Based on this NY Sun article, it sure doesn’t appear as if U.S. District Judge Janis Jack of Corpus Christi is going to be exchanging holiday greeting cards with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott this year.
Judge Jack publicly rebuked Abbott last week when she learned that evidence in the investigation into potentially fraudulent silicosis claims in her court had disappeared after Abbott’s office sent four armed agents on June 23 to seize thousands of x-rays from a Corpus Christi storage facility that was maintaining the documents for the federal court. After Judge Jack learned about the seizure on July 5 and ordered Abbott’s office to return the documents by high noon the following day and Abbott’s office returned about 40 boxes, the records custodian reported to Judge Jack that 152 X-rays had disappeared. After an assistant attorney general informed Judge Jack during a conference call between the court and attorneys involved in the cases last week that Abbott’s office does not have the missing x-rays, Judge Jack blasted Abbott:

“The arrogance of taking those documents from a federal court-supervised depository is astounding. The attorney general of the state of Texas has exhibited a total disregard for the rule of law by doing this.”

Judge Jack made waves last year when she recommended throwing out all but one of about 10,000 silicosis lawsuits because the diagnoses appeared to be “manufactured for money.” Her ruling has generated a number of investigations, including by a congressional committee, federal prosecutors and Abbott’s office.
Hat tip to Walter Olsen for the link to the NY Sun article.