The End of Mandate Coverage

Well the new boss is now “interviewing” current people. He’s trying to make it a little bit like a job interview, even though he’s already told everyone at a general meeting that he won’t be firing anyone. He might have trouble keeping that pledge, though since the word is one of the past politicals is planning on staying on.

Right now it looks like he is also going to add a whole layer of middle management. I think that is a big mistake, but I guess he is just a bureaucrat and bureaucrats love meetings, and middle managers do nothing but make meetings for each other.

This will be the end of my coverage though, since today is my last day here. Soon I will be off in the great cold Midwest, and blog updates, if any, will probably be about what happens up there.

So goodbye Texas politics. You are a nasty beast, but you’ve grown on me.

More Mandates

The saga continues, and by saga I mean rumors. The favorite rumor is still that [old guy] is coming back. People are starting to call others and ask “do you think [old guy] is still pissed off about that thing I did in 1987?” The answer invariably seems to be “yes.” I’m still a short-timer, so I just tell everyone what I think about [old guy]. My mantra these days is “what are they going to do, fire me?”

Everyone else is worrying about the possibility of staffing changes. New boss wants everyone to update their resume. The agency I work for is big enough that I find it difficult to believe new boss will read all these resumes. Still, I think it is a good idea and if I ever get elected to a position like that I will do it too. For one thing, it is a nice little reminder that even though staffing changes are unlikely, we will all work for new boss soon. For another thing, it is good for a lot of long-term employees who haven’t written a resume in fifteen years. Speaking as someone who just did it myself, it helps you think about what you do for a living, which in an agency like mine can change over time.

For some people, though, the resume is pretty short, about as long as their name. Yes, some of my co-workers have the opposite reaction to the new administration…they know the new boss already. There is talk that some people who are working the trenches right now could be elevated above their current bosses. It makes the current bosses think hard about how they treated their employees.

The rumors continue, and I continue closing cases in anticipation of leaving. It is a very interesting time, and I kind of wish I could stick around to see it through.

How to apply for the Bar in Missouri

Well it has started. I’ve begun the process of applying for admission to the Missouri bar. If anyone is wondering who is checking up on lawyers in Missouri, I can assure you that the Missouri Board of Law Examiners is quite thorough. This is the bureaucratic equivalent of a body cavity search…if there is paperwork out there about me, they are going the lay their finger on it.

Here are some of the things I have to pay for:

1. Pay $800 to file my application
   
2. Pay $20 for certificates of good standing from Texas
   
3. Pay $?? for a certified copy of my driving record
   
4. Pay $20 for a certified copy of my birth certificate
   
5. Pay ~$20 for a certified transcript of lawschool
   
6. Maybe more fees.
   
   I also have to:
   
   
7. Provide 10+ different references
   
8. List every place I’ve lived since I was 18 (you try it, it is harder than you might think).
   
9. List every job I’ve had and every period of unemployment for ten years
   
10. Certify in several different ways that I am not a drunk or a drug addict
    
11. Certify that I have never had a mental illness
    
12. Get fingerprinted
    
13. Certify lots more stuff.
    
    I don’t fault them for it, but this is a pain in the ass.

Mandates Cont.

It has been up and down the last few days. The big news in one area I’m familiar with is that the new boss will be bringing back someone that everyone was glad to see go when he/she retired a few years ago. I will refer to him or her as [old guy].

[Old guy] was the type of guy that just pissed off everyone. He had a particular kind of narcissistic idealism which pains me as a defense attorney. It was the sort of attitude that makes judges assess sanctions. [Old guy] is just too pig-headed to see when he’s on the losing end of an argument. I have memos from twenty years ago that are just wrong, because he thought it was “the right thing to do.” He also had a way of demeaning everyone around him while at the same time taking all credit personally for anything good that every happened. In other words, not the type of person who would thank the little people during the award ceremony.

So it appears, however, that [old guy] and new boss are friends, or at least they get along well enough that new person is bringing him on. The real question is in what capacity, though. If [old guy] is put in a position of power, it might be a good way to clear out the ranks. If I wasn’t already leaving, I would probably quit if I had to deal with [old guy] anywhere in my chain of reporting. I wouldn’t be the only one.

Politics is a bitch.

Mandates

Well I gave it a couple of days to settle in. As I mentioned before, I work for an elected official, and that elected official has just been, er, un-elected. The mood around the office is a little quiet. The more risk-adverse people are wandering by saying “we’re all going to get fired.” Others, including myself, have a more pragmatic view, that certainly some people will not be reappointed, but that will be a distinct minority. It seems I am correct, because word has come down from the official-elect that he does not intend to fire anyone. (Presumably he assumes that the political positions will be vacated on a voluntary basis).

From what I can see, when you have a large professional staff, it would be lunacy to fire everyone. What may happen, however, is a major restructuring. That will not be as personal, but it may have drastic effects on the efficacy of the office to actually carry out its statutory mandate (as distinguished from its electoral mandate). If you work in a specialized field, it will be unwise for the new boss to move you out and put someone without those skills in your position. I feel comfortable that the new boss will realize that.

Once again, I am leaving my position for reasons unrelated to the election. Because I do not have a dog in this hunt, I think I can watch it with a lot more neutrality.

It’s gonna be fun.

On Elections

Having spent a fair number of years now as a professional appointee of an elected official, I have to say that election years are a little different. For one thing, questions about who exactly you vote for takes on a new meaning. Here's a typical exchange:

Person A: “Who you gonna vote for?”

