Priorities

I had a bit of a scheduling conflict this morning. On the one hand I had a seventeen-year-old kid in custody in Galveston County with an appearance in felony court. On the other hand I had a trial setting for a traffic ticket case in Houston Municipal Court.

When it became apparent we weren't going to work out a deal on the felony case I approached Judge Timberlake in Houston Municipal Court about a continuance on the traffic case. She angrily told me that her trial setting took precedence over an inmate's felony appearance in Galveston and denied my request and threatened to report me to the State Bar if I didn't appear in her court at 8:00 am this morning.

Now let's get real, which case is more important? Furthermore, for anyone who hasn't practiced in the municipal courthouse, each court tries (at most) one case a day and there was little danger of my little speeder going to trial this afternoon.

For the record, I appeared in felony court in Galveston this morning. I'd much rather have a judge complaining about my not appearing in a ticket case than have a client in custody complaining that I didn't appear on his case.