The Collin County Observer

This is the second of a 3 part series to be published by the Collin County Observer on the ongoing battle by the Commissioners Court to gain control over all county operations.

Part 1: Turf battle costs taxpayers over $300,000.
Part 2: Who gains from the county's suit against its auditor?
Part 3: Checks and balances in Collin County government.

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Who gains from the county's suit against its auditor?

In May of this year, the Collin County Commissioners filed a lawsuit against the County Auditor in an attempt to stop the auditor from gaining access needed to audit the county's numerous computer programs that generate reports on all facets of county financial operations including, cash receipts, payroll, fines, expenses and tax collections.

Donald Cozad, the County Auditor had been trying for several years to gain "read only" access to the tables, calculations, permissions and formulas that these systems used to create the reports that are summarized in the county's financial statements.

Last month visiting Judge Calhoun ruled for the second time against the commissioners court, and acknowledged that the Auditor has all the rights to the software that he had been requesting. So far, these suits have cost the Collin County taxpayer over $300,000. [see Turf battle costs taxpayers over $300,000, CCO, Nov. 9, 2008]

The costs to the taxpayer will continue to rise, and probably double as the county has filed a notice of appeal.

One question that nags anyone who has examined the issues in this dispute is "Who gains from a successful suit by the Commissioners Court?". The commissioners warn of disastrous financial consequences if the auditor is allowed to prevail. A closer look at the issues and players involved with this suit suggests that there may be hidden agendas that have nothing to do with saving taxpayer money.

A "power grab"
For years now, the commissioners have coveted and expressed resentment over any county operation they do not control. Texas state law, in providing for a system of checks and balances has placed several departments beyond the authority of the commissioners court. These departments include the County Auditor, the Purchasing Agent, Court Reporters, and Juvenile Probation.

The commissioners complain that they are responsible for the budget, but 10% of the budgeted funds are spent by officials the commissioners have no authority over. Commissioners want the final policy and hiring authority over all non-elected department heads.

During the last legislative session, the commissioners tried and failed to get the Texas Legislature to allow the commissioners to replace court reporters with electronic taping systems, even over objections from an elected judge. This year they are asking the legislature to prohibit the auditor from accessing and auditing software and from controlling payroll. They are also asking that they be given control over the purchasing department.

In their suit against the auditor, the commissioners claim that granting the auditor's demands will be burdensome and expensive.

In their filings with the 219th District Court, the commissioners charge that, "The Auditor’s Questions are proposals for radical change to Collin County’s computer systems masquerading as an innocent effort to clarify his statutory duties as the county auditor."

Claiming that the auditor is engaging in a "power grab", the commissioners wrote that, "The Auditor seeks to vastly increase his influence and power in the Collin County government." and that "the additional powers the Auditor seeks would have disastrous consequences for Collin County’s taxpayers."

These "disastrous consequences" to the Collin County taxpayer were at the heart of the the commissioners' argument before the court.

Millions of dollars
The commissioners charge that, "the Auditor’s proposed changes would cost the taxpayers of Collin County millions of dollars in vendor modifications to computer software and hardware and lost man-hours for county
employees."

In a sworn affidavit, Collin County's IT Director, Caren Skipworth told of the Auditor's requests to gain "read only" access to the major IT systems -

Ms. Skipworth wrote that with one major software package, the multi-million dollar installation of "PeopleSoft", the vendor was able to make the changes that allowed Mr. Cozad 'read only' access. Another huge program named "Land Deeds and Vitals System" that is used by the County Clerk could be modified to meet the requirements of the auditor for only $5,000.

However, with the $7 million dollar installation of the court room management software package called "Odyssey" it was a different matter. Odyssey was developed and sold by Tyler Technologies of Dallas. According to Ms. Skipworth, Odyssey's vendor has told her that the required changes could not be made.

Ms. Skipworth also wrote that, "Typically, however, vendors do not develop software applications with view inquiry access to configurations, workflow, user profiles and security". "More over", Skipworth wrote, "it is highly unusual for a vendor to be willing or able to alter an application to allow for something like view inquiry access after the program's development."

Really?

Auditor's portals
PeopleSoft was able to offer the modifications easily. Land Deed and Vitals was able to do so cheaply. Only Odyssey seems to be impossible to modify - even by the programmers who wrote it.

A look at Tyler Technologies website shows that Tyler offers custom programming and development. It would seem extraordinary that they can customize other operations, but can't fix their own programming to meet current accounting standards.

I've spoken to several vendors of large ERP systems. (ERP stands for Enterprise Management Program.) ERP systems are large programs designed to run entire corporate finance, production, and logistics departments. Without exception, these vendors all offer "read only" audit access. One salesman told me he wouldn't even try to sell a large software system without an "auditor's portal". No one would buy it.

Because, in the world after Enron and Worldcom, such audit functions are required by law. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, enacted in 2002 makes such auditor oversight mandatory for public corporations - but not for government.

I also spoke with experts who deal with regulatory software - the large programs that are used by, for example, food processors to insure regulatory compliance. These programs too must contain "read only" access to base functions for auditing.

What's the deal with Odyssey?
Odyssey was born out of a vision by the Texas Legislature and Texas Supreme Court to automate much of the functions of the court system in such a way that would enable efficiencies in automated filing and allow communication between the trial courts and the appellate courts.

In the late 1990's the 75th Texas Legislature created the Judicial Committee on Information Technology (JCIT). The JCIT is made up of judges, lawyers and DA lawyers from around the state.

The JCIT was tasked to, "establish standards and guidelines for the systematic implementation and integration of information technology into the trial and appellate courts in Texas." In other words, the JCIT was to write the program specifications for automating the court systems.

From 2001 to 2003, the JCIT solicited input from courts and vendors, developed program parameters, and published standards to be incorporated into courtroom software.

One of the companies that gave input into the process and developed software to meet these new standards was Tyler Technologies. Their Odyssey program is a suite of software programs designed to automate courts, jails and justice operations.

In 2006, the Conference of Urban Counties (CUC) selected Odyssey in a $12.4 million software license agreement under its TecShare program for joint use and license by its members. The CUC is a non-profit organization composed of 34 member counties representing nearly 80 percent of the population of Texas.

The agreement gave existing CUC members the right to adopt Tyler's Odyssey Case Manager and Odyssey Prosecutor software applications. The agreement also gave CUC members that adopt the court management system access to other applications in Tyler's Odyssey suite of applications, such as Law Enforcement, Jail Manager and Check Manager.

Collin, Dallas, Galveston, Denton, Fort Bend, Grayson, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Kaufman, Kerr, Nueces, Tarrant, Taylor and Williamson counties are among the CUC members that have signed contracts and are adopting Odyssey.

