Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson is facing backlash from attorneys for criticizing two judges by name, complaining they had each set low bonds for suspects who allegedly committed further crimes after their release.
The complaints came in the form of statements released by her office on February 25 and 26.
The February 25 statement regarded Lancelot Dawkins, accused of kidnapping his 11-month-old daughter. According to the statement, Dawkins had bonded out of jail in January after he was charged with assaulting a family member by impeding breath or circulation.
The Tarrant County judge, whom Wilson’s office referred to by name, had set the bond at $3,500 for Dawkins.
“Judges set bonds,” Wilson said in the statement. “That is why judges have assessments and criminal histories available to them.”
The February 26 statement involved a 24-year-old Fort Worth man, Valerian Osteen. Osteen, as reported by The Dallas Express, is now a primary suspect in the murder of Marissa Grimes.
Grimes had been presumed missing since mid-February, after Osteen’s January 11 release on bond for charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful restraint. Grimes was also the alleged victim of both crimes listed in the previous charges against Osteen.
Wilson’s office also named the magistrate who set Osteen’s $15,000 bond in January.
The district attorney’s action has attracted criticism from other attorneys, who express discomfort at her decision to directly name the judges who set the bonds.
“The place for a DA to complain about judge’s bonds is in the courtroom, and they should be fighting every single motion to reduce bond if they feel that’s the right thing to do,” Steve Fischer told CBS 11 News in an interview.
Fischer, an El Paso attorney, is also a State Bar director and is on the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Fischer added that criticism against judges on a case is against decorum. He said that state rules of professional conduct warn attorneys about making public statements that could prejudice a case.
Benson Varghese, a Fort Worth criminal defense attorney, told CBS 11 News that he could not remember any instance where an elected district attorney named judges to criticize bond amounts.
“While you can criticize facts and disagree with a ruling, you should always show respect for the process,” Varghese told CBS 11 News.