San Antonio Lawyer - San Antonio Bar Association

Transcription

San Antonio
In Memoriam
2015
M a l o n e y
January-February 2016
PRST STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
SAN ANTONIO
TEXAS
PERMIT 1001
M a r y n e l l
5
Saying Goodbye to Chiefdom
By Former Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery
In Memoriam 2015
San Antonio Lawyer Special Edition
6
In Memoriam 2015
12
“Most People Call Me Charlie”
By Mark Stevens
15
Remembering Charlie Butts
Compilation of Charlie’s SAL articles through the years
Departments
20
Federal Court Update
By Soledad Valenciano and Melanie Fry
On the Cover: San Antonio Attorney Marynell Maloney. Photo by Bruce Maniscalo.
Photo contributions from: Former Chief Judge Fred Biery (p. 5)
Archives of the San Antonio Lawyer are available on the San Antonio Bar Association website, www.sabar.org.
San Antonio Lawyer is an official publication of the San Antonio Bar Association. Send address changes to the Bar Association address at the top of page 4. Views expressed in San Antonio
Lawyer are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the San Antonio Bar Association. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of any product
or service. Contributions to San Antonio Lawyer are welcome, but the right is reserved to select materials to be published. Please send all correspondence to [email protected].
Copyright ©2016 San Antonio Bar Association. All rights reserved.
San Antonio Lawyer
3
Contents
19
Fourth Court Update:
Miscellaneous Updates, Changes, and Reminders
By Chief Justice Sandee Bryan Marion
Features
Lawyer
San Antonio
Upcoming CLE Seminars
Keeping your Connected, Informed and Relevant.
The San Antonio Bar Association
100 Dolorosa, San Antonio, Texas 78205
210.227.8822 Fax: 210.271.9614
February 19, 2016
Bench Motions & Trials: Criminal Courts Edition
Officers/Directors
President
James M. “Marty” Truss
President-Elect
Bobby Barrera
Vice President
Beth Watkins
Secretary
Santos Vargas
Treasurer
Tom Crosley
Immediate Past President
Thomas g. Keyser
Directors
Dave Evans
Dawn Finlayson
Hon. Rebeca C. Martinez
Hon. Jefferson Moore
Hon. Richard Price
Christine Reinhard
Mark Sessions
Ty Sheehan
Mexican American
Bar Association
Jaime Vasquez
San Antonio Bar
Foundation
San Antonio Young
Lawyers Association
J. Barrett Shipp
State Bar of
Texas Directors
Andrew L. Kerr
Hon. Rebecca Simmons
March 4-5, 2016
Military Law 101: What All Practitioners Should Know
April 15-16, 2016
53rd Annual Criminal Law Institute
May 20, 2016
Bench Motions & Trials VIII: Civil District Courts Edition
Bexar County Women’s Bar
Executive Director
Association
Jimmy Allison
Marissa Helm
San Antonio Black
Lawyers Association
Stephanie Boyd
Editors
Editor in Chief
Sara Murray
Articles Editor
Natalie Wilson
Departments Editor
Leslie Sara Hyman
Managing Editor
Erin Boren
Editor in Chief Emeritus
Hon. Barbara Nellermoe
Board of Editors
San Antonio Lawyer
Sara Murray, Chair
Pat H. Autry, Vice-Chair
Juliet Yassamin Azarani
Sherry M. Barnash
Barry H. Beer
Amy E. Bitter
Merritt Clements
Gayla Corley
Ryan V. Cox
Paul Curl
Cristina Tijerina DeLeon
Samatha Demory
Magda DeSalme
Kala Dumont
Jane Rankin Dure
Tanya Feinleib
Jose Galvan
Marie Gerard Granger
Shannon Greenan
Gilbert S. Gonzalez
Stephen H. Gordon
Per Hardy
Sam Houston
Leslie Sara Hyman
Rob Killen
John R. Lane
Rob Loree
Burke C. Marold
Meagan Rachele Marold
Hugh McWilliams
James Meyrat
Harry Munsinger
Curt Moy
Hon. Barbara Nellermoe
Steve Peirce
Donald R. Philbin
Edward L. Pina
Jason Rammel
Rob Ramsey
Yanira Marie Reyes
John Rightmyer
James Rodriguez
Alexis Adams Scott
Regina Stone-Harris
Etan Z. Tepperman
Johnny W. Thomas
David Willis
Natalie Wilson
Ex Officio
Erin Boren
Chellie Thompson
For advertising inquiries, contact:
Monarch Media & Consulting, Inc.
(512) 293-9277
[email protected]
Layouts by Erin Boren
Managing Editor, San Antonio Bar Association
San Antonio Lawyer
4
Saying Goodbye to Chiefdom
Left to Right: Anna Lisa Biery Raymond
(older of two daughters), Judge Biery,
Harlow Raymond (granddaughter), Molly
Biery (younger daughter)
San Antonio Lawyer
5
In Memoriam 2015
Arthur G. Augustine
died in June at the age of
58. The Ohio native joined
the Army when he was 17
and was first stationed
in Okinawa prior to
being transferred to Fort Sam Houston.
He received an undergraduate degree
in accounting from UTSA. Augustine
had a career as a CPA before attending
law school at St. Mary’s University. He
was licensed to practice law in 1992, and
enjoyed a very successful family law
practice.
Charles Dana “Charlie”
Butts died in July at
the age of 94. Butts was
born in Wichita Falls.
He received both his
undergraduate and law
degrees from the University of Texas.
He was a decorated veteran of World
War II, having served in the 381st Bomb
Squadron based in England. Butts had
a long and distinguished legal career—
first as a prosecuting attorney but, more
notably, as a truly outstanding criminal
defense attorney. He was a charter
member of the Texas Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association, a past president of
the San Antonio Bar Association, and a
frequent contributor to the San Antonio
Lawyer.
Walter Napier “Tex”
Corrigan II died in
November at the age
of 69. Corrigan was
born in San Antonio
and attended Alamo
Heights High School. He received his
undergraduate degree from Texas Tech
University and his law degree from
St. Mary’s University. He had several
careers, including manager of the Palacio
Del Rio Hotel, bank officer at Frost Bank,
principal at Multivest Financial Services
and, with his wife, a member of the law
firm of Corrigan and Corrigan.
Jose G. Cumpian died
in December at the age
of 86. Cumpian left his
hometown of Crystal
City when he enlisted
in the Marines in 1946.
Following two years of active duty, he
enrolled in St. Mary’s University, from
which he graduated in 1952. He returned
to military service the same year, accepting
a commission as a First Lieutenant in the
U.S. Army Reserves. Contemporaneously,
he continued his education at St. Mary’s
University School of Law, from which
he graduated in 1956. Cumpian had a
twenty-eight-year military career with
the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Corps.
Following his retirement from the service
in 1980, he entered private practice in San
Antonio.
San Antonio Lawyer
6
John A. Daniels died on
November 27 at the age
of 92. Daniels was born in
St. Paul, Minnesota, and
moved to San Antonio
when he was 16. He
attended Jefferson High School and
served two years in the United States
Merchant Marine. Following his time in
the service, he attended and received his
undergraduate and law degrees from St.
Mary’s University. Daniels was immersed
in both civic affairs and Democratic
politics. He was a member of the Good
Government League and served on
the San Antonio City Council. He was
general counsel and vice president of the
1968 HemisFair, and was Bexar County
Democratic Party chairman during much
of the 1960’s. In his law practice, he
emphasized real estate and banking.
Leroy Gilbert Denman
Jr. died in August at the
age of 97. Denman was
born to a family with a
distinguished legal and
ranching heritage. He
received both his undergraduate and law
degrees from the University of Texas, and
was recently honored for his seventyfive years as a member of the State Bar of
Texas. He began his legal career in the San
Antonio firm of Franklin and Denman
that his grandfather, former Texas
Supreme Court Justice Leroy Denman,
had founded in 1899. He later became
Chairman and President of Southwest
Texas Corporation, and oversaw its
four-state, 1.5-million-acre ranching
operation. Denman was devoted to many
civic organizations and foundations,
including the Caesar Kleberg Foundation
for Wildlife Conservation, the Tobin
Foundation, and the Texas Biomedical
Research Institute.
Thomas Drought died
in December at the age
of 92. The San Antonio
native was born into a
family long associated
with the legal profession.
Drought attended Texas Military Institute
and received his undergraduate degree
from the University of Texas and his law
degree from St. Mary’s University. He
served as a Marine fighter pilot in World
War II and Korea, and was the recipient of
the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Air
Medals, and the Presidential and Navy
Unit Citations. He was in private practice
in the family’s law firm until shortly
before his death. Drought spread his time
and talents across the civic landscape,
having served on the boards (among
others) of the San Antonio Art Museum,
Our Lady of the Lake University, and the
San Antonio River Authority.
Brett Edward Dunn
died in December at the
age of 47. The Beeville
native was steeped in the
culture of South Texas,
participating in State 4H
as a youth and working regularly with
horses and livestock at shows and sales.
He received his undergraduate and
law degrees from Baylor University. He
moved to San Antonio upon graduation
from law school so that he could remain
close to the outdoors and his family. He
began his legal career with Clemens and
Spencer and later had his own firm with
fellow Baylor Law graduate, Brian Smith.
He devoted much of his free time to the
Boy Scouts.
Patricia Ana Garcia
Escobedo died in January
at the age of 62. Law
was a second career for
the Kingsville native.