The JCIT, Gardere and Tyler Technologies
Remember that the base criteria and specifications for Odyssey were written by the JCIT. The chairman of the JCIT was and is Peter S. Vogel, a partner at the Dallas law firm of Gardere, Wynne Sewell LLP.

Mr. Vogel is also Collin County's lead attorney in its suit against its auditor.

Critics have charged that Mr. Vogel is defending software written to his specifications using Collin County tax dollars.

Mr. Vogel's law firm Gardere, Winn Sewell, LLP can also count Tyler Technologies as one of its major clients. A quick Google search will turn up many SEC filings by Tyler Technologies - all prepared by or signed off by Gardere, Winn Sewell, LLP.

If the Auditor wins the appeal, this kind of "read only access" to county computer systems will likely become the de facto standard for all counties in Texas.

Tyler Technologies' Odyssey suite has a large Texas county customer base. It would be reasonable to believe these installations will sooner or later require the same modifications requested by the Collin County auditor - Tyler Technologies would then have to reprogram every Texas installation of Odyssey and any other program it sells without "read only" audit capabilities to county governments.

Tyler could try to bill the counties for this service. One would suspect that if they did, the law suits would fly from many directions. Tyler Technologies is a growing company that sells software exclusively to governments. It wants more business, not lawsuits from its customers. In all probability, Tyler would have to reprogram all these Odyssey installs at its own expense - but only if the Collin County Commissioners lose their appeal to the 5th Court of Appeals.

The total cost to Gardere's other client of such a reprogramming is unknown, but other than the costs of this litigation, it shouldn't cost the Collin County taxpayers a dime.

Not one dime.

Bill

NOTES:
Judge Calhoun's Final Judgment, dated October 15, 2008.

Collin County's Response to the Auditor's and intervenor's first traditional motion for partial summary judgment, August 4, 2008

Sworn Affidavit of Caren Skipworth, August 1, 2008

Don Cozad's request for Attorney General's opinion, dated April 3, 2008.

Turf battle costs taxpayers over $300,000, CCO, November 9, 2008

Expensive turf war with taxpayer dollars grinds on, CCO, August 13, 2008

County auditor won’t have to answer deposition questions - McKinney Courier-Gazette August 12, 2008

Officials meet today in court over county's suit against its auditor, Don Cozad - McKinney Courier-Gazette August 11, 2008

Auditor alleges county Open Meetings violations - CCO June 11, 2008

Auditor asks for an attorney - CCO June 9, 2008

Who authorized the suit against the Auditor? - CCO May 28, 2008

County seeks declaratory judgment against auditor - McKinney Courier Gazette May 23, 2008

I protest yet another secret meeting - CCO May 20, 2008

Who's watching the store? (And the disk drives?) - CCO April 26, 2008

The Collin County Observer has obtained a copy of the Murphy City Manager's report on the police and paramedic's handling of the 9-1-1 call and death of toddler, Matthew Cantrell.

The report, by then interim City Manager Jim Berzina, was written in October, 2007 - a week after the tragic death of Matthew. In his report, Mr. Berzina states he reviewed the 9-1-1 tapes as well as the "in car" camera and recording system used by the police. He states that the "in car" system was left on in both units, and was able to record the voices of the responding officers.

Mr. Berzina then examines 3 issues that he thought caused citizen concern.

• Did the police block the entrance of the paramedics? Mr. Berzina states that the first officer arrived approx. 6 minutes after receiving the call. The second officer arrived less than 15 seconds later. He says that that there was a "little delay" in getting someone to answer the door, but it was finally opened by the older brother of the victim. One officer was then "occupied with removing the mother from her close proximity to the child. The second officer began checking for signs of life...Almost immediately, the Fire Department Paramedics were at the door and were let in. One officer informed them that he thought the child was deceased, but they can come in and do their work."

  Mr. Berzina goes on to assert that, "I am absolutely satisfied that after talking to the Police and Fire Chiefs that no time was lost in rendering aid to the victim due to Police Personnel blocking their entrance to the scene."

• Did the Police provide proper life saving techniques when first arriving at the scene? Berzina points out that his investigation shows that the paramedics arrived only 2 minutes behind the officers. After gaining entrance and, "dealing with the mother and making an initial check of the condition of the victim" there was no opportunity for the officer to render aid before help arrived.
• Was the mother detained/interrogated at the Police station? Mr. Berzina wrote that after listening to the tapes and talking to the officers, he believed that the mother was "beyond hysterical" and the officers were concerned that she could be a "definite risk to herself". Berzina insists that the Police acted as "her friend" and took her, along with some of her friends to the Police Station and later to the hospital, where she spent the night. Berzina states, "I really believe our personnel acted correctly in this situation."

A city official also pointed out to the Observer that the Fire Chief interviewed by WFAA was not Chief at the time of the incident. I was told that Chief Stalder was the Fire Chief at the time and he did read the reports.

The City Manager's report did not address the issues with the 9-1-1 dispatcher or the 2 1/2 minute delay in summoning help, nor does it explain a 6 minute response time by the police and an 8 minute response time by paramedics.

Bill

DMN - Parents of Murphy toddler who died after getting tangled in net criticize police, fire response

Monday, November 17, 2008
The Dallas Morning News / WFAA-TV

The parents of a Murphy toddler who died after getting tangled in a backyard soccer net last year say police and fire officials should have moved faster to save his life.

In October 2007, Matthew Cantrell wandered outside and strangled himself in the net after his mother fell asleep. He died at a hospital days later.

In their first television interview since the 21-month-old died, his parents criticized 911 dispatchers for taking more than two minutes to transfer Ave Cantrell's call to an emergency medical technician.

On a recording of the 911 call, Ms. Cantrell repeatedly asks the dispatcher for instructions on how to help her child but gets no response.

"I could do CPR or something," she says. "Please tell me what I need to do."

Murphy police defended their response and said dispatchers are not supposed to give medical advice.

Once police did arrive, Ms. Cantrell said they put her and her other son in a bedroom while Matthew lay on a couch not breathing.

"I should have kicked the police officer out of the way to see if he was doing CPR on him," Ms. Cantrell said. "I figured they were doing something, but then we found out they didn't do anything."

Officer Kevin McGee left the boy there to meet the paramedics and initially blocked them from entering the home, which he said was a "crime scene," according to documents obtained by WFAA-TV (Channel 8).

"I advised him we needed to assess the child," a paramedic said in a written statement. "He responded, 'He is gone.' I told him the paramedics were the ones that would determine if he was alive."

Fire officials also defended their handling of the case.

"If there was something done wrong," Chief Mark Lee said, "we would deal with that."

read more....

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Bill comments:

I watched the Channel 8 story on this tragedy on the 10 O'clock news.

This DMN article is telling only half the story. As soon as WFAA releases the video of the newscast, I'll post it here.

What's unsaid in the DMN article?

• That 911 waited 2 1/2 minutes before dispatching paramedics.
• That after the 911 dispatcher hung up, he was complaining about the mother of the baby who called.
• That the fire chief asked for written statements from all the responders, but now claims he never read them - that he still hasn't read them.
• That the police officer who blocked the paramedics from treating the baby is under investigation for unnecessary force in an unrelated incident.
• That while the police officer told the paramedics the baby was "gone", and did not attempt resuscitation - even so the baby was alive and lived 3 more days.
• That this case has all the hallmarks of a classic government cover-up.

The tale I've heard from some who know some of the participants is that when Officer McGee arrived at the Cantrell house and saw the strangled child, instead of rendering aid, he called then Police Chief Billy Myrick for instructions.

Myrick told him to "secure the scene".

It's been a year now since this sad episode, and city of Murphy officials are still not coming clean with the whole story. They insist their employees "did a great job".

Yea, "Way to go, Brownie"

Bill

==================================================================

Update - Here is the WFAA video report

http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?nvid=304632&she=1

Here is the WFAA printed report:

WFAA - Outrage follows strangling death of Murphy boy

Monday, November 17, 2008
By SHELLY SLATER / WFAA-TV

MURPHY - The parents of a boy accidentally strangled while entangled in a soccer net are speaking out about their frustrations with the city of Murphy.

Michael and Ave Cantrell said their aggravation at the city stems from a frustrating 911 call to the treatment and lack of help given by the Murphy Police Department.

The tragedy began on an October day in 2007, which was when Mrs. Cantrell said she dozed off while watching cartoons with her two boys. As she napped, one-year-old Matthew Cantrell somehow managed to wander outside of the family's baby-proofed home. At some point, he hung himself after he became stuck in a soccer net in the backyard.

"I was trying to get his head back through the soccer net and it wouldn't go back through," Mrs. Cantrell said of when she discovered Matthew.

Mrs. Cantrell called 911.

"I could do CPR or something," she told the operator. "Please, tell me what I need to do."

Eight time Mrs. Cantrell asked the operator to tell her what to do, which the dispatcher responded by either sitting in silence or saying the words, 'Calm down.'"

At the time of the accident, Cantrell said she was halfway through a CPR training course.

It took the operator two-and-a-half minutes to transfer the call to an EMT. Once the transfer went through, Cantrell was once again asked basic questions, such as "What is the phone number there?"

"They never say a word," said Michael Cantrell, Matthew's father. "They never say, 'Make sure you have an open airway.'"

Murphy Police Chief G.M. Cox said dispatchers don't give medical advice.

"There is Good Samaritan laws out there that tell you if you don't have the training and you don't give it you're really not liable," Cox said.

Instead, dispatchers are told to immediately send the call to an EMT. But once the call had been transferred to the EMT, Cantrell said she was never told what to do.

"She wasn't going to listen," the dispatchers could be heard telling one another after the call ended. "I've tried to get her to calm down. She won't listen."

Once police arrived at the scene, Cantrell said she and her son were placed in a bedroom that was guarded by an officer.

"Apparently he thinks he's got the next Andrea Yates or something," she said.

As they sat in the another room, her son was on the couch not breathing.

Officer Kevin McGee, who was involved in the controversial Murphy sex stings and has a federal lawsuit against him for excessive force against a minor, was in charge at the scene.

"I should have kicked the police officer out of the way to see if he was doing CPR on him," Cantrell said. "I figured they were doing something, but then we found out they didn't do anything."

Documents obtained by News 8 show officer McGee left Matthew on the couch to meet the paramedics.

"One of the last images Matthew may have ever seen was - laying on the couch here - would have been to see a police officer stand up, turn his back and walk away," Mr. Cantrell said.

But that wasn't the end. One paramedic wrote of obstacles he met with at the scene in a report.

"Before I could make entry in the house a Murphy police officer stepped in front of me with his arms spread apart," the paramedic wrote. "The officer informed me this was a crime scene. I advised him we needed to assess the child. He responded, 'He is gone.' I told him the paramedics were the ones that would determine if he was alive."

It turned out Matthew was alive and lived three more days. Doctors got a heart beat that night.

Murphy's new fire chief was an assistant at the time and asked crew members to fill out voluntary statements. However, he never read the statements.

"That night I was talking with the guys," he said. "I wasn't really concerned with what they had written."

However, he did admit later on concerns were expressed that night.

"We told them then we would look into it if there was something done wrong," he said. "We would deal with that."

And yet, a year later, he said he still hasn't read the statements.

"Our people did a great job," he maintains.

Meanwhile, the Cantrells said their tragedy was only worsened by the city's actions that night. Police took Mrs. Cantrell to the police department for questioning and Mr. Cantrell said he fought to get into his own home for answers.

"I just got on my knees in my front yard and put my head on the step and started praying," Mr. Cantrell said.

Three days after Matthew was found entangled in the net, doctors deemed him brain dead. The Cantrells donated his organs, which saved seven lives.

read more.....

The Dallas Morning News is publishing a series of profiles of homeless residents of the Samaritan Inn. The series is written by Lynn Sipiora, the Executive Director of the Samaritan Inn.

Bill

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DMN - Lynn Sipiora: Homeless in Collin County

link to article

District Judges in both Collin and Denton Counties are requesting new courts, and in both counties, the County Judge is skeptical.

At today's commissioners' court meeting in McKinney, several judges and lawyers stood up to speak out on the need for additional courts. County Judge Self, wanted to make their testimony moot by offering a motion to decide the issue immediately, even though District Judge Dry and Commissioner Cole asked him to postpone a decision until the next meeting because the Administrative Judge, Chris Oldner, who wanted to testify, could not attend the commissioners' meeting.

Judge Oldner's wife had just given birth.

Commissioner Phyllis Cole made the announcement of the newest red-headed Oldner in supporting the postponement of the vote. After Jerry Hoagland stated that he had already made up his mind, but he thought the court ought to let the visitors speak first, Self withdrew his motion.

Several judges lawyers spoke of heavy caseloads that caused, in some cases, year long delays in setting complex trials. After each person spoke, Keith Self debated them with his statistics against their experiences.

Several responded to Commissioner Joe Jayne's comments last week.

Jaynes was quoted by the Dallas Morning News as saying, "I just don't see the courts overflowing with people. It just seems like if they're that busy and in need of three courts, why are so many courtrooms empty in the afternoon?" to which Judge Oldner retorted with, "To infer that an empty courtroom is in any way indicative of how hard a judge is working is to ignore the reality of what a court does and what a judge does. "It is no more instructive than dropping in to find an empty commissioners court."

Meanwhile, the Denton Record Chronicle reports that State Senator Jane Nelson has filed a bill asking for an additional district court in Denton County.

"Nelson co-authored SB 88 with Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, in response to an independent, statewide study of Texas courts and their caseloads."

