close relationship of the married Piels and her brother contributed to the problem.

“Everybody likes Susan. Nadiya likes her and didn’t want to hurt her,” Trantham said. “They had these conflicts in that office. They can’t discipline one without hurting the other. The Piels have won some high-profile cases and got some good publicity for the district attorney. Cary is a good trial lawyer, but he’s rude and doesn’t care what he says. Being the boss of a bunch of lawyers is like trying to herd cats.”

The Piels were the prosecutors who won murder convictions against former Denton police Officer Bobby Lozano in 2009 and Charles Stobaugh of Sanger in 2011 in connection with the deaths of their wives.

Trantham said the county spent $250,000 defending the suit. County officials hired Dallas lawyer Thomas Brandt, who specializes in federal civil rights law, instead of using in-house lawyers. In addition to the $510,000 award from the jury, the county must pay the fees of Trantham and Chris Raesz, who also tried the case.

“I think we’re looking at fees of about $100,000 each,” he said. “This is going to be a million-dollar hit for the county.”

Piel made the offending remarks while discussing a case he was prosecuting in April 2009 involving a black woman who had drunkenly driven her car through a cemetery, destroying numerous gravestones. She fought with arresting officers and made racially insulting remarks to them, and this was caught on a police video that Piel had just reviewed when he made his remarks in Boldware’s office.

Piel said he was enraged by what he saw on the tape. He said it made him “understand why people hung people from trees,” and that it made him “want to go home and put on his white pointy hat.”

Cary Piel testified at the trial, which began Monday with jury selection, that he was speaking to Boldware as a colleague and did not mean the remarks to be racially insulting.

Boldware told Piel that day that the defendant did appear to be a horrible person but that she did not appreciate racism on either side. She left the office, according to the suit, and “cried her way home.”

That night Boldware told the other prosecutor in the court where she works as a misdemeanor prosecutor what had happened. He told her that it was his duty to report it to upper management.

Boldware said that a day or two later she overheard John Renz, who worked in the court with Cary Piel, call her a troublemaker.

Boldware testified that she went to her supervisor, Susan Piel, who said she did not know about the remarks. She told her that she would speak to her husband, and that she doubted that she could be polite to him. Susan Piel did not intervene further in the issue, saying that as Boldware’s supervisor and Cary Piel’s wife, it was better for her to let upper management handle the problem.

Trantham said Cary Piel later gave a “half-hearted” apology and said “he hated that about himself.”

Trantham said Boldware has not received a proper apology.

“He didn’t mean it,” he said of the apology that Piel gave. “He is a virulent racist.”

Piel was disciplined for the remarks, and a disciplinary letter was placed in his personnel file. He also attended sensitivity classes on the orders of the district attorney.

Trantham said that after Piel took the course, Boldware overheard him make a reference to a “boom box” and then say that if he were not careful, he would have to take another sensitivity class.

At an office birthday party for Boldware, Susan Piel’s brother, Ryan Calvert, made the comment that he’d better leave or he’d be “going to one of those classes,” according to the suit. He was not disciplined.

On Nov. 6, 2009, Boldware took her complaints to the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division. That same day, it was reviewed and dismissed.

“Based on its investigation, the EEOC is unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes,” according to the dismissal document.

Since he took office in 2007, Johnson has hired three black lawyers. Boldware was hired on the recommendation of Susan Piel.

Trantham said that if the county appeals the verdict, he and Raesz will also appeal. And, as in the original lawsuit, he will sue both Piels individually.

“The federal judge dropped the individuals out of the suit. If we have to do it again, we’re gonna put them back in,” he said.

[EPC WN]

I feel more free and more poor simultaneously. Crazy how the world spins.

[V guy]

I can remember how the world worked in the 1970's. Judges and Lawyers used to joke about MANY things.

They even smoked in open court, and made jokes off the record.
A "sea change" for sure about "feelings."

I can remember when I was criticized roundly by an Attorney in court of Claims, about not being able to remember how many tire casings were stuffed into the broken railing on a staircase, in a junker abandonned residence.
Ludicrous of course, but my feelings were hurt too......kind of. Judge even remarked that alchohol could have altered my memory, giving me an out.
Kind of a public employee running joke.

