What happens when the Texas Attorney General’s Office tries to drop the charges against a defendant for want of evidence and the presiding judge denies the motion?
The AG’s Office took over the case against Vergil Richardson and several family members when District Attorney Val Varley was recused from the case. Varley showed up at the scene of the drug bust (see details in the story below) brandishing a fire arm. This made him a potential fact witness and led to his recusal.
One gets the impression that Judge John Miller (pictured to the left) is behaving as if his good friend (and legal tag team partner) Val Varley is still prosecuting the case. But what is the special prosecutor supposed to do now? When you have established that you don’t have enough evidence to go to trial and the judge sets a trial date anyway how do you proceed?
Friends of Justice was asked to look into this case in November of 2008 and has stayed in touch with Vergil Richardson since that date. Richardson, a dedicated High School coach, has been unable to work in his chosen profession since the day the indictment came down.
Judge denies Attorney General’s motion
By Bill Hankins
The Paris News
Published May 6, 2010
CLARKSVILLE — A ruling by 102nd District Court Judge John F. Miller Jr. in a Red River County drug case has brought a stir of concern all the way to the Texas capital.
Miller denied a motion by the state Attorney General’s office special prosecutor in the case. The special prosecutor has asked the charges against former coach Vergil Richardson be dismissed for lack of evidence.
It was the second time Miller had refused to drop the charges against Richardson, who is charged with drug possession, along with others at a home Richardson owns but does not reside in Clarksville.
Clarksville law enforcement officers found drugs in the home during a raid on Nov. 17, 2007.
Richardson and his brother, Mark, were visitors in the home at the time.
Vergil Richardson had allowed his half brother, Kevin Callaway, to live at the residence.
The Richardsons and Callaway were arrested.
Events leading up to the arrest began when the Red River Sheriff’s Department received a tip drugs were being sold at the home.
Deputies and others acted on a no-knock search warrant and burst into the home.
When they found the drugs, they arrested everyone there, even though the Richardsons claimed they did not live there and had no knowledge of drugs.
Callaway has been sentenced for his part in the drug case.
Red River County Attorney Val Varley was present during the drug raid and recused himself from the prosecution of the Richardsons.
That prosecution was turned over to the Texas Attorney General’s office, and a special prosecutor, Nicole Habersang, was assigned to the case.
It was after her investigation she filed a motion with the 102nd District Court to dismiss the case for lack of evidence against Vergil Richardson.
Miller denied the motion in January and on its refiling again this week, saying: “Dismissal is not in the interest of justice.”
He has set the trial for Vergil Richardson for Sept. 13.
When the order of denial came down, Vergil Richardson said: “I understand the justice system is slow, but I have been out of my profession, which is coaching, for more than three years. They have taken our reputation from us. They have hurt our families, and they have taken everything from me they can.”
The Richardson brothers have filed a lawsuit against Red River County, former Sheriff Terry Reed, the City of Clarksville, law enforcement officers Robert Bridges, Brandon Harbison and County Attorney Varley.
“I have refused to drop the lawsuit because I have lost so much,” Richardson said Wednesday. “I think that is why they are refusing to drop the charges against me.”
The Richardsons are asking for $2 million in compensatory damages in the suit filed in federal court in Texarkana. They also are seeking punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury.
Friends of Justice 
There were no drugs found in the house. They keep lying to the paper and everything on these people. The affidavit was signed after the search warrant was already done. The “bust” that night appears to be one of a bunch of cops playing games like little children. There was no cause for all this theatrical garbage they were doing to these men. It is my opinion, the Judge is trying to keep the damage suit from happening. And since the Judge is going out of office in November, he schedules the court date in September in his court so he can make sure they are found guilty. This Judge also needs to recuse himself. At this point, it is evident these people are innocent. Clarksvilletimes.net has a front page story this week where Vergil Richardson tells of the Judge threatening him by writing a letter to his lawyer saying to drop the lawsuit and he will dismiss the charges. They said “No” and the judge refused to dismiss. It also sounds like bribery to us. The Judge has already determined they are guilty.
