Daily Archives: July 11, 2006

The politics of prosecutorial misconduct

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prosecutorial misconduct3.JPGIf you haven’t followed the case of alleged would-be 9/11 bomber Zacarias Moussaoui closely, you probably have never heard of Carla J. Martin.
Well, Martin is the federal aviation attorney who almost undermined the Moussaoui prosecution when she violated a court order that is commonly entered in criminal and civil trials by allowing prosecution witnesses to read transcripts of trial testimony that they were not supposed to see or hear until after they had testified during the trial. According to this Jerry Markon/WaPo article, Martin’s career is shot as a result of her transgression and she apparently is not holding up well:

The woman at the center of the storm is emotionally distraught, crying when she talks about the criminal investigation and feeling like a prisoner in her own apartment, Martin’s mother said last week. “She’s not doing very well. It’s terrible, devastating for her,” said Jean Martin Lay, who believes that her daughter did nothing wrong. “She doesn’t do much of anything but stay at home, as far as I know.”

According to the article, Martin remains subject to an array of federal and state investigations, all determining just how and to what extent she should be punished.
Too bad for Martin that she didn’t engage in prosecutorial misconduct against business interests that she could have parleyed into a cushy job in private practice or a promising political career.

From UT Wishbone QB to HTU golf coach

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Marty Akins.jpgFormer Houston plaintiff’s attorney Marty Akins — who was the University of Texas’ wishbone quarterback from 1973-75, has a rather interesting new job.
He’s been named the golf coach at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin. Akins has also taken a position on the HTU faculty in the business school.
By the way, that’s former UT Heisman Trophy winner and Houston Oiler great Earl Campbell taking the handoff from Akins in the accompanying photograph. Campbell was a wishbone fullback at UT before being converted to an I formation tailback in his senior season when UT ditched the wishbone formation in 1977 under then new coach Fred Akers. The rest is history.

L.A.’s urban boondoggles

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boondoggle logo2.jpgHouston’s metropolitan area shares many characteristics with Southern California, so it’s always interesting to review assessments of Los Angeles’ urban boondoggles for guidance on how to avoid the same mistakes here.
In this L.A. Times op-ed, urban economics expert Joel Kotkin (previous posts here) explores the latest initiative to allow L.A.’s white elephant — the downtown convention center — to feed at the public trough. Despite the fact that the center has been a chronic money-pit despite a $500 million city expansion investment 17 years ago, the city is now proposing $300 million in loans, tax breaks and fee waivers for a $750-million, 54-story complex ó including a 876-room Marriott Marquis, a posh 124-room Ritz-Carlton and 216 luxury condos ó across from the Convention Center (sound familiar?). Despite the huge public outlay of public funds for the downtown convention center, Kotkin reports the following:

L.A. is still not on the list of the nation’s top 10 convention cities and has little prospect of competing successfully against Las Vegas, New York and Orlando, which have far more attractions. According to one trade publication, L.A. hosted fewer major conventions last year than Indianapolis and Rosemont, Ill. But there’s a bigger problem here.
The simple truth is that convention centers are rarely a good public investment. A definitive national study by the Brookings Institution, released last year, found that they frequently operate at a loss, including the recently expanded centers in Washington and St. Louis. In most cases, their much-ballyhooed effect on the local economy ó new private investment, more jobs and increased levels of tourism ó “has simply not occurred,” reported Heywood Sanders, the study’s author.

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