I was also savaged, when called by the litigant as a witness against the state, after discovery proceedings. The States atty, a friend, had to go at me with hammer and tongs, to try and destroy my crediblity and my accurate findings.
Gotta man up, sometimes and take your licks.

I gotta say, that Boldware is in the absolutely wrong profession as a prosecutor.
Got to have very mixed feelings about the cases she has to handle. Or is is kid gloves with "problem cases," for her? Jeeze.

It is probably a good thing for the county, that other crass offhand remarks, made about gays and other perps, over the years by the cops and ADA, were not included.

I cannot but think how this trial and it's outcome, has and will, further a hostile work environment for Boldware; at least from her own perception of frowns and cold shoulders, that cops and co workers are famous for.

Kind of a phyrric victory, in that regard. Her discomfort and paranoia will force some sort of job change, eventually.

Sad outcome for sure when no one was really hurt, but just insulted.
The behavior did not rise to the level of a crime, and the EEOC did not find for her.

An appeal will likely drive a settlement, more in tune with her actual damages, which frankly, as a black woman lawyer, exposed to life up to now and history of the civil rights movement......is quite naieve, since she was not directly insulted, except by a crass remark.

By the way, did the drunken black woman who drove through the cemetary and fought with cops, that caused this volcanic eruption, get "hung?"

By the way, good work anyway. Tough case to win in light of the EEOC decision.
Gotta be a good salesman, for sure.

[StG58Freak]

Yawner dude. Nothing like tootin' your own horn

[Ian Sean]

This was a better case:

Aguilar vs. Fox4 -- she loses on all counts as the Dallas-based media trial closes its books

Rebecca Aguilar's civil suit against Fox4 ended emphatically in favor of her former employer Monday afternoon when a 12-person jury ruled unanimously against her.

Deliberations lasted only about one hour, a swift verdict considering the six-day length of the trial in a downtown Dallas courtroom. Jurors found that NW Communications of Texas, Inc., parent company of Fox4, had not parted ways with her on the basis of racial discrimination or in retaliation for her periodic efforts on behalf of hiring minority news managers.

"You heard a week's worth of testimony," Fox's head attorney, Michael Shaunessy, told unclebarky.com outside the courtroom shortly after District Court Judge Jim Jordan announced the jury's decision in the oft-acrimonious case. "KDFW (Channel 4) did everything it could to make her a good employee. In the end they couldn't save her from herself."

Shaunessy also said, "The speed of that verdict speaks volumes."

A distraught Aguilar quickly left the courtroom area. Her lead attorney, Bill Trantham, said simply, "You win some, you lose some."

In a subsequent reaction posted in the "Comments" attached to this article, Aguilar said in part, "I realized it was an uphill battle with the army of attorneys and paralegals that Fox brought in to take me on. I knew it was also an uphill battle with a jury made up of 11 white people . . . This was never about money. This was about making sure that when a corporation chants 'equal opportunity' for all, it means it. Not just lip service.

"Fox took my job, but it can never take away my voice and my passion for journalism. I hope I inspire others not to work or live in fear. I lost in the court of law, but not in the court of life."

Fox4 general manager Kathy Saunders, prime target of Aguilar's wrongful termination suit along with vice president and news director Maria Barrs, said outside the courtroom that "KDFW believed in the defense of this case. We are very happy with the outcome, and now we can move on."

Barrs added, "I'm really sad that this came to this. But I'm glad it's over. And the station and the newsroom are going to move on."

Aguilar was suspended with pay by the station on Oct. 16, 2007, the day after her controversial exclusive interview of then 70-year-old West Dallas salvage business owner James Walton. She approached him in a sporting goods store parking lot, where he had a new shotgun in his possession after previously shooting and killing two alleged burglars within three weeks time. Her nearly 14-year career as a Fox4 reporter officially ended on March 6, 2008, when Fox4 exercised its option to drop her at the halfway point of her latest two-year contract.

Aguilar was paid her salary throughout that period under a standard "pay or play" provision in reporters' contract. The station also paid her for 90 more days after opting not to pick up the second year of her contract. Her husband, John, continues to work at Fox4 as a newscast director.

In his 45-minute closing argument to the jury, Shaunessy said that Fox4's action solely had to do "with the fact that Rebecca Aguilar for more than 10 years was a bad employee."

