Primary Questionnaire: Jim Leitner

Jim Leitner is a candidate in the Republican primary on March 4th for the position of Harris County District Attorney. The winner of this primary race will face presumptive Democratic nominee C.O. Bradford in the general election in November. Lose an Eye, in association with other area bloggers submitted a questionnaire to all candidates in this primary race. Here are Mr. Leitner's answers to those questions:


Who are you and what are your qualifications for this position?

I am Jim Leitner. I am 57 years old, married to Michelle Leitner a lawyer, and have 8 children. I became a lawyer in 1975, and have practiced criminal law since 1975. I am Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and have been so continuously since 1983. I have 9 years of prosecution experience. I have prosecuted everything from a class c misdemeanor to several death cases. I have defended the same. I know what it takes to prosecute, and to defend. I have a complete view of the system. I have first chaired over 300 jury trials, and I have written over 300 appellate briefs. I know what it takes to be a trial lawyer. I have been in the trenches, and that is important to winning over the respect of the staff.
This is an office that requires much more than just being a great trial lawyer. I also have administrative experience in that I was the First Assistant District Attorney in Bell and Lampasas Counties for 4 years. In that position I was in charge of the day to day administration of the entire office, and the experience gained in that position is very valuable.
Even more important, this office needs a leader. This is a time that a tried and proven leader is absolutely necessary. I have 26 years leadership experience in the military. I have served as a line officer doing the day to day tasks of our mission. I have served as an administrative officer being in charge of all of the administrative requirements for our unit. I have served as a training officer in charge of ensuring that all the unit was properly trained for the mission. A tour as an executive officer, and two tours as commanding officer of two different units. I know what it is like to have absolute responsibility and accountability for the actions of the unit. I will treat the office in the same manner. There will be no passing the buck, and making claims that I do not know or am not responsible any and all that happens.

In the wake of the Chuck Rosenthal resignation, the ethics of the District Attorney’s office have come under increased scrutiny. What are the main points of your plan to ensure compliance to ethical standards should you win the election?

So many bad things stem from ethics violations. Everytime a prosecutor lies it is an ethics violation. The lie itself may cause very little to happen, and at times it has huge effects. Everyone makes mistakes, but lies are not mistakes. I would make sure that it was clear that lies would not be tolerated. I have already said that I would put the polices and procedures manual “on line” so that everyone could see the general policies that are to be employed. If ones child was charged with an offense and someone wanted to know if they were being treated unfairly I would hope they would look to the manual to see if they are being treated the way we have set out in writing that we would generally treat such offenses. If there is special treatment being given, then that too should be much easier to see. I have always felt that it is much harder to do things in the open, then it is in the shadows. I would also publish our ethics manual. For example, Brady violations are also ethical violations. People try to get around Brady materials by just changing the definition of what is Brady. One prosecutor told me that if he didn’t believe the materials then it wasn’t Brady. Therefore, I would make sure that the definition of Brady be put “on line” and all disclosures of Brady be in writing, filed with the court. Then there would never be a question as to whether the office complied or not. There would be continuous training in ethics. I would utilize the ethics programs available from the National College of District Attorney’s, the State Bar of Texas, and like sources.

The Houston Police Department Crime Lab recently faced another scandal. Many of the cases tried in the past were based, in large part, from a lab whose results are questioned by many. What steps would you take as DA to ensure the evidence you received from the crime lab was valid, and how should past convictions using crime lab evidence be addressed?

I would push for a regional crime lab that had no ties to law enforcement. I am aware of the problems when crime lab personnel feel that they are members of one team or another. I would demand that when a lab report is rendered, that it state the type of testing that was done. In the past reports were rendered when complete testing was never done. That is intolerable. If the defense wanted to conduct independent testing, then I would always work to make the evidence available so that they could also test the evidence.
Anytime past evidence is questioned, then it should be retested. The policy that was put into place that all evidence is destroyed upon conviction should be rescinded. If there are errors, then those errors have to be brought to light, even if it hurts the organization.


Would you support the appointment of an “innocence commission” to review the cases in question?

I would support anything that ensures that the right results were reached. The right results can be reached by doing the right things, there is no need or excuse for cutting corners.

In the last election Harris County voters defeated a bond issue that would fund the construction of new prison space. With prisoner overcrowding and staff shortages leading to certification issues what, if any, options would you support as District Attorney to address these problems?

I do not take the position that it is the job of the District Attorney to legislate. I will enforce the laws that are given to me. I believe that the District Attorney should have a legislative program and work towards passing laws that protect society, and also alleviate problems such as prison overcrowding. Working hand in hand with the Texas District and County Attorney’s Association in this endeavor would be a high priority.

Under former District Attorney Rosenthal, there was some criticism that he applied the death penalty statute more liberally than it was originally intended. Do you agree/disagree with this assessment? And as DA what would be your approach to seeking the death penalty?

I have always felt that there were no real guidelines on when they sought death, and when they did not. I would form a commission of persons inside and outside the office to review aggravating and mitigating evidence in each case. I would ensure that there were specific guidelines to follow in rendering the decision, and then I would keep statistics on when it was sought and when it was not. And more important, why. I would do this so that uniformity in the selection process would be apparent. The disparity on when it is sought now, from when it is not would change.

In your estimation, are the issues at the Harris County DA’s office limited to the top, or have they “trickled down” to the rank and file?

I feel that the real problem is within the “inner circle” of Chuck’s regime. Most of the personnel in the office are fine hard workers. Those who believe the end justifies the means just cannot be in a leadership role. That will ultimately trickle down to everyone. Young and impressionable lawyers cannot be taught to do their job any other way, than the right way. You can get the right results, by doing the right things.

Finally, why are you the best candidate for this job?

I believe in the positions that I take. I will demand that this office be an office that serves all of the public. I know the criminal justice system, I know all sides of these issues, and I can bring an approach that builds on all that was good for so many years, and I can eliminate those things that have brought the office down.
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Mr. Leitner's campaign site: jimleitner4da.org.


Thank you to Mr. Leitner for taking time out of his schedule to answer our questionnaire.