Person B: “I don't know. [Incumbent] is a pretty good boss, he basically stays out of our business. Still, [challenger] is a [party member], so I'm kind of torn.”

Person A: “I hear [challenger] likes a lot of memos.”

Person B: “Memos? I hate memos. I'm totally voting for [incumbent].”

Elections take on a new meaning when you are actually choosing your new boss, especially when there is a real probability that your new boss might just fire you “because.” You try not to be afraid of change, but that is easy for me to day. I'm still young (for my profession) and I don't have a big pension that is just a few years from a step-up.

At the same time, who else actually gets to vote for their new boss?

In the end, I did not vote at all for the race for my new boss. It helped that he or she will not be my new boss soon since I am resigning, but I also just couldn't decide. In the end, while I was staring at the little check boxes on the ballot, I just thought “someone else can do this” and left it blank.

Here comes the election!

Just for Sandi: 538 on Missouri.

Ads

So I thought since I will be soon changing my employment situation, I might be able to get back into the blog business. I added some google ads to see how they work.

Hmmm. Gotta love 'em.

Harris County Bible Case Mostly Over

The Fifth Circuit has ruled that the Harris County Bible Case is moot because the monument was removed due to construction, and they have remanded the case for a determination of attorney's fees.

Opinion

Not Appealing

I filed an appeal last week only because I don't like losing. I suppose that means I am still qualified for my job.

Lawyer-land

Downtown by the courthouse is lawyer land. There are lots of old men in suits lugging boxes around. There are lots of young guys with suits acting confident and powerful, but getting off of elevators on floors that don't exist. It is a tough job, almost as hard as actually working.

Still here, Still waiting

Blogging is a fickel passtime. It is so pointless, and yet so engaging. Any time something comes up at work, I find myself not blogging, but then one day I just throw out a post or two and suddenly I am writing all over the place.

Anyway, maybe I will write some more here in a little bit.

Reinventing the Dark Art

Well the time has come to begin reinventing this blog.

In the past I was doing a sort of on-going analysis of Texas and Federal legal events, but that really won't work in my present situation.

Therefore, I may in the future continue to post, but it will be much more theoretical. I will also attempt to be consistent with the stated topic of this blog, and talk more about BEING a lawyer than about the law.

In any case, whether I make regular posts or not, thanks to all three of my readers.

I'm alive, blog is dead

That about says it all. Don't expect updates until I figure out how my different practice fits with it all. In fact, I am just putting in this update because I feel like saying nothing.

gadzooks.

Change in Content

Due to recent (very happy) events, I can no longer continue my coverage of the Harris County Bible case.

I wish both the parties the best of luck, and I hope this case reaches a satisfactory conclusion.

Founding Principles?

Interesting article about the religious proclivities of our founding fathers. I find it particularly interesting in light of the recent ten comandments case (Van Orden) before the Supremes.

Big Enough to Drive a Van Through

Well the fifth circuit has finally ruled that driving a car through a medical facility's front door is NOT constitutionally protected. Well, I hope one can assume that it is not acceptable to drive a vehicle through the front door of anything but a garage, but this fellow was prosecuted under the FACE, or freedom of access to [abortion] clinics act. The defendant argued that he was protected by a constitutional right of free "speech." OK, so it's late, and the real argument was far more estoric and based on an interpretation of a prior SCOTUS decision.

However

I just don't see how driving a car through anyone's front door could even rationally be argued as a form of free speech or even free expression. It isn't expression, it is at best vandalism and at worst attempted murder. It is clearly an impediment to access as it is very difficult to get into a clinic when there is a Ford taking up the walkway.

I suppose the moral of this story is even the Fifth Circuit isn't conservative enough to condone this sort of behavior.

Decision;
Chronicle coverage

Death Penalty Dance - No Underage Partners

Continuing my practice of only making note of REALLY significant (in my view) info, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that people who commit crimes while under 18 cannot be put to death for those crimes. This applies to a limited number of states, including my own home Texas which is one of the only three states to actually execute them (others just have a law on the books).

While the effect on active cases will be minimal, this should help us to come more in line with the rest of the western world.

Info at:
Decision:

(Check at SCOTUSblog)

Blog:

How Appealing
SCOTUSblog)


Media

Houston Chronicle
AP

Me and the blog

So here is the deal.

I am not following current events these days. Somewhere between deciding I want a different sort of employment situation and the last election I just quit.

The only exception I have is the last case I have on appeal, which regardless of where I end up I want to continue as attorney of record, and the Harris county bible case. This will probably change, but it hasn't changed as fast as I thought it would, so really, who knows?

I guess one thing I would like to do in the interim is find a bunch of sites about art with dark colors, or art based on dark subjects so that my search engine traffic (not related to missspellings) can have an easier time finding what they are looking for. For all of you, thanks for visiting, but you would do better to search for Giger.

Sentencing guidelines are no longer mandatory

A la SCOTUS

"JUSTICE BREYER delivered the opinion of the Court in part, concluding
that 18 U. S. C. A. §3553(b)(1), which makes the Federal Sentencing
Guidelines mandatory, is incompatible with today’s Sixth
Amendment “jury trial” holding and therefore must be severed and
excised from the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (Act). Section
3742(e), which depends upon the Guidelines’ mandatory nature, also
must be severed and excised. So modified, the Act makes the Guidelines
effectively advisory, requiring a sentencing court to consider
Guidelines ranges, see §3553(a)(4), but permitting it to tailor the sentence
in light of other statutory concerns, see §3553(a). Pp. 2–26."
-from the syllabus

SCOTUSblog
How Appealing