The Walton interview, a flashpoint throughout the trial, "was an ambush interview from the start," jurors were told

Aguilar's relationships with fellow employees and supervisors were repeatedly problematic, and her reporting skills also began eroding in later years, Shaunessy said. He noted a previously referenced dustup with Fox4 reporter Emily Lopez, whom Aguilar supposedly had insulted while also allegedly telling an attorney via telephone that Lopez had been fired by the station.

Shaunessy described Lopez, who remains at Fox4, as "a young and frankly beautiful Hispanic reporter" whom the older Aguilar, now 52, supposedly saw as a threat to her.

He also compared Aguilar to former Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, whom Shaunessy said "was a lousy employee and he was an inconsistent player who couldn't be trusted."

Race and retaliation had nothing to do with the actions Fox4 took against her, Shaunessy told the jury, ending his closing argument with the words, "Rebecca Aguilar made her bed and she has to lie in it."

Trantham and Aguilar's co-attorney, Chris Raesz, shared the plaintiff's closing argument, with Raesz describing his client as a "thorn in their side" whose verbal and written lobbying for minority news managers made her increasingly expendable.

"When she starts pressing, they start coming in very negative," he said of her written evaluations. The Walton story at first was applauded within the newsroom before receiving heavy criticism via emails and phone calls to the station, Raesz told jurors. "Walton was the opportunity" to get rid of Aguilar, he said.

Trantham, who addressed jurors immediately after Shaunessy had finished, said the evaluations finding fault with Aguilar were "used as an instrument of oppression . . . This non-team employee -- they gave her a raise every time. These people (Barrs and Saunders) have covered up their wrongdoing by blaming her for everything."

Aguilar's salary had reached $129,000 annually by the time she was suspended, attorney Raesz told attorneys told jurors. A requested $2 million judgment, filed by Aguilar's first attorney, Steve Kardell, "ain't out of line," Trantham said, citing Aguilar's ongoing suffering and probable future lost income.

The jury didn't buy it after a trial in which both sides repeatedly swung hard at one another. Among those called to testify were Fox4 anchor Clarice Tinsley and reporter Shaun Rabb for the defense, and reporter Saul Garza for the plaintiffs. A fourth on-camera anchor-reporter, Richard Ray, showed up at the courthouse Monday morning in answer to a subpoena after returning from vacation. But Aguilar's attorneys excused him from testifying after both sides had rested their cases Friday.

Specifically, here are the four verbatim questions the jury addressed after hearing the official Court Charge late Monday morning from Judge Jordan.

Was race a motivating factor in any of the following employment decisions by NW Communications, Inc. regarding Rebecca Aguilar?

A. Exercising the "pay or play" provision of Rebecca Aguilar's employment agreement. (The jury answered "No.")

B. Not renewing Rebecca Aguilar's employment agreement. (The jury answered "No.")

Did NW Communications of Texas, Inc. take any of the employment decisions listed below because of Rebecca Aguilar's opposition to a discriminatory practice?

A. Exercising the 'pay or play' provision of Rebecca Aguilar's employment agreement. (The jury answered "No.")

B. Not renewing Rebecca Aguilar's employment agreement. (The jury answered "No.")

There was no outward jubilation on the part of either Fox's attorneys, or Barrs or Saunders, both of whom were present. They all then gathered to thank jurors for their service as the nine women and three men moved toward the 6th floor elevators at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building. One of the women jurors told Barrs she should write a book about her previously testified humble beginnings as one of 13 children born to poor parents.

For now, though, that's all she wrote

[DABTL]

Originally Posted by Ian Sean

This was a better case:

Funny, but Saunders is the only one still employed at FOX after four months. There was a reason. Just sayin....

[DABTL]

Originally Posted by V guy

I can remember how the world worked in the 1970's. Judges and Lawyers used to joke about MANY things.

They even smoked in open court, and made jokes off the record.
A "sea change" for sure about "feelings."

I can remember when I was criticized roundly by an Attorney in court of Claims, about not being able to remember how many tire casings were stuffed into the broken railing on a staircase, in a junker abandonned residence.
Ludicrous of course, but my feelings were hurt too......kind of. Judge even remarked that alchohol could have altered my memory, giving me an out.
Kind of a public employee running joke.

