How a Mall Fight Led to Courtroom Drama, a Prosecutor Quitting and an Alleged Cover-Up

By Amy Silverstein Mon., Sep. 29 2014 at 9:42 AM

Prosecutor Dodds quit and accused District Attorney Craig Watkins of playing politics.

It started out as a case that wasn't very dramatic or high-profile. Latoya Scott, a 26-year-old woman, was arrested by the Irving Police Department for an alleged fight at a mall. Prosecutors said Scott hit and scratched a woman she was dating. She was charged with family violence assault, ~~a felony~~ a Class A misdemeanor.

But now that assault case has turned into the minor backdrop for another fight, a weird feud between the county attorneys on the case and the judge overseeing it. Rebecca Dodds, the former chief of the misdemeanor division in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and the main prosecutor on Scott's case, insisted that Scott pleaded guilty to the assault charge back in April. But Judge Elizabeth Frizell said that wasn't true and tried to hold a jury trial for Scott on September 2.

As the jurors waited outside that day, Dodds told Frizell that there was no way a trial could go forward because Scott already pleaded guilty. "The case has already been pled and disposed of," Dodds told the court.

Scott's attorney wanted a trial that day, the transcripts show, and Judge Frizell sided with the defense. "Well, it's not true," Frizell curtly responded to Dodds' claim that the case was over. "So are you ready to go to trial on this case?"

Dodds refused. "The State will not participate in a jury trial," she said. Transcripts show the two arguing for awhile, with the same back-and-forth of Frizell trying to go ahead with a trial and Dodds insisting it wasn't going to happen. The fighting continued the next day, court transcripts show, eventually devolving into a long, confusing argument about missing paperwork.

COURT: You just told me you had your file yesterday.
DODDS: I'm not suggesting to you that we don't have the file. I don't have it with me.

COURT: Okay. Well, do you have the file? Do you have it within your possession?

DODDS: Not right now.

COURT: Okay. Care, custody, and control is possession. Do you have it within your possession?

DODDS: I don't have the file on me, Your Honor.

COURT: So did you intentionally not bring it to court?

DODDS: I did not intentionally not bring it to court.

COURT: Okay. Well, I'm ordering you to get the file and turn over the evidence to the Defense. Can you do that?

DODDS: (Shrugs shoulders). We'll see, Your Honor.

COURT: Is that a yes or a no?

DODDS: I'll try to find the file.

COURT: Okay. You're saying find it. You told me David Alex [from the DA's office] had it yesterday. Does he have it or do you have it?

DODDS: I don't know, Your Honor.

COURT: Within whose possession is it?

DODDS: I don't know.

Around the time all this was happening, Scott's attorney from the public defender's office, Loren Collins, accused another county prosecutor on the case of secretly recording the attorneys. According to a motion Collins filed, assistant district attorney Jason Hermus "was observed removing a smartphone from his pocket and intentionally turning on its recording device" as the attorneys and judge were all talking off the record. Hermus then played it off by saying, "I'm trying to get this to work," Collins' motion claims. (Collins declined to discuss the case, and Judge Frizell's court coordinator hasn't yet responded to a request for an interview).

As far as Scott is concerned, her case has more or less been resolved. The DA's office ultimately gave into the defense, took Dodds off the case and agreed to dismiss the charges against Scott if she agrees to sticks to a conditional dismissal ~~probation~~ agreement.

Dodds, however, is not going quietly. She resigned from her job last week and shortly after went on WFAA, telling reporter Tanya Eiserer that she resigned because she felt that Watkins was trying to sweep Frizell's alleged judicial misconduct (for possibly lying about the guilty plea) under the rug in an election year. "I ultimately came to the decision that I just couldn't be a part of a district attorney's office that would put something that's political in front of seeking the truth," Dodds said on the station.

No matter who is telling the truth, the workplace drama over missing plea deals and the case file suggests that if you're ever facing charges in county court and depending on paperwork for your freedom, you should definitely make extra copies.

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anonymous

Fairly impressive how everyone involved can all be so wrong, all at once, including the reporter. It was a misdemeanor, not a felony, which is why it was in a misdemeanor court and the head of misdemeanor was involved. She didn't get probation; she got a conditional dismissal.

wcvemail

Did anybody else research "pleaded" vs "pled"? Anybody?

"The best course is to treat plead as a weak verb, so that the correct past tense, as well as past participle, is pleaded." (Bryan Garner, obviously a smart guy)

...pled is a common variant in legal usage.

WylieH

Her's a link to the transcript of day 2 of the weirdness:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/241017385/Becky-Dodds-Judge-Frizell-Round-2

WylieH

Here's a link to the transcript of day 1 of the weirdness:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/241018104/Becky-Dodds-Judge-Frizell-round-1

jackmartinez1951

Susan Hawk can't get elected soon enough. JWP, Watkins, former city council member sentenced to Prison, More corruption & drama Downtown than at Southfork!. Chicago aint got s--t on Dallas!

