In the next issue of The Texas Prosecutor journal, one of the new columns will feature people’s proudest moments in court. Anyone want to contribute theirs, either on this forum or by sending me an email? I know y'all have some tales to tell -- please share 'em!

My address is wolf ( a t ) tdcaa ( d o t ) com.

Sharing the stage with the Legends of Rock known affectionately as The Lesser Includeds.
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You know, Sarah, I'm sure Jay Johannes from Colorado County could regail you with some stories based upon his wide and varied career. And he's an excellent writer to boot. Perhaps Ken might twist Jay's arm for you.

Are you trying to kill this thread?!

Well, I am a thread killer. (Just check my profile.)

But you are a smart, accomplished attorney who writes well and doubtlessly has a proudest moment you could jot down a couple of paragraphs on for Sarah.

Not work related, but I think one's proudest moment is when your oldest child comes up to you and says "Ni!" and asks you for a shrubbery.

With a little path running through it....

"I won't do it."

To answer the question originally posed, some of my proudest moments include (in no particular order):

- Appearing on a stage in front of people who are much cooler than me with people who are much cooler than me (like A.P., Scott Durfee, Greg G, Sarah and Erik).

- The day JB actually spoke directly to me in the airport.

- When my 4-year-old son recently said, "Daddy, I wanna watch baseball with you." (Sadly, when he found out I was watching the Astros, he threatened to leave unless I switched over to the Rangers game.)

- A 30-foot chip-in ... though it was to save a double-bogey.

- When my daughter cheerfully volunteered to get the shrimp out of the livewell if I would bait her hook for her.

In court:

I was having a brutal day in federal court. Every objection I made was overruled. Every objection the other guy made was sustained. I had to fight tooth and nail to get the most routine evidence admitted. The other guy seemingly just had to think about his exhibits to get them in. Toward the end of the day, however, I had a quiet epiphany: I realized we were going to win. Admittedly, the case was not an especially significant one (other than to the parties). So why was that a proud moment? Because it was the point at which it finally dawned on me that being a courtroom advocate isn't about dominating. Some can do that, of course. But I don't have the wherewithal to dominate. Instead, I discovered that being in court is about persevering through frustration toward what we see as the correct end result while recognizing that the other guy gets his day in court, too. At that moment, I finally considered myself to be a lawyer.

There is still substantial debate over that last part, though.

during a murder trial, I was fighting a motion to suppress the defendant's various statements. I had stayed up late the night before, trying to find a case on point. A thankless job, usually. But that day, the victim's family was sitting in on the motion to suppress hearing. I had a terrible sinus infection. I felt like crap, but I had to be there. When they heard my arguments, I heard one sister turn to the other and say, "Poor thing, she sounds so sick." The other sister answered, "Yes, but I'm glad she's here. She's good." The victim's family had been very defensive with us. They didn't trust us and thought we didn't care about the case because the victim was a drug dealer. It felt good to see them recognize that we were working as hard on this case as we would on any other.

I know I speak for many other veteran prosecutors when I say I feel I have accomplished something good for society when I am successful in locking up violent criminals, be they murderers, armed robbers, arsonists, or child predators, to name a few.

Retired District Judge Bradley Smith told me early on in my career that excellent prosecutors and judges share at least one attribute: The ability to discern which defendants we need to help and the defendants we need to be afraid of, and the intestinal wherewithall to threat them accordingly.

My proudest moments have been in cases where when I successfully convict and incarcerate child sexual predators. Those who prey on children are the ones we need to fear the most. There is a special place in Hell for child predators.

I have been fortunate in successfully prosecuting child predators because I was inspired and educated by veteran child sex crimes prosecutors like Susie Morton and Alison Wetzel, among many others. Most of this education came through TDCAA programs and publications and by questions answered by these TDCAA lecturers and writers long after the seminars were over or after the books had been consulted.

Although no violent crime is more important than any other, I believe child sex crimes are not only the most difficult type of criminal prosecution but also represent a higher calling to save the children.

[This message was edited by Greg Gilleland on 08-08-08 at .]

[This message was edited by Greg Gilleland on 08-08-08 at .]

[This message was edited by Greg Gilleland on 08-08-08 at .]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Newell:
Well, I am a thread killer. (Just check my profile.)[QUOTE]

Agree on Jay, but disagree that you kill more threads than I. I have not researched the stats, and I am not likely to, but I am willing to bet you that I have killed more threads than you.

quote:

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Originally posted by A.P. Merillat:
Sharing the stage with the Legends of Rock known affectionately as The Lesser Includeds.
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AP

True that, but the name is AP and the Lesser Includeds.

As an appellate attorney the opportunity to have a proud moment that is touched by the victims family is limited. One oral argument the two sons of the victims flew in from Vermont to witness oral argument. Their parents - only retired for a short time and on one of their RV trips - were hit from behind by a semi-truck and killed - I believe the cause of death on their mother was burned to death. Driver was on meth - obviously driving more hours than allowed. It is great to have the victims family appreciate your efforts at the appellate level.