"The National Center for State Courts published its findings in June, showing that among the state’s most populous counties, Harris, Bexar, Collin and Denton needed more judges."

"Weighted calculations showed Denton County needed the equivalent of 1.6 judges; Collin County, 2.4; Bexar County, 6.7: and Harris County, 27."

The Record-Chronicle noted that Denton County Judge Mary Horn, "reiterated her concern from last spring that establishing another court could cost the county as much as a million dollars per year, since the state pays only the judges’ salaries. Comparing Denton County’s court makeup to Collin Coun­ty’s, she pointed to the possibility that Denton County may be able to upgrade one of the county’s courts-of-law to a district court instead."

Last month, Judge Oldner asked the commissioners court to petition Collin County's legislative delegation to ask the Legislature to authorize 3 new courts.

Self and the commissioners have opposed the size of the request, citing other statistics and the cost of new courtrooms.

Self was quoted by the Dallas Morning News saying, "Yes, we are growing, but we are handling it". Self noted that statistics don't indicate that the courts are clogged.

"In 2007, 18,203 state district court cases were filed, compared with 10,956 in 2000, according to the Texas Office of Court Administration. But the Legislature created three courts during that period to handle the extra volume", Mr. Self said.

In the article, published Sunday, Dallas Morning News reporter Ed Housewright wrote, "Judge Oldner, however, said the county's breakneck growth has outpaced the addition of courts.

"For instance, Collin County has one district court for every 93,700 residents, compared with a statewide county average of one for every 53,700 residents, according to the court administration office."

"Each new district court costs Collin County about $650,000 in annual staffing costs, officials said. But Judge Oldner said start-up of the three courts he is seeking could be staggered to save money. For instance, one could begin operating in 2009, one in 2010 and one in 2011, he said."

"Mr. Self said he's undecided how he'll vote. Mr. Jaynes and Commissioner Jerry Hoagland support one additional court. Commissioners Phyllis Cole and Kathy Ward said they want one, and possibly two."

This debate takes place against the backdrop of the county commissioners' suit against the County Auditor, who is employed by and reports to the district judges.

The next commissioners court meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 18.

Bill

NOTES:

Judges, commissioners debate need for more courts in Collin County, The Dallas Morning News, November 9, 2008

Senator files bill for new court, Denton Record-Chronicle, November 11, 2008

Councilman William "Bill" Vitz, McKinney District 3, has resigned from the City Council

Cites health reasons for his Tuesday decision.

By Shane T. Clendening, McKinney Courier-Gazette

For health reasons, William "Bill" Vitz, McKinney District 3 councilman, resigned his post Tuesday, the city announced in a news release.

The councilman was elected to McKinney's City Council in 2004. He was selected to finish an open term vacated by the death of Gabe Nesbitt who held the spot until his passing.

Vitz was then re-elected to Council roughly two years later.

As determined by the Texas Constitution, a special election must be held within 120 days to fill the vacated seat. Cities that have 3-year terms like McKinney are not allowed to fill vacancies by appointment.

A special election will be held specifically to fill the unexpired term for the vacancy created in District 3. The term of the person elected will last until June 2009, the release shows. The General Election slated for May 2009 will continue to determine the seat holder for the next term, which will run from 2009 to 2012, the city announced.

"Our community is fortunate to have had Mr. Vitz serving on Council for the last four years," City Manager Frank Ragan said in the news release. "From his deep commitment to the city's historic district to his contributions to quality of life and economic development initiatives citywide, Mr. Vitz provided valuable direction which has helped to shape McKinney? during a period of incredibly rapid growth. He will be greatly missed."

City Council will vote on a special election date at its next regular Council meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at City Hall Council Chambers, 222 N. Tennessee St., according to the news release from the city.

read more....

After election night, all Collin County races and propositions were decided with the exception of the local option election in Melissa for off-premise sales of all types of liquor.

On election night, the total stood at 815 For and 828 Against. However there were still a couple of thousand provisional ballots countywide left to be counted.

Today, the Collin County ballot board met and counted those provisional ballots it accepted. After the count, the Melissa liquor proposition still failed with a final tally of 816 For and 829 Against.

The provisional ballots did not change the outcome of any election this year.

Complete Collin County election results can be found here.

Bill

Found at GFOAT - Government Finance Officers of Texas job listings page.

Not listed in the requirements are:

• Comfortable working in the dark.
• The ability to pay for your own attorney.
• Must love giving depositions.
• The stamina to absorb incoming fire while remaining standing.
• The willingness to be the butt of public jokes in open court.
• Willing to trust computer programs rather than mess with them.
• Personal body amour not furnished; you must supply your own.

Bill

RTC NTTA NCTCOG CCAD CJPDC MPO DART RRC

There is an alphabet soup of organizations that impacts almost every facet of your life. These quasi-governmental groups determine transportation policy, collect taxes, appraise your property, take you to work, dole out grant money and spend vast amounts of public funds.

Yet, they are not accountable to the citizens they serve. You've probably never even heard of many of them. You've never elected anyone to these boards and commissions, yet some of them are made up of elected officials. They operate in the shadows.

Take for example the RTC. The RTC is the Regional Transportation Council. It is made up up local city and county elected officials and it serves as one of the primary planning and funds disbursement. All $3.2 billion "up-front" money for the SH 121 toll road flowed through the RTC, who alone set the guidelines for divvying up these billions to the counties.

Last week, the RTC voted to approve a regional rail plan named "Rail North Texas" after a long 3 hour debate.

According to an article published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the RTC approved the plan and recommended it to the legislature for their approval. The Star Telegram article noted that the, "vote was split — 26 yeas, 13 nays and four no-shows."

Since the plan was controversial, and would result in the formation of another regional taxing district, I contacted the RTC and asked for the list of members who voted 'yes' or 'no'.

"The RTC does not take recorded votes so I do not know who specifically voted for or against."
Lara Kohl, NCTCOG

Collin County has 5 members on the RTC, Commissioner Joe Jaynes, Plano Councilman Lee Dunlap, NTTA Chairman Paul Wagemen (from Plano), Frisco Mayor Maher Maso and McKinney Mayor Bill Whitfield. I wanted to know how they voted.

I was surprised at the response I got from Lara Kohl, the Public Involvement Manager for the transportation department at NCTCOG. Ms. Kohl wrote, "The RTC does not take recorded votes so I do not know who specifically voted for or against."

The Rail North Texas plan proposes to spend billions of dollars, raise taxes, and collect fees, but no one knows who voted for it!

In this writer's opinion, the lack of accountability here is appalling. Most of us remember the excesses that have plagued DART, starting decades ago with a fancy conference room and more recently with major budgeting difficulties. No one is accountable.

The whole concept of democracy is based on a government that is "of the people". Our government was created to be held to task by its citizens. Several times each year, we go to the polls to do exactly that.

