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Submitted by john wertz on 2020-01-06 02:43:47

from judge Richardson.

-----Original Message-----
From: trichardson2@satx.rr.com [mailto:trichardson2@satx.rr.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2020 2:02 PM
To: lsutigah@comcast.net
Subject: MTP

Mr. Wertz,

Thank you for the reminder below and posting my response. I suppose it's one of those thing we could debate in soundbites forever; however, when an appellate court reverses a trial court, not because they abused their discretion, but because they found a statute unconstitutional, it's a pretty good sign they are changing the law that trial courts up until that point were bound to follow. For now, I'll let my carefully written findings and opinions speak for themselves.

As a fact check on two things, I have never said she did not have any felony experience, my comparison chart simply notes she had no felony experience as a prosecutor. That information was obtained from her own LinkedIn page (see image attached). A careful review of her dates of employment in multiple offices on her LinkedIn page are somewhat confusing at best, but she does not mention any felony experience. She actually claimed in one forum she was fired from the DA's Office and was proud of it, I didn't quite understand her rationale. If she has any felony experience outside her employment as a prosecutor, she hasn't stated how much or what. There is one simple way to determine if a lawyer has 1) tried a death penalty case or 2) has been involved in any appellate work or 3) has been named as a trial counsel in an appellate brief. I checked all three by simply going to each of the 14 appellate court's websites in the State and plugging in her bar number in a search box. If a lawyer has ever been named as an attorney in a brief filed before that specific court it will come up. All death penalty cases go to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Ms. Parker's name is not listed on any cases that the TCCA has ever reviewed. Since the TCCA is the only State court that reviews Capital cases, it's logical to assume she never tried a Capital Murder. Her name is mentioned in three criminal appeals, all in the Waco Court of Appeals. I have read all three and all are from her time at the DA's Office. One of those cases involved a prosecutor commenting on the defendant's right to remain silent, it was error as the Waco Court of Appeals noted. The last appeal (or most recent) was in the early to mid 1990's, easily over 20 years ago.

My web page was designed last summer, before any organizations began to endorse, so I thought it was helpful to post prior endorsements and they are labeled exactly that PREVIOUS ENDORSEMENTS. I also have a page of current endorsements. I obviously know this is a different race with different candidates. My last opponent was a well-respected judge who had been on the bench for over 25 years. Even as I write this there are several questionnaires I continue to fill out for organizations that have not yet reviewed the candidates qualifications, in order to endorse. Clearly the MTP got the early jump on this process. In 2014 I was mindful of the "pay to play" groups in the Houston area, but did not pay anybody for a single endorsement; however, I did interview with the "big three" (Hotze, Lowry and

Polland) in that category, because they contacted me, interviewed me or had me send them background information. Of those three, Hotze conducted the most detailed interview, never asked for a dime and endorsed me. That took place in January of 2014. I assumed he would do the same thing again, however, there were no interviews for his endorsement this time. Ms. Parker announced that Hotze was endorsing her the same day Gov. Perry endorsed her in late September. I am aware of how that took place and there is nothing I can do about it, so I have continued meeting with those groups that actually want to be informed about candidate's qualifications.

Thank you again taking time to vet and interview candidates for this important position. If you need any additional information from me please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely, Bert Richardson