Judge Gets Angry at Priscilla Slade's Trial

Maybe the lawyer who represented Priscilla Slade, during her contract negotiations, was trying to see if the judge would grant a mistrial in the case. Sometimes lawyers knowingly try various stunts in order to sway the jury.



"Tempers flared again in the trial of ousted TSU President Priscilla Slade after the lawyer who represented Slade during her contract negotiations brought up the fact that the district attorney's office had access to privileged attorney-client information during its investigation.

State District Judge Brock Thomas was visibly angered after attorney Vidal Martinez revealed information that Thomas had tried to shield from jurors.

Harris County Assistant District Attorney Donna Goode was cross-examining Martinez about the raise Slade was expecting in early 2006, before her spending came to light.

The school fired Slade in May 2006 after an internal investigation concluded that she and her former chief financial officer had failed to follow university policies and state laws to buy more than $260,000 in furniture, landscaping and security equipment for her house.

Slade is charged with misapplication of fiduciary property of more than $200,000, a first-degree felony punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison."