Posted 1:08 am Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Webb Lawyer Facing Penalities Due In Court
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer
A defense attorney accused of lying about the death of his mother in a Smith County courtroom so his client’s case could be reset to a later date, will go before an administrative judge Thursday in the 7th District Court.
Joel Mallory Jr. may face legal penalties from Administrative Judge Joe Clayton of the First Administrative Judicial Region in Texas in the contempt hearing. Mallory admitted he lied to Judge Kerry Russell during a Sept. 16 hearing about Mallory’s mother being dead after she was ill.
Staff Writer
A defense attorney accused of lying about the death of his mother in a Smith County courtroom so his client’s case could be reset to a later date, will go before an administrative judge Thursday in the 7th District Court.
Joel Mallory Jr. may face legal penalties from Administrative Judge Joe Clayton of the First Administrative Judicial Region in Texas in the contempt hearing. Mallory admitted he lied to Judge Kerry Russell during a Sept. 16 hearing about Mallory’s mother being dead after she was ill.
The Smith County District Attorney’s Office investigated after Mallory asked the judge for the delay and learned Mallory’s mother had in fact died on Sept. 22 rather than Sept. 16.
Mallory represented Corey Darnell Webb, 18, after Webb pleaded guilty to shooting Tony Walker, an intake worker at the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center in July 2010. Walker testified during the sentencing hearing that he ran into a closet and closed the door after Webb began firing and began praying to God to let him live.
Webb was 16 at the time of that shooting and was certified as an adult last summer.
Russell sentenced Webb to 50 years in prison on Dec. 14. Webb will be eligible for parole in 25 years, Smith County prosecutors said afterward. Before he was sentenced, Webb tried to withdraw his guilty plea, changed defense attorneys and urinated in a courtroom trash can as his trial was set to begin.
Russell said after the sentencing, that he would refer the record of the lawyer’s conduct to Judge John Ovard, an administrative judge in Dallas, who was going to arrange a contempt hearing and make a decision on any possible penalties for Mallory.
“There are legal sanctions for that type of thing,” Russell said in October, referring to the misinformation Mallory provided about his mother. The Webb family hired Mallory, whose practice is in Houston, to represent Webb.
Mallory represented Corey Darnell Webb, 18, after Webb pleaded guilty to shooting Tony Walker, an intake worker at the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center in July 2010. Walker testified during the sentencing hearing that he ran into a closet and closed the door after Webb began firing and began praying to God to let him live.
Webb was 16 at the time of that shooting and was certified as an adult last summer.
Russell sentenced Webb to 50 years in prison on Dec. 14. Webb will be eligible for parole in 25 years, Smith County prosecutors said afterward. Before he was sentenced, Webb tried to withdraw his guilty plea, changed defense attorneys and urinated in a courtroom trash can as his trial was set to begin.
Russell said after the sentencing, that he would refer the record of the lawyer’s conduct to Judge John Ovard, an administrative judge in Dallas, who was going to arrange a contempt hearing and make a decision on any possible penalties for Mallory.
“There are legal sanctions for that type of thing,” Russell said in October, referring to the misinformation Mallory provided about his mother. The Webb family hired Mallory, whose practice is in Houston, to represent Webb.
