Monday, February 18, 2008
Gainesville Daily Register
306 E. California
Gainesville, TX 76240
To the Editor:
I am writing to inquire as to why your paper has not reported on the ongoing investigation of Janice Warder, Independent candidate for District Attorney. Hearings are set for February 27-29 in the Dallas District Court of Honorable Mike Snipes regarding charges of prosecutorial misconduct against Ms. Warder in the case of State v. Chabot. I have learned that you have known about this information for some time, and have, for unknown reasons, elected not to report this to the people of Cooke County. Rather, you have decided to let the people of this county proceed through the coming elections without this rather pertinent information regarding a candidate for one of our more important elected positions.
How does one learn about this type of information if our county journalistic offerings refuse to print such stories? There have been multiple articles about the very poor prosecutorial choices made by Ms. Warder written in the Denton Record Chronicle, and the Dallas News. Must we go to articles written by journalists outside our county to learn the whole story about those running for public office here?
In the above referenced case, Ms. Warder, when working as a Dallas prosecutor, is accused of convicting a man by knowingly using perjured testimony from the real rapist. These charges are apparently supported by recent DNA evidence. Also noted is that murder charges against the true rapist were decreased to misdemeanor theft by Ms. Warder, a deal made so that she would have a witness against Mr. Chabot.
Houston attorney, Randy Schaffer, represented Mr. Chabot from 1989 to 1995. He said, “I figured the state made a deal with a killer because it gave them a witness…There was a culture of dishonesty (in the district attorney’s office) that was as natural as getting up in the morning and brushing your teeth.”
Some references:
“She (MS. Warder) withheld evidence from the defense (results of a polygraph) which conflicted with and showed that the testimony at thrall was doubtful.” “She (Ms. Warder) felt she could bully people.” Dallas Observer, Sept 27, 2007. http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-09-27/news/a-deal-with-the-devil/
“Warder’s court has been among the most expensive in recent years, both in total costs and in net cost per disposition.” Dallas Morning News, September 25, 2006.http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-criminaldist_25edi.State.Edition1.5084db3.html
In short, Ms. Warder has a track record of mashing evidence into shapes that don’t fit in order to force the puzzle to somehow work. This is not the type of DA we need in Cooke County. We deserve better. We also deserve journalistic publications that will report important information about our candidates. Leaving parts out is the same as lying, and insinuates the people of this county are not able to hear the information and make up their own minds. Ms. Warder’s motivation in her past conduct of her job requires closer scrutiny – and frankly, so does your publication.
Lee Fisher
Gainesville, TX