A dismissal of a Felony Deadly Conduct with a Firearm case five minutes before jury selection, that's how to start off the new year. My client and I were in Comal County District Court in front of Judge Dib Waldrip this morning, getting ready to select a jury, when the prosecutor asked to approach the bench and told the judge that he had to dismiss the case. Apparently, it didn't hurt our cause that the so-called "victim" picked up an arrest warrant out of Utah, decided to flee the jurisdiction, and is now a fugitive from justice. Like Woody Allen once said, 95 percent of life is just showing up. Sometimes, that's 100 percent of a jury trial, too. That makes our record a perfect 1-0 for 2009.
Time to hoist the Skull and Crossbones and sing defense lawyer pirate songs. And just to further prove the existence of a God, and that he has both a sense of humor and of justice, my alma mater, Rice University, won its first college football bowl game in 54 years over the holidays. My deepest sympathies to those schools who were forced to play their bowl games on New Year's Day because they didn't get selected by the Texas Bowl. This year, on to the BCS national championship...