Escobedo graduated from
Texas A&I University and became a high
school teacher, working first in Sinton
and later at John Marshall High School in
San Antonio. She received her law degree
from the University of Texas, where she
was active in the Chicano/Hispanic
Law Students’ Association. Thereafter
followed a successful twenty-five-year
career as legal counsel adept at complex
transactions. She served as president of
the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin
from 1996-1997 and as a State Policy
Analyst for MALDEF in San Antonio.
Stonewall Jackson Fisher
II died in October at
the age of 72. The Tyler
native received both
his undergraduate and
law degrees from the
University of Texas. He was admitted
to the Bar in 1967. Following military
service, he joined the accounting firm of
Arthur Young in Dallas. He later returned
to San Antonio and joined the firm which
became Lang, Ladon, Green, Coghlan and
Fisher, serving as its managing partner for
more than twenty years. He concluded
his legal career as Vice-President of Legal
Affairs and Chief Legal Officer for Lancer
Corporation.
Mayo J. Galindo died
in March at the age of
85. The native of San
Antonio was a graduate
of Central Catholic High
School. He received his
undergraduate and law degrees from the
University of Texas. He was drafted into
the Marine Corps nearly simultaneously
with both his law school graduation
and his marriage to Iva Kowierschke
in 1952. Following military service, he
embarked upon his legal career with
the City Attorney’s Office, under the
guidance of Carlos Cadena, and later
became a prosecutor in the Bexar County
Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
Galindo had a long and distinguished
career emphasizing both criminal and
municipal law. He served as counsel to
various municipalities in environs of San
Antonio.
Peter Samuel Gross,
Jr. died in April at the
age of 85. Gross was
born in Independence,
Missouri. He attended
Westminster
College.
After graduation, he entered the Navy
and served as a gunnery sergeant during
the Korean War. He later attended St.
Mary’s University Law School and began
his legal career as an Assistant City
Attorney for San Antonio. Following his
retirement as a lawyer, he remained active
in various alternative dispute resolution
organizations.
Robert Hausser died in
August at the age of 93.
Hausser was born in Eagle
Pass. The family moved to
San Antonio when he was
10. Hausser graduated
from Alamo Heights High School and
went on to attend the University of
Texas, the University of Colorado, and
St. Mary’s University. Following military
service in World War II, Hauser entered
St. Mary’s University School of Law. He
was an authority on Texas oil and gas law,
not only as a practitioner but also as an
owner of his own oil and gas company,
Cologne Production Company.
Mayo J. Galindo
It is well known that very large trees can grow from small seeds planted
in the firmament of life. As a young man, a hard-working grandfather made
some of his living as a water taxi, fifty centavos a head, to swim his riders
on his back across the Rio Grande from Mexico to the land of opportunity.
This led eventually to the birth of the father of Mayo J. Galindo. Said father
expanded that inherent industry into a real estate-based prosperity sufficient
to educate his sons very well, leading to Mayo’s University of Texas law degree eventuating into a highly competent solo law practice of more than sixty
years. He was highly respected for his diligence in preparation in a wide variety of cases, civil and criminal. And it is true that literally on his death bed
at age 85, he anxiously awaited a call from the clerk of an appellate court to
argue over the telephone, strictly from memory, a motion for rehearing in a
pending case. The call somehow didn’t make it through, but one wouldn’t
put it past Mayo to have argued it anyway through one gate or another to a
well-deserved and eternal rest.
— From his friend and associate of long standing, George Cooper, retired.
San Antonio Lawyer
7
Marynell Maloney
In 1976, Marynell was driving through Texas on her way to see her parents in Costa Rica, when she stopped off in Austin. After becoming enamored with Austin’s vibrant culture, she enrolled in a philosophy class at the
University of Texas at Austin where she met Michael Maloney. Michael and
Marynell soon married in an informal ceremony and moved to San Antonio.
They then went to law school together, graduated in 1980, and joined the firm
of Pat Maloney Sr.
Marynell had an incredible desire to help others, and she lived her life
with an unflagging commitment to her family and her clients. Marynell was
a champion against elder abuse and neglect and spent most of her thirty-sixyear legal career improving the quality of care rendered to our state’s most
vulnerable citizens. In her journey through the practice of high stakes litigation, she served in various other capacities, including as President of the San
Antonio Trial Lawyers Association, Director Emeritus of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and member of the Top Trial Lawyers in America’s MultiMillion Dollar Advocates Forum.
While raising a family, and running a celebrated law practice, Marynell
also managed to have a rich creative life. She attended the New York Film
Academy and wrote, directed, and produced many original art films. When
Marynell and Michael dissolved their law firm, Maloney & Maloney, P.C., in
2009, Marynell started Marynell Maloney Law Firm, PPLC, a new practice
with her daughter, Michelle, and son-in-law, Chris Hernandez, which continues in her name today. Although Marynell lived to proudly see all three of her
children (Michelle, Erica Olivia, and Michael Dennis, Jr.) become lawyers, she
also encouraged us to be whole human beings and enjoy the entire spectrum
of existence—as she did.

— Michelle Maloney
Colonel
Archie
L.
Henson (USAF, Ret.) died
in June at the age of 90.
The San Antonio native
attended St. Mary’s and
St. Leo’s Catholic schools
in the city. At 17 he entered a Franciscan
seminary in Illinois. A misdiagnosis
of tuberculosis ended his studies, and
Henson returned to San Antonio. He
entered the Army/Air Force in 1943
and served in a bomber squadron in
the Pacific Theatre. Following the war,
Henson attended the University of Texas
and, thereafter, law school at St. Mary’s
University. Following law school and
a brief corporate law position, Henson
returned to active duty with the Air Force
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where
he remained for twenty-two years. Upon
retirement from the military, he served as
County Court Administrator for Bexar
County—a position which he held for
twelve years. Henson remained active in
the Roman Catholic Church throughout
his life and was an ordained deacon of the
San Antonio Archdiocese, serving at Our
Lady of Grace.
Herbert Wheeler Hill, Sr.
died in September at the
age of 87. Hill received
his undergraduate degree
from the University of
Texas and his law degree
from St. Mary’s University. The solo
practitioner was an active member of
SABA and a member and past president
of the San Antonio Trial Lawyers
Association.
Amy S. Isaminger died in March of 2014
at the age of 62. The Dallas native received
her undergraduate degree from the
University of Colorado-Boulder. She was
a 1977 graduate of Southern Methodist
University School of Law. Isaminger
practiced briefly in Colorado before
returning to Texas. She worked with the
Texas Attorney General’s Office for more
than thirty years and was assistant senior
regional attorney in San Antonio for the
Child Support Division.
San Antonio Lawyer
8
David G. Jayne died
in
October
at
the
age of 86. Jayne was
born
in
Painesville,
Ohio. He received his
undergraduate degree in
Business Administration from Kent State
University in 1952 and, some years later,
his law degree from St. Mary’s University
(1973). Jayne had a noteworthy military
career, culminating with his volunteer
service as battalion commander in
Vietnam. He retired from the military
in 1970. Following graduation from law
school, he entered private practice with
the firm of Tinsman and Houser.
Marynell Maloney died
on November 26 at the age
of 60. Maloney was reared
in Costa Rica, where
her parents operated
two private schools.
She earned her undergraduate degree
from Oberlin College, a master’s degree
in Psychology from Trinity University,
and her law degree from St. Mary’s
University. Maloney was an intelligent,
innovative, passionate, and effective legal
advocate with a practice specializing in
personal injury and medical malpractice.
Her several hobbies included creative
writing, dance, and filmmaking.
Floyd McGown died
in May at the age of 95.
The third generation
San Antonio
lawyer
held degrees from St.
Mary’s University, Trinity
University, and the University of Texas
Law School. He served in the Navy in
World War II, remained in the reserves
following the war, and retired with the
rank of Commander. He was a prominent
cattle breeder and the founder of the
North American Limousin Foundation.
John L. Mogford, Jr.
died in May at the age
of 75. Mogford was
born in Monahans but
spent much of his life in
Carrizo Springs, as both
an attorney and rancher. He graduated
from Texas A&M University and received
his law degree from St. Mary’s University.
He was in private practice in San Antonio
for many years.
Manuel Pena Montez died in November
at the age of 68. Montez was a native of
Carrizo Springs. He was a graduate of
Southwest Texas State University and
attended St. Mary’s University Law
School. Admitted to the Bar in 1971,
Montez had a successful general litigation
practice in San Antonio.
Paul R. Penrod died in
September at the age of
85. Law was Penrod’s
second career. His first
had been in the aerospace
industry as an aircraft
designer and rocket propulsion systems
engineer. He ultimately became one of
the first engineers to work at NASA in
Houston. He worked at NASA for nearly
thirty years and contributed to the design
and management of space programs,
beginning with Mercury through to the
Space Shuttle. He retired from NASA
in 1988 and entered law school at South
Texas College of Law, receiving his degree
in 1991. He moved to San Antonio to be
close to his grandchildren and served
as an Attorney/Mediator at the Bexar
County Dispute Resolution Center.
Carl Henry Pfeiffer died
in July at the age of 83.
Pfeiffer attended Central
Catholic High School,
Notre Dame University,
and St. Mary’s University
School of Law. Following a few years of
private practice, Pfeiffer acquired Security
Title Co. and Security Title & Trust and
embarked on what was to be a long and
successful career in that aspect of the law.
Security Title Co. became First American
Title Company, a business which Pfeiffer
sold in 1994. Following the sale, Pfeiffer
continued to work in various real estate
and business endeavors until December
2014. He enjoyed hunting and ranching
and was a longtime member of the San
Antonio Liederkranz.