1999 drug arrests
Tulia gained notoriety following a drug sting in July 1999 that rounded up 46 people, forty of whom were African Americans. The remaining detainees were White people known to have ties within the Black community, and in fact lived in the “Black” part of town. Nearly one in three of Tulia’s Black males was arrested, about 15% of the town’s Black population.[5][6] All charges were based on the word of undercover officer Tom Coleman, a so called “gypsy cop” who made his living traveling through impoverished rural Texas offering to work undercover cheaply for short periods of time for underfunded police departments. Coleman claimed to have made over one hundred drug buys in the small town. He never recorded any of the sales, but claimed to have written painstaking notes on his leg under his shorts and upper arm under his shirt sleeve when nobody was looking.
During the roundup, no large sums of money, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, or illegal weapons were found. The accused drug dealers showed no signs of having any income associated with selling drugs. The drugs Coleman claimed to have bought from the accused did not have the fingerprints of the accused on them or their baggies. No independent witnesses could corroborate Coleman’s claims. In his testimony, Coleman gave inaccurate descriptions of the “dealers” he had allegedly bought cocaine from. One suspect had his charges dropped when he was able to prove he had been at work during the times he had supposedly sold Coleman cocaine. Another produced bank and phone records indicating she was in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the time of her alleged crime. Many of the accused, however, seeing the long sentences dealt out by all-White juries in the earliest cases, pled guilty in return for lesser sentences, despite their proclaimed innocence. The remaining defendants were convicted solely on the basis of Coleman’s testimony. John Cornyn, the state attorney general, awarded “Lawman of the Year” to Coleman.[7][8]
Amarillo civil rights attorney Jeff Blackburn began investigating the Tulia defendants’ cases along with civil rights organizations and a handful of attorneys from firms around the country [9]. Eventually the case became a cause célèbre, and money was raised to legally challenge the cases. Many had already served several years in prison before this process gained momentum. By 2004, Blackburn and his team had freed most of the “Tulia 46” and a $6,000,000 collective settlement was reached to avoid further litigation in civil court. Local authorities remain defiant, promising their town will not become a “slot machine” in the face of a new lawsuit stemming from an alleged incident of police brutality during the sweep by a man who was not charged.[10][11]
*It’s amazing how much the Richardson case resembles the Tulia case. Please, I beg you, please help us not let this same thing happen to the Richardsons. It’s a scary thing when one finds out that all of these small towns have their own version of Justice and that it so dominantly embarks on prejudice.
Jurline:
Your account of the Tulia story sounds like it was written by Jeff Blackburn, but I agree that the two drug busts have much in common. Last summer’s drug bust in Jena, Louisiana: https://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/jena-smells-a-lot-like-tulia/, follows a similar pattern. In fact, most drug busts, especially in small towns, depend on overwhelming force and surprise so they can catch the bad guys red handed. It is a recipe for disaster. Sometimes the cops have the wrong place. On many occasions, the frightened suspects, unsure who is breaking into their homes, react instinctively and either they or an officer end up dead. Val Varley’s presence at the scene was truly bizarre.
Alan Bean
There is an old saying here that bears repeating I feel. It goes like this…
“There is Red River county law and then there is State lawand Federal law”. Red River County makes it up as they go.
Red River County law has nothing to do With State Law or Federal laws. They are in a world of their own….they think. “
Yes, sir, I agree. What I haven’t told you is that Vergil and Mark are my brothers, two are my nephrews, and one is my cousin. So, as you probably already know, I have had to take it personal. They have disrupted our whole family and punished not only them, but, us too. We couldn’t even mourn the death of our father with this going on. How does any human being deliberately punish, humiliate, and torture another human being because of the color of their skin? Evil, pure evil. So, I tell you, any help you can provide us with this case, would be truly appreciated because, as you know, their court date is set for September 13, 2010.
I am so sorry for all your family. I know this is wrong and am finding out more and more by the day of what happened. Yes, your family has been destroyed and it is time recompense be made.
I alsojoin you in pleading for Mr. Bean to help the Richardson family. Some type of sanity needs to be restored and prevail here. I am just a lowly citizen, but I want justice restored especially for this family. It is only fair, just and right for it to happen.
