More Courthouse Shenanigans

LIBERTY, March 6, 2009 – i-dineout.com reported on the arrest of local personal injury attorney Glenn Vickery of Hull, Tx on June 18, 2008 in Liberty by the City of Liberty Police Department.

See Related Story… Local Attorney Arrested for DWI

We followed up on this case to determine its progress and on February 3, 2009 Assistant County Attorney Tommy Chambers told i-dineout.com that the case had been dismissed on December 31, 2008 due to that fact that the blood sample report had been misplaced or missing. According to Chambers this evidence was critical to the successful prosecution of the case. Facing the end of the year with a new County Attorney, Rep. Wes Hinch, coming into office on January 2, 2009 Chambers had the case dismissed.

See Related Story… Justice Served?

As time passed since our interview with Chambers in February, a different scenario began to immerge about how and why the case was dismissed.

When confronted with this information in an interview on Thursday, March 5, 2009, Chambers admitted that he was instructed by a Judge to have the case dismissed.

Chambers went on to say that, “It wasn’t my idea,” and when confronted by the Judge, Chambers stated that, “I didn’t know what to do.”

According to sources it was County Judge Phil Fitzgerald that went to Chambers’ office and confronted him telling him to have the case against Vickery dismissed.

Vickery’s case was not the only case that Chambers had dismissed on December 31, 2009. There were 4 others.

According to documents obtained from the County Clerk’s Office, below is the list of cases Chambers had dismissed.

Glenn Vickery, DWI
Shawn Allen Lane, DWI
Lou Anne Smith, Theft Class B
Sarah Cross, DWI (a relative of former County Attorney Jack Hartel)
Ricky Joe Barnett, Possession of Marijuana, Defendant Deceased

Chambers was quick to add that Judge Fitzgerald influenced the cases of only a couple of these defendants with, Vickery being one of them.

In a telephone interview with County Judge Phil Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald categorically denied ever meeting with Chambers concerning the case involving Glenn Vickery contradicting Chambers recollection of events.

There are very unusual circumstances surrounding the dismissal of these cases.

First, why was County Judge Phil Fitzgerald dismissing cases filed in the County Court at Law, Judge Don Taylor’s Court? When i-dineout.com asked Judge Taylor if he was in his office on December 31, 2008, Taylor responded that that week is a dead week and that he was at home. But, everyone knew how to reach him if needed.

Second, according to the County Clerk’s Office, Judge Fitzgerald almost never dismissed cases filed in the County Court at Law, yet the case against Vickery was of such interest to the County Judge he took unusual and extremely rare steps to get it dismissed.

Some legal experts i-dineout.com has spoken with wonder if the County Judge has the authority or jurisdiction to dismiss cases filed in the County Court at Law since the County Judge is not even a lawyer, nor the presiding judge of the court. There is a difference of legal opinion on this issue among legal experts we consulted.

These legal issues are the matter of ongoing investigations and it will be up to a Grand Jury and Prosecutors to decide.

Stay tuned as we bring you updates to this evolving story.