Joel H. Pullen died in
August at the age of 83.
Pullen grew up in Crystal
City. He received his
undergraduate degree in
Business Administration
from the University of Texas in 1953, and
his law degree from the University of
Texas Law School in 1955. He graduated
with honors and was a member of its
Law Review. Pullen began his career as
a litigator with the Justice Department,
prosecuting claims under the Trading
with the Enemies Act. That career
blossomed when he entered private
practice in San Antonio. He practiced for
fifty-five years before retiring in 2009.
Steven Robert Sampson
died in August at the
age of 58. Sampson was
born in California. His
undergraduate
degree
is from Texas A&M
University, and his law degree is
from St. Mary’s University School of
Law. Sampson’s practice emphasized
condemnation law, and he had a long
association with the Baron & Adler firm
in Austin and San Antonio.
Joel H. Pullen
Joel H. Pullen was one of a handful of San Antonio attorneys who, by
1978, had argued and won a case in the United States Supreme Court [Group
Life & Health Insurance, Petitioners v. Royal Drug Company, et al., Respondents,
440 U.S. 205 (1979)]. He would say that it was not too bad for a kid from Crystal City.
Joel loved the law, which he practiced for 55 years before retiring in 2009.
Joel was a founding partner of Pulman, Cappuccio, Pullen, Benson & Jones,
LLP, and was proud to practice with his daughter Shari, his son Eric, and his
son-in-law Randy Pulman. He received his law degree from the University of
Texas, where he was admitted to Order of the Coif and served both as a Member of the Editorial Board and Associate Case Note Editor for the Law Review.
In addition to his legal career, Joel was proud to serve as President of the
Jewish Community Center from 1973-75. However, by far his greatest accomplishment was his marriage of fifty-three years to his beloved wife, Reesa. A
man of unsurpassed character and integrity, Joel Pullen touched the lives of
all who knew him and was, until the end, a true gentleman.

— Shari Pullen Pulman
San Antonio Lawyer
9
Wayland A. Simmons
died in June at the age of
74. He graduated from
Texas A&M University in
1962 and was the captain
of the football team. Upon
graduation, Simmons entered the military
for two years. Law school at St. Mary’s
University followed. Upon graduation,
Simmons worked briefly in the Bexar
County District Attorney’s Office
before running, successfully, for a seat
in the Texas House of Representatives.
Simmons undertook several business
and real estate ventures in San Antonio
in the 1980’s. He and his wife Dee Ann
later moved to Port Aransas, where Dee
Ann operated a ladies’ fashion store and
Wayland practiced a little law. In recent
years, they resided in Goliad.
J. Burleson “Burley”
Smith died in May at
the age of 98. Smith
was born in Caldwell.
The family moved to
San Antonio when he
was 10. Smith graduated from Jefferson
High School. He earned a Bachelor of
Business Administration and Bachelor
of Law degrees from the University of
Texas. Following law school, he joined the
FBI but left in 1943 to accept a commission
as a second lieutenant in the Navy. He
served principally on the carrier USS
Ticonderoga as a Night Flight Director.
After the war, he entered law practice with
the San Antonio firm of Seeligson, Cox &
Patterson, later to become Cox & Smith.
Smith served as the firm’s Managing
Partner for many years. Smith received
more professional honors than can be
reasonably listed here but among them
were the Joe Frazier Brown Award (2006)
and his designation as Distinguished
Counselor by the State Bar of Texas Section
of Antitrust and Business Litigation.
Colonel Clarence D.
Ward (USAF, Ret.) died
Colonel Ward was born in
Conroe, attended George
Washington Carver High
School in Houston, and received his law
degree from Texas Southern University.
Colonel Ward had a distinguished
twenty-seven-year career with the Air
Force Judge Advocate General’s Staff and
was honored with the National Defense
Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
J. Burleson “Burley” Smith
Charles A. “Buddy”
Weeber died in July at
the age of 92. Weeber
was a graduate of Texas
Military Institute. He was
a Navy pilot in World War
II, serving in the South Pacific. Following
military service, he attended St. Mary’s
University School of Law. Weeber was the
Senior Vice President of Claims at USAA
when he retired in the early 1980s.
Stephen F. White died
in February at the age of
65. He was born in Troy,
New York, and reared in
Reading, Massachusetts.
In 1971, White enlisted
in the Army, shortly after he received his
undergraduate degree from Dartmouth.
Following military service, he entered
law school at St. Mary’s University, from
which he graduated in 1980. White had
a distinguished career as a litigator and
was an Advocate of the American Board
of Trial Advocates.
Walter C. Wolff, Jr. died
Wolff was a graduate of
Jefferson High School
and received both his
undergraduate and law
degrees from the University of Texas. He
practiced law with his father Walter C.
Wolff, his son Jeff Wolff, and Ruth Lown
for more than fifty years.
J. Burleson “Burley” Smith, for many years the Managing Partner of Cox
Smith (now Dykema Cox Smith), died on May 9, 2015. After graduating from
The University of Texas with BBA and LLB degrees and before starting his
law practice in 1946, Burley served as a Special Agent in the FBI and in the
United States Navy as a Night Fighter Director on aircraft carriers, principally the USS Ticonderoga. He was proud and fiercely loyal to the University
of Texas (particularly to its law school), the FBI, and the Navy. Second only
to his family, his “pride and joy” was Cox Smith. He was the Firm’s servant
leader for many years, stewarding it from a four-person office to a firm of
over seventy-five lawyers before handing the reins to his successor in the late
1980’s. Burley was regularly in the office until age 95, keeping up with the
Firm’s lawyers and staff, and periodically apologizing to the Firm’s leadership for his “reduced productivity.” Burley was instrumental in the professional growth and the success of many Cox Smith lawyers over the years, and
he influenced the careers of many other San Antonio lawyers. He was a leader, a mentor, a lawyer’s lawyer, a trusted advisor and friend to many, a loving
husband and father, and an avid outdoorsman. If all could be blessed with his
ability to connect with people, not because of any agenda, but merely because
they were fellow human beings deserving of respect, attention, and support,
the world would be a much better place. Burley’s was a good life—well lived.
— James B. Smith, Jr., Member, Dykema Cox Smith
San Antonio Lawyer
10
“Most people
call me Charlie “
1
By Mark Stevens
“Example is not the main thing
in influencing others. It is the
only thing.”
- Albert Schweitzer
State of Texas v. Charles County:
1976-1995
A woman was brutally murdered in
San Antonio and one of the three suspects, of course, was her husband. The
Assistant District Attorney assigned to
the case was a master at putting people
on death row, but he had trouble keeping them there because he cheated so
often and so flagrantly that his capital convictions almost never survived
appellate review. This prosecutor really wanted the husband, so he quickly
made a deal with Moore, one of the other
two defendants, even before Moore had
a lawyer, promising that Moore’s cooperation would make it “easier and light
on” him.2 On April 27, 1976, a lawyer
was appointed to represent the second
defendant—whose name was County—
and the prosecutor, apparently lacking
complete confidence in Moore, made a
deal with the lawyer that he would not
seek the death penalty in County’s case
if he cooperated against the husband.
County did cooperate, just as he and his
lawyer agreed he would, but it turns out
that the Assistant District Attorney was
not a man of his word. Shortly after convincing a jury to condemn the husband
to death, the prosecutor let Moore plead
guilty to a lesser charge for seventeen
years of imprisonment. He denied that
he had ever had a deal with County and
his lawyer, though, and he prosecuted
County and put him on death row, just
like he had done for the husband.
Unfortunately for the Assistant
District Attorney, Charlie Butts was the
lawyer appointed to defend Charles
County, and he was not about to allow
a client of his to be cheated out of his
life by an “unethical and unprofessional”3 prosecutor. Justice would eventually come in this case, but it took almost
nineteen years. It was a good thing for
Charles County that Charlie Butts never
quit on him.
The Court of Criminal Appeals
reversed County’s first conviction in
1984, but the prosecutors got another.
After losing the first trial, Charlie appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals, and that court reversed County’s conviction because of error in the
jury charge.4 That was 1984. By then,
the original, cheating prosecutor was
no longer employed by the State, but
the new prosecutors pushed ahead and
announced their intention to again seek
the death penalty. Charlie, and co-counsel Bobby Willman, moved to quash
the capital murder indictment, arguing that the 1976 agreement not to seek
the death penalty should bar the state
from doing so now. The prosecutor who
made the deal was called as a witness
and denied having done so. The trial
court overruled the motion, the prosecution went forward, and County was
again convicted and sentenced to death.
Another reversal proved that Butts
was right all along. Charlie continued
to fight. He appealed again to the Court
of Criminal Appeals and, among other
things, he argued that the trial court had
San Antonio Lawyer
12
erred in overruling the motion to quash
the indictment. Initially, on March 29,
1989, a majority of the court voted 5-3
to affirm the conviction, rejecting all
points of error, including those related
to the “alleged agreement between the
prosecutor and appellant’s attorney.”5
Despite the fact that the original
majority managed to call the agreement
an “alleged” one no fewer than four
times in the course of three paragraphs,6
Charlie knew it was real because he
had been present when it was made.
