0 thoughts on “County releases résumés for judge hopefuls”

1. In 1984, a protective order was filed against James Pape by his wife, Diane, that essentially barred Mr. Pape from living with his family for one year following a couple of incidents where he threatened to kill both her and their two children.

   He was only allowed to see his children two nights a week and only when supervised by Mrs. Pape. He was specifically barred from destroying the family’s property.

   Mr. Pape was a grown man at this time, aged 41 years. This was not a “youthful discretion” and begs the question of whether a past marked by family violence renders this man unfit temperamentally to serve on the bench.

   I think Mr. Pape needs to address this past with the community he is asking to serve as a Judge.

   This Protective Order was ironically signed by Judge Howard Warner.

   This information is part of the public record and is not my opinion or some hearsay.

2. Disappearing ink.

3. Yes, apparently.

4. Re-appearing ink.

5. The comments made by Django about Mr. Pape’s personal life a quarter a century ago beg the question whether a man can overcome his “personal demons”and mistakes and turn his life around. It also demonstrates why so many potentially fine officeholders choose to eschew what they might otherwise feel their civic responsibility because of mistakes in the distant past.

   I was unaware of these issues until they were dredged out of the sewer but as long as I have known Jim and Diane Pape, they have been a happy, loving couple devoted not only to each other and family but this community in ways too numerous to list and Jim has been admired greatly by his sons.

   Judge Warner may have issued a “restraining order” 25 years ago but he apparently had the judicial temperament to know when to dissolve it.

   With the recent national discussion about “judicial temperament,” perhaps we should consider part of that the ability to look at how one may overcome the past and the potential future of those in in the justice system.

   I do not intend for this comment to be an endorsement (a sure kiss of death ) as there appear to be several well qualified candidates.I do mean it to be a defense of Jim Pape, although I think he needs none as his actions in Hays County civic life, loving family and respect by those who have worked with him speak for themselves.

   I admire those who can confront their “personal demon” and overcome them. Can “django” (a nom de plume taken from a particularly violent gunman in 1960’s spaghetti westerns) say the same.

   As Jesus Christ said, “If any among you is without sin, let him cast the first stone.

6. “django” is a nom de plume taken not from any gangster, but from Django Reinhart, an early innovator of the jazz and blues guitar, noted as a major influence on B. B. King and many others.

7. I fail to see why my having brought this information to the light of day becomes about me.

   I did not threaten “to kill all members of our household”.

   I did not require the authorities to remove me from my home as I was “on a drinking binge, severely depressed, unreasonable, uncooperative, argumentative”.

   My wife did not testify that “I fear for the safety of myself and my children” nor that I “may commit further acts of family violence”.

   Why attack the messenger?

   I am in agreement that people go through bad patches of their lives, as we all have. I also realize that there are some demons that tend to stay with us, that we overcome by daily wrestling with them.

   I am not saying that Mr. Pape is a bad person, I am simply expressing my feeling that perhaps he is a bad fit for being our Judge.

   One can be a perfectly good husband, father and community leader and still not have the temperament to be a Judge.

   These kinds of family tragedies are cropping up in the news at an alarming rate daily. They all start with someone threatening to do harm to someone else. Some go nowhere, people get mad, they get over it, but too many go horribly wrong.

   Threatening a woman or a child seems to me particularly abusive. Threatening someone smaller and weaker than you are seems to me very cowardly.

   Call me old-fashioned.

8. “old-fashioned” is when you use your own name when you attack someone, something old-fashioned journalism requires.

9. Well like every thing else in public life, “your life” will be scurtinized and the past will be awakened. Too bad but this is how we are. None of us can ‘cast the first stone’ but the info will sway the minds. I wish Mr. Pape well.

10. Django, methinks thou doth protest too much.

    There are several perfectly good, absolutely logical reasons to “kill the messenger.” The first of which is when they anonymously snipe with potentially devastating personal information. Let’s not be too noble here. It just doesn’t fit.

    I don’t know Jim Pape from Santa Claus, but I do find it distasteful that you’ve created a situation that makes it impossible to confront his accuser, and there’s also the possibility that you’re cherry picking information here. Does anyone know the context of the multi-decade old event? I don’t have a lot of patience for abusers, but if they’re still together, and if the order was lifted, maybe…just maybe…it’s not as devastating as you seem to hope it is.

