State Judges

Texas Judge Testifies Against District Attorney Over Threats Allegedly Made In Her Chambers

The judge has taken the stand to back up the defense attorneys' version of events.

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Nico LaHood (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)

Nico LaHood (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)

A Texas district attorney is in hot water after allegedly threatening to “shut down” two defense attorneys’ practice mid-murder trial. The DA, Nico LaHood (who is familiar to Above the Law readers for his anti-vaccination comments), testified that he did not make threatening comments to defense attorneys Joe Gonzales and Christian Henricksen, and that testimony was echoed by assistant district attorney Jason Goss.

So, just a he said/he said situation, with the prosecution and defense taking opposite sides of the issue, right? Well, not quite.

Judge Lori Valenzuela, who was presiding at the time (she’s since recused herself), has taken the stand to back up the defense attorneys’ version of events of what happened in her chambers. Valenzuela even went on to say LaHood’s words could be construed as “official oppression,” which is a misdemeanor in Texas. My San Antonio reports the effect LaHood’s statements had on the judge:

Asked how she reacted to LaHood’s words to Gonzales, the judge said they “had a chilling effect on me” and prompted her to think about how the news media would cover it when it became public.

She said she imagined the headline, “DA threatens local defense attorney.”

The motion did make headlines. It contained a description of an “enraged” LaHood who vowed to “shut down” the practices of Gonzales and Henricksen and “make sure they never got hired on another case again in Bexar County.”

In his testimony, LaHood referred to stories in the news media about the defense allegations as a “(expletive) show.”

Asked if he was enraged during the conversation in chambers, LaHood said, “No, I was angry.”

Valenzuela also was asked if LaHood had been enraged, and she replied: “I think certainly some people could think that, yes.”

The exchange happened in the judge’s chambers after it was disclosed that a former member of the prosecution had a previous sexual relationship with a key witness. Though that attorney was taken off the case, the judge ruled the relationship should be disclosed to the defense as a jury was being selected. There was one day of testimony before a mistrial was declared.

Judge backs lawyers’ claim that D.A. in San Antonio made threats in her chambers [My San Antonio]
Judge testifies that San Antonio DA threatened defense lawyers in her chambers [ABA Journal]

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headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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