I was also savaged, when called by the litigant as a witness against the state, after discovery proceedings. The States atty, a friend, had to go at me with hammer and tongs, to try and destroy my crediblity and my accurate findings.
Gotta man up, sometimes and take your licks.

I gotta say, that Boldware is in the absolutely wrong profession as a prosecutor.
Got to have very mixed feelings about the cases she has to handle. Or is is kid gloves with "problem cases," for her? Jeeze.

It is probably a good thing for the county, that other crass offhand remarks, made about gays and other perps, over the years by the cops and ADA, were not included.

I cannot but think how this trial and it's outcome, has and will, further a hostile work environment for Boldware; at least from her own perception of frowns and cold shoulders, that cops and co workers are famous for.

Kind of a phyrric victory, in that regard. Her discomfort and paranoia will force some sort of job change, eventually.

Sad outcome for sure when no one was really hurt, but just insulted.
The behavior did not rise to the level of a crime, and the EEOC did not find for her.

An appeal will likely drive a settlement, more in tune with her actual damages, which frankly, as a black woman lawyer, exposed to life up to now and history of the civil rights movement......is quite naieve, since she was not directly insulted, except by a crass remark.

By the way, did the drunken black woman who drove through the cemetary and fought with cops, that caused this volcanic eruption, get "hung?"

By the way, good work anyway. Tough case to win in light of the EEOC decision.
Gotta be a good salesman, for sure.

I hope you are correct. I have begged them not to fire anyone involved. My retirement depends on them repeating their stupidity.

[Right Side Up]

"He said it made him “understand why people hung people from trees,” and that it made him “want to go home and put on his white pointy hat.”

Wow, that was some F 'd up stuff to say.

Glad the jury thought so too.

[martin35]

From what I could find the offending remark was made after viewing a vidio of a negroes DUI arrest;"He said that it made him understand why people hung people from trees,” said Williams-Boldware. “And it made him want to go home and put on his white pointy hat.”
Where's the injury? What's next damages for dirty looks? Thoughts you may or may not be harboring? Some lawyer found a pony under a politically correct Liberal manure pile.
Can I get damages from the black men who have made rude remarks to the females in my family?

[ce]

I think everyone would understand if people hung a fat, white lawyer from a tree. It would be a victory for freedom.

[V guy]

Bill fought an uphill battle, and is obviously a good persuasive atty.

I have known plenty of the other type and they will take you down like the Titanic, flying a jap flag at the battle of Midway.

Confession time.
Back when I was an asst Personnel Administrator at a large Mental Institution, (in another lifetime), I got convicted of plenty of EEOC violations.

I remember when I had to fire the vertically challenged minority. Read black dwarf woman. She was caught sleeping in the same broom closet 5 times. Damn!!
I got the duty.

Of course she filed with the old EEOC. I personally was convicted by them.
That was 1978; I am still waiting for my punishment. Ironically, I fired her mother 8 months later. I can't remember why, so I will not indict her.

I also fired probably 300+ people on workers comp. The rule was, out of work for one full year, and it was the trash pile for you.

You could stay on Workers Comp as long as they wanted you, but the State Job was fini.

Plenty of people told me that I could not fire them.

When they got their letter most tried to come back to work, way too late. Several guys got rough with me, but coworkers helped me out. It can be pretty life threatening, when you take away a persons lifeblood income.

I got charged in EEOC at least 75 times, to the point that I was reported to the Federal District Court in Syracuse as a serial, civil rights abuser. Never heard a word.

However, if the former workers had hired Bill or someone competent, I would probably still be serving time in Leavenworth for Federal Violations.
I guess the State AG squared it for me with the Fed District Prosecutor, as an employee, just following the rules.

[DABTL]

Originally Posted by martin35

From what I could find the offending remark was made after viewing a vidio of a negroes DUI arrest;"He said that it made him understand why people hung people from trees,” said Williams-Boldware. “And it made him want to go home and put on his white pointy hat.”
Where's the injury? What's next damages for dirty looks? Thoughts you may or may not be harboring? Some lawyer found a pony under a politically correct Liberal manure pile.
Can I get damages from the black men who have made rude remarks to the females in my family?