Before Judge Miller received the case, he made statements about me in a jokingly way. He stated that “the Liberty Eylau coach was tring to make a little extra money” around some attorneys. The attorneys laughed at his comment. My attorney heard him make the statement. Several weeks later Judge Miller got our case. Also, a couple of months ago, he told my attorney that he would sign the dismissal papers if we would drop the lawsuit. He also said that if we didn’t we were going to jail. With these threats alone, I’ve been nervous, not only for me, but, for my family. Other than us filing the lawsuit, I don’t know why Judge Miller is out to get us. I knew nothing about him up until this happened. He acts like he has a personal grudge against me and my family, or could it be someone else, and he’s just taking it out on us. He made his last request a couple of days ago. He told my attorney that I should turn against Mark Lesher (my attorney) and my nephrew (Jermicole). So, tell me, how are we suppose to fight a judge, in his court, who is portraying the judge, the prosecutor, and the attorney. What do we do?
DM, Dr. Bean and FOJ are more than willing to help. Would you suggest HOW we might help.
I read your strategy link and obtained those which I feel apply.
1. There needs to be an investigation by Mr. Bean and FOJ in this case. That we want desperately.
2. The “Tulia Corroboration Bill” that Friends of Justice got passed in our legislature, should help in seeing how due process has broken down here. (Congrats on your accomplishment on this bill)
3. Persuade the media to do hard hitting reports on the breakdown of due process here in Red River County and the injustices here. (Including past Civil Rights Violations of this county and past rulings by Federal Judge William Wayne Justice, who did hold them accountable–for a while…Federal Judge Justice was a champion for the downtrodden, as you know. The past Civil Rights cases Shadid (sp.) case were very alarming to say the least. I believe there may have been two, and maybe even more? One of those cases included police officers who slashed their own boots and lied on the man they shot saying he did the boot slashing and the cops acted in self-defense. Incidences like this are apparently still going on.
4. Help empower us to hold public officials accountable for equal justice and how we can accomplish that in this case and in the future.
5. Need you to draw national attention to this case especially due to the many wrongs which have happened on it–what this Judge Miller did, the DA with a machine gun at the scene and other law officers who did wrong on this.
6. Help organize a media campaign about these people and other being denied due process,( civil liberties, freedom from oppression due to their race and/or economic status, their disability, etc.) due to abusive prosecution and corrupt policing.
7. Judge Miller needs to be investigated on every case he has ever done in Red River County. If he has done no wrong, then he won’t mind–he will welcome it unless he has a lot to hide. In his own courtroom, there is a sign which bears the Biblical verse that says, “thou shalt not bear false witness. Yet people have perjured themselves in front of Red River County Grand Juries and even admitted it–yet nothing was done to them due to who they were. (Friends)
8. We need help in order that our freedom of speech and freedom to live be protected. The Richardson’s own attorney was retaliated against due to his work as an attorney in representing people who ask for his help. That is his job, yet he was retaliated against.
9. When lies are told to our Grand Jury and our Judges, DA etc. do nothing to prosecute the liars and tell more lies to cover up that lie, then we have a problem here.
10. When people cannot defend themselves due to their race, disability, or social status, then the same attorney is always chosen to represent them. He is famous for plea bargains for the County in just about every case. He is not representing the client here–he is representing the county and helping them get more probation fees to keep the county afloat.
11. I want plea bargains video taped to prove a person has been explained his rights and exactly what all that plea bargain entails and if they were coerced to sign them or not. I feel this happened to the half brother in this case.
I am sure others can come up with more on this, but until we get help in here from outside, we have the potential for other wrongful convictions and broken homes and all kinds of profiling including racial here. We need you as our advocate.
Mr. Richardson
The Judge should have recused himself in the beginning due to his remark before he even took the case. He was prejudiced going in and he knew it also. AND NOW WE KNOW IT.
I did not mean to disrespect Dr. Bean by calling him Mr. I am just now getting to know his name. I am very sorry about that Dr. Bean.
http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/ClarksvilleTexas/ClarksvilleTexas.htm
Here is the “hanging tree” that has been glorified by a plaque. Scroll down until you see Page Tree or something like that.
The question appears to be whether a district judge must accept a dismissal from a special prosecutor. I kicked the question over to Grits for Breakfast, a criminal justice blog written by Scott Henson. No one was sure how this issue could be resolved because it almost never happens. Although judge’s have the statutory authority to deny a dismissal, it rarely happens. Which brings us back to our original question, when a judge decides to deny a motion to dismiss, what’s a prosecutor to do?
Apparently, Judge Miller is hoping the AG’s office will appoint a more compliant special prosecutor. In other words, this has come down to a battle of the will.
