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Hit The Ground Running
  
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By LUCRETIA CARDENAS
Just four days into his new job as Montgomery County District Attorney, Brett Ligon is quickly implementing new policies and programs to create the professional, metropolitan environment he believes the office should have.
A short list of the items on his lengthy agenda include intensifying the county’s 24-hour intake program, sorting through and resolving thousands of outstanding warrants, requiring prosecutors at the scenes of driving while intoxicated fatalities and creating an employee handbook.
During Michael McDougal’s 12-year tenure as district attorney, the office grew from eight prosecutors to more than 20. Less than 10 years ago, the DA’s office took over misdemeanor cases from the county. Ligon believes the office began to get behind in cases as it struggled to keep up with a rapidly growing population.
Team effort
To assist him, Ligon brought in longtime friend and former coworker Phil Grant as his First Assistant District Attorney.
The two began working for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office on the same day more than 10 years ago. During their first few weeks – without saying a word about it to the other – Ligon and Grant began competing to be the first in the office and the last to leave, Ligon said.
Short on sleep but unwilling to give in, Ligon suggested to Grant that they carpool together so they could get some shut-eye and see their families. Grant agreed, and the pair’s friendship grew as they supported each other’s work ethic.
“We want to bring that same kind of enthusiasm to the District Attorney’s Office,” Ligon said.
Grant brings 13 years of prosecutorial experience with him from Harris and Williamson counties to assist Ligon, who has spent much of his career on the legal counsel team of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.
Ligon said he is impressed with the county’s current prosecutors, and the majority of employees who worked with McDougal will remain on staff. An additional 12 positions were budgeted for the office to help cover three new courts, which are all up and running.
But four attorneys are not returning to the office: McDougal’s First Assistant District Attorney David Bluestein, 221st state District Court prosecutor Francis Madden, intake attorney Brenda Martin and Michael Valdez, chief of asset forfeitures and seizures.
McDougal will be setting up a private law practice with his son, and Bluestein and Valdez also are both going into private practice.
Moving cases faster
At the top of Ligon’s and Grant’s “to do” list is ramping up the 24-hour intake system on criminal charges, making sure paperwork is filed immediately and those accused are brought before a grand jury as soon as possible. Prosecutors also will be able to assist law enforcement to make sure enough evidence is gathered to build a strong case.
“Intake is the first opportunity to screen the cases coming in and you have the opportunity to review the case and determine if enough evidence is available,” Ligon said. “The quicker you review the case, the quicker you can make charges and the quicker a person can have a trial.”
Currently, it can take 30 days or more before a person is formally charged on allegations, which is not efficient, Grant said.
“Having an efficient intake program is important for the case disposal rate,” Grant said, “ and it saves on costs, such as inmate health care and indigent costs.”
Ligon and Grant convinced Montgomery County Commissioners of the importance of 24-hour intake. Commissioners agreed in December to use contingency funds to pay for the intake program, which was funded through seizure and asset forfeiture money.
Using forfeiture funding was fine to start the program, Ligon said, but to be effective, the overtime worked by the attorneys cannot be dependent on an unreliable funding source.
Plus, he said he was told, the fund is depleted.
In exchange for funding the program, Ligon agreed not to fill all of the new positions in the DA’s office. Commissioners have told Ligon to come back and request the additional positions if they become imperative.
Clearing up warrants
The county has more than 12,000 misdemeanor cases where the accused have not been arrested or have failed to appear. The county also has 2,500 outstanding felony warrants.
Combine this with the annual 15,000 misdemeanor cases and 5,000 felony cases the DA’s office handles each year, and clearing up all the cases and warrants can seem close to impossible.
But Ligon and Grant want to get organized and do the best they can to resolve as many cases as possible. They first want to determine which cases involve complainants or defendants who have died, defendants who are out of state in cases 10 to 15 years old and merchants who are out of business.
After weeding out those cases, the prosecutors will prioritize others, such as putting murder cases and other aggravated offenses at the top of the list.
“You can’t go to Connecticut to get someone for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana from several years ago; it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars,” Ligon said. “But we can still prosecute a number of the cases.”