Convinced that the trial record did not
accurately reflect the court’s ruling, he
filed a motion for rehearing and included a motion to abate the appeal so the
record could be corrected. Rehearing
was granted, the appeal was abated,
and the case was remanded for a hearing about the record. The trial judge,
the Honorable Pat Priest, held a hearing and agreed that parts of the record
were inaccurate. In addition to correcting the record, Judge Priest added this
to it, making crystal clear who he believed had told the truth—and who had
not—about the agreement: “[I]n fact, I
did find that Mr. County was told that
he would not be prosecuted for capital
murder, and I couldn’t, frankly, fathom
any reason under the sun why Mr. Butts
would have given [the prosecutor] carte
blanche with his client with any understanding short of that, and I do not
believe, in fact, that he did. I think that
was the understanding, and so I intended to explicitly find exactly the opposite
of what the Court of Criminal Appeals
found that I implicitly found.”7
Of course, Charlie had it right from
the start. The State had made an agree- joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 and Butts then because she was a professor
ment not to seek the death penalty was later awarded the Bronze Star as at the law school. I later learned that
against County, and had violated the First Sergeant of the 535th Bomb Squad- she got her law license in 1954, that she
agreement not once, but twice. Based on ron, 381st Bomb Group (H) in England. worked for the Tarrant County District
the corrected record, on May 15, 1991, a He returned to law school at UT in 1946 Attorney’s Office, and that she had been
new majority of the Court of Criminal and got his degree on May 10, 1949. He in private practice in Fort Worth for
Appeals reversed the conviction and re- went back to Wichita Falls to practice several years before moving to San Anmanded the case for a new trial, holding law, and soon moved to Odessa and tonio with Charlie, where she worked
that the trial court had the authority to then to Billings, Montana. In the early with him and other lawyers. In 1981,
bar the prosecution for capital murder 1960s he joined the Tarrant County Dis- she joined the San Antonio Court of Ap“on a finding that an enforceable agree- trict Attorney’s Office, and a few years peals, where she served with distinction
ment not to prosecute existed.”8 Only later he and Shirley moved to San An- as an Associate Justice for a number of
Judge Campbell, who had authored the tonio. She was a defense lawyer, and years.
opinion on original submission, dis- Charlie worked for the Bexar County
Charlie could not have been more
sented.
District Attorney’s office, eventually proud of his wife’s accomplishments
A third trial ended in conviction serving as First Assistant to District At- as a teacher, a lawyer, and a judge. I
and a life sentence, but it too was re- torney Ted Butler.
remember he praised her the first time
versed. Bexar County next re-indicted
Although he handled a wide vari- I heard him speak, and in the scores
Charles County in 1991 and later re- ety of civil cases and prosecuted a num- of times since then that I heard him,
tried him a third time, this time for ber of high-profile defendants,11 Charlie never—not once—did he fail to credit
murder. Fortunately, Charlie was still today is widely regarded as one of the Shirley’s legal genius. When interthere.9
Although County
viewed as a Past-President
was convicted and sentenced
of the TCDLA, Charlie made
to life imprisonment, Charsure, as always, to give Shirlie appealed, this time to the
ley the credit she deserved:
Fourth Court of Appeals in
“I’m blessed with having a
San Antonio. On March 9,
wife that’s, I think, the best
1994, in a unanimous opinlawyer I ever knew.”12 Their
ion written by Justice Tom
marriage of forty-eight years
Rickhoff, the court reversed
ended with his death, and I
the conviction once more,
guess I never met two people
finding that the trial court
more devoted to each other.
had failed to properly apply
the law of parties to the facts
Mentally Strong to the Very
of the case.10
End
County went home in
A few years ago, while
1995 after three trials, three
crossing the street on the way
reversals, and a plea bargain
to deliver a CLE in San Antonio, Charlie was run down
for time served. And finally,
by a careless driver. This acthe State had enough. On
December 30, 1994, Charles
cident slowed him down a lit“By the attachment hereto, I salute you.”
County was offered and actle, forcing him to use a walkcepted a plea bargain of forty
er, and toward the end of his
years of imprisonment with credit for very best criminal defense lawyers ever life, he was slowed down a little more
time served. He walked out of jail thirty- to practice in Texas. He was a founding by heart problems that confined him to
one days later, a free man. It would not member and past-President of the Texas a wheelchair. That said, he remained in
have happened but for Charlie Butts’s Criminal Defense Lawyers Association relatively good physical health for most
heroic willingness to wage this epic war (“TCDLA”) (1987-88), was President of of his life.
I am happy to report that Charlie
for more than eighteen years.
the San Antonio Bar Association (197980), and was Director Emeritus of the had all his mental faculties to the very
Early Life, Military Service, Law
San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers end. I saw Charlie often during the
last few months, and I was astounded
School, and a Diverse Career in
Association.
at how well his mind worked. At his
the Law
Charles Dana Butts died in San Shirley Butts Was the Best Lawyer He ninety-fourth birthday party in June, he
recalled the names of lawyers, judges,
Antonio on July 23, 2015, at the age of Ever Knew, and He Never Tired of
ninety-four. He practiced law for sixty- Saying It.
clients, cases, and trials from forty, fifty,
six years. Charlie was born and raised
I very clearly remember the first sixty years ago. He talked about camin Wichita Falls. He started law school time I heard Charlie speak. It was 1976. paigning against Warren Burnet for Disat the University of Texas in 1941, but I was a first-year law student at St. trict Attorney in Ector County in 1951
like many of his generation, his edu- Mary’s, and he was a guest lecturer in and about how the two of them drank
cation was interrupted by the war. He our criminal law class. I knew of Shirley beer the night Warren squeezed out his
San Antonio Lawyer
13
narrow victory. He discussed two of
his cases that had had particularly significant impacts on Texas law.13 He absolutely was as sharp as anyone a third
of his age.
Charlie was scheduled to speak at
the San Antonio Criminal Law Institute
on April 17, 2015, but reluctantly called
and cancelled about a week before the
seminar because of health concerns.
He did get his paper, entitled “Reflections on a Lifetime in the Courtrooms of
America,” turned in, and it was excellent—as well-written and informative
as any he ever wrote.
He Never Stopped Teaching.
This was the fifty-second year that
the San Antonio Criminal Law Institute
has been presented, and during that
time, probably nobody spoke as often as
Charlie Butts. He also spoke and wrote
papers frequently for TCDLA for the
last forty-four years. Since 1999, Charlie
served on the editorial board of the San
Antonio Lawyer, and he authored nineteen articles for that publication. His
ten-part series,“Highlights of My First
50 Years of Lawyering,” inspired and
entertained us and, I strongly suspect,
was the single most popular item the
Lawyer ever published. In his last paper
for our institute in April 2015, Charlie wrote about many of his cases dating back to the Fifties and said, “I can
remember all of them in detail to this
day.” And I know he could.
Gratitude
A man approached me at Charlie’s
funeral, stuck out his hand and asked,
“Do you know who I am?” I was almost
certain I did, even though there was no
reason for me to know him. The man—
or at least the man I thought he was—
and I had never met, or even spoken,
as far as I remembered. I had only seen
him two or three times in my life, and
not at all in more than twenty years. I
shook his hand, took a chance, and said,
“You’re Charles County.” And he was.
Even though I did not recognize his
face, I knew he would be at the funeral,
if there was any possible way he could
get there. He introduced me to the family members who accompanied him. He
seemed to be in good health, especially
for a man who had spent a third of his
life behind bars, much of it on death
row.
After the funeral, when the pall-
bearers had carried out the casket to
the hearse, just before it would depart
for the Texas State Cemetery in Austin,
Mr. County asked the funeral director if his family could take a picture of
him beside the car in which his former
lawyer lay. The services that afternoon
had been moving indeed: the playing of
“Taps,” the presentation of the folded
American flag to Justice Butts, the presence of Charlie’s family, the gathering
of judges and lawyers from the courthouse, the heartfelt eulogies given by
Suzanne Hildebrand and Judge Priest.
Of all the moving moments that day,
though, I was most affected by the presence of the County family. Charlie had
fought for years and had finally been
able to get this man back to his family,
and the man and his family knew it,
and they came to show their gratitude.
This touched me, and I’m as certain as
I can be that Charlie would have been
particularly happy to know that Charles
County was at his funeral.
We Salute You, Amigo.
Charlie’s email address was CarlosAmigo, and until recently, he was an
active participant on the San Antonio
Criminal Defense Lawyers’ listserve.
He was quick both to join the legal debates that lawyers sometimes have, as
well as to congratulate those who had
won a case, or achieved something in
the legal community. A few years ago,
I wrote an opinion piece in the local
newspaper that challenged our District
Attorney to establish a pretrial diversion program for adults. Charlie wrote
an email to me about a similar program
that he and his boss, Doug Crouch, had
set up when they worked together in
the Tarrant County District Attorney’s
Office fifty years ago, before anyone
had heard the term “pretrial diversion.”
This sort of note was pure Charlie Butts:
a well-written, entertaining history lesson meant to teach something useful
about the present and the future. He
wrote that their efforts half a century
ago had been savaged by the Fort Worth
media, but that it had nonetheless been
a positive program. “I do believe we
saved some very worthy young people
from having a criminal record, thereby
serving society and the criminal justice
system—not to mention saving a whole
lot of expenses to the taxpayers.” Not a
bad idea, then or now.
Charlie closed his email with best
San Antonio Lawyer
14
wishes for me and Stephanie,14 and he
attached a photograph of himself raising a glass of white wine. The picture
bore the caption: “By the attachment
hereto, I salute you.” It is our turn now,
Charlie, to salute you. Albert Schweitzer
was right: example is the only way to
influence others, and for so many years,
for so many people, you served as a
wonderful example of how real lawyers
should conduct themselves, in and out
of court. Thank you for that, and adios,
amigo.