The law assumes that all officers of the court behave in good faith and in the interest of justice. When a scoundrel puts on a judge’s robe or plays prosecutor or hangs up a shingle as a defense attorney the system doesn’t always supply a remedy.
For the time being, we will have to monitor the situation while encouraging the AG’s office to stand strong.
Dr. Bean does not flout his academic credentials. (I’m Alan’s father-in-law). While I’m sure your apology is accepted, it is not needed.)
It seems to me that Judge Miller should be recused from the case on grounds of conflict of interest regarding the lawsuit by Richardson, and, if there is record of his statement about Richardson trying to game the system, on grounds of prejudice. It was publicity that got Judge Self to recuse himself regarding the Tulia evidentiary hearings. Maybe a similar strategy could work here.
Is there any avenue other than self recusal to get Judge Miller removed from this case?
Just spoke with someone who had studied the history of the hanging tree and said they never heard of a white person who was hung there, but definitely mostly black people were. Why would they glorify such a thing?
This person also stated the county is more than 75 years behind in everything. They still consider black people as in servitude to the officials who are white people. There were a couple of cases on http://www.rrpolitics.org about the lack of black people in employment in the town. One case was mentioned on there where Lilly lost her job for no reason at the court house. Well, there was lots of blogging about this when the new Sheriff was coming in. He did hire a couple of minority, but it was due to the blogging that he did that.
She remembered when black people would walk down the sidewalks in the town and when they saw a white person coming, they got off the sidewalk.
Some of the old men are not going to move out of the l940’s for love or money. The Lennox murder case was tried swiftly because that old lady left a lot of money to the county. Before she was killed, no one even knew anything about her. The Lennox family was also reported to have had slaves. hmmmmm
I will get back to the main story, but wanted to put this in here.
These are things we don’t know Charles. What can be done? It is clear the Judge is prejudiced and has threatened them if they did not drop the lawsuit, then he would not dismiss the case. He should recuse himself, but it also needs to be a change of venue in the case due to so much publicity and lies which have been told on the case that people do not even know the truth. We need to get the truth out on the case, but we cannot. The blogging which has been going on on topix forums has been unrelenting to say the least against them. They found no drugs in that house and we cannot even get a newspaper to print that. Why?
Can the Judge be recused without willingly stepping down?
Yes, that can happen, but higher courts are very reluctant to take a case out of a judge’s hands.
Even when the case is as ridiculous as this and when the whole case reeks of prejudice. If so, than that almost sounds like the higher courts supports them even when they are wrong. Is that what you are saying? If the higher courts won’t punish the judge’s when they use the court system for their own personal gain and/or personal vendettas, then who will? The judges/da’s punish citizens for crimes they say they have committed (or set them up!). WHO HOLDS THEM ACCOUNTABLE!!!!!!! Please, respond, Sir!
These things take time. In Tulia, the FBI asked us if any of the defendants ever used drugs. When we said some of them may have, we were asked, “So what’s your point?” Then we reached out to Governor Perry. His office told us that we should approach the DA (that’s right, the guy at the heart of the problem). The NAACP expressed interest but took a year to get involved (shortly after the cameras arrived). The ACLU was initially uninterested; that changed in a big way when Will Harrell took over as ED. The first impulse of every public official will be to stay out of trouble and that means not making any enemies. However, when the misbehavior in question is sufficiently bad you can get response over time. Somebody must make the first move and you never know who that somebody might be. I will be getting back to this story in mid-June.
Alan Bean
Jurline-
Dear sister, I know you are anxious. This is your brothers and family. Two weeks will pass and then it will be about time for Dr. Bean to come back from the case he is on. Today I read an article on Grits about the SWAT teams in small towns. Well, I have always wondered what was the need for such forceful action out there that night? Why the need for the SWAT team? If they were not training, then why was the SO, PD and the DA involved? Nothing about this case makes any sense at all! Someone could have easily been killed out there. None of the family were armed I am gathering. So why were they doing a SWAT team deal in the first place? I guess that is why they had a “no knock warrant”?? Never understood that either until this article and I thought about it. Did they do any damage to the house? I have heard they do a lot of damage here when they do these “shockers” to individuals.
Take care and know this going on so long has caused a lot of things to be exposed which normally would not have been. Sometimes time is on our side, but we must look for how and why it is.