Title 7 says the employer may not have a hostile work place because of race.

What the complaint was about is the senior felony prosecutor came to her office sat down and basically told her that he understood why people wanted to hang black people from trees and he wanted to go home and put on his pointy white hat.

This was followed by his number two in the court coming to her and telling her twice she was a 'trouble maker' and then running away when challenged to explain why.

Followed by the original racist creep coming to her office door and announcing 'I need a boom box. Uh, oh, If I say that again I might have to attend another of those classes. This is a reference to his attending a two hour diversity class.

Followed by the original racist creep's brother in law coming to her birthday celebration and announcing he better leave or he would be attending one of those classes.

She developed shingles, her hair fell out from the stress and depression.

During the trial three women openly wept recounting the vile and horrid statements of the original racist creep.

It does not matter if you see the damage. The jury did. You were not there and would have probably been tossed off the jury had you been.

[Ironhandjohn]

Congrats, Bill...




Do you need a good paralegal?? I need a gig but won't get my certificate until the end of the fall term.

[jugrunner]

another win for freedom : .....

Obama and Eric Holder go to jail for lying thru their ass ...

just might happen ... add Sandusky, and they can have a "circle jerk" ... jerk ... !! ... 3 of a kind anyway ...


BTW: Sweating any SCOTUS decisions yet ... ??? ... ... Obama is ... !!

[Right Side Up]

I wish we could get Bill to represent Brian Terry's family and go after Eric Holder.

[DABTL]

Originally Posted by jugrunner

another win for freedom : .....

Obama and Eric Holder go to jail for lying thru their ass ...

just might happen ... add Sandusky, and they can have a "circle jerk" ... jerk ... !! ... 3 of a kind anyway ...


BTW: Sweating any SCOTUS decisions yet ... ??? ... ... Obama is ... !!

Not at all. I figure any Justice who thinks corporations have first amendment rights but not fifth amendment rights is just another Republican hack.

[martin35]

If the pointy hat reference was a dunce cap would that have been racial?
The "boom box" was racial in the eyes of the black woman.
Her injury was self induced in my opinion,,, she tripped on the exposed root of a money tree.
Freedom of speech allows Rev Wright, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Elijah Mohamed and legions of others to make overt racial reference without recompense or just reward,,, where is my reward for having their diatribe brought into my home daily? They deeply offend and wound me to the core.
Her "work place" will only be made to her liking if all whites are removed,,, she is anticipatory of being offended,, all heart rending sob sister excuses not withstanding.
The exacerbated adversarial climate is the work of lawyers and politicians,,, they are the profiteers in the Temples of Truth and Justice,,, to do this last statement justice it needs to be said by Charlton Heston from on high.
Seeing only white bigotry for what it is only causes more black racism and monetary sensitivity,,, follow the money,,, lawyers do,,, like a hungry hound follows a gut wagon..

[homelandprotector]

Politically motivated??? Nah, not Wild Bill.........wait a minute, didn't Dabtl get fined or disbarred for some outrageous political shenanigans awhile back??

NO! Not wild Bill, rabid, nutcase, liberal, sociopath. Never.... How much did you make (steal) for the trouble maker?? (Gee, the tax payers must be out about a million for thin skined poor ole lady)

Yeah another win for freedom......and we see right through you, as always.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Den...-78734417.html

quote: Beck did agree the comment, however stated, was offensive but disputed that employees have said any other things. Beck said the Lawsuit is politically motivated. She also said William-Boldware’s attorney, William Trantham, is known around the courthouse as ‘Wild Bill’ and has an adversarial relationship with the District Attorney’s office

The assistant district attorney was reprimanded and ordered to take sensitivity training, but Williams-Boldware said that changed nothing. Since the initial comment was made, she said she’s been labeled a "troublemaker" by some co-workers and often hears snide remarks regarding people watching what they say around her to avoid diversity-training courses

[homelandprotector]

Originally Posted by ce

I think everyone would understand if people hung a fat, white lawyer from a tree. It would be a victory for freedom.

[jugrunner]

Originally Posted by DABTL

Not at all. I figure any Justice who thinks corporations have first amendment rights but not fifth amendment rights is just another Republican hack.