For more than 30 years, Mark Stevens has
defended persons charged with serious crimes
in Texas. Since 1984, Mark has been Board
Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board
of Legal Specialization. He has been listed in
The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward &
White) since 1991, and that publication named
him the Non-White Collar Criminal Defense
Lawyer of the Year in San Antonio in 2010. He
has been listed as a Texas Super Lawyer (Key
Professional Media, Inc.) since 2003, and that
publication ranked him in the top 50 lawyers
in the West and Central Regions of Texas in
2008 and 2009. Mark Stevens does trial and
appellate work in the state and federal courts.
Mark prepared the foregoing tribute for Voice
for the Defense, a publication of the Texas
Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. The
tribute was also published in The Defender,
a publication of the San Antonio Criminal
Defense Lawyers Association.
Endnotes
This is how Charlie introduced himself
when interviewed as a Past-President
for the oral history project maintained
by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers
Association.
See
http://tcdla.com/
TCDLA?Past_Presidents/ (last vistited
Nov. 16, 2015). Charlie was unfailingly
courteous and had the manners and
bearing of a 19th Century gentleman, but
he did not have a pompous bone in his
body.
2
See Buffinton v. State, 652 S.W.2d 394,
396 (Tex. Crim. App. 1983) (Clinton, J.,
dissenting).
3
These were adjectives supplied by
Presiding Judge John Onion, and earned
by the prosecutor for Brady violations he
committed in the husband’s case. See
Buffington, 652 S.W.2d at 395 (Onion,
P.J., concurring). Judge Edward Prado,
now on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,
then a United States District Judge, called
the prosecutor’s behavior “deplorable.”
Buffington v. Copeland, 687 F. Supp.
1
- Continued on page 22 -
Remembering
Charlie Butts
Charles Dana “Charlie” Butts died on July 23, 2015, at the age of 94. For more than twenty years, he served on the SABA
Publications Committee, and during that time, he published nineteen articles. Certainly most memorable were Charlie’s
war stories from his more than sixty years of practicing law. As a tribute to Charlie, the Editorial Board of San Antonio
Lawyer now re-publishes just a few of Charlie’s best stories. Enjoy!1
Two Little Pigs. Early one morning an elder1y gentleman named Enoch
wandered into my office and said he
wanted to sue a “no count, lowdown
$#@&&!!” Enoch had a hog farm and
had “stood” his male hog with a sow
owned by the $#@&&!!. But the sow
gave birth to only two little pigs, one
a pitiful little runt. The $#@&&!! tried
to make Enoch take the runt, but he refused, saying that he had the pick of the
litter as the owner of the male hog.
I told him I would have to charge
him $25 (my first “big fee”) plus court
costs. He peeled off, as I recall, $30. The
owner of the sow hired another lawyer
who also charged $25, a total of $55 for
a little pig that wasn’t worth at that time
more than $10.
I researched the law on agister’s
liens, oral contracts, specific performance, and all sorts of things and filed
suit in JP court for the pick of the litter.
Word quickly circulated about the case,
so some of our lawyer friends got together and filed an intervention on behalf of the sow, alleging that “she was
the fit and proper ‘person’ to have custody of her offspring.”
We went to trial, and despite tearjerking arguments from the lawyers for
the mother sow, we won with the aid of
another hog farmer who testified for us.
Old Enoch picked up his good little pig
and walked away from the courthouse a
happy hog farmer!
The Blood Transfusion Case. I
served as Ector County Judge for a time
during an illness of the regular judge—
a memorable experience. One morning, I got a call from the hospital that
a woman was in a coma, as a result of
a car wreck, and desperately needed
a blood transfusion. Her father was a
preacher with a certain religious group.
He and her family had barricaded the
door to her hospital room and were
blocking the transfusion. I held a brief
hearing and discovered that she was
married, that she and her husband were
not members of the particular congregation, and that he wanted the transfusion
to take place.
I did a little research and decided
that inasmuch as the county judge could
be considered the guardian of minors
and incompetents, I could be the guardian of the woman in the coma, as she
was, in fact, incompetent at the time. I,
therefore, ordered that no one was to interfere with the transfusion.
When the hospital personnel attempted to go forward, however, her
two brothers and other family members
blocked them and damaged some of the
equipment. I sent the culprits to jail, and
several transfusions were administered.
She survived, and I was gratified when
sometime later the woman and her husband came to my office and thanked me
for literally saving her life. Also, I received a letter congratulating me from
the judge of Cook County, Illinois, saying he had read about the case in the
Chicago paper and had followed much
the same procedure as I in a case that
came before him, likewise with a happy
ending.
San Antonio Lawyer
15
The Day President Kennedy Died. I
will always remember what I was doing
and exactly where I was sitting that fateful day in 1963 when Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy. We were permitted to handle civil cases in the D.A.’s
office, provided our official duties were
not neglected and there was no conflict
of interest. I was sitting in Judge Temple
Shell’s chambers with opposing counsel
awaiting the verdict of a jury in a nasty
divorce/child custody case.
News circulated like wildfire
throughout the courthouse that the
President had been shot while riding
in a parade in Dallas. We couldn’t believe it. Surely there must be some mistake! Since the jury was deliberating the
case and had not heard the news, we
discussed whether or not we should
immediately notify the jury. However,
inasmuch as the trial had lasted several
days and involved serious facts relevant
to the welfare of three little children, we
unanimously decided against letting
them know until after their verdict.
When the jury announced they had
reached a decision, we returned to the
courtroom. The wife had conducted
herself in a manner totally unbecoming
that of a good mother or wife, and I represented the plaintiff husband. The jury
awarded him the divorce and custody
of the children, which triggered literal
bedlam in the courtroom. One of the little girls didn’t want to go with Daddy,
so she got down on the floor, with her
arms wrapped around her Mommy’s
legs. Screaming at the top of her lungs,
she would not let go, despite Daddy’s
frantic tuggings and pleadings.
The wife’s mother took serious offense and started swinging her purse
at me. I bravely got behind the counsel
table! Everyone was shouting, the children were crying, the judge was trying
to quiet everyone down so he could inform the jury of the tragic news about
President Kennedy. It was literal chaos.
I resolved right then and there that
I was out of the “child custody” business—one resolution that I have kept
religiously through all these years!
The Conversion of a Male-Chauvinist. One of our prosecutors was sick
one day, and I was asked to try a man
accused of robbing a taxi driver one
night in Forest Park. The guys in the office warned me that I had my work cut
out for me and had better get ready for
a real battle. When I asked who the defense attorney was, they told me, “It’s
a woman!” Not having tried a case
against or with a woman lawyer before,
I thought to myself, “Man, this is going
to be easy.” There at the defense table
sat Shirley smiling courteously and, as I
soon realized, confidently.2
On cross-examination, the cab driv-
er admitted that he only saw the robber’s face in the rearview mirror, that it
was night-time, that there were no street
lights in the park, and that when the taxi
door opened no dome light came on because it was broken.
Shirley inflicted the coup de grace
when she concluded by saying, “Mr.
Cab Driver, what you are really telling
this jury is that my client ‘looks like’ the
man who robbed you. Now, sir, isn’t that
the truth . . . he just ‘looks like’ him?”
The hapless cab driver said, “Yes,
ma’am, he looks like him.”
She gently said, “Thank you, sir,
for your honesty. No further questions,
Your Honor!”
I saw Reasonable Doubt being
shoved down my throat, and Shirley
made me swallow it when the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty.” That
converted me then and there.
George Cochran: “Judge, that’s entrapment!” George Cochran was one
of the better defense attorneys in all of
Texas. Proof of that fact was his induction into the Texas Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association “Hall of Fame” after his untimely death a few years ago.
It was a distinct pleasure and challenge
to go up against him. We had many a
good battle and through it all became
the best of friends.
Just a few weeks after moving from
Wichita Falls to Fort Worth, I prosecuted
one of George’s clients for armed robbery. In my closing argument, I told the
jury that, if I were still in Wichita Falls,
I would ask the jury to send the defendant to the pen for twenty years, and I
didn’t believe the good citizens of Fort
Worth should have any less protection.
So, I asked them to give him twenty
years.
Seizing an opportunity to make another jury speech, George bounced to
his feet and said, “I object, Your Honor!
I was raised here. My Daddy is the Pastor at the Methodist Church. I sing in
the choir, and we don’t need no ‘Carpetbagger out of the North’ dictating to us
what to do here in ‘Cow Town!’”
“Carpetbagger out of the North? I
came here from Wichita Falls, only 125
miles from here!” George wasn’t prepared for what followed.
You could look to the North from
the courthouse and see, across the Trinity River, the old cemetery where many
of Fort Worth’s early settlers are buried.
Gesturing toward the river, I told the
jury, “I did not know Mr. Cochran considered me a ‘Carpetbagger.’ Obviously,
he does not know that Terrell Street and
Terrell High School are named after
my Uncle Alec Terrell, and I am sure
he doesn’t know that my own dad, my
Uncle Charlie, and grandparents, lived
here before moving to Wichita Falls in
1911, nor that my now-deceased Uncle
Frank Jackson was a longtime lawman
here. Also, all of my kinfolk including
my Great-Grandfather and Grandmother Butts were honored members of the
First Presbyterian Church here. Finally,
undoubtedly Mr. Cochran does not
know that several of my ancestors are
buried in that old cemetery.”
At that point George just couldn’t
take it anymore, “Your Honor, I demand
a mistrial. He entrapped me!”
Laughing along with the jury, Judge
“Dutch” Winters said, “Overruled,
counsel . . . you opened the door!” The
jury agreed with this “Carpetbagger out
of the North” and gave George’s client
twenty years.