He said local law enforcement agencies have been warned about the push that will be made to resolve the cases so they can prepare for the extra work.
“I have a feeling that a number of people were never notified of their charges, so we plan to send out letters – pick the low-hanging fruit first,” Ligon said. “We’ll see how successful that is and then move to the next step.”
They will work with the Sheriff’s and constables’ offices to track down violent felony offenders and spend the money needed to bring them before a judge, he said.
“We can’t let justice falter because of a lean economy,” Ligon said.
The time it will take to complete this mission is unclear, but it could easily take a couple of years, he said.
New office polish
According to Ligon, the District Attorney’s Office lacks an employee handbook, which means the office has no written policies in place.
Casual sandals and shorts are worn in the office by some employees. Both Ligon and Grant do not believe such dress is appropriate for the office that represents the people of Montgomery County.
“We want our office to reflect a professional law firm environment,” Grant said. “We are representatives of the public. When people come into the office and it looks professional, it gives the victims peace and confidence that they will be well represented.”
Ligon and Grant also want to implement personnel evaluations.
Cracking down on DWIs
Drunk driving is a known problem in the county, as evidenced by the weekly grand jury indictment lists that almost always contain several felony charges of driving while intoxicated.
While law enforcement does its part to enforce the law, Ligon wants to make sure his office is doing everything it can to prosecute offenders.
He will require a prosecutor to be present at the scene of each alleged DWI fatality scene, he said, and also will institute “no refusal weekends” and “no refusal holidays” for attorneys to work.
By doing so, Ligon hopes prosecutors can work with law enforcement to ensure blood is drawn from alleged DWI offenders and that proper evidence is gathered at each scene so a prosecutors can win their cases. According to Ligon, counties that require mandatory blood withdrawals for DWI-related cases see a drop in them because a prosecutor can immediately learn whether or not to pursue a case.
To start, Ligon wants to increase the participation of judges issuing warrants for blood draws from holidays only to 30 or 40 times a year. He also believes repeat offenders should have their vehicle seized, no matter the cost of the vehicle.
“We need to separate the drunk from them driving,” Ligon said.
A short list of the items on his lengthy agenda include intensifying the county’s 24-hour intake program, sorting through and resolving thousands of outstanding warrants, requiring prosecutors at the scenes of driving while intoxicated fatalities and creating an employee handbook.
During Michael McDougal’s 12-year tenure as district attorney, the office grew from eight prosecutors to more than 20. Less than 10 years ago, the DA’s office took over misdemeanor cases from the county. Ligon believes the office began to get behind in cases as it struggled to keep up with a rapidly growing population.
Team effort
To assist him, Ligon brought in longtime friend and former coworker Phil Grant as his First Assistant District Attorney.
The two began working for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office on the same day more than 10 years ago. During their first few weeks – without saying a word about it to the other – Ligon and Grant began competing to be the first in the office and the last to leave, Ligon said.
Short on sleep but unwilling to give in, Ligon suggested to Grant that they carpool together so they could get some shut-eye and see their families. Grant agreed, and the pair’s friendship grew as they supported each other’s work ethic.
“We want to bring that same kind of enthusiasm to the District Attorney’s Office,” Ligon said.
Grant brings 13 years of prosecutorial experience with him from Harris and Williamson counties to assist Ligon, who has spent much of his career on the legal counsel team of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.
Ligon said he is impressed with the county’s current prosecutors, and the majority of employees who worked with McDougal will remain on staff. An additional 12 positions were budgeted for the office to help cover three new courts, which are all up and running.
But four attorneys are not returning to the office: McDougal’s First Assistant District Attorney David Bluestein, 221st state District Court prosecutor Francis Madden, intake attorney Brenda Martin and Michael Valdez, chief of asset forfeitures and seizures.
McDougal will be setting up a private law practice with his son, and Bluestein and Valdez also are both going into private practice.
