The Stephenville Empire-Tribune reports unusually tight security at the historic Erath County courthouse in Stephenville as jury selection gets underway in the trial of Eddie Ray Routh.  Routh is accused of murdering Chris Kyle.  Kyle, the former Navy SEAL whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie “American Sniper” was killed along with his friend Chad Littlefield at local shooting range in February of 2103.

Security was tight Thursday as the first group of potential jurors showed up for a qualifying round in the trial of Eddie Ray Routh.  Routh was stoic throughout the morning, occasionally speaking to his attorney, Shay Isham, reading paperwork and glancing around the courtroom. Those who entered the courthouse were forced to go through metal detectors, open bags for inspection and place digital equipment aside.  Bomb-sniffing dogs were led inside and outside the building throughout the day.

During the first round of qualifications, two were disqualified, three were found to be exempt and nine were excused for various reasons. Six potential jurors said they might be biased toward Routh because of the movie American Sniper or pre-trial publicity.

The Austin American-Statesman reports a brewing controversy over a proposal to bring a 1000 foot temporary water slide to downtown Austin this summer.

A video posted by Kory Watkins of Open Carry Tarrant County has raised hackles on both sides of the open carry debate currently raging in Texas.  In the video, Watkins seems to threaten Texas legislators with death if they commit the treasonous act of refusing to pass unlimited open carry legislation.  Watkins concerns may be highlighted by the fact that he might not be eligible for an open carry permit under one of the proposed bills because of his alledged past criminal record.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:

In the four-minute video, Watkins, 31, says: “We should be demanding these people give us our rights back, or it’s punishable by death. Treason. Do you understand how serious this is, Texas?” The Texas Constitution says a person can be convicted of treason only for waging war or supporting enemies of the state. Watkins tells viewers to do “more than foots in doors.” He was apparently referring to his confrontation with Rep. Alfonso “Poncho” Nevarez at the Texas Capitol on Jan. 13, during which a gun-rights activist put his foot in a door to keep it from closing. Watkins has been a vocal advocate of legislation to allow open carry, something prohibited in Texas almost since the Civil War.

This is what now passes for serious debate in Texas.

NBC 5 in Dallas reports that Texas leads the nation in wrong way crashes and is doing little to stop the resulting carnage on our highways.

Despite years of detailed recommendations to prevent wrong-way crashes, an NBC 5 investigation has found the Texas Department of Transportation has yet to implement many of those safety measures on North Texas roads. Meanwhile other states and even local toll road operators have taken steps that appear to be reducing the number of wrong-way incidents.

Texas leads the nation is wrong-way crashes. Using TxDOT data, NBC 5 Investigates has learned there have been almost 3,500 wrong-way crashes in just four years. Most are caused by drunken drivers who blow past warning signs and then slam head-on into other drivers.

Forbes reports that a Wichita Falls man was arrested while attempting to pay his $600 property tax bill with one dollar bills.

Only there’s a little bit more to the story than that. The 27-year old Texan, Timothy Andrew Norris, arrived in person at the Wichita County Courthouse to pay his $600 property tax with individual dollar bills – only there was a twist. Or, er, a fold. Norris had allegedly folded each bill so tightly that it “required tax office personnel approximately six minutes to unfold each bill.” If you’re doing the math, that means that it would take 3,600 minutes – or 60 hours, longer than a work week – to unfold the bills.

Norris was clearly within his rights as legal tender is an acceptable form of payment under Tex. Tax. Code 31.06.  The real trouble began when a crowd started forming around the spectacle prompting  Wichita County Tax Assessor-Collector Tommy Smyth to ask Norris to leave.  When he refused, Norris was arrested for criminal trespass and then compounded the problem by resisting arrest.  My guess is that he will be able to generate a considerable defense fund to fight off the charges.   And one can only wonder how long it took Norris to fold the dollar bills so tightly.

The Dallas Morning News reports that John Attanasio, the former dean of the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas was arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety officers on prostitution charges.  Attanasio was arrested early Sunday morning and booked into the Collin County Jail on charges of solicitation of prostitution.  He was released after posting a $500 bond for the charge, which is a Class B misdemeanor.  SMU has declined comment other than to confirm that Attanasio is still employed but will not be teaching classes this week.