The State of Texas v. Kenneth Allen
McDuff. Brutally raped and mutilated
San Antonio Lawyer
16
with a broken broomstick, her halfclothed, lifeless body was thrown over
a barbed wire fence into a lonely cornfield. Her two teenage boy companions
lay dead in the trunk of their car where
they had been shot in the head by Kenneth Allen McDuff, while his horrified
sidekick Roy Dale Green helplessly
watched. Soon, buzzards ominously
circled overhead.
McDuff, with the help of Green,
had abducted the three teenagers at
the school yard in Everman, Texas, just
south of Fort Worth, and had choked
the helplessly pleading girl by standing
on the broken broomstick placed across
her throat, after ordering Green to hold
her legs.
We received a call a few days later
that Green had become so traumatized
by the tragedy that he had broken down
and told the authorities, which led to
the grisly discovery. Both McDuff and
Green were indicted for capital murder.
Our District Attorney, Doug Crouch, assigned Grady Hight, John Brady, and
me to prepare and prosecute the case,
Doug acting as Commander-in-Chief.
It fell my lot to question a farmer who
had seen McDuff and Green drive into a
nearby field, and to question our Chief
Deputy Sheriff and other witnesses, including cross-examining McDuff himself.
McDuff was arrogant, evasive, and
totally without any indication of feeling or remorse on the witness stand and
throughout the entire trial. The foreman of the jury told us they could see
McDuff’s huge powerful hands through
the opening of the witness box, and that
every time I backed him into a corner,
he would grab the knuckle of his left
index finger and twist and turn it until
the jury thought he would literally tear
it off. He said further that when I would
ease up on the pressure, McDuff would
lean back, smirk at me and the jury,
and quit twisting his knuckle. (Another
example of how juries can pick up on
certain things and eccentricities during
a trial.)
McDuff was assessed the death
penalty. However, as in the case of
Melvin Stuart Pittman and others, his
sentence was commuted to life imprisonment as a result of Furman v. Georgia.
Roy Dale Green was allowed to plead
to straight murder for his early cooperation, and he later was paroled after behaving himself in prison.
McDuff never should
have been paroled, however,
because he launched upon
a brutal rampage of no-telling-how-many abductions,
rapes, and murders throughout central Texas, until he finally was caught, tried, convicted, and given the death
penalty in both Houston and
Seguin. . . . To the end, Kenneth Allen McDuff showed
no remorse for his monstrous
deeds.
This case makes one
wonder, “What in the world
can produce someone like
Kenneth Allen McDuff?” He
indeed was the most evil and
brutal of all those I prosecuted, with perhaps almost the
exception of Doyle Edward
Skillern, whom I later prosecuted as a
Special Prosecutor in Rockport. Skillern
was convicted, assessed the death penalty, and executed. That prosecution,
and that of Charles Victor Sanne, his
companion, is a whole story itself.3
Final Justice for Kenneth Alan
McDuff: The Meanest of the Mean. My
final participation in the long overdue
demise of Kenneth Alan McDuff came
when I was subpoenaed to testify for
the State at his prosecutions in Houston
and Seguin for the rape, torture, and
murder of two more hapless women after his scandalous parole.
When I looked into his cold, deadly, almost lifeless eyes as I testified, the
memory of a poor lifeless teenage girl
lying all alone in that isolated field back
in 1966 flooded through my mind. Both
juries assessed McDuff the death penalty. The convictions were affirmed. All
of his last minute efforts to avoid execution were denied, and he finally was
executed in late 1998—thirty-two years
since we first convicted him in Fort
Worth and his death penalty was commuted to life after Furman v. Georgia.
Thus ended the deadly career of
Kenneth Alan McDuff, the Meanest of
the Mean.
State v. Cuevas.4 Defendant Cuevas was sitting on a couch eating fried
chicken when the police arrived. The
foreign object stuck in the roof of his
mouth was not a chicken bone, but a .22
caliber bullet that lodged there when he
San Antonio Lawyer
17
shot himself in the mouth with a Saturday Night Special in a failed attempt to
commit suicide after killing his wife. As
fate would have it, the powder in the
bullet was defective, thereby creating
the freakish situation.
After shooting his wife, Cuevas
dragged her into the bathroom on her
back, placed a partial box of .22 shells
on the edge of the bathtub, scattered
three or four empty shells on the floor,
and carefully placed the pistol on top of
her right thigh with the barrel pointing
to her left side. She had a bullet hole in
her right temple, which the EMS noticed
upon their arrival. She also had a bullet
hole at the base of her skull in the back,
which initially went unnoticed and was
not reported in the police reports. It
was listed in the autopsy report, but the
medical examiner had moved to New
York and refused to come back to testify.
This presented a problem for Bill
White and me because Jack Leon, Cuevas’ astute defense counsel, was claiming that the wife had shot herself. We
needed to show that wound at the base
of her skull, and Jack was giving us a literal fit. As sometimes happily happens,
however, a light shone brightly via the
case of Vargas v. State,5 which allowed
us to introduce the autopsy report after
quite a battle. Judge Semaan’s ruling
stood up on appeal.
As would-be smart defendants often do, Cuevas made a serious mistake
in arranging the bathroom scene when
he placed the pistol on top of his wife’s
right thigh with the barrel pointing to
her left. Why? She was left-handed,
which made it impossible for her to
shoot herself at the base of her skull in
the back, then in her right temple, lie
down, and finally place the pistol as described.
Demonstrating the improbability
of the scene, I lay down on the floor of
the courtroom during jury argument,
holding the pistol in my left hand, attempting to place it to my right temple
as well as to the base of my skull in the
back. The jury got the picture, convicted
Cuevas, and sent him to the penitentiary. His conviction was affirmed by the
Court of Criminal Appeals.
As an aside, when I later was inducted as President of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Jack
Leon complimented me, saying that I
had managed to make myself an effective part of the evidence in my argument to the jury. Jack was among the
best of my courtroom combatants.
Fred and Lionel. In 1971, Fred
Semaan and Lionel Goodstein invited
me to office with them in the Tower Life
Building. Shirley joined us shortly after
that, and our experiences with them
alone would fill a volume of highlights.
Mr. Goodstein, President of SABA when
Shirley and I moved to San Antonio in
1967, was a true “book” lawyer and
unselfishly gave of his time and knowledge to young lawyers.
Fred was a rough and tough trial
lawyer whose cross-examination skills
were second to none. He and his brother, Judge Anees Semaan, became two of
the first inductees into our Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Hall of Fame.
Fred could devastate a hostile witness
and strip him naked in front of a jury.
The numerous cases we tried together
here in San Antonio and throughout
South Texas constitute a treasure trove
of learning for me. I draw on and profit
from that knowledge daily.
Chief Judge Adrian Spears once
told me that, although Fred was like a
chain saw cutting butter in the courtroom and would take full advantage
of any and every opportunity to bore
in and win an acquittal for his clients,
he always conducted himself in an ethical manner. Judge Spears also said that
when Fred Semaan stated something
as a fact and gave his word on it, that
was sufficient for Judge Spears because
Fred’s word was his bond. What better example could we lawyers have to
guide us not only in our practice but in
our daily lives?
Being of the “old school,” Fred
sometimes had difficulty with women
attorneys as opposing counsel. One day
he got into a real clash with a certain
woman prosecutor. He came back to the
office from the courthouse fuming “that
#@$%!! woman prosecutor . . . these
#@$%!! women lawyers!”
Unbeknownst to Fred, Shirley was
sitting in her office in full earshot of his
tirade. Lionel admonished Fred to “cool
it,” cautioning him that Shirley was in
her office. Without missing a beat Fred
exclaimed, “Hell, she’s no woman lawyer . . . Shirley’s a real lawyer!”
Joaquin Jackson, Texas Ranger:
A Real Texas Ranger. The TV series
“Walker, Texas Ranger” doesn’t come
anywhere close to portraying the best of
Texas Rangers. That role belongs to my
longtime friend, now retired, Ranger
Joaquin Jackson, whose exploits are legendary.
Some years ago, Joaquin agreed to
advise, counsel, and instruct movie actor Nick Nolte on how to look, act, walk,
and talk like a Texas Ranger in the movie Extreme Prejudice. Nolte promised to
compensate him for his help. Joaquin
fulfilled his end of the bargain and huge
posters of Joaquin dressed in full Ranger regalia, carrying his carbine by a corral, were displayed around the movie
set. Joaquin also flew to Hollywood for
the movie’s premier and participated in
the media hoopla with Nolte, Powers
Booth, and other movie personalties.
Despite their agreement and Joa-
San Antonio Lawyer
18
quin’s invaluable help, however, Nolte
refused to pay him. Joaquin asked me
for help. We filed suit against Nolte in
the Western District here in San Antonio but had a tough time getting him
served. Finally, we learned that Nolte
was making another movie in Florida.
We hired a process server who caught
up with him there and told a guard that
his wife wanted Nolte’s autograph on a
photo he had. The unsuspecting guard
pointed out Nolte’s trailer, and while
he was autographing the photo, Nolte
was hurriedly served with the citation,
and the imaginative process server “hot
footed it” out of there.
This solo practitioner from “Wichtaw Falls” subsequently had an interesting time dealing with several “high
powered” Hollywood lawyers who
tried to “snowball” us with “show-biz”
gobbledegook. When it came down to
whether they really wanted to try a case
for a wealthy Hollywood actor against
a famous Texas Ranger in the Western
District of Texas, they thought better
of it, settled the case, and paid Joaquin
his just compensation. “One riot . . . one
Ranger, Joaquin Jackson.”
