Ronnie Earle

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For the blues musician with a similar name, see Ronnie Earl.

File:Ronnie earle.jpg

Ronnie Earle

Ronald Dale "Ronnie" Earle (born February 23, 1942) is the district attorney for Travis County, Texas. He recently became widely known for filing charges against House majority leader Tom DeLay in September 2005 for conspiring to violate Texas' election law and/or to launder money. Earle has also prosecuted other Texas politicians, including Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and on one occasion prosecuted himself for an election law violation after missing a campaign finance filing deadline by a day; he was fined $212.^[1]

Biography

Earle was born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised on a cattle ranch in Birdville, Texas. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, earned money working as a lifeguard, played football, and was president of his student council. After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law in 1967, Earle served as a municipal judge in Austin from 1969 to 1972. Earle was elected to the Texas Legislature as a Democrat in 1972, serving until 1977. Earle was elected district attorney of Travis County in 1976.

Earle has been married to his second wife, Twila Hugley Earle, a former junior assistant, for over two decades. He has three children and one grandchild by his first wife.

Role as Travis County District Attorney (DA)

The Travis County District Attorney's office investigates and prosecutes crimes related to the operation of the Texas state government. Earle's Public Integrity Unit has a mandate and legislative funding to prosecute public officials who break the law.

Although he is a locally elected prosecutor, Earle's authority is nationwide in its impact when national political figures are its targets. Elected as a Democrat by the left-leaning capital city of Austin, he has held office for 27 years, and is the only Democrat with statewide prosecutorial authority. Thus, Earle is unique, and far more politically powerful than the D.A.s in many larger Texas cities, such as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

Investigations conducted by Earle

Investigation and indictment of Kay Bailey Hutchison

Earle filed charges against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, then Texas State Treasurer, for allegedly misusing state telephones and allegedly assaulting a staffer. Earle attempted to drop the charges on the first day in court — in fact, at the pre-trial hearing — after the judge in the case questioned the admissibility of his evidence. The judge refused to allow it, instructing the jury to return a "not guilty" verdict so the charge could not be brought against her again.^[1] [3] In the case against Senator Hutchison, when it became clear that a dismissal was necessary, he dispatched an assistant to stand up in court and make the motion. A less widely known fact in the Hutchison affair is that the Senator was indicted twice. The first grand jury included a member who was under accusation of a crime and disqualified to serve. Thus, the original indictment was void under Texas law. Earle's failure to realize that the first grand jury was improperly constituted led to all the indictments from that grand jury being declared void, both in the Hutchison case and in the cases of everyday citizens. Earle sought re-indictment of the Senator, reviving the case. Ultimately, the Senator was acquitted.

According to Time Magazine, Earle raided Hutchison's offices at the State Treasury looking for proof of allegations that Hutchison used state equipment and employees on state time to help with her campaign. She was indicted by a grand jury in September 1993 for official misconduct and records tampering. Senator Hutchison was acquitted, as Earle did not have sufficient evidence to present. Time reported on July 14 2003, "Earle amassed thousands of documents as evidence and many thought the new Senator would lose her job. But at a pretrial hearing, the judge and Earle clashed over the admissibility of the documents; fearing he would lose, Earle declined to present a case. Hutchison was quickly acquitted and Earle was portrayed as a fool."

Investigation and indictment of Tom DeLay

For over two years, Earle and eight separate grand juries investigated possible violations of Texas campaign finance law in the 2002 state legislative election. His investigation of two political action committees that spent a combined $3.4 million on 22 Republican Texas House races focused on a PAC founded by DeLay and directed by Jack Abramoff (Texans for a Republican Majority PAC). During the investigation, DeLay charged that Earle was a "runaway district attorney" with "a long history of being vindictive and partisan".

Earle's investigations led to the discovery of what is now known as the Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal in which it is alleged that Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist orchestrated a corrupt lobbying scheme. These activities are the subject of ongoing Federal and Senate investigations. Abramoff is currently under indictment for an unrelated fraud charge.

