PLAINTIFF’s MOTION TO STRIKE NON-PARTY NORMA THIEME’s OBJECTION TO SUBPOENA, ETC.
Originally Published: Mar 2, 2023 | Republished: Mar. 2, 2023
Today, March 2, 2023, Plaintiff received a copy of the above filing pertaining to the served witness subpoena for court reporter Norma Thieme aka Norma Duarte (Ms. Thieme). The Plaintiff notes that Ms Thieme is represented by the Office of the Harris County Attorney, Christian D. Menefee. The Objection seeks to quash the subpoena and/or other relief. The Plaintiff moves to strike the pleading for lack of standing and a conflict of interest including professional and ethical violations by the Office of the Harris County Attorney. Plaintiff will show beyond a reasonable doubt, citing Texas case law, that it is a serious violation for the County Attorney’s Office to have even considered, let alone represent Ms Thieme for the following reasons;
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff seeks Ms Thieme’s testimony at the upcoming hearing on March 20, 2023 as she was the attending court reporter for the January 9 hearing. Plaintiff contacted Ms Thieme to obtain a copy of the transcript of that hearing. Plaintiff paid Ms Thieme her private fee for the report (consideration) and timely received the report in response to the contract consummated by email.
As discussed in prior pleadings and responses, Plaintiff seeks to question Ms. Thieme, to reaffirm her email responses confirming there was ex-parte conversations held between counsel and the Judge at the end of the hearing, to which Plaintiff was not a party as he did not attend and as noticed to the court. Plaintiff will question her about that incident.
See; EXHIBIT “EMAIL THREAD BETWEEN MARK BURKE AND NORMA DUARTE, COURT REPORTER, DATED JAN 17, 2023”, incorrectly labeled on the docket as EXHIBIT H, image no. 106462258, Feb 9, 2023.
ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES
This motion only considers the lack of standing and outrageous professional and ethical violations of the Office of the Harris County Attorney. As such, Plaintiff does not address, recognize, affirm or deny any of the substantive arguments and statements made in the county’s motion on behalf of Ms Thieme.
The sole purpose of the motion is to strike the pleading for lack of standing insofar as the County representing a private citizen, Ms Thieme in this civil matter.
The County Attorney’s Conflict of Interest is Glaring, and their Standing in Representing Ms. Thieme is a Serious Ethical Violation
County attorneys in Texas are typically employed by the county government and represent the county in legal matters, such as prosecuting criminal cases and representing the county in civil litigation. Private court reporters are not employed by the county government and typically do not have a direct relationship with county attorneys in their professional capacity.
The opposite has materialized here. In this case, we have the county attorney representing the court reporter in a private matter, a conflict of interest. “The office of County Attorney is one of high public trust and honor. ” Mineral Holding v. Stovall, 288 S.W.2d 849, 854 (Tex. Civ. App. 1956).
Nowhere in their filing do they address their standing to represent Ms Thieme, indeed it appears as though they intentionally avoid addressing how they have intervened on behalf of a private citizen.
Certainly, Plaintiff, as pro se, would be delighted if Harris County are offering pro bono services to litigants without counsel[1], and perhaps they can enlighten Plaintiff and the court as to how pro se’s can sign up for free legal services directly from their Office, rather than the more typical and known Legal Aid providers and private pro bono lawyers in Texas.
There is a case specific to this proceeding, where the County Attorney in Dallas sued the court reporter for her private services as a court reporter and who also claimed immunity, which was denied.
See Dallas Cty. v. Halsey, 87 S.W.3d 552, 553 (Tex. 2002) (“Dallas County sued respondent Sandra Halsey, a certified court reporter, to recover funds it paid her to prepare a reporter’s record of a trial. Halsey moved for summary judgment, asserting the defense of judicial immunity, as derived from her role as the official court reporter… We disagree with the court of appeals and hold that because court reporters do not engage in a discretionary function or exercise judgment comparable to that of a judge while preparing a reporter’s record, they are not entitled to derived judicial immunity for that function.”).[2]
Here, Plaintiff also paid for a transcript report and now requests Ms Thieme’s mandated presence, with appearance fee paid, at the forthcoming hearing before the court as a witness.
CONCLUSION
There is no legal argument by the City Attorney which could possibly justify their representation of Ms Thieme. The motion to strike should be GRANTED.
RESPECTFULLY submitted this 2nd day of March, 2023.
[1] See; About page for Christian Menefee, in relevant part
“In private practice, Christian also focused heavily on pro bono work, including advising the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, advising immigrants and their families at Bush Intercontinental Airport during the “Muslim ban,” and working with Texas Appleseed on expanding alternatives to involuntary commitment for the mentally ill.”, (emphasis added);
https://cao.harriscountytx.gov/About/Christian-D-Menefee , last visited March 2, 2023.
[2] It should be noted that Plaintiff searched the lawyer for the court reporter in Halsey, namely JAMES DAVID DURHAM JR. (deceased). His inactive State Bar of Texas profile, Bar Card Number: 06284000 shows (unsurprisingly) he was in private practice.
NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF PLAINTIFF’s MOTION TO STRIKE NON-PARTY NORMA THIEME’s OBJECTION TO SUBPOENA, ETC.
Originally Published: Mar 2, 2023 | Republished: Mar. 2, 2023
TO: All parties of record, by and through their attorney of record or pro se:
Please take notice that Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike Non-Party Norma Thieme’s Objection To Subpoena, Etc., docket image no. 106860500, filed and served on March 2, 2023, will be submitted to the Court for a ruling without an oral hearing on Monday, March 13, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.
RESPECTFULLY submitted this 2nd day of March, 2023.
As the Harris County Attorney, Christian D. Menefee is the chief civil lawyer for the largest county in Texas. He manages an office of 250+ attorneys and staff who represent the county, its 60 elected officials, and its 18,000+ employees in all civil matters and lawsuits. Elected at 32 years old, he is the youngest person and the first African-American to serve as Harris County Attorney.
Prior to taking office, Christian practiced at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, focusing on complex commercial litigation and bankruptcy matters in federal court, and representing clients in matters involving the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other government agencies. Christian began his career at Norton Rose Fulbright, where he focused on business litigation in federal and state courts, investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other matters involving the SEC.
In private practice, Christian also focused heavily on pro bono work, including advising the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, advising immigrants and their families at Bush Intercontinental Airport during the “Muslim ban,” and working with Texas Appleseed on expanding alternatives to involuntary commitment for the mentally ill.
The son of two veterans, Christian attended public schools in Harris County and was the first in his family to attend college. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Washington University St. Louis School of Law.
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