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Houston Lawyer Files Complaint Against Prosecutor in Governor Rick Perry Case

A criminal complaint was recently filed with the Travis County district attorney’s office by Houston lawyer David Rushing. Rushing claims that prosecutor Michael McCrum is abusing his rights in the Governor Rick Perry case, according to The Houston Chronicle.

The complaint alleges that McCrum is over-charging taxpayers for his services. The county is being billed $300 per hour by McCrum, which is three times more than the highest rate set by state law.

The law in Travis County allow for a lawyer in McCrum’s situation to charge more or less per hour if the situation is unusual.

“These attempts of character assassinations against our great governor here is bad enough on its own, but when you really analyze it, it’s not just a political game but lining the defense’s pockets at the taxpayers’ expense,” Rushing said in an interview with The Houston Chronicle.

The district attorney’s office did not issue a comment, but did confirm that it received the complaint.

The complaint filed by Rushing stems from the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and Travis County’s guidelines for the Fair Defense Act. Attorneys who are appointed to cases can be paid between $70 and $100 per hour for time in court and between $60 and $90 per hour for time worked outside of the courthouse.

Perry was indicted in August by a grand jury in Travis County on charges of abuse of the governor’s official capacity and that he coerced a public servant. The claims come from threats by Perry to veto funding for Texas’ Public Integrity Unit if Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg did not resign following an arrest for drunk-driving.

As of early this past week, invoices totaling close to $100,000 were sent by McCrum to Travis County. McCrum volunteered to work with a co-counsel in an effort to not be a burden on the county economically while also taking a pay cut.

Rushing claims that McCrum has taken advantage of his position in an effort to steal money from taxpayers.

“McCrum was tasked by a district court to investigate the highest-ranking state official in Texas, and to prosecute, as necessary and if warranted,” Rushing wrote in the complaint. “It is imperative that, with such a task, McCrum himself follow the law — to the letter. He failed.”

Rushing has said that McCrum is breaking the same law that he has accused Governor Perry of breaking. He has also said that McCrum has taken advantage of his official position as the prosecutor to benefit himself.

09-28-2014

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