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Submitted by john wertz on 2016-01-11 18:30:57

Monday, January 04, 2016 4:11 PM

Dear MCTP Committee:

Thank you for notification and for the time you and your committee put into the vetting process.

I just finished watching Judge Wheless' interview for the first time and must point out a couple of things that immediately struck me as misleading:

(1) Asked about civil asset forfeiture abuse, he said that the Court of Criminal Appeals "should take a look at it if the Legislature doesn't."

The Court of Criminal Appeals has no jurisdiction over civil asset forfeiture cases. Those are civil cases that would wind up in the Texas Supreme Court and never in the Court of Criminal Appeals.

(2) Judge Wheless questioned how conservative I am, in part because my brother Terry was endorsed by Joe Strauss in his 2006 race for the Court of Criminal Appeals.

He fails to mention that all but one of the House Republicans endorsed Terry, including House Speaker Tom Craddick. Terry later served as parliamentarian for Speaker Craddick, and fought against Strauss's effort to take over the speakership, casting a different light on his earlier endorsement.

Thanks again for your time and consideration.

Yours,

Mary Lou Keel