But who in this "shadow government" is held to task? It's time we looked at the makeup of these organizations, and demanded accountability - including recorded votes on all actions.

Bill

Glossary

CCAD Collin County Appraisal District. Board members elected by member cities, school boards and taxing agencies. Responsible for all property appraisals in the county.

CJPDC Criminal Justice Policy Development Committee. Responsible for reviewing and setting priorities for all criminal justice funding requests. Committee members are appointed by NCTCOG's Executive Board.

DART Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Operates trains, buses, HOV lanes. runs its own police department, collects taxes and fares. Board appointed by local member cities.

MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization. Made up of NCTCOG and RTC. Overall catch all for transportation planning and policy.

NCTCOG North Central Texas Council of Governments. Is the MPO for North Texas. Operates dozens of programs that control and funnel billions of dollars of state and federal grant money... for everything from air quality to roads. Board is appointed by local governments.

NTTA North Texas Tollway Authority. Builds and operates tollroads, tunnels and bridges. Collects tolls. Board is appointed by the 4 member counties, with one member appointed by the Governor of Texas.

RTC Regional Transportation Council. The MPO's transportation policymaking body, determines how regional transportation funds should be spent. The 43 members are appointed by local governments.

This is only a partial listing of the 'shadow government' organizations that may set policy, receive tax money, charge fares or tolls, spend public funds, and control billions in grant funds.

Woman who killed daughter by cutting off her arms to be released from state mental hospital

Published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
By LINDA STEWART BALL / The Associated Press
Saturday, Nov. 08, 2008


DALLAS — A Plano woman who killed her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her arms with a kitchen knife will be released within the next month from the state mental hospital where she was sent in 2006 after being found not guilty by reason of insanity, authorities said Friday.

After a hearing on Thursday, a Collin County judge found "convincing evidence" that the needs of Dena Schlosser, 39, and the "safety of the community" can be met with outpatient services, Collin County prosecutor Curtis Howard said.

The judge’s order requires Schlosser to see a psychiatrist once a week, take medication, use physician-approved birth control and not to have any unsupervised contact with children.

"She’s still under the court’s authority at this point," Howard said. "Right now that’s indefinite. If she violates any of those orders or provisions, the court can revoke its order and send her back to the inpatient facility until some further date."

In November 2004, Schlosser called 911 and told an operator she that she had severed her baby’s arms. Police found her soaked in blood, holding a kitchen knife and listening to a hymn as the baby lay dying in her crib.

At her capital murder trials, Schlosser testified that she killed the baby because she wanted to give her to God. Her first trial ended with a hung jury. In 2006, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Rusk State Hospital. Her mental status has been reviewed annually.

Howard, the lead prosecutor in both trials, disagreed with Schlosser's release.

"It was our position that she should remain, but the problem is that based upon the commitment scheme the court is working under, [the judge has] got to base his decision on mental health officials and their recommendations," Howard said.

"This is the way we deal with mental health patients who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity. I believe that needs to be looked at; it needs to be changed by the Legislature."

read more....

This is the first of a 3 part series to be published by the Collin County Observer on the ongoing battle by the Commissioners Court to gain control over all county operations.

Part 1: Turf battle costs taxpayers over $300,000.
Part 2: Who gains from the county's suit against its auditor.
Part 3: Checks and balances in Collin County government.

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Turf battle costs taxpayers over $300,000

"Collin County shall take nothing on its claims in this lawsuit."
Visiting Judge Jerry Calhoun

The ongoing attempt by the Collin County Commissioners to bring the County Auditor to heel has cost the taxpayers at least $304,177.35. This figure does not include court reporter's transcripts, deposition costs, unpaid attorney's fees, court costs, or expenses.

The expenses will continue to climb as the battle of wills over turf continues.

In his final judgment in favor of the Auditor, visiting judge Calhoun summed up his decision with, "Collin County shall take nothing on its claims in this lawsuit."

Judge Calhoun found in favor of the County Auditor, Donald Cozad on all 9 questions that Cozad asked. He also ordered the county to pay the auditor attorney fees of $86,014.12.

In his decision, Judge Calhoun increased the Auditor's attorney fees to be paid for by the county by $50,000 if they appealed, and he ordered them to pay $10,000 for each post-trial motion.

The commissioners immediately filed 2 post trial motions and a notice of appeal.

According to the county's check register, Collin County has paid their attorney Peter Vogel's firm, Gardere, Winn, Sewell a total of $117,576.61 since filing the first suit against their own Auditor. They have also paid visiting judge Jerry Calhoun $566.40.

The commissioners have filed a notice of appeal and asked for transcripts to be prepared and sent to the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas. The cost of the appeal could run least another $100-200 thousand in taxpayer dollars.

This is the second time Judge Calhoun has decided against the commissioners and in favor of the Auditor. In August, Calhoun issued a temporary injunction affirming Cozad's right to seek an opinion from the Texas Attorney General.

A question of law
Texas law requires that the County auditor is appointed by the local District Judges. The district Judges have the sole authority to hire, fire and set the salary of the Auditor and his staff.

The auditor is required by law to:

• Sec. 112.002. (a) In a county with a population of 190,000 or more, the county auditor shall prescribe the system of accounting for the county.
  (b) The county auditor may adopt and enforce regulations, not inconsistent with law or with a rule adopted under Section 112.003, that the auditor considers necessary for the speedy and proper collecting, checking, and accounting of the revenues and other funds and fees that belong to the county or to a person for whom a district clerk, district attorney, county officer, or precinct officer has made a collection or for whose use or benefit the officer holds or has received funds.
• Sec. 112.006. GENERAL OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY OF COUNTY AUDITOR. (a) The county auditor has general oversight of the books and records of a county, district, or state officer authorized or required by law to receive or collect money or other property that is intended for the use of the county or that belongs to the county.

The request for Attorney General's Opinion
The battle between the commissioners and auditor began over whether the auditor could gain access to the base tables, permissions and settings of the software used by the county - especially software that fed into the accounting system.

When the county began deploying PeopleSoft's payroll system, Cozad asked for "read only" access to the software. The county said that level of access was not available and would be too costly to implement.

After months of wrangling, Mr. Cozad wrote a letter to the Texas Attorney General seeking clarification of his authority to compel the commissioners to grant him read only access to all software systems.

Mr. Cozad asked the Attorney General to answer 9 questions including:

• "May the County Auditor examine and audit the records (both paper and electronic) of administrative or elective offices?"
• "May permission to provide the County Auditor with only view only access to internal controls within a system or use of monitor software that reports changes be arbitrarily withheld?"
• "May permission to provide the County auditor with access to any data and/or tables used to create or support financial transactions... be arbitrarily withheld?"