Earle failed in his first attempt to secure an indictment against DeLay. That grand jury returned a "no bill" due to insufficient evidence according to at least one grand jury member. That member also claimed the "no bill" visibly angered Earle.^[2]

On September 28, 2005, the grand jury indicted DeLay for conspiring to violate Texas state election law. Texas prohibits corporate contributions in state legislative races. The indictment charged that Texans for a Republican Majority, DeLay's political action committee, accepted corporate contributions, laundered the money through the Republican National Committee, and directed it to favored Republican candidates in Texas.

On October 3, 2005, DeLay's lawyers filed a motion to get the indictment of conspiracy to violate election law dimissed on the grounds that the crime of conspiracy did not apply to Texas' election laws at the time of the alleged offense. In 2003 the state conspiracy statute was changed to explicitly mention political fundraising violations. If the court accepts that the earlier law did not apply to political fundraising violations the prosecution would be ex post facto and therefore invalid.^[3]

Earle sought and received a second indictment of DeLay from a new, seventh grand jury in Austin on charges of conspiracy to launder money. DeLay's lawyers assert that this indictment is also flawed. While the Texas Penal Code defines laundered money only as money gained as the "proceeds of criminal activity,"^[4] DeLay's lawyers maintain the corporate donations came from normal and legal business activity.

Earle recently lost his bid to keep Judge Bob Perkins presiding over the prosecution of Tom DeLay. Perkins has contributed to liberal candidates and organizations including MoveOn.Org. DeLay's lawyers were successful in arguing the judge could not be perceived in public as impartial under the circumstances. Prosecutors countered that absent contrary proof, judges should be presumed impartial. Perkins had voluntarily recused himself in Earle's earlier prosecution of Sen. Hutchison. [4]

One day later, Earle filed a legal motion to forbid Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub from selecting Judge Perkin's replacement, citing changed judicial standards in Texas. Schraub had contributed to Republicans, including DeLay allies Rick Perry and George W. Bush. Upon learning of the motion, Schraub recused himself, thus avoiding the court battle that took place over Perkins. Schraub then asked the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, Republican Wallace Jefferson to make the selection.[5] Jefferson appointed Pat Priest, a San Antonio senior judge who was also a Democrat, but had made considerably fewer campaign contributions than Perkins.[6]

Alleged prosecutorial misconduct

DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, filed a legal complaint charging Earle with prosecutorial misconduct in connection with the DeLay indictment. The complaint, filed in an Austin, Texas court on Friday, October 7, 2005, claimed that Earle "and his staff engaged in an extraordinarily irregular and desperate attempt to contrive a viable charge and get a substitute indictment of Tom DeLay before the expiration of the statute of limitations." DeGuerin also claimed Earle "unlawfully incited" William Gibson, the foreman of the grand jury that indicted DeLay on conspiracy, to talk publicly to the media to bias the public and still sitting grand jurors. In a later interview with the Houston Chronicle [7] DeGuerin said he did not yet have any hard evidence to support these claims, but was seeking court permission to depose grand jurors. Earle has claimed the charges have "no merit." [8] Jury foreman Gibson has denied the allegations, and explained "I like his aggressiveness and everything, and I had nothing against the House majority man, but I felt that we had enough evidence, not only me, but the other grand jury members." [9]

DeGuerin served Earle with a voluntary subpoena to appear in discovery to answer questions under oath about his conduct with the grand jury Tuesday, October 11, 2005. Earle declined to accept the subpoena (as was his right under Texas law, since it did not bear a Court seal). In October 2005 DeGuerin publicly stated he planned to obtain a court seal and have Earle re-served. [10] This has not occurred.

Documentary

The National Review reported, the documentary The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress was "The Ronnie Earle Movie."[11] The film makers were interviewed on The Big Buy DVD noting that the National Review was digging for a story against Earle. They noted they were not given access to secret testimony, evidence, or anything else that the public was not allowed to get. Earle gave them "extraordinary access" to personal interviews while Earle chopped wood or worked a late night in his office. The movie contains nothing about the indictments, grand jury hearings, but deals with newsreports and interviews the politicians who lost office because of DeLay's corporate financing of the elections to redistrict Texas.