Moving cases faster
At the top of Ligon’s and Grant’s “to do” list is ramping up the 24-hour intake system on criminal charges, making sure paperwork is filed immediately and those accused are brought before a grand jury as soon as possible. Prosecutors also will be able to assist law enforcement to make sure enough evidence is gathered to build a strong case.
“Intake is the first opportunity to screen the cases coming in and you have the opportunity to review the case and determine if enough evidence is available,” Ligon said. “The quicker you review the case, the quicker you can make charges and the quicker a person can have a trial.”
Currently, it can take 30 days or more before a person is formally charged on allegations, which is not efficient, Grant said.
“Having an efficient intake program is important for the case disposal rate,” Grant said, “ and it saves on costs, such as inmate health care and indigent costs.”
Ligon and Grant convinced Montgomery County Commissioners of the importance of 24-hour intake. Commissioners agreed in December to use contingency funds to pay for the intake program, which was funded through seizure and asset forfeiture money.
Using forfeiture funding was fine to start the program, Ligon said, but to be effective, the overtime worked by the attorneys cannot be dependent on an unreliable funding source.
Plus, he said he was told, the fund is depleted.
In exchange for funding the program, Ligon agreed not to fill all of the new positions in the DA’s office. Commissioners have told Ligon to come back and request the additional positions if they become imperative.
Clearing up warrants
The county has more than 12,000 misdemeanor cases where the accused have not been arrested or have failed to appear. The county also has 2,500 outstanding felony warrants.
Combine this with the annual 15,000 misdemeanor cases and 5,000 felony cases the DA’s office handles each year, and clearing up all the cases and warrants can seem close to impossible.
But Ligon and Grant want to get organized and do the best they can to resolve as many cases as possible. They first want to determine which cases involve complainants or defendants who have died, defendants who are out of state in cases 10 to 15 years old and merchants who are out of business.
After weeding out those cases, the prosecutors will prioritize others, such as putting murder cases and other aggravated offenses at the top of the list.
“You can’t go to Connecticut to get someone for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana from several years ago; it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars,” Ligon said. “But we can still prosecute a number of the cases.”
He said local law enforcement agencies have been warned about the push that will be made to resolve the cases so they can prepare for the extra work.
“I have a feeling that a number of people were never notified of their charges, so we plan to send out letters – pick the low-hanging fruit first,” Ligon said. “We’ll see how successful that is and then move to the next step.”
They will work with the Sheriff’s and constables’ offices to track down violent felony offenders and spend the money needed to bring them before a judge, he said.
“We can’t let justice falter because of a lean economy,” Ligon said.
The time it will take to complete this mission is unclear, but it could easily take a couple of years, he said.
New office polish
According to Ligon, the District Attorney’s Office lacks an employee handbook, which means the office has no written policies in place.
Casual sandals and shorts are worn in the office by some employees. Both Ligon and Grant do not believe such dress is appropriate for the office that represents the people of Montgomery County.
“We want our office to reflect a professional law firm environment,” Grant said. “We are representatives of the public. When people come into the office and it looks professional, it gives the victims peace and confidence that they will be well represented.”
Ligon and Grant also want to implement personnel evaluations.
Cracking down on DWIs
Drunk driving is a known problem in the county, as evidenced by the weekly grand jury indictment lists that almost always contain several felony charges of driving while intoxicated.
While law enforcement does its part to enforce the law, Ligon wants to make sure his office is doing everything it can to prosecute offenders.
He will require a prosecutor to be present at the scene of each alleged DWI fatality scene, he said, and also will institute “no refusal weekends” and “no refusal holidays” for attorneys to work.
By doing so, Ligon hopes prosecutors can work with law enforcement to ensure blood is drawn from alleged DWI offenders and that proper evidence is gathered at each scene so a prosecutors can win their cases. According to Ligon, counties that require mandatory blood withdrawals for DWI-related cases see a drop in them because a prosecutor can immediately learn whether or not to pursue a case.
To start, Ligon wants to increase the participation of judges issuing warrants for blood draws from holidays only to 30 or 40 times a year. He also believes repeat offenders should have their vehicle seized, no matter the cost of the vehicle.
“We need to separate the drunk from them driving,” Ligon said.
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