    I don’t work for Newstreamz anymore, but if I did I’d be contacting you right now, finding out what you know and how you came to know it. Did you run background checks on all the candidates? Anna Boling declared bankruptcy. That’s pretty damning on it face, but where’s your outrage there?

    No, this has a distinct odor to it, like the one that surrounds the grinding of an axe. As a journalist, I’ve come to realize that who says something is almost as important as what is being said. Since you’re hiding behind a pseudonym, your credibility is difficult to gauge. The context is unknown, like it is with Pape.

    Of course you could clear all this up by growing a pair and telling us all you name, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m not saying you’re acting like a wuss. I’m sure you have many fine accomplishments under your belt.

    I’m just saying…

11. I don’t know Santa Claus either, but I do know Jim Pape. For those of you who do not, he is a kind, gentle man with a huge heart for his family and the less fortunate. He is a tribute to the local legal profession, and he was one of my personal inspirations to becoming an attorney. I probably cannot hope to develop the respect among my peers and clients that he has over his years of practice, but if I aim at becoming Jim Pape and fall a little short, I will be one damn good lawyer and person.

    It is not worth dignifying django’s efforts with a response. And there is no need for Pape’s friends and supporters to get in the gutter with the Boling crew by talking about her bankruptcy and such. Everybody makes mistakes; we are all human.

    The relative questions from my perspective are: Who is more fit for the bench? Who has a better reputation among those who who will practice before the court? Who has done more for the community and community of lawyers? Who is less political? Who is a more accomplished attorney in their field of expertise? Who has a defined area of expertise rather than a resume a mile wide and an inch deep? Jim Pape is the answer to each of these questions and any other question that matters in this debate.

    Hays County should not rebuff a great man who is willing to serve. The commissioners should focus on the candidates and not be distracted by mindless mudslinging from those who mask their intentions and motivations behind screen names.

12. Well said, John. I agree.

13. Sent to Commissioner Barton,
    (cc’d to Judge Sumter, Commissioner(s) Ingalsbe, Conley, Ford,and CCL # 2 Judge Rodriguez)

    For the past 22 years I have served as the Court Reporter for the Hays County Court at Law, Nos. 1 & 2. For twelve of those years, I have been a constituent in your precinct, Commissioner Barton. I write to you on the eve of your decision to name a replacement for Judge Warner’s position with a heavy heart both for his absence and for the manner in which the debate over this appointment has been conducted.

    Unfortunately, the dialog concerning the two leading contenders for the office, James “Jim” Pape and Anna Martinez-Boling, has concentrated more on mud-slinging campaign tactics than on establishing their credentials
    to sit on the bench. You are well aware of the breadth of cases tried in our two courts and that the majority of those proceedings are criminal in nature.

    Mr. Pape, an attorney licensed with the State Bar of Texas since 1968, is a true statesman respected by many in our county and the surrounding region. He has been a solo practitioner in criminal law here in San Marcos since 1979.

    Mrs. Boling was licensed in 1994 and her experience in criminal law cited on her resume indicates only a two-year stint at the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 1998. Since that time, her solo practice, and continuing legal education courses with the Texas State Bar, have primarily focused on family law.

    Mr. Pape has appeared in CCL #1 and #2 innumerable times in the last two decades, whereas Mrs. Boling has hardly been seen. The vast gulf in the experience of these two candidates has compelled me to appeal to you
    before the unenviable decision you must reach tomorrow.

    My hope is that you will, in your own wisdom and judgment, look beyond the unfortunate allegations and slurs that have characterized this contest and focus solely on the matter of qualifications where Mr. Pape is clearly the best choice to fill this important position.

    Thank you for your time and consideration in allowing me to express my views in this matter.

    Sincerely,

    Sandra D. Jackson

14. great letter, Ms. Jackson.

15. Very well said John, Sandra and Bill. My only hope is that the Commissioners will agree with the valid and meaningful points you articulated.

16. Guess not….looks like Boling is the choice.