Guess which 5 ... ... Thank God for 'em ...

[jugrunner]

Originally Posted by Right Side Up

I wish we could get Bill to represent Brian Terry's family and go after Eric Holder.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Talks, RSU ... DABTL can be bought ... I guarantee it ... !!!


ETA: Bad idea tho ... They need a lawyer that would actually fight for what's right ... Not DABTL ... No ... not on the runway ... !!!

[jugrunner]

DABTL = "registered" ... how's about you pony up some of that "law" money, since we have to listen to you run that dickskinner ... ????????????


BTW: We haven't met but I bet we can be friends ... !!!

l8tr ... "tailpipe" ... ...

[SWOHFAL]

Another lefty jackass overstates the case... a cry baby gets a payday and he cashes in on the settlement. No justice done, only taxpayers footing the bill for a problem created by one useless government employee with another, even more useless government employee. Free govt. money for everyone involved - better than welfare.

[RG Coburn]

So...this was done pro-bono....right?

[martin35]

Man's flaws are part of his everlasting burden, making rude social behaviour that has been part of man's history forever a crime seems a fools errand to me, especially when in this case the taxpayers are the the ones left to foot the bill, a distinction that was a likely consideration from the outset,,, in my opinion.
Who is without sin should cast the first stone,,, what lawyer is without a pocket full of stones?
The lady so badly scarred in this thread is I'm sure a pure and unbiased soul,,, because she cries tears as big as horse turds.
Hypocrisy should be a crime as should be it's advocacy according to the ruling handed down here,,, why is that the taxpayers problem?
Denton County is one step closer to insolvency.
This is a interesting controversy.

[Right Side Up]

I can't believe post #19 hasn't been edited.

[martin35]

In my opinion "Civil Rights" are one of the most lucrative of legal fields for lawyers to harvest, in as much as they are weighted with bias to access reparations and require almost no skill to prosecute,,, the seriousness of the allegation having unidirectional prima facie precedence
DABTL = "registered" ... how's about you pony up some of that "law" money, since we have to listen to you run that dickskinner ... ????????????
When he was active here he made regular contributions as well as providing the reviled contention for probably 40% of the posted reply traffic, he is a "rainmaker" in that regard,,, in my opinion.
I can't believe post #19 hasn't been edited.
It's a retort commonly heard in black to black conversations,,, without litigation or apparent defugalty.

[K.O.A.M.]

Originally Posted by ce

I think everyone would understand if people hung a fat, white lawyer from a tree. It would be a victory for freedom.

Think of the poor tree.

BTW, DABTL, it's poor taste to toot your own horn. Find a lackey to do it for you next time.

[tdb59]

Originally Posted by ce

I think everyone would understand if people hung a fat, white lawyer from a tree. It would be a victory for freedom.

Naaa, Now that Crawfish is certifiably wealthy, he is going to burn down his own house, and his law office !

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" June 17, 2012, 16:13 #16
DABTL
Registered

FALaholic #: 138
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Texas
Posts: 29,496 The Greeks are like Americans. Their government wants to spend but not tax the wealthy. Bush economics in a micro-scale.

I have concluded that it is time to burn the homes of the wealthy. Then burn the hotels they stay in trying to rebuild. Then burn their offices and the temp housing. Burn down their banks. "

[jugrunner]

Originally Posted by Right Side Up

I can't believe post #19 hasn't been edited.

my black friends say it all the time ... I don't say it to them tho ... !!

strange world, strange life at times ... !! ... don't have an answer RSU ...

just sayin' ...

[martin35]

my black friends say it all the time,,,, with special dispensation and immunity not accorded Caucasians or any race not based on negroid ancestry.
"you can't say as I do because I'm black and say so",,,, that's the "white-outed" carbon copy of the old white mans law and social mores.
That's racism,,,, racism accommodated and compensated/punished by codification,,, in my illegal opinion.
There are almost no honest discussions of race,,, because of racism,,,, in my opinion and because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and always will be,,, ask any lawyer looking for a payday.