 The Houston Press reports that the State Bar of Texas has suspended the law license of  former U.S. Representative Craig Washington for 18 months.  This is not former the Congressman’s first run-in with complaints about his law practice or the law.  He was previously sentenced to two years probation in a case where he shot at two teenagers who were looking for a parking spot in a midtown parking lot owned by Washington.  As for his current problem, the issues are much more prosaic, dealing with matters of client neglect.

“The case that ultimately got Washington suspended dates back to 2006. That year Michael Gobert hired Washington to represent him while he was fighting to keep his mother’s house from being transferred to her live-in boyfriend in a Montgomery County court. According to court records, Gobert paid Washington $10,000 for his services. In return, Washington failed to tell Gobert about a pre-trial hearing the week before his case was set to go to court. When the case was called, neither Gobert nor Washington showed up, and Gobert’s case was dismissed (Gobert’s had no luck on appeal).

Last month Washington’s disciplinary case, brought by the State Bar of Texas, went before a Bastrop County jury, which found that the former congressman had committed professional misconduct in Gobert’s case. The court also made Washington pay the state bar’s attorney’s fees, about $25,000.”

The Associated Press reports that Ex-Governor Rick Perry skipped out on the inaugural festivities for his successor Greg Abbott.  Instead, Perry was spotted at Sandy’s enjoying one of their signature frozen custard cones.  A visit to Austin is not complete without a visit to Sandy’s which is not an “ice cream parlor” as incorrectly asserted in the AP Report.  Far from it, Sandy’s is an outstanding little burger joint on Barton Springs road, where you can also get a delicious frozen custard cone, malt or milkshake.

“Perry skipped Abbott’s inauguration. Hours later, though, his official Twitter feed showed a photo of him holding what looks like a cone of vanilla in front of Austin ice cream parlor Sandy’s. The caption reads, ‘Sandy’s, where you go to celebrate.’ It’s the same place Perry tweeted about visiting in August, after he was booked and smirked in his mug shot following being indicted on two felony abuse-of-power charges.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a jury ruling that would have lifted the American Quarter Horse Association’s ban on registration and racing of cloned quarter horses. The Amarillo Globe News reports.

“In a ruling of international significance in the horse industry, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned an Amarillo jury’s decision that found the Amarillo-based American Quarter Horse Association violated anti-trust laws by barring cloned quarter horses from its registry.”

An Amarillo federal court jury had found that an AQHA committee and officials had conspired to ban  cloned horses from its registry (and consequently racing and other competitions) in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act..

The 5th Circuit disagreed finding that the plaintiff’s claim failed “because AQHA is not a competitor in the allegedly relevant market for elite quarter horses.”  As the Court noted  “Plaintiffs here contend that AQHA monopolized the relevant market for elite quarter horses. … Nothing in the record, however, shows that AQHA competes in the elite quarter horse market. AQHA is a member organization; it is not engaged in breeding, racing, selling or showing elite quarter horses.”

So no exacta box on The Replicator and Clonemaster in the 5th at Sam Houston Race Park.

Image from http://www.shrp.com

The Houston Chronicle reports of a brewing conflict between open carry enthusiasts in North Texas.  Open Carry Texas apparently has issues with two Tarrant County groups that have taken to recording police actions.

“A group known for its controversial stance on gun owners’ rights to carry weapons in public says it can’t condone the in-your-face tactics of a suburban Dallas cop-watching group. Open Carry Texas, part of a nationwide movement to promote the right to openly carry firearms, takes issue with new Arlington groups known as Open Carry Tarrant County and Cop Block[.]  Those groups have been busy not only promoting the right to carry firearms but also filming officers at work and posting Cop Block videos on YouTube.”

Arlington has been a focal point for the groups where they have confronted police officers as many as 20 times in one day.  The more aggressive and heavily armed Tarrant County groups have been arriving at the scene of police actions, recording them, hurling insults at the police and  shouting “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “I can’t breath.”

Does anyone else see a bad ending to this?