The first lawsuit
The commissioners responded to Cozad's request by filing suit, asking the court to prohibit the Auditor from seeking an AGs opinion. In another action, the commissioners refused to pay for the auditor's attorney.

In August, Judge Calhoun ruled against the commissioners, granting the auditor the right to seek the opinion.

The second lawsuit
The commissioners then filed another suit asking for a jury trial to answer the questions posed to the AG by Mr. Cozad.

Much of the county's arguments were based on the effects and costs of granting the auditors requests. At one point the judge reminded Mr. Vogel that they were deciding if the auditor had those rights, not how to accomplish them.

Last month, Judge Calhoun denied the jury trial, and issued the final judgment in favor of the county auditor.

Judge Calhoun responded to each of the nine questions with, "The auditor may examine", or other words that granted the Auditor every single right he requested on all nine questions, Cozad was also awarded his attorney's fees.

The attorneys for the county then filed:

1. a motion for a new trial
2. a motion to amend the judgment
3. a notice of appeal

A hearing on the motions is set for November 13.

Bill

NOTES:
Judge Calhoun's Final Judgment, dated October 15, 2008.

Don Cozad's request for Attorney General's opinion, dated April 3, 2008.

Expensive turf war with taxpayer dollars grinds on, CCO, August 13, 2008

County auditor won’t have to answer deposition questions - McKinney Courier-Gazette August 12, 2008

Officials meet today in court over county's suit against its auditor, Don Cozad - McKinney Courier-Gazette August 11, 2008

Auditor alleges county Open Meetings violations - CCO June 11, 2008

Auditor asks for an attorney - CCO June 9, 2008

Who authorized the suit against the Auditor? - CCO May 28, 2008

County seeks declaratory judgment against auditor - McKinney Courier Gazette May 23, 2008

I protest yet another secret meeting - CCO May 20, 2008

Who's watching the store? (And the disk drives?) - CCO April 26, 2008

In Saturday's Dallas Morning News, Lynn Sipiora, the Executive Director of Collin county's only homeless shelter, The Samaritan Inn, profiles one client of the Inn.

"Andrew" is well educated and had a good job, but untreated depression and unemployment led to his divorce and subsequent homelessness. According to Ms. Sipiora, there are three leading causes of homelessness in Collin County - mental illness, poverty, and substance abuse.

Collin County has no "in-county" hospital for mid or long term treatment of the mentally ill. Our largest provider of mental health services is the Collin County jail.

Lynne Sipiora: Homeless in Collin County

Friday, November 7, 2008
The Dallas Morning News / Community Opinions

Editor’s note: November is National Homeless Awareness Month. This month, Lynne Sipiora, executive director of Collin County’s only homeless shelter, will spotlight Samaritan Inn residents who represent three of the most common types of homeless people in the county: the untreated mentally ill, the working poor and the recovering substance abuser. Names have been changed to honor the relationship between the shelter and its clients. For more information, visit www.thesamaritaninn.org or e-mail Lynne at lsipiora@tx.rr.com.

Go to any major city in any state of the country, and you will see homeless people walking the streets with shopping carts or asking strangers for change.

It’s part of the urban landscape and the origin of most people’s perception of the homeless — but it’s simply not an accurate one anymore.

Homelessness has moved to the suburbs.

The Samaritan Inn, Collin County’s only homeless shelter, is at capacity almost every night of the year, and the people filling those beds are not who you might expect.

Meet Andrew, 56, average height and build, well-dressed and articulate. He was the youngest of three boys, born to a suit-and-tie kind of dad and a stay-at-home mom in a solidly middle-class neighborhood. He graduated from UT-Austin and was hired by a prestigious advertising firm right out of college.

Andrew enjoyed an exciting career and won several national and international awards for his work. He was successful and focused, so focused that he didn’t marry until he was 39.

“I met Joan at a party,” Andrew told me, “and the very next day I called her. We had drinks at a restaurant and talked about our mutual interest in design.”

Less than a year later they married and settled into a home in Dallas. They happily welcomed a daughter into their family in 1994 and a son in 1997.

Life was good — the way they expected it to be.

Then an investment in a new business failed, three of their four parents died in a span of six months, and Andrew lost his job. As weeks of unemployment turned into months, they were forced to sell their home. Andrew fell into a debilitating depression.

read more....

The last estimate of the homeless in Collin County I heard of put the number of those without a place to live here at 300. Some other estimates, which also count those in jail and in state mental hospitals who have no place to return to at over 1,200. The Samaritan Inn has the ability to shelter 120 but much of the time, turns away 35 or more a day because it is full.

The 2007 "Point in Time Homeless Count" counted 151 homeless individuals in our county. 72% of them were women and children. The leading cause of their homelessness was self-reported as "domestic problems or abuse", followed by "unemployment". Most of the people I know who are involved in helping families have told me that the "Point in time" census misses the majority of those here who are homeless.

Collin County does not have large homeless encampments like we've seen in Dallas. It's hard to find these people, so they don't appear in any census.

Kids who have run away from home or who have been thrown out by their parents live on sofas at neighbor's or friend's homes. (When my sons were in high school, we sheltered one such boy who was kicked out of his house at 16.) One Wylie school board member told me that at any time there are a dozen homeless kids here in Wylie. Getting them to school is a major problem, especially if they have no way to shower or get decent clothing.

CITY House in Plano runs a 15 bed emergency shelter located near downtown Plano. CITY House is the only emergency shelter in Collin County serving homeless, runaway or abandoned youth.

Many adults and families are living out of their cars parked in different places every night to avoid police attention. A very few are on the street.

Last month, the US Census bureau published the 2007 Community Survey. It details the extent of poverty in our county. Last year, while our per capita income was a respectable $37,279, 6.5% of our neighbors lived below the poverty level. Families fared worse. The median family income was a whopping $92,351, but 4,000 families had less than a $15,000 annual income.

Collin County sees increase in home evictions

Saturday, November 8, 2008
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News

Johnny Todd has a lousy job: The Collin County constable evicts people who don't pay their rent.

With the battered economy, Constable Todd is busier than ever. He's not just ousting renters. He's also evicting homeowners who fall hopelessly behind on their mortgage.

He witnesses foreclosure fallout firsthand.

"You'd be surprised at the ones we move out," Constable Todd said. "Some just have a mattress in the bedroom and sheets over the window. They couldn't afford a doggone thing."

All five Collin County constables handle evictions. But Constable Todd, whose Precinct 4 includes west Plano, Frisco and Prosper, does the most by far.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, Mr. Todd's office served 2,842 eviction notices – a 28 percent increase from just two years ago.

Many people who receive notices come up with the rent or mortgage in time to avoid eviction. But others take no action, and a justice of the peace orders their possessions hauled out.

Constable Todd and his deputies don't actually remove the furniture, clothing and other belongings. Instead, they stand guard as movers hired by the landlord or mortgage company close a chapter in someone's life.

