Truth Test: Harberger’s Judicial Record

[Useruser666]

Has anyone seen any recent polls lately?

Truth Test: Harberger’s Judicial Record
LAST UPDATE: 6/3/2005 6:08:24 AM
Posted By: CyberBob

Watch this story...

A new television ad by Julian Castro says retired judge Phil Hardberger can’t run from his record.

The ad claims, "Phil voted to overturn the convictions of ten murderers, setting killers free on technicalities."

That claim is misleading. It is true Hardberger reversed the convictions of at least ten people charged with murder. But he didn't set them free. Nearly all of the cases were “reversed and remanded” or sent back to the lower courts for a new trial.

Plus, as a justice of the 4th Court of Appeals, Hardberger was supposed to rule on technicalities. Appellate judges don't decide whether someone is guilty or innocent, but whether the lower court followed the law.

Next Castro makes this claim about Hardberger:

"Now, he wants to raise your taxes to create a Crime Control District to clean up the mess that he helped create."

It is true that Hardberger wants to raise the sales tax 1/8 cent to hire more police officers. Voters would have to approve the plan which Hardberger wants on the ballot this coming November. What the ad doesn't mention is that Castro voted in favor of the same plan this past march.

Whether officers would be “cleaning up a mess that Hardberger helped create,” we'll let you decide. Click the links below to read the 16 Hardberger opinions that the Castro campaign is criticizing...

[Useruser666]

Truth Test: Castro’s Absences & Hardberger’s Sailing
LAST UPDATE: 6/2/2005 4:43:25 PM
Posted By: CyberBob

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A recent television ad by the Phil Hardberger for Mayor campaign attacks Julian Castro for being a no-show at important city council votes.

The ad asks, "Did you know that he's missed almost 900 votes in two terms on city council?"

That's true. The exact number is 824 votes missed, according to the city clerk, or 20% of the 4,212 votes during Castro's two terms in office. (Research by the Hardberger campaign revealed a different number—883 votes missed.)

The Trouble Shooters put that in perspective by comparing Castro to the rest of the council. We went through the past two years worth of city council minutes, tallying up every time a council person was not in his or her seat for a vote.

At the top of the list is district one councilman Roger Flores, who missed 28% of the votes. Mayor Ed Garza was second and Julian Castro third.

Here are the full results:

Member


Absence Rate

Roger Flores


28%

Ed Garza


23%

Julian Castro


22%

Chip Haass


19%

Enrique Barrera


18%

Joel Williams


16%

Carroll Schubert


12%

Richard Perez


10%

Art Hall


8%

Ron Segovia


8%

Patti Radle


8%

Trouble Shooter Jeff Coyle asked Flores, "Don't the people in your district deserve to have you there more than that?"

"Well, I think that things happen in people's lives that I’m sure everyone is aware of," replied Flores.

Flores' father, a former city councilman, passed away in November. Flores says the unexpected death combined with pressures from his family-owned restaurant caused him to miss the most votes.

But the Trouble Shooters found that 65% of Flores’ absences came before his father’s passing.

When told of that fact, Flores replied, "Percentages are relative. I think that if you offer great representation and you can feel comfortable with that, that's probably the most important."

On the other end of the spectrum are Art Hall, Patti Radle, and Ron Segovia, who each were present for more than 92% of the issues before the council.

"Being at that meeting on Thursday is an important part of what we do," Radle said. “You never know when all of a sudden something's going to come up and you've got to express yourself on behalf of your constituents. If people are missing a third of their votes, I think the constituents would be concerned about that."

In response to Hardberger’s ad criticizing his council absences, Julian Castro released a spot called “Aimless.”

"With no experience in city government, (Hardberger) has the nerve to attack Julian Castro's perfectly good voting record," the ad says. "He retired, left San Antonio, and took his boat, ‘Aimless,’ sailing far away."

It's true that the retired judge set sail in 2003, and yes, his boat is named "Aimless." But this line is false:

"Phil's been absent for 3, long years."

Hardberger stepped down from the bench January 1st, 2003. So he couldn't have been gone for three years. Hardberger's campaign says the sailing trip was more like 11 months.

[MannyIsGod]

Factcheck.org apparently has started a trend.

Radle is awesome.

[Useruser666]

I wonder how many times Hardberger was missing from the bench at a trial? :lol

[SWC Bonfire]

I wonder how many times Hardberger was missing from the bench at a trial? :lol

He was probably getting paid a little more to be there... not an excuse, though.

I don't live in SA, but it seems that WOAI sure is PRO/CON somebody when they do their "truth tests". Maybe the guys they do it on are turd sandwitches anyway, but it always seems biased.

My opinion on the mayor race doesn't count, so I'll stay out.

[2centsworth]

He was probably getting paid a little more to be there... not an excuse, though.

I don't live in SA, but it seems that WOAI sure is PRO/CON somebody when they do their "truth tests". Maybe the guys they do it on are turd sandwitches anyway, but it always seems biased.

My opinion on the mayor race doesn't count, so I'll stay out.

are you stating opinion or fact?

[SWC Bonfire]

are you stating opinion or fact?

What, on the bias thing? Personal observation only. Seems like one ad is always wrong and the opposing ad is impeccably accurate.

Maybe it makes better TV.

[Useruser666]

Well I guess you could check the facts yourself. I tend to believe in Troubleshooters for what it's worth.

[SWC Bonfire]

Well, maybe the one guy always is a true shitbag. You can always check 'em out on the internet, I suppose.

[Nbadan]

Political bias at WOAI? Say it ain't so!

