On July 2, 2015 members of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association again assembled on the courthouse steps for our annual reading of the Declaration of Independence. Began in 2010 by Robert Fickman, this was our 6th Annual Reading.
Always moving and inspiring, this year we were fortunate to have the added joy of hearing two Wor
ld War II Veterans, Virgil Poe and Joseph Varela Sr., read with us.
We would like to thank all those in attendance as well as those who participated in the reading.
Readings by:
Virgil Poe, JoAnne Musick, Todd Dupont, Chris Tritico, Paul Schiffer, John Raley, Evan Myers, Carmen Roe, Damon Parrish II, Jason Sosa, Robert Fickman, Joseph Varela Sr. (assisted by his son Joe Varela Jr.), Grant Scheiner, Alex Bunin, Danny Easterling, Justin Harris, Ernesst Bo Hopman, Vivienne Schiffer, Mark Metzger, Drew Prisner, Gemayel Haynes, Sarah Wood, Mike Trent, Paul Kennedy, Robert Pelton, Vivian King, Wade Smith, Paul St. John, Jackie Carpenter, Thuy Le, Alejandro Macias, Philip Gommels, Tristan Legrande, Mary Moore, J. Julio Vela, Mark Bennett, Earl Musick, and Nicolas Hughes.
Special thanks to these judges who attended:
Brad Hart, Jay Karahan, Susan Brown, Kristin Guiney, Robin Brown, Brett Busby, Marc Brown, Brock Thomas, Denise Bradley, Mike Fields, Paula Goodhart, Mary Lou Keel, and Michael Schneider.
Very special thanks to those behind the scenes that make it all happen:
Christina Appelt, Joel Avendano, and Bob Rosenberg (official HCCLA photographer).
Our photos can be found via Bob Rosenberg’s Facebook (public posting) here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
We are proud to have started this tradition and watch it grow across the State of Texas. Joined by TCDLA, Robert Fickman has grown this event to cover more than one-half of Texas Counties. A recap can be found here: http://www.criminaldefensedeclarationreading.com/
Some of our members have blogged their personal experiences:
JoAnne Musick, HCCLA President
You can view the video of our reading here: https://youtu.be/3Bm55f-FQnI
And lastly, KTRH added a little insight into the practice!
I am very proud of HCCLA. HCCLA has a long history, but only in the last decade have we grown into an activist association. President Joanne Musick is setting an example of what it means to truly lead an activist HCCLA. Bravo to Joanne Musick!
We started the Readings and others followed. We actively pursue judicial ethics complaints and hopefully others will follow.
HCCLA. Has proven that we are at the point of the spear and we are always willing to stand up to tyrannical behavior.
A new generation is stepping forward to take the helm of HCCLA . In honoring these traditions, they will be reminded to stay the course. The new generation must up the ante in the fight to bring justice to Harris Counties Antiquated and oppressive criminal Justice system. We are laying the foundation for fights to come.
Robb Fickman