Republican Justice

I love a good mission statement:

The Harris County District Attorney's Office is dedicated to the vigorous prosecution of those who commit crimes within the county. As the chief advocate for the State and citizens of our community in criminal matters, the District Attorney seeks to provide quality legal representation while maintaining the integrity of the criminal justice system. We believe that criminals must be held accountable and that victims be treated with the dignity, compassion and justice they deserve. We strive to sort the innocent from the guilty, and seek justice not just convictions.

To that end, we strive for excellence throughout our staff. We expect not only competence but also professionalism and an absolute commitment to the ends of securing justice without regard to status, race, gender, or national origin, or the prominence of either the victims of crime or those charged with crimes.

Please feel free to email me directly with your comments and suggestions.

...

Sincerely,

Charles A. Rosenthal, Jr.

It may take a while for Chuck to get your comments and suggestions, given his recent resignation. He's a big fan of e-mail, though:

Seven weeks ago, hundreds of Mr. Rosenthal’s other e-mail messages were disclosed, including endearments to his executive secretary, sexual and racist jokes and pornographic videos....

Mr. Rosenthal wrote his secretary, Kerry Stevens, last July, "Bet I could make you sleep."

He also forwarded to a friend a mock study of flatulence and a series of jokes making fun of University of Texas football players after several had been arrested on felony charges. Also in his e-mail but not with his name was a photograph titled "Fatal Overdose," of a black man lying on a sidewalk amid watermelon peels and Kentucky Fried Chicken containers.

Mr. Rosenthal apologized on Dec. 28 but vowed to stay in office.

Rosenthal also "admitted in federal court here that he had deleted up to 3,500 personal e-mail messages in violation of two subpoenas and a court order and that in sworn testimony he gave false information on how he came to delete some of them." So he's probably resigning to work for the Bush Justice Department.

Meanwhile, though, Rosey's now mounting a Big Pharma defense:

"Although I have enjoyed excellent medical and pharmacological treatment," he said, "I have come to learn that the particular combination of drugs prescribed for me in the past has caused some impairment in my judgment."

He said he was under "a different regimen of therapy" and was concentrating on "the restoration of my health." Mr. Rosenthal had not previously made an issue of medical problems.

Let that be a lesson to us all: Don't e-mail while stoned. And never vote Republican.