[jugrunner]

Originally Posted by martin35

my black friends say it all the time,,,, with special dispensation and immunity not accorded Caucasians or any race not based on negroid ancestry.
"you can't say as I do because I'm black and say so",,,, that's the "white-outed" carbon copy of the old white mans law and social mores.
That's racism,,,, racism accommodated and compensated/punished by codification,,, in my illegal opinion.
There are almost no honest discussions of race,,, because of racism,,,, in my opinion and because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and always will be,,, ask any lawyer looking for a payday.

totally agree ... you're a pretty smart guy ... !!!

[martin35]

totally agree ... you're a pretty smart guy
Not nearly smart enough but I try not to lie to myself,,, that is my saving grace I think and my intentions are as honorable as all those who are not yet declared saints.

[DABTL]

Originally Posted by martin35

totally agree ... you're a pretty smart guy
Not nearly smart enough but I try not to lie to myself,,, that is my saving grace I think and my intentions are as honorable as all those who are not yet declared saints.

District attorney fires 4 prosecutors

Action occurs after county loses racial discrimination suit


Denton County District Attorney Paul Johnson fired four prosecutors in his office Monday after the county lost a $510,000 racial discrimination lawsuit last week in federal court.

Susan Piel, Cary Piel, John Renz and Ryan Calvert all were fired at about 11 a.m. Monday, said Jamie Beck, first assistant district attorney who acts as Johnson’s spokeswoman.

She declined to comment further on the matter.

Denton lawyer Bill Trantham, who tried the case against the county, said Monday that he thought it was politically expedient for Johnson to fire all four of the lawyers involved in the case.

Susan Piel is married to Cary Piel, Trantham said. Calvert is his brother-in-law and Renz was his partner in a felony court.

“I think it’s an earthquake up there,” he said of the district attorney’s office. “From a political standpoint, I’d rather get rid of them all than have anyone left over when re-election time came. If I’d been Paul Johnson when it first happened, I would have just fired Cary on the spot and been done with it.”

Trantham filed the suit Dec. 1, 2009, on behalf of Nadiya Williams-Boldware in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman, alleging that Cary Piel made racially insulting remarks in Boldware’s presence; that Susan Piel, who was Boldware’s supervisor in the misdemeanor crimes section of the office, did not protect Boldware from having to hear those remarks; and that Calvert and another prosecutor with the district attorney’s office, made remarks later that harassed Boldware and contributed to a hostile work environment. Renz was also accused of making harassing remarks.

A federal jury awarded Boldware the $510,000 and ordered the county to also pay attorneys’ fees.

The lawsuit’s outcome is expected to be discussed in executive session by the Denton County Commissioners Court today.

County Judge Mary Horn declined comment on this latest development, but did say, “The district attorney is an elected official and I am an elected official. I am not his boss.”

Commissioner Hugh Coleman, who formerly worked in the district attorney’s office, said Johnson’s action to fire the prosecutors was too little, too late.

“I wish Paul Johnson would have taken these direct actions before we got sued,” Coleman said. “This definitely shows a lack of leadership in the DA’s office. We need to be particularly zealous with taxpayer money regarding these matters.”

After three days of trial, with the defendants putting on anything they wanted by way of a defense, a jury from east Texas pounded them. It was not some passing conversation about society and philosophy. It was about in your face racism. All the dumb comments in this thread do not change that central fact.

[SWOHFAL]

More competition in chasing ambulances....

[Thorack]

Great,

Lawyers sueing lawyers, at least there going after each other, but typical with lawyers its the public that gets screwed. So happy for you Bill.

Thorack

[V guy]

Had to happen.

There was no way Boldware was going to be able to work in that office with the former attys. There may still be a difficult time for her yet.

I figure that the ex prosecutors will get work somewhere; likely as criminal defense attorneys. Plenty of work out there for assigned counsels.

[martin35]

There is something that Blacks call "tude" (attitude) that is part of some peoples social persona that both blacks and whites find abrasive.
"Tude" allows little or no latitude of opinion or infringement of "tude" prerogatives and privileges as set forth in today's civil rights interpretations, "tude" can be provocative in both blacks and whites,,, in my opinion.
White "tude" is actionable requiring compensation as one remedy where as black "tude" seldom is see as actionable,,, in my opinion.
"Tude" can be a money maker with the right lawyer and judicial venue,,, that's fact not opinion and a commentary on our times.
Suing black people is not a legal profit center