Give me a fucken break, WOAI is more conservative and pro-administration than Faux News. Their daily schedule is nothing but a smorgesbourge of right-wing political punditry. Forget fair and balanced.

And the CC liberal sister-station on 92.5 is supposed to keep Air America out of the San Antonio market, but i gotta tell you, unless they improve the reception so you don't have to hook your antenna up to your toaster, 92.5 ain't going no-where.

My question is, although I am a Hardberger supporter, why didn't OAI come out with these pro-Hardberger articles when Schubert was still in the race?

[The Ressurrected One]

Political bias at WOAI? Say it ain't so!

Give me a fucken break, WOAI is more conservative and pro-administration than Faux News. Their daily schedule is nothing but a smorgesbourge of right-wing political punditry. Forget fair and balanced.

And the CC liberal sister-station on 92.5 is supposed to keep Air America out of the San Antonio market, but i gotta tell you, unless they improve the reception so you don't have to hook your antenna up to your toaster, 92.5 ain't going no-where.

My question is, although I am a Hardberger supporter, why didn't OAI come out with these pro-Hardberger articles when Schubert was still in the race?
Conservative radio sells.

[Nbadan]

Conservative radio sells.

Death sells too. The more grusome the better. Doesn't mean It is morally responsible to put it on the air-waves.

[Useruser666]

Political bias at WOAI? Say it ain't so!

Give me a fucken break, WOAI is more conservative and pro-administration than Faux News. Their daily schedule is nothing but a smorgesbourge of right-wing political punditry. Forget fair and balanced.

And the CC liberal sister-station on 92.5 is supposed to keep Air America out of the San Antonio market, but i gotta tell you, unless they improve the reception so you don't have to hook your antenna up to your toaster, 92.5 ain't going no-where.

My question is, although I am a Hardberger supporter, why didn't OAI come out with these pro-Hardberger articles when Schubert was still in the race?

Because they aren't pro Hardberger articles. They are fact checkers for political adds run recently between Castro and Hardberger. Look up the facts yourself if you don't believe WOAI. This must be a tough position for you Dan. What do you do when a supposedly conservative news station supports your candidate? :lol

[Nbadan]

Because they aren't pro Hardberger articles. They are fact checkers for political adds run recently between Castro and Hardberger. Look up the facts yourself if you don't believe WOAI. This must be a tough position for you Dan. What do you do when a supposedly conservative news station supports your candidate?

More like the other way around - Hardberger is a Democrat.

[Useruser666]

More like the other way around - Hardberger is a Democrat.

That is the exact point of what I wrote. Where do you come off calling WOAI a conservatively biased media source, and then accuse them of falsely supporting a Democratic candidate? You've crossed yourself up in your own accusations.

[FromWayDowntown]

The Castro ads are ridiculous, and he couldn't explain the relevance of his "judicial record" idea during the debate last night. Hardberger's reversal were based on the failures of lower courts to follow principles of criminal procedure, which are entirely based on Constitutional guarantees. Thus, while Hardberger may have authored opinions reversing convictions (and I'm sure not rendering aquittals -- having been intimately involved in the process of writing those opinions at another, equal court, I can assure you that criminal convictions are almost never reversed with judgments of acquittal rendered) because the criminal's constitutional rights were jeopardized or ignored.

I can't see why there could be a judgment problem with a man who works to uphold the guarantees of freedom set out in the Constitution. If anything, to me, that seems like a paragon of good judgment -- society is better served by ensuring that the rights of all are protected and refusing to forsake rights when emotions are high.

Having practiced before Chief Justice Hardberger for some time, I'm convinced that he's a much better candidate that Julian Castro, and these recent ads steel me in that conviction.

[Mark in Austin]

I can't see why there could be a judgment problem with a man who works to uphold the guarantees of freedom set out in the Constitution. If anything, to me, that seems like a paragon of good judgment -- society is better served by ensuring that the rights of all are protected and refusing to forsake rights when emotions are high.

Very well said. I completely agree.

[scott]

Casto's a moron, so why is there any further debate about anything?

[Opinionater]

IMHO, you have to be an idiot not to see that WOAI and KTSA for that matter are all kissing Hardberger's ass and I think he's just as much a Moron as Castro is. Good Luck SA!!!!

Damn I'm glad I don't live inside the city limits.

[Useruser666]

IMHO, you have to be an idiot not to see that WOAI and KTSA for that matter are all kissing Hardberger's ass and I think he's just as much a Moron as Castro is. Good Luck SA!!!!

Damn I'm glad I don't live inside the city limits.

So that won't affect you if you're living in Castle Hills?

[Nbadan]

The difference in the run-off election is clearly going to be determined by turnout. Two Castro districts have run-off elections for councilmen, while none of the primarily Hardberger-Schbert districts have run-offs. This means that Hardberger may have a tougher time getting his supporters to the polls.

I wasn't particularly impressed with Castro's attack-at-all-cost approach in the first Mayoral debate. I thought when you were asked a question you were supposed to respond with an clear answer, not with a more venomous attack directed at the questioneer.

[MannyIsGod]

The difference in the run-off election is clearly going to be determined by turnout. Two Castro districts have run-off elections for councilmen, while none of the primarily Hardberger-Schbert districts have run-offs. This means that Hardberger may have a tougher time getting his supporters to the polls.

I wasn't particularly impressed with Castro's attack-at-all-cost approach in the first Mayoral debate. I thought when you were asked a question you were supposed to respond with an clear answer, not with a more venomous attack directed at the questioneer.
This Tuesday's election is huge. And it's tight as all hell, so I reccomend those of you who can vote, to do so. It doesn't take that long and it's worth it.