8/3/2019 Harris County District Attorney Responds to Runaway Grand Jury Statement

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JIM LEITNER

FIRST ASSISTANT

CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER

1201 FRANKLIN, SUITE 600

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002-1901

PATRICIA R. LYKOS

DISTRICT ATTORNEYHARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS

Public Information Office January 31, 2012(713) 755-3320 Houston, Texas

Response to the StatementIssued by the 185th Grand Jury Foreman

In 2008 I was elected to reform the Harris County District Attorney's office. With the team I brought in andthe many extraordinary people in the office, we have accomplished that goal. We restored professionalismand ethics, and brought transparency to the office.

A few years ago, the Department of Public Safety notified us that a contract employee, who wassupervising breath-alcohol machines, was not testing them on a set schedule. This involved hundreds ofcases. We immediately notified all the defendants and their lawyers who had active and disposed cases,and further informed all the courts. We demonstrated good faith and transparency then and now.

What this politically motivated investigation has done is an outrage. It is an abuse of power and corruptionof the criminal justice system. For months this office has been hounded, and there was a torrent of grandjury leaks to the news media and blogs. A DWI defense attorney who represents the "star witness"informed one of the County Commissioners that he was being subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury--

such subpoenas are secret under the law. This same lawyer is actively supporting my opponent. And infact, he inserted himself in the foreman's press conference today.

The entanglements of certain participants are well known and documented, as are their relationships withthe Old Regime and with my previous and current opponents.

I will not let the honor and reputation of this office and of me personally be slandered and libeled.

When allegations were first raised about Intoxilyzer test results, there were pending cases against accusedDWI drivers. To proceed with these cases, I had to be assured that the test results were reliable--experttestimony is introduced in my name.

We issued two Brady Notices and requested that the Department of Public Safety test the BAT-vanIntoxilyzers under the conditions the technician described. The DPS found the reservations the technicianhad were without merit. Now these cases will be litigated in open court under rules of evidence.

The foreman of the grand jury faults persons in the Harris County District Attorneys Office for unexpectedresistance to the grand jurys investigation. This is a remarkable statement.

When the District Attorneys Office was barred from the grand jury room in October of 2011 with noexplanation provided from the grand jurors or the court, this Office invoked its constitutional authority to

8/3/2019 Harris County District Attorney Responds to Runaway Grand Jury Statement

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prosecute and its statutory authority to participate in the grand jury proceedings. To do otherwise wouldhave been an abdication of our constitutional duties.

It was only afterthis office sought admittance into the grand jury proceedings that any explanation wasprovided. Had the grand jury been forthcoming about the subject matter of the investigation at the outset, itwould have been easier for all parties to address the issue in a timely and cooperative manner consistentwith principles of grand jury secrecy.

After the investigation was announced, this office did not impede the grand jurys investigation. As anentity, this office was fully cooperative with the grand jury.

Harris County leads the nation in DWI-related fatality accidents. HPD Chief Charles McClelland and I arecommitted to working together to change that.

Despite repeated public insinuations to the contrary, there was no criminal conduct in the operation of theHPD BAT-vans, nor was there suppression of evidence.

The Harris County District Attorneys Office has long been eager to share what we know with the public.Now that the grand jurys proceedings have ended, we will be respondingvigorously.

In the days to come, our websiteHarrisCountyDA.comwill feature a new section devoted to setting therecord straight.

The Harris County District Attorneys Office is confident that anyone willing to review the full set of facts, inan unbiased and fair-minded manner, will conclude we have acted responsibly and with integrity in everyrespect.

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