James080

When one party has a lock on virtually every top political office, we end up with intemperate, corrupt and unqualified elected officials. Dallas County is a prime example, as is Texas at the state level, where Ricky and his boys have been wrecking havoc for 12 years.

Sharon_Moreanus topcommenter

Didn't know they have a Sue Ellens in Irving.

Guesty

This whole episode stinks. Court records shouldn't disappear. But if the DA doesn't like a ruling by a judge, the proper response is to: (1) be professional and observe the Court's rulings and orders; and (2) appeal.

Dodd's conduct in court was not ethical or professional. I don't know if the judge was right or wrong about the ruling, but refusing to answer a direct question and then running from the court room on the day of trial reflects very poorly on the DA's office (can't recall where I saw that transcript, but it was posted somewhere, and it is a train wreck). It would likely result end the career of an AUSA and potentially result in her being held in criminal contempt of court if it happened at the federal court house. The transcript from the hearing the next day (in this post) comes off almost as poorly. It shows an attorney with no apparent awareness of her duty of candor to the Court. I can't imagine an attorney acting that way in a court that she regularly has to appear in.

I have no idea how the judge's ruling would justify a criminal investigation by the DA's office. Initiating such an investigation rather than simply appealing seems to be the DA's way of telling the local criminal judges that they can play ball with the DA or they can find themselves on the wrong end of the DA's criminal investigatory powers (in additional to his political maneuvers). Dodd comes off as extremely overzealous in suggesting that a criminal investigation was appropriate under the circumstances rather than just seeking appellate review.

As much as I hate to say it, because I really don't care much for our DA, he probably comes off best in everyone's account of this episode, if only because pulling the plug on this thing seems to have been the right thing to do (though I am curious if he originally supported the criminal investigation and would like to know his role in supporting criminal investigations of other sitting judges).

Lakewooder

I witnessed a similar incident [when I was 12]

wcvemail

@Guesty

Guesty, you're as concisely and precisely well-written as ever, and timely, too.

Hey, what's your take on "pleaded" vs. "pled"?

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@Guesty This whole episode stinks. Court records shouldn't disappear. But if the DA doesn't like a ruling by a judge, the proper response is to: (1) be professional and observe the Court's rulings and orders; and (2) appeal.

The problem with this is that if the state had gone ahead with a trial, that could remove their ability to appeal in a couple of ways. Going ahead with trial would most likely be held as a waiver of the previous plea, and if the trial went ahead and there was an acquittal, then the defendant could (rightly, IMO) claim double-jeopardy if they tried to come back after her.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@Lakewooder You can witness a similar incident any time you want by just hanging around any criminal courthouse in the country for a few days.

Guesty

@wcvemail @Guesty Garner is right, "pleaded" is preferable.

Guesty

@everlastingphelps @Guesty But the answer to that is still to go to the Court of Appeals by seeking mandamus before trial. It isn't to show up for what you know is a trial setting and act the way that Dodds acted.

From the transcript I read, it appeared that Dodd's plan was to show up and tell the judge she was wrong and couldn't proceed to trial knowing full well the judge had already ruled against her. Any lawyer with half a brain would recognize that is not a strategy that is likely to succeed. But even if you are going to do that, you have to do it professionally and observe the Court's rulings.

JSSS

@everlastingphelps @Lakewooder You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

gritsforbreakfast1

@Guesty @wcvemail IMO Garner is wrong. Never use a longer form of a word when a shorter version is accurate, grammatically valid, and communicates the idea equally well. Whenever possible, lose the extra syllable. (My most despised violation of that guideline after this one: sportscasters who say "aggressiveness" instead of aggression.") Also, "pled" is what people actually say.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@JSSS @everlastingphelps @Lakewooder It's really four hives -- the prosecutors, the public defenders, the judges and court people, and the defendants.

And when you get tired of one hive, you can find just as much scum and villainy in another!

SleighBells

Hey now...if you don't like what public defenders stand for... Just wipe ur ass with ur US Constitution like the rest of u wankers do.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@SleighBells Oh, I like what all of them stand for, it's the actual execution that is the problem.

The prosecutors stand for keeping the public safe. What they actually do is railroad everyone that comes in front of them, guilty or innocent. What the public defenders stand for is keeping the state honest and protecting the innocent. What they actually do is bounce from case to case, plea-dealing everything and bungling the ones where the defendant won't buckle and plea.

The judges and the court staff stand for being impartial adjudicators, keeping the state honest while still getting the criminals. What they actually do is bungle the entire job, waiting for their pension to kick in. And the defendants? They stand for the idea that the state can't just lock up anyone without due process. What they actually are, 99 times out of 100, is career criminals.

It's that last 1 out of 100 that really depresses me.