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February 29, 2008

Candidate Q&A: Henderson County County Attorney — James Owen

Q: You’re running for your third term as county attorney. What qualities do you possess that tend to make a successful county attorney?

A: Some of my engineering training has been very helpful as Henderson County Attorney, not with respect to the legal issues involved, but with respect to managing the volume of data and information in files that we have to deal with.

This has helped us be very successful in disposing of cases, collecting hot check restitution for merchants and dealing with other county issues.

Q: The county attorney handles misdemeanor cases, which can sometimes be an offender’s first brush with the legal system. Is there anything the county attorney can do to keep these offenders from progressing to more serious crimes?

A: Yes and no. People have free wills and they’re going to do whatever they choose to do. In our office we can do what we can to hold them accountable for what they’re accused of and do so in a way that satisfies various theories regarding criminal punishment.

One theory of criminal punishment is to serve as a deterrent for that person — you don’t want that person to engage in that conduct again. Another theory is you want to set an example so other people will not engage in that conduct. Another theory is more rehabilitative. You want to help them change the conduct.

You have to look at the facts of each case, the circumstances of the people and their history in the criminal justice system and make judgments based on what is revealed by those facts and circumstances.

Q: The county attorney often aids the Commissioners Court in its decision-making process. Do you think it’s important for the county attorney to be present at each commissioners court meeting?

A: The importance of being at the Commissioners Court meeting depends on what’s on the agenda. When the agenda is posted, I typically will go over it and try to identify things where the commissioners might need my input or assistance. I’ll try to talk with them or the county judge regarding what they might anticipate. I always work to accommodate those needs.

Q: There are now two county courts-at-law in Henderson County. How can the County Attorney’s Office keep pace with the growth of the number of cases handled in the two courts?

A: Your question raises a great point. When I took office there was no way to handle the current caseload and the backlog of cases. I began to assess what it would take to turn the corner and actually decrease the backlog of pending cases. I began working in 2002 with the commissioners court to get them to ask our legislature to create a second court.

In 2003, the commissioners court passed a resolution requesting the creation of a second court-at-law. Our senator, Todd Staples, and our representative got that done for us and left us the dispersion about when it would be best to initiate its operation. In 2005, it was a historic moment because the creation of the court coincided with the appointment of Nancy Perryman as the first woman judge of a court of record in Henderson County history.

We have been running cases through those two courts and as a result the backlog of pending cases is decreasing for the first time in 15 years. We need to monitor that so that we are not running up another backlog. When that occurs we need to prepare for the creation of a third court.

Q: If you are re-elected, what task or issue will be you address first when you assume office?

A: One thing we have actually started doing I would like to see through to conclusion is the development of more current technology to take care of case management. I would like to push data to a Web site so people can see when their case is set. I would like for merchants to be able to electronically submit hot checks for collections and to log in to see the status of their case. I’d like to upgrade the service.

Q: In the light of the recent settlement between the county and East Texas Medical Center, do you think there is a good relationship now? How would you maintain that?

A: I think the situation between the county, hospital authority board and the hospital was a situation that resulted in a lot of hurt feelings and misunderstanding. One of the things that has come from that is the settlement. Everyone agreed that this was a way we could go forward with the relationship. I think the circumstances between the hospital and the county have improved in several respects and the public has benefited from the experience. I know from the hospital side there are still some hard feelings about that but there certainly aren’t any hard feelings on my side.

We had an authority board that had not been living up to its obligations to the people. For whatever reason, it wasn’t functioning as it should have been for the people of Henderson County. I know some people from the west side of the county have talked about their desire to have a hospital in the west side. That’s something the authority board can make happen for the citizens on the west end of the county, if they choose to do so. They can do it in conjunction with our current hospital tenant East Texas Medical Center, or they can do it in conjunction with another entity.

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