"A lot of people are distraught about losing everything," he said. "We have to escort some off the property. We try to console them."

read more....

Economic conditions for poor families are worse this year than last and are not expected to get better soon. The cost of living is rising and unemployment growing. Evictions and home repossessions are soaring and can be expected to get worse. In Collin County, 21,000 families spend more than 35% of their income for rent or a mortgage. Many of these families are at grave risk of being homeless.

Bill

Judges, commissioners debate need for more courts in Collin County

Sunday, November 9, 2008
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News

Collin County Commissioner Joe Jaynes says he walks through the courthouse some afternoons and hears silence.

He peeks in courtrooms and finds no activity.

"What are the judges doing?" Mr. Jaynes asked. "I don't know."

State district judges, however, say the county's rapid growth has forced them to handle too many cases, resulting in unacceptable trial delays. County commissioners, who control court spending, question whether the judges are really overworked.

A showdown is set for Tuesday, when commissioners will decide whether to ask the Legislature for three new courts.

Mr. Jaynes, a lawyer, says he could support one new court but no more. The county has eight state district courts and another scheduled to begin operating Jan. 1.

"I just don't see the courts overflowing with people," Mr. Jaynes said. "It just seems like if they're that busy and in need of three courts, why are so many courtrooms empty in the afternoon?"

State District Judge Chris Oldner bristles at the suggestion that he and his colleagues aren't working hard. He said much of the judges' time is spent in chambers, studying case law, reading motions, issuing rulings and preparing for hearings.

"To infer that an empty courtroom is in any way indicative of how hard a judge is working is to ignore the reality of what a court does and what a judge does," Judge Oldner said. "It is no more instructive than dropping in to find an empty commissioners court."

Judge Oldner said case backlogs have reached a crisis point. Sometimes defendants in criminal cases and civil litigants have to wait more than a year for a hearing, he said. In criminal cases, evidence can vanish and witnesses' memories fade, Judge Oldner said.

Some attorneys back his call for more courts. They say their clients have to wait too long to appear before a judge.

Sharon Easley, who practices family law, said divorcing couples can have an agonizing wait.

"It may take a month for a couple that is fighting and calling police – with kids in the middle – to get a hearing," she said.

But Collin County Judge Keith Self said statistics don't indicate that the courts are clogged.

In 2007, 18,203 state district court cases were filed, compared with 10,956 in 2000, according to the Texas Office of Court Administration. But the Legislature created three courts during that period to handle the extra volume, Mr. Self said.

"Yes, we are growing, but we are handling it," he said. "Collin County has done a good job adding courts."

Judge Oldner, however, said the county's breakneck growth has outpaced the addition of courts.

For instance, Collin County has one district court for every 93,700 residents, compared with a statewide county average of one for every 53,700 residents, according to the court administration office.

read more....

Despite predictions of an 80% plus turnout, Collin County managed only a 70.8% turnout in Tuesday's election. Most of the elections judges and officials I spoke with told me they experienced large early voting participation, but that last Friday afternoon the voters seemed to just stop coming to the polls.

In most locations, the predicted long lines at the end of the day never materialized. One early voting judge told me that all the voters just stopped coming in after 4PM. She assumed that Halloween or possibly high school football distracted the voters.

For the most part, the expected lines at the polls on election day never happened either.

While the 210,000 early voting turnout still managed a respectable 50%, only 75,000 or less than 18% showed up on election day.

The five busiest polling locations were all in the northern part of the county. Leading was Roach Middle School in Frisco, which saw 1,758 election day voters for precinct 134. Eddins Elementary in McKinney voted 1,418, Anna City Hall saw 1,397 voters, Prosper voted 1,360 and Rubin Johnson Elementary in McKinney voted 1,217.

The 1992 presidential election still hold the record for highest Collin County turnout at over 83%.

Bill

The race for the unexpired term of deceased commissioner Jack Hatchell's, Commissioners Court precinct 4 race became a little more heated when both candidates sent out mailers obviously directed to their opponents base constituency.

Appointed incumbent Kathy Ward mailed an oversized postcard to Democrats and swing voters. On the front is an large photo and endorsement from Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, complete with a seal of the State of Texas. The endorsement touts Ward's ability to put "together coalitions to receive local funding for critical issues such as transportation, energy, education and mental health".

Democrat Jean Power's mailing appeared to target and was mailed to independents and Republican voters. Her brochure featured a photo of a house with a "FORECLOSURE" stamp over it, highlighting the fact that Ward's home was sold in foreclosure in June of 2008.

Power's brochure points to her "fiscal conservatism" and highlights her business skills, long residency in the district and her qualifications, while calling attention to Ward's recent move into precinct 4, her continuing employment by a debt collection company, the investigation of her spending of Collin County GOP funds, and her inability to manage her own financial affairs

The precinct 4 race is the most competitive 2 party race Collin County has seen in many years. This is both candidates first time run for public office, and both have been active in the community. Kathy Ward was recently chair of the Collin County Republican Party, while Jean Power is a former president of the Plano Bar Association and has been a volunteer or board member of several local charitable organizations.

Ward was appointed by County Judge Keith Self earlier this year to fill the unexpired term of Commissioner Hatchell. Her campaign stresses her connections with several local elected officials. She says that she can leverage her personal contacts to help get funding and support for Collin County needs.

Power has emphasized that her business and financial experience will help her to focus the commissioners' court on solutions to some of the pressing needs of the community, such as the need for more courts, protecting the rights of citizens, eliminating frivolous lawsuits initiated by the county, clean air, transportation and health care.

Precinct 4 consists of much of West Plano and portions of the City of Dallas. During the primary, it saw significant numbers of voters voting Democratic.

Early voting shows registered Democrats outnumbering Republican voters by over 11%.

This is the race to watch.

Bill

Add the case of Timothy Hall to the list of crazy tales of Collin County justice.

Three years ago, Hall confessed to murdering his wife in Wylie.

There were major questions about the worth of both the confession and autopsy, and a Collin County grand jury declined to indict him.

Later, Judge Robert Dry ruled the confession inadmissible, lending credence to the defense charge that the Wylie Police coerced the confession. Dr. William Rohr, the Collin County medical examiner admitted he found no medical evidence of murder and he used the confession to determine cause of death.

Last month, the Collin County DA dropped the last remaining charges of child endangerment.

Bill

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Wylie woman's death remains a mystery 3 years after husband confessed

Monday, November 3, 2008
By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News


WYLIE – When Ashley Hall's lifeless body was found in the upstairs bathroom of her Wylie home three years ago, authorities believed they had an open-and-shut case.

Her husband, Timothy Austin Hall, confessed to police that he strangled the 22-year-old woman, went to work and left their two young children – ages 4 and 1 – alone all day with their mother's body.

