Embattled U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Galveston (previous posts here) is battening down the hatches with an addition to his defense team — prominent Houston-based criminal defense attorney Dick DeGuerin.
This John Council/Brenda Sapino Jeffreys/Texas Lawyer article reports that DeGuerin gave the following response when asked why Judge Kent hired him: “When Rusty Hardin became involved and started saying a crime had been committed . . . it became obvious that he [Kent] needed some advice about that.” In this related Lise Olsen/Chronicle story, Hardin shot back: “That guy should not be a federal judge. To me, that’s the bottom line. Judge Kent has hired an excellent lawyer and it’s a good thing ó he needs one.”
Council and Jeffreys also report that the prospect of a criminal prosecution of Judge Kent appears to be heating up:

U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent ó who has hired Houston criminal-defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin ó met with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Nov. 30 to discuss allegations that he sexually harassed a court employee. [. . .]
DeGuerin says Kent, on his own, “solicited the interview” with the FBI, answered all of the agents’ questions and agreed to further interviews if requested. DeGuerin says he did not sit in on Kent’s interview with the FBI.
DeGuerin says Kent told him about his interview with the FBI “right after it was done. . . . He called an FBI agent that he knew. He [the FBI agent] contacted another FBI agent that he knew and they interviewed him.” DeGuerin adds, “I think he [Kent] did the right thing. I think it strengthens his position that he’s had all along. Maybe he’s done some things that are a little embarrassing, but he’s done nothing wrong.”
“Of course the FBI agents don’t let on what they’re thinking when they interview witnesses,” DeGuerin says. “But he felt like they asked all of the right questions.”

The article goes on to report that Hardin, the attorney for Cathy McBroom (one of the complainants against Judge Kent), continues to call for a criminal investigation of the Judge by the Department of Justice (see earlier post here). Judge Kent returns to the U.S. District Court bench from his Fifth Circuit Judicial Council-imposed four month suspension after the first of the year.
By the way, as difficult as Judge Kent’s case appears to be at this point, it’s a piece of cake compared to DeGuerin’s other recent Galveston case.