Montgomery County courts reallocate cases; 435th no longer receives new criminal filings
By Brandon K. Scott | Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 4:34 pm
The reallocation of criminal cases filed in Montgomery County district courts resulted in the 435th state District Court receiving no additional criminal cases as of Oct. 1.
Director of Court Administration Nate Jensen said the board of judges in Montgomery County decided in September that the 435th would only hear civil commitment cases and violations of civil commitment.
The decision, however, is based on the courts specializing in certain types of cases rather than the flurry of defense motions granted for Judge Michael Seiler’s recusal in the 435th, Jensen said.
Seiler has been ordered off 11 civil commitment cases against alleged sexually violent predators since September, due to questioned impartiality or personal bias.
Seiler, whose $140,000 annual salary is paid by the state’s Comptroller of Public Accounts, still is presiding over civil commitment cases and felony criminal cases filed in the court before Oct. 1.
More recusal motions are pending.
The courts have been specializing cases since 2012.
“This order was continuing in that project of specialization,” Jensen said. “At this point and time, all of the courts, with the exception of the 410th District Court, are specialized. Because of the efficiencies in case-processing time that come with specializing, it’s like a conveyer belt. You can move faster.
“This was all done before the spate of recusals were filed.”
Jensen declined to comment on the recusal motions but said the courts are doing their best with scheduling to take over cases Seiler has been ordered away from.
County Judge Craig Doyal attended his first board of judges meeting earlier this month and said the 435th state District Court was discussed again in executive session.
Doyal, however, did not disclose information from the executive session.
Prosecutor says judge’s bias unproven
The special prosecutor at a Jan. 6 hearing that decided the recusal of Seiler from three civil commitment cases decided not to take a position as to whether the judge should be allowed to continue presiding.
But a Montgomery County prosecutor is defending Seiler.
A recusal hearing in the online solicitation of a minor case against Kenneth G. Thirolf had been scheduled to follow the three civil commitment cases Jan. 6, but the hearing was reset.
Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Cindy Pulcher filed a response to Thirolf’s defense motion seeking Seiler’s recusal.
Pulcher wrote in the Jan. 6 motion that defense attorneys are unable to show Seiler as biased. She also claims Thirolf’s motion to recuse the judge was not filed in a timely manner.
The accusations of the judge’s prejudice range from his 2008 campaign signs describing himself as “a prosecutor to judge the predators” to comments made during a Texas Patriots PAC meeting in March 2013 touting the fact that no one who was tried for civil commitment has been released into the community since he took over the bench in 2008.
Seiler also referred to the predators as “psychopaths.”
Pulcher said the judge was only citing undisputed statistics and that Seiler’s campaign sign could easily be explained by his record as a former 14-year prosecutor.
“He has tried over 100 jury trials and was the only candidate with experience as either a prosecutor or defense attorney,” Pulcher wrote. “As many candidates do, they show their experience as either a prosecutor or defense attorney. This is a political speech prior to the time that he was elected as a judge.”
In reference to Seiler responding to a question as to whether castration is successful in stopping predators from hurting other children, which the judge said, “castration would have to kind of occur from the neck level,” Pulcher said it was an unscripted question and does not show the judge to have prejudice.
Thirolf’s defense attorney Gilbert Garcia filed a brief Jan. 20 disputing Pulcher’s claim that the recusal motion was not timely filed.
Garcia’s basis for Seiler’s recusal stems from the civil commitment case against James Richards, which the judge was ordered off Oct. 30, 2014.
State Commission on Judicial Conduct has taken no action
As to whether the State Commission on Judicial Conduct is investigating Seiler, as reported through other media outlets, Executive Director Seana Willing would not confirm or deny when contacted by The Courier.
The commission, which meets six times a year, is not subject to the federal Freedom of Information Act or the Texas Public Information Act, which applies to governmental agencies within, or created by, the executive or legislative branches of state government.
The commission is a judicial branch agency established under the Texas Constitution, and the release and publication of its records is governed by Rule 12 of the Texas Rules of Judicial Administration, as well as other constitutional and statutory provisions.
In response to a request by The Courier for all complaints filed with the commission against Seiler, Willing said that “because the commission has not taken public disciplinary action against the judge identified in your inquiry, we have no documents or records that are responsive to your request.”
Willing said the commission would conduct an investigation if a written complaint is filed identifying the judge and if the allegations truly violated the Code of Judicial Conduct.
“Sometimes, if there’s a report, or media story, I usually collect those and share those with the commissioners at a meeting,” Willing said. “If they were inclined to open up an investigation based on a media report, then we would initiate a commission investigation based on that.
“We’re required under the Constitution to keep ourselves informed of any judicial misconduct.”
The Texas Legislature created the 435th in 2007 for the specific purpose of holding jury trials to determine the civil commitment of sexually violent predators released from prison.
Seiler was elected to that bench the following year and has been the only judge to preside over the court since its inception.
Seiler won a Republican primary runoff against Scott Goleman in 2008 to head the 435th and then was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to take its bench a few months early. He ran unopposed for re-election in 2012.
