Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg: Should she resign from office?

 

The big talk around Travis County lately has been about District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg and her DWI arrest. There has been a petition filed to remove her from office by lawyer Kerry O'Brien. Lehmberg has been served with the petition which she will not be able to respond to the petition until she completes her 45 days of jail time.

Lehmberg's behavior at time of arrest and in detention was very damaging to her appearance. An apology does not help restore the damage already done. Lehmberg used the do you know who I am card as if she was trying to obtain special treatment. Once arrested she was asking for her handcuffs to be removed as if she did not know that while in custody being transported handcuffs must be worn for officer safety. Lehmberg refused a Breathalyzer test so a blood alcohol level was ordered. The blood draw that was take happened well over an hour after her arrest and came back with the results of a .23. That is almost three times the legal limit.

Yes Lehmberg pleading guilty and wanting to begin her punishment as soon as she did was admirable of her, but she also had no other choice because the evidence against her was solid. A BAC of .23 and an open container in her front passenger seat gave her little room to contest it.  Lehmberg knows the law as she is the one who prosecutes those who break them and her choices that night lead to her breaking laws.

I do believe that ethically Lehmberg should step down from office as she has now broken the lines of trust with the citizens, law enforcement and her staff. When she took office she knew that she was going to be a high ranking official that was voted into office and would serve the citizens of Travis County. Being a high ranking official Lehmberg is supposed to be an example of what citizens should do. Lehmberg can no longer be that example and should resign from office.Lehmberg prosecutes individuals who do this very same thing and is not lenient with them, so why did she expect to get special treatment than the rest of the DWI offenders? Lehmberg being in jail these 45 days is not allowing her to work at the moment so why is she still getting paid to do DA duties if she is not working and has broken the law herself.

In response to "Texas should curb its prison population"

I responded to Hosea's post regarding the prison systems on his blog The STATE of Texas.

I do not agree with your post. Many inmates will not go back to the street after being released to be a productive member of society. In my studies through the criminal justice program at ACC I have read studies that show the former inmate will not settle for a mediocre minimal paying job. Especially those that have drug charges, they know how they can make money fast they will then think why work all these hours when I can work the street and make what I would in a week in a couple of hours.

On top of that you can not force an inmate to a rehabilitation facility or help if they do not want it. Probation and Parole are not part of the inmate system these are programs that are designed to keep many from reoffending. Unfortunately the person will be tempted as long as you return them to the same environment they were in before they went into prison.

The inmate may have been a model citizen in the prison to be released and start reoffending again. Unless like I stated before the inmate must really want to change and have a new environment to not fall back into the temptation that took them down the wrong path in the fist place. Yes punishment is high and many have tried probation or parole but give up. Rather than receiving the help available through those programs they choose to quit. They see just serving their time will be better than receiving help in this case what is to be done with the inmate? They have already decided they will not comply with the terms and have given up on the rehabilitation so they receive the punishment that fits the crime they committed.

And in response to you talking about Louisiana there is a documentary out about two officers that tried to rehabilitate ten drug offenders by purchasing them new clothing, cutting their hair, giving them educational training, and helping them write resumes. Out of the ten offenders they were helping only three successfully completed the program and were fully rehabilitated. The rest reoffended and went back to prison. No matter what you can not force help on the offender if they do no want it. These seven men volunteered but their environment and need for fast money suckered them in again.

Yes we have a high incarceration rate but you have to think we offer rehabilitation not many want it or are willing to follow through with it.

Texas Senate passes a bill that pleases citizens

Senate Bill 275 will make the punishment for a hit and run tougher than it is now, for failure to stop and render aid people are currently charged with a third degree felony. SB 275 will make failure to stop and render aid a second degree felony which is equivalent to intoxication manslaughter. The punishment will now be two to twenty years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. SB275 will be enacted in September of this year.

I agree with the Senate in applying this tougher punishment because too many people are leaving the scene and failing to help the person they hit to avoid charges. With the cases that have happened lately the person that was hit has died in the accident. With failure to stop and render aid now carrying a tougher punishment there is hopes that those who commit this act will remain at the scene.

The Gabrielle Jane Nestande case was one of the cases that was influential to bringing this bill to be a top priority for the Texas Legislators. Nestande was charged with criminally negligent homicide for an accident she committed and where she failed to stop and render aid. She received the punishment of ten years of probation, six months in jail, a $10,000 fine, drive in a vehicle with an ignition interlock for four years and complete 600 hours of community service and an electronic ankle monitor for six months. Residents of Austin do not feel that the punishment she received was harsh enough especially because she was not charged with failure to render aid. Since then citizens have been asking for a harsher punishment with which I agree with.