- Continued on page 22 -
TLIExceptional
Patricia Peterson, Claims Attorney
Because of our exceptional coverage, Texas
Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange has been voted
best professional liability insurance company
in Texas four years in a row by Texas Lawyer
magazine. That same exceptional coverage and
over 35 years in the business has also made
TLIE a Preferred Provider of the State Bar of
Texas. Not to mention, we have returned over
$36,550,000 to our policyholders. See why
exceptional coverage makes the difference.
512.480.9074 / 1.800.252.9332
[email protected] / WWW.TLIE.ORG
@TLIE_
facebook.com/TLIE01
By Chief Justice Sandee Bryan Marion
B
eginning a new year is an
opportune time to reflect
on changes and to remind
ourselves of those little tidbits of
information we may have forgotten.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Fourth Court’s alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) program has
been in place for many years. During
its last session, the Texas Legislature
amended the Government Code to require
Miscellaneous
The
Fourth
Court
recently
implemented a policy prohibiting the
taking of photographs in the courtroom
while court is in session. Signs will be
posted in the courtroom as a reminder.
In addition to our Local Rules and
Internal Operating Procedures, the
Fourth Court has several important court
preferences posted under the “Practice
Before the Court” link on our website.
One of these preferences is that the
court prefers citations to the record and
San Antonio Lawyer
19
citations to supporting authorities be
included in the body of the briefs and
not placed in footnotes. With mandatory
e-filing, this preference takes on even
greater importance for two reasons. First,
placing citations in the body of the briefs
allows the justices and court attorneys
to more efficiently read the briefs on a
computer screen without having to scroll
back and forth to and from the footnotes.
Second, placing citations in the body
of briefs facilitates the use of the newly
implemented hyperlinks previously
discussed.
All appellate practitioners are
encouraged to regularly visit the Fourth
Court’s website to stay updated on the
latest court preferences and rules.
Chief Justice Sandee
Bryan Marion has
served on the Fourth
Court of Appeals since
January 2002, and has
been the Chief Justice
since January 1, 2015.
Justice Marion served
as Judge of Bexar
County Probate Court No. 2 from November
1992 until her appointment to the Fourth
Court of Appeals. Prior to her election to the
Probate Court bench, Justice Marion spent
twelve years in private practice. She is board
certified in family law by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization.
Fourth Court Update
Hyperlinks in Briefs
Since January 1, 2014, the Texas
appellate
courts
have
mandated
electronic filing at the appellate court
level. With the implementation of e-filing,
the Texas Judiciary has endeavored to
implement new and enhanced features
to further bolster the effectiveness of
filing documents electronically. One of
those enhancements is the automatic
hyperlinking of case citations in briefs
to Westlaw Next. The ease of clicking a
hyperlink that directs the reader to the
applicable case expedites the review of
briefs.
Automated hyperlinking is not a
new concept. The United States Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has
used batch hyperlinking for some time,
and it served as the model for Texas
appellate courts. With approval from
the Texas Supreme Court, the Office of
Court Administration put in place the
necessary technical and programming
enhancements to allow for the integration
of batch hyperlinking with the Texas
Appellate Management E-filing System
(TAMES). The hyperlinking program is
now fully operational, so whenever a brief
is filed, TAMES automatically hyperlinks
case citations in briefs to Westlaw Next.
courts that appoint mediators to establish
and maintain a list of persons registered
with the court to serve as mediators. If the
parties are unable to agree on a mediator,
the court must appoint a mediator using
a rotating system, appointing the person
whose name appears first on the court’s
mediator list and then placing that
person’s name at the end of the list.
At a recent meeting, the Fourth Court
justices discussed this legislative change
and its effect on our ADR program. Parties
who agree to participate in the Fourth
Court’s ADR program are almost always
able to agree on a mediator. Therefore,
the justices decided that establishing a
system to register mediators would not
be an efficient use of the court’s time. As
a result, the justices amended the court’s
Internal Operating Procedures to provide
that an appeal would not be referred to
ADR if the parties are unable to agree on
a mediator.
In September 2015, the Fourth
Court welcomed a new legal assistant,
Jacqueline Fennell. One of Ms. Fennell’s
responsibilities is coordinating the ADR
program with Justice Marialyn Barnard,
who is the justice currently responsible
for the ADR program.
Miscellaneous Updates, Changes, and Reminders
By Soledad Valenciano and Melanie Fry
If you are aware of a Western District
of Texas order that you believe would
be of interest to the local bar and
should be summarized in this column,
please contact Soledad Valenciano
([email protected], 210-7874654) or Melanie Fry (mfry@dykema.
com, 210-554-5500) with the style and
cause number of the case, and the entry
date and docket number of the order.
Review of Disability Determination
and Denial of Benefits
Jamison v. Colvin, No. SA-15-CA-166JWP (Primono, J., Oct. 5, 2015).
Magistrate affirmed Administrative
Law Judge’s determination that
claimant was not disabled and
not entitled to disability and
supplemental
social
security
income. ALJ applied the proper legal
standard and substantial evidence
supported her decision. Court
examined whether claimant met the
five considerations set forth under
20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520 and 416.920.
ALJ had no obligation to inquire as
to why claimant did not attend his
consultative examination and, in
not inquiring, did not fail to fulfill
her duty to develop an adequate
record. ALJ was warranted in
concluding that claimant’s efforts
to obtain unemployment benefits
were inconsistent with a claim
for disability. ALJ did not have to
undergo Newton analysis because
she also reviewed competing, firsthand medical evidence from other
treating physicians. ALJ did not err
in relying on the record’s residual
functioning capacity assessment or
the vocational expert’s testimony
that the claimant may return to his
past job as a car salesman.
Rule 59(e) Motion; EEOC Subpoena
EEOC v. A’GACI, LLC, No. SA-14-MC445-DAE (Ezra, D., Oct. 26, 2015).
Employer refused to provide
information pursuant to an EEOC
subpoena it contended was too
broad, so the EEOC filed an
application to enforce its subpoena.
At the employer’s request, the court
sealed much of the briefing. EEOC
filed a motion for reconsideration
of the court’s order granting
employer’s
motion
to
seal,
which motion the court denied.
District courts treat a motion for
reconsideration under the same
standard that governs FRCP 59(e)
motions to alter or amend a final
judgment, if, as here, it is filed within
28 days of the judgment. At issue in
the motion was a finding that the
EEOC violated 42 U.S.C. § 2000e5 by reproducing large parts of an
employee’s charge in the record.
Court found it had committed no
manifest error of law because Fifth
Circuit law recognizes two separate
non-disclosure provisions in the
statute, including one preventing
“the making available to the general
public of unproven charges,”which
applied here. Court reasoned that
it would be “eminently unfair”
to the employer for the EEOC
to publish information obtained
during its investigation prior to a
determination that a valid complaint
is made in the employee’s charge.
Court likewise did not commit a
manifest error in law in holding
that an application to enforce an
administrative subpoena is not a
“proceeding” within the meaning
of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-8. Case law
provided by EEOC, which used
the term generally and applied to
compel a National Labor Relations
Board-issued subpoena, was not on
point.
Motion to Compel Arbitration; Motion
to Transfer Venue
Duncan v. Banks, No. SA-15-CV-148-XR
(Rodriguez, X., Sept. 16, 2015).
Plaintiff alleged that he entered
into several investments at the
encouragement of Banks. Three of
San Antonio Lawyer
20
the investments were governed by
agreements containing choice of
law and arbitration provisions and
Banks moved to compel arbitration.
In order to evaluate the motion,
the court first had to determine
what law to apply. A federal judge
sitting in diversity follows the
choice of law rules of the state
in which the court sits. In Texas,
contractual choices of law are
generally upheld. The choice of law
provisions in the three investment
agreements call for Delaware law.
Under the Second Restatement
of Conflict of Laws test followed
in Texas, applying Delaware
law is proper because there is a
substantial relationship among the
parties, the fund agreements, and
Delaware; Texas does not have a
materially greater interest in the
outcome of the case; Texas has no
fundamental policy that Delaware
law would violate; and the case
would be resolved the same way
under either state’s law. Evidence
was “clear and unmistakable”
that by their agreements the
parties delegated the question of
arbitrability to the arbitrator and
that there was a plausible argument
that the assertion of arbitrability
was not “wholly groundless.”
Thus, arbitrability would be
decided by the arbitrator. Banks,
although a non-signatory, could
rely on the arbitration provisions
to compel arbitration both because
the arbitration agreement covered
“affiliates,” which Banks was,
and under doctrine of equitable
estoppel. Claims related to other
investments could not be sent
to arbitration under a claim of
gateway arbitration. However, one
additional investment contained a
valid, enforceable forum selection
clause. Banks, although a nonsignatory, could enforce the forum
selection clause because he was
closely related” to a signatory
or under doctrine of equitable
estoppel.
Accordingly,
court
granted motion to transfer claims
relating to that investment.
Remand; Improper Joinder; Insurance
Agent
Spar Enters., LP v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co.,
5:15-CV-00661-RP (Pitman, R., Oct. 30,
2015).
Hotel sued insurance company and
insurance company’s adjuster for
breach of contract, Texas Insurance
Code violations, DTPA violations,
and breach of good faith and fair
dealing related to storm-damaged
property.
Insurance
company
removed, alleging that adjuster,
a Texas citizen, was improperly
joined. Plaintiff moved to remand.