But since then, the case has become riddled with holes, leaving many questions but few answers about the mysterious death of the young wife and mother.

A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Hall for murder, and all other charges against him have been dropped. His confession has been ruled inadmissible. Now there are questions about whether Ms. Hall's death was even a homicide.

When the autopsy was conducted in 2005, Collin County medical examiner William Rohr found no obvious cause for the death. But he said he took Mr. Hall's confession and other factors into consideration when he ruled it a homicide by manual strangulation.

Without the confession, "I would not have concluded that it was a homicide," Dr. Rohr said when told about recent developments in the case. In his autopsy report, Dr. Rohr concluded that his examination of the body and review of Ms. Hall's medical history "revealed no alternative cause of death."

But the medical examiner noted that autopsy results have to be "correlated with other circumstances. Should this have gone to trial, I would have explained this to a jury. They would have needed to know how I came to this conclusion."

Mr. Hall, 25, declined to comment. Abandonment charges were dismissed, and he has regained custody of the children.

"Tim is glad to have this behind him," said Mr. Hall's attorney, Robert Udashen. He contends that his client's confession was coerced and police have no other evidence.

"Tim went to work and his wife was alive," the attorney said. "He came home and found her dead in the bathtub and called 911. The best I can tell you is that she died of natural causes."

Ms. Hall's family and Wylie police remain convinced that Mr. Hall killed his wife.

"Ashley once told me if anything ever happens to her that Tim did it," said Katie Mead, Ms. Hall's sister. "He was violent with her during their entire relationship."

Wylie police say they're still investigating Ms. Hall's death as a homicide and consider Mr. Hall their prime suspect.

"We believe he killed her," Wylie police Sgt. T.J. Walters said. "I think we'll get this charge proven."

But the evidence trail has grown cold since Sept. 21, 2005, when police were called to the couple's Second Street home. Mr. Hall was waiting for officers when they arrived, and told them that he'd found his wife's body in an upstairs bathroom when he got home from work.

Police found the naked body slumped over the bathtub. There were no signs of forced entry into the home, and Ms. Hall showed no obvious signs of trauma.

During a police interview a week later, Mr. Hall "confessed to causing the death of his wife Ashley Marie Hall by strangulation," and leaving his children alone while he went to work, according to a police arrest warrant affidavit issued Sept. 28, 2005.

Sgt. Walters said that Mr. Hall failed a polygraph test administered by a Secret Service agent whom Wylie police asked to assist in the case.

While the evidence seems compelling to authorities, a Collin County grand jury declined to indict Mr. Hall on a murder charge in November 2005.

But a month later, he was indicted on charges of endangering his children by leaving them for more than 10 hours with their mother's corpse.

Why did a grand jury accept Mr. Hall's statement about leaving his children but not his videotaped murder confession? It's unknown because grand jury deliberations are secret.

In 2006, Mr. Hall's attorneys in the endangerment case filed a motion to suppress his confession. Nearly two years later, State District Judge Robert T. Dry Jr. granted the motion.

Judge Dry declined to comment on his reasons. Mr. Udashen said the judge viewed the confession and was convinced that Mr. Hall never independently admitted to killing his wife.

"The police and the Secret Service agent kept suggesting various scenarios to him," Mr. Udashen said. "Tim, after being psychologically coerced, finally agreed with their scenario."

With the confession thrown out, the endangerment case against Mr. Hall crumbled. Charges were dropped recently at the request of Collin County District Attorney's Office. Court documents indicate that prosecutors didn't believe they could make their case without the confession.

read more....

219,694 (52%) of Collin County's registered voters cast ballots during the early voting period that ended Friday. The final numbers were:

211,637 early voters
8,057 mail in ballots

Of those who've voted,

27.5% are registered Democrats
19.6% are registered Republicans
52.9% did not vote in a primary

In a shift from the normal Collin County voting pattern, the early vote turnout of registered Democrats is keeping pace with the Republicans. In most Collin County elections, Republicans tend to vote early and democrats later on election day. Of those who voted in the primary:

74.3% of those who voted in the Democratic Primary have already voted
74.5% of those who voted in the Republican Primary have already voted.

It looks like the county will have somewhere near a 75% turnout. 2/3's of those voters have already cast their ballots.

The highest Collin County turnout in recent history was 85% in 1992. I don't think we'll come close to hitting those numbers this year.

It seems certain that Democrats will make significant gains. Probably the best shot the Dems have is in the Precinct 4 Commissioner's court race.

Precinct 4 had a 3% higher Democratic turnout than the rest of the county. Incumbent Kathy Ward is the most vulnerable of the Republican incumbents, and her close identification with County Judge Keith Self has caused a number of prominent Republicans to support her opponent, family law attorney Jean Power.

Investor and attorney Tom Daley has surprised the local establishment by running a strong campaign against long time congressman Sam Johnson in Congressional District 3.

As usual, the election will be decided by the non-aligned independent voters who still make up more than 1/2 of the voter rolls.

Bill

In a "Hits and Misses" item on today's editorial page, the Dallas Morning News editorial board wrote -

Pathetic poll problems
The right to vote is very special, so it is extremely disconcerting to hear that some poll workers don't know the rules or have made up their own. This happened during early voting in Collin County when some workers demanded more identification than the law requires. If a person doesn't have a voter ID card, then a driver's license or another picture ID often will suffice. Absent that, poll workers should accept government correspondence or other private documents, like a bank statement or current utility bill. The point is to work with people and get them into the voting booth, not keep them out.

More than 200,000 Collin County citizens voted early this year - a record number. While most early voting in Collin County went smoothly and according to law, there were some real problems, especially at the Spring Creek Community College location.

According to Frederick Barrow, the Co-chair of the non-partisan North Texas Election Protection group, there were numerous complaints of election workers throughout the county requiring more identification than the law demands. Last Saturday, this writer, while serving as a poll watcher in Allen, noticed a home-made sign on a check-in station election workers had put up that indicating a line for "Voter ID cards and photo ID". (I did point out to the judge that the law did not require a "photo ID", and she removed the sign.)

These ID issues were made much worse because the software the county was using to look up voters in the main registration database was not functioning as it should. Thousands of valid voter registrations, mostly newly registered voters, were not added to the poll lists because the software was not communicating to the central database.

The software, a program called VoteSafe purchased from San Diego based Votec, is an automated poll book software package that is supposed to allow "near real time" synchronization of voter registration databases, so that an election worker can look up a voter's registration and check the voter in to vote. While Votec promises, "Multiple fail-safe technologies keep you in control and your poll places always connected." the reality "on the ground" in Collin County was markedly different.

Beginning on the first day, VoteSafe was not processing new voter lists uploaded by officials at the McKinney elections office. Over the next 2 weeks, elections officials, Votec and county IT staff worked day and night to try to solve the communicati