District judge, former auditor answer questions regarding Minyard investigation

Submitted by Canton1 on
Earlier this month, former VZC Tax Assessor-Collector J.J. Minyard entered a plea of no contest to charges of taking $178,856.08 during her time in office from 2009 to 2012. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to repay restitution. We sent questions to several county officials. Here are the responses from District Judge Teresa Drum and former County Auditor John Shinn.
Judge Teresa Drum
1. When were you, as supervisor of the audit department, made aware that money was missing?

2. What steps did you take to investigate?

4. Do you feel there was a conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney Chris Martin in this investigation since his wife, Christie Martin, worked in the county auditor’s office during the time Minyard was tax-assessor collector?

5. Do you feel there was a conflict of interest on your part since Minyard formerly worked as criminal and chief deputy clerk in the District Clerk’s office?

In response to the above questions, Drum said:

Canon 3 (B)(8) of the Code of Judicial Conduct states:

“A judge shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications or other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties between the judge and a party, an attorney, a guardian or attorney ad litem, an alternative dispute resolution neutral, or any other court appointee concerning the merits of a pending or impending judicial proceeding.”

 

Canon 3(B)(10) of the Code of Judicial Conduct states:

“A judge shall abstain from public comment about a pending or impending proceeding which may come before the judge's court in a manner which suggests to a reasonable person the judge's probable decision on any particular case.”

 

CR15-00520; State vs JJ Minyard is a pending judicial matter.

Texas Courts retain jurisdiction to hear Motion for New Trial 30 days after judgment. 

In addition, Section 42.12 Sec. 6 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states that “the jurisdiction of a court imposing a sentence requiring imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for an offense other than a state jail continues for 180 days from the date the execution of the sentence actually begins.” This is commonly referred to as “Shock Probation.”

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