LaCresha Murray case

In 1996, Earle indicted 11-year-old LaCresha Murray for capital murder involving 2-year-old Jayla Belton - the youngest homicide prosecution in Texas history. Earle's evidence rested on an alleged confession by Murray, obtained by interrogation at a children's shelter in the absence of any attorney or family member. Murray's case provoked several public protests of Earle's office and at the Texas State Capitol from her detention in 1996 until her 1999 release, when the case was reviewed. [12]

She was again tried and convicted of intentional injury to a child, receiving a 25-year sentence. In 2001, the Texas' 3rd Court of Appeals reversed and remanded her sentence after finding that her confession was illegally obtained. Earle dropped all charges against her. [13][14]

In 2002, a suit was filed against the Travis Co. District Attorney's Office and a host of other individuals and various agencies. The lawsuit alleges that Lacresha and her family have been victimized by malicious prosecution, defamation, mental anguish, libel and slander. Charges of racism are also raised in the suit, suggesting that the Murray family would have been treated differently had they been white. Murray's suit was dismissed; on November 28, 2005, the US Supreme Court refused to revive the lawsuit.[15]

Maurice Pierce case

Ronnie Earle has also been criticized for mishandling Maurice Pierce in the unresolved Yogurt Shop Murders case.[16]

On December 6, 1991, four teenage girls were murdered inside a local yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. In 1999, Earle led the "Yogurt Shop Murders" case against suspect Maurice Pierce leading to a grand jury indicting him on four counts of first degree murder.[17] Pierce was arrested along with Robert Springsteen IV, Michael Scott, and Forrest Welborn for the murders of four girls.

Robert Springsteen IV and Michael Scott eventually confessed for the crime. Springsteen was convicted and sentenced to death. Scott was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Welborn was never indicted for the crime.

Pierce continually maintained his innocence up until his release, occurring three years after his arrest. The state could not use Springsteen's and Scott's confessions against Pierce, so, without a confession, and only circumstantial evidence to connect him to the yogurt shop, the state had to either try Pierce or release him. Earle released him and dropped all charges citing a lack of evidence. The case against Pierce remains open. [18]

Other politicians investigated by Earle

Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough (Democrat - 1978) - Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough was convicted of lying to a grand jury and forgery. He gave up his seat and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Texas State Rep. Mike Martin (Republican - 1982) - Martin, who represented Longview, pled guilty to perjury and did not run for re-election.
State Treasurer Warren Harding (Democrat - 1982) - Harding pled no contest to official misconduct and did not run for re-election.
Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox (Democrat - 1985) - Mattox, a political rival of Earle's,[19] was acquitted of bribery and went on to win re-election.
Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis (Democrat - 1992) - Lewis pled no contest to charges of failing to disclose a business investment after a plea bargain. He did not run for re-election and was fined $2000.
Texas State Rep. Betty Denton (Democrat - 1995) - Denton was convicted of listing false loans and contributions on campaign finance reports and was sentenced to six months probation and fined $2000.
Texas State Rep. Lane Denton (Democrat - 1995) - After funneling money from the Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association, Denton was convicted of theft and misapplication of fiduciary property. He was sentenced to 60 days work release, six years probation, and fined $6000.
Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) Members David Bradley (Republican), Bob Offutt (Republican), and Joe Bernal (Democrat) - Earle initiated a criminal investigation against three SBOE members in 2002. Earle accused the board members, who are elected from districts in Texas, of violating the state's "Open Meetings" law when the three met for lunch at a restaurant in Austin, Texas on the day of an SBOE meeting. The law requires a public meeting when elected bodies assemble in a quorum of three or more persons to conduct business. The SBOE members responded that they were simply eating lunch. Earle turned the investigation over to Travis County Attorney Ken Oden, who in turn indicted the members on misdemeanor counts. [20]
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle (Democrat - 1982) - After Earle's campaign filed required campaign finance reports a mere one day late, rather than recusing himself and seeking to have a special prosecutor appointed, Earle actually brought charges against himself. He managed to secure a conviction and paid a $212 fine.[21]