Court granted motion to remand,
holding that plaintiff’s pleading
alleged conduct by adjuster
sufficient to state Insurance Code
and DTPA claims. Court noted
that other federal district courts
have interpreted new Texas Rule
of Civil Procedure 91a.1 as creating
a pleading standard analysis
similar to Federal Rule 12(b)
(6), but court rejected this view
and held that TRCP 91a.1 does
not supersede prior fair-notice
pleading requirements of TRCP 45.
Although breach of contract and
good faith and fair dealing claims
could not stand against adjuster
even under fair-notice standard,
petition stated claims against
adjuster for Insurance Code and
DTPA violations because adjuster
allegedly prepared an estimate and
orchestrated the inspections.
Personal Jurisdiction; Declaratory
Judgment; Insurance
Maxum Indem. Co. v. BRW Floors, 5:15-cv00167-RCL (Lamberth, R., Oct. 7, 2015).
When defendant insured was
sued in Texas state court for
manufacturing allegedly defective
wood flooring, defendant sought
defense and indemnity from
plaintiff insurer. Five days after
plaintiff denied coverage, it filed
declaratory judgment action in the
Western District of Texas, seeking
a declaration that it was not liable
under the policy. Defendant moved
to dismiss for lack of personal
jurisdiction. Defendant did not
challenge personal jurisdiction
in underlying products suit, but
argued that jurisdiction could
only exist in the insurance suit if
its contacts with Texas related to
the insurance policy at issue. The
Fifth Circuit has not addressed the
issue. Court denied defendant’s
motion and allowed plaintiff
to take limited jurisdictional
discovery. Regardless of whether
stream-of-commerce theory used
in products actions applies in
insurance disputes, defendant’s
alleged sales to Texas distributors
were sufficient minimum contacts.
In a declaratory judgment action
by an insurer against its insured,
a court may exercise personal
jurisdiction over an insured where
insured’s only contacts with the
forum are those predicating the
insurance dispute itself. Where a
manufacturer insures itself against
the financial risks inherent in the
manufacture and sale of a product,
it is eminently foreseeable that the
manufacturer may be required to
litigate claims arising from both the
product and the contract insuring
the product in the states where
it purposefully directs and sells
that product. Court also denied
defendant’s motion to dismiss in
favor of defendant’s parallel, laterfiled action in the Southern District
of Florida. Although insurer filed
suit five days after denying claim,
its quick filing did not amount to
a “race to the courthouse” that
inequitably deprived defendant of
its right as “true plaintiff” because
defendant waited five months to
bring its own action in Florida.
Arbitration; Adhesion Contract
Grasso Enters., LLC v. CVS Health Corp.,
SA-15-CV-427-XR (Rodriguez, X., Oct.
28, 2015).
Plaintiff pharmacy owner sued
defendant
regarding
claimsprocessing
procedures.
Court
granted
defendant’s
Motion
to
Compel
Arbitration
and
rejected plaintiff’s argument that
arbitration agreement was illusory
and
unconscionable
because
defendant could “unilaterally”
amend the contract. Contract
required defendant to give notice of
amendments and allowed pharmacy
to reject amendment by ceasing to
San Antonio Lawyer
21
submit claims to defendant; thus,
defendant could not “unilaterally”
amend. “Take it or leave it”
nature of contract did not render
arbitration clause unenforceable.
Court rejected plaintiff’s argument
that confidentiality requirement in
arbitration clause gave defendant
an unfair advantage as the more
repeat
player
against
other
pharmacies in arbitration with
enhanced institutional knowledge.
Court denied defendant’s request
to dismiss action. Although Fifth
Circuit has held that Federal
Arbitration Act’s provision that
the “court shall stay” proceedings
pending arbitration still allows
district court discretion to dismiss
a case, court restated plain words
of FAA and exercised discretion
to stay the action. Court denied
plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary
Injunction regarding unlawful
retaliation against plaintiff for filing
suit. Parties’ adoption of American
Arbitration
Association
rules
constituted clear and unmistakable
evidence that parties agreed to
arbitrate arbitrability, and judicial
inquiry needed to determine the
propriety of injunctive relief would
inject the court into the merits of
issues more appropriately left to
arbitrator. Although appointment
of an arbitrator may not occur before
allegedly retaliatory action was
taken, plaintiff waited two months
after it learned of retaliatory action
before seeking injunction.
Soledad Valenciano practices commercial and real
estate litigation with Spivey Valenciano, PLLC.
Melanie Fry practices commercial litigation and
appellate law with Dykema Cox Smith.
Lawyer
San Antonio
Published by
San Antonio Bar Association
100 Dolorosa, Ste. 500
San Antonio, Texas 78205
www.sabar.org
210.227.8822
For information on advertising in
the San Antonio Lawyer magazine
Call 512.293.9277
Chellie Thompson
Monarch Media
[email protected]
San Antonio Lawyer
The San Antonio Lawyer is published
bimonthly by the San Antonio Bar
Association. Reproduction in any
manner of any material, in whole or
in part, is prohibited without the express written consent of the Editor in
Chief. Material contained herein does
not necessarily reflect the opinion of
the Publisher or its staff. San Antonio
Lawyer, the San Antonio Bar Assocation and the Publisher reserve the
right to edit all materials and assume
no responsibility for accuracy, errors
or omissions. San Antonio Lawyer
and the Publisher do not knowingly
accept false or misleading advertisements, false or misleading editorials
and do not assume any responsibility
should such editorials or advertising
appear.
- Continued from page 14 1089, 1093, 1104 n.12 (W.D. Tex. 1988).
4
County v. State, 668 S.W.2d 708, 711
(Tex. Crim. App. 1984). Charlie would
be the first to insist that his co-counsel,
Shirley Butts, be given proper credit for
the appellate victory.
5
County v. State, 812 S.W.2d 303, 310
(Tex. Crim. App. 1989). Judge Bill White,
former Bexar County District Attorney,
did not participate in the decision.
6
Id. at 310-11.
7
Id. at 316.
8
Id. at 317.
9
And so was Bobby Willman.
10
County v. State, No. 04-92-00347-CR
(Tex. App.—San Antonio 1994, no pet.)
(not designated for publication).
11
While working in Tarrant County, Charlie
assisted in the prosecution of Kenneth
Allen McDuff for a triple murder in 1966.
The jury in that case sentenced McDuff to
death, but his sentence was commuted to
life imprisonment following the Supreme
Court’s decision in Furman v. Georgia, 408
U.S. 238 (1972). McDuff was paroled in
1989 and was later convicted of multiple
capital murders that earned him the title
of “The Most Notorious Serial Killer in
Texas History.” The 1966 trial is detailed
in Bad Boy from Rosebud, written by Gary
M. Lavergne.
12
To listen to the interview, go to http://
tcdla.com/TCDLA/Past_Presidents/17Charles_Butts.aspx (last visited Nov. 16,
2015).
13
County v. State, 668 S.W.2d 708 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1984); Grayless v. State, 567
S.W.2d 216 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978).
14
My wife, Stephanie Stevens, the best
lawyer I know.
Advertisers’ Index
Broadway Bank
24
Gunn, Lee & Cave
11
Jeff Small
4
LawPay
2
Sol Schwartz 23
TX Lawyers Ins. Exchange
18
University of Incarnate Word
qPlease recycle after reading.
4
- Continued from page 18 Endnotes
Unfortunately, space does not permit us
to re-publish more of Charlie’s wonderful
war stories here, but the rest of his stories
appear in the articles listed below, most
of which are available in the San Antonio
Lawyer archives posted on the SABA
website:
Charles D. (Charlie) Butts, Highlights
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part I,
San Antonio Lawyer, July-Aug. 1999, at
3-8.
1
San Antonio Lawyer
22
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part II,
San Antonio Lawyer, Sept.-Oct. 1999, at
5-11.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part III,
San Antonio Lawyer, Mar.-Apr. 2000, at
12-15.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part IV,
San Antonio Lawyer, Nov.-Dec. 2000, at
11-13, 16.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part V,
14-16.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part VI,
12-13, 22.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part VII,
San Antonio Lawyer, May-June 2004, at
9-11, 22.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part VIII,
10-14.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part IX,
San Antonio Lawyer, May-June 2005, at
12-13.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering, Part X,
12-14, 19.
of My Second 50 Years of Lawyering (60
Years and Counting), San Antonio Lawyer,
July-Aug. 2009, at 8-10, 22.
of My First 50 Years of Lawyering (Plus 13
and Counting), San Antonio Lawyer, Nov.Dec. 2012, at 12-14.
Charles D. (Charlie) Butts, The Eagle
Ford, “It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again,” San
Antonio Lawyer, May-June 2014, at 14-16.
Charles D. (Charlie) Butts, Do You
Play Golf, Charlie? San Antonio Lawyer,
Mar.-Apr. 2015, at 17.
2
”Shirley” refers to Shirley Butts, who
would later become Charlie’s wife of
forty-eight years. Shirley, an outstanding
lawyer herself, is a retired Justice of the
Fourth Court of Appeals.
3
See Skillern v. State, 609 S.W.2d 762
(Tex. Crim. App. 1980).
4
456 S.W.2d 110 (Tex. Crim. App. 1970).
5
424 S.W.2d 416 (Tex. Crim. App. 1968).
GOOD IS
transcending generations.
What is good? Good is a bank that offers the
individualized attention you deserve. It’s
understanding what’s important to each generation of
our clients. With Private Banking, good is offering
a level of service that transcends generations.
PRIVATE BANKING I CUSTOMIZE LENDING
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS I PORTFOLIO MORTGAGES
210.283.6642 | 800.531.7650 | 39 Neighborhood Locations
broadwaybank.com | Member FDIC | mmm