ATTORNEY QUESTIONS JUDGE'S TIES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

A Tyler attorney testified Friday that he believed Jack Skeen Jr. -
former Smith County district attorney and current state judge - has
too close a relationship with law enforcement to be fair and
impartial in his sentencings when officers are victims.

Thad Davidson was questioned for about four hours on his opinions
about the 241st District Judge after he wrote a sworn affidavit about
a case in which the judge sentenced Shane Ray Dykes to two concurrent
life sentences for stabbing police officers with a
methamphetamine-filled needle.

Attorneys held an appeal hearing in Skeen's court for Dykes, whose
appellant attorney, Don Killingsworth, is claiming Dykes had
ineffective assistance of counsel - Rhett Darby - because Darby
allowed his client to plead guilty in Skeen's court to assaulting the
officers without an agreed sentencing, leaving it solely up to Skeen
what punishment to assess.

During the hearing, Skeen sat silently listening to the testimony,
occasionally ruling on attorney's objections.

After the hearing, Skeen said that as presiding judge over the case,
he is prohibited from commenting on any testimony that he'll use to
make findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Davidson has been a criminal defense attorney in Tyler for about four
years and was a Smith County assistant district attorney handling
misdemeanor cases under Skeen for about a year.

Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham questioned Davidson about
his July 2004 affidavit.

Davidson said he could not remember ever before prosecuting or
defending a case involving aggravated assault on a public servant and
he was not present for Dykes' proceedings. He said he based his
opinions on his experience as a Tyler attorney, facts of the case
Dykes told Killingsworth, who relayed the information to Davidson,
conversations with other defense attorneys and prosecutors about
Skeen's practices, and newspaper articles.

The defense attorney said he left the district attorney's office in
2001 because he was unhappy there and he didn't agree with Skeen's
philosophies. He said he felt there was too close a relationship with
the DA's office and law enforcement and it was inappropriate for
prosecutors to consult officers about what they think a defendant's
sentence should be.

He said he felt it was a "standing rule" when Skeen was district
attorney that all assistant prosecutors were to consult with the lead
police officer in the cases on what should happen with the defendants.

He said he was not aware that the practice was illegal or unethical,
as long as the district attorney made the final decision, but he felt
it was wrong if assistant district attorneys feel that they're
obligated to follow police recommendations.

Davidson said the practice is still in place under Bingham, which he
discovered after talking to assistant prosecutors.

Bingham said his policy, when disposing of a case, is to contact law
enforcement officers who investigate the case to inform them of the
decision the state is considering making. He said it is important to
talk to officers, who might have additional information about the
defendant, which could influence the decision always made by prosecutors.

Bingham said his policy is the same as Skeen's was when he was DA.

"We never get their (officers') permission before we do something -
that's ridiculous," he said.

Bingham said his office also contacts the victims, keeping them
up-to-date on what is happening in the case and to ensure that they
feel justice is done.

After nearly two hours of questioning, Davidson asked to consult his
attorney before continuing with his testimony because he said he felt
further questioning might incriminate him. After a brief discussion
with Bobby Mimms, he got back on the witness stand.

Killingsworth requested that Skeen recuse himself from the case
because he might become a witness regarding the allegations against
him. But Skeen said the motion to recuse was not timely filed since
the affidavit was written more than a year ago. He said his decision
on Dykes' appeal regarded whether Darby was ineffective assistance of counsel.

Davidson said he believed Skeen's relationship with law enforcement
is wrong but he was not aware of any violations of law or
professional code of conduct. He said he felt Skeen could not be
impartial on cases where police are victims.

He said he was told Darby "advised" Dykes to plead guilty.

Davidson said an attorney allowing their client to plead guilty to
assaulting an officer in front of Skeen is like "throwing your client
to the wolves," adding that there would be no possible benefit for
the client "because he's going to get hammered."

"Mr. Darby led his own client down the garden path to his own
execution, so to speak," Davidson said.

When asked by Bingham, Davidson said he was unaware of facts in
assault on a public servant cases mentioned by the prosecutor in
which the defendants received lighter sentences.

Davidson said a defense attorney is required to conduct an
independent investigation or he can't effectively represent his
client. The attorney also must lay down all of his client's options
and advise him of the possibilities, but ultimately let the client
decide what to do.

After Davidson's testimony, Skeen requested that the attorneys file
their proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law with the court
within 10 days. Then he will make his decision on Dykes' appeal for a
new trial.

In June 2004, Dykes pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated
assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon.

The state initially requested the sentences be stacked but agreed
with Darby that they would be served at the same time if Dykes waived
all rights to appeal.

Tyler police officers Steve Black and Dale Feuquay were stabbed with
a syringe Dec. 7, 2003, during a struggle with Dykes.

Doctors testified they could have been infected with diseases, such
as hepatitis or HIV and they were given medicine that made them sick.
The officers were told to refrain from intimate relations with their
wives and to be careful with their children.

Dykes testified he stabbed the officers because he was trying to
escape and to avoid responsibility for his actions. He said he never
thought about what the officers or their families went through until
they testified and he apologized to them.

"I deserve to go to prison," he said. "I deserve life in the pen."

But Dykes asked the judge for "mercy" - to sentence him to deferred
adjudication probation. He said he has been addicted to drugs for
nearly half of his life, using cocaine, meth, marijuana, ecstasy and Xanax.

Dykes was given deferred adjudication in 1991 for bringing a gun to
school. In 1999, he was given probation for possessing cocaine.

It was revoked in 2001 after he failed drug tests and to comply with
other terms of release.