Name:

Greg Lowery

Office sought:

District Attorney for the 271st Judicial District, Wise and Jack Counties.

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? If so explain.

No, other than traffic tickets.

What is your philosophy on prosecution?

I believe that wrong actions have to have consequences. The way you bring consequences to a criminal defendant is to make sure that he/she understands that if he/she doesn't accept the punishment being offered by the State a trial will follow. A prosecutor cannot make strong plea bargain offers and expect a defendant to accept that offer unless the defendant knows that a trial will follow and punishment may very well be worse. When a defendant does not believe that a prosecutor will follow through with his/her threat of trial then the defendant will not accept a plea bargain unless it is on the defendant's terms. If the prosecutor does not follow through with the trial then the defendant will either get punishment on his/her terms or the case will languish with no resolution resulting in no consequences for the defendant's illegal actions. When there are no consequences or consequences are greatly delayed for illegal actions then the criminal element becomes more numerous and more bold. The only way for the District Attorney to deter crime is to make sure that those who commit crimes are strictly but fairly punished.

The citizens of Wise and Jack Counties must be given the chance, as jurors on those cases which should and must go to trial, to send the message that crime will be punished to the criminals in our midst. It is these citizens acting as jurors who are the ultimate deterrent to criminals and who are also the ultimate check on the powers entrusted to a District Attorney. In summary I want the voters of Wise and Jack Counties to know that I will offer a strict but fair punishment to defendants. If the defendant does not accept the punishment offered then trial will follow.

What have your life experiences taught you to prepare you for the office you seek?

First and foremost that if a prosecutor wants a defendant to accept a punishment that is in the best interest of law abiding citizens the defendant must know that if he does not accept the punishment being offered, the law abiding citizens, as jurors in a criminal trial, will be given a chance to have their voice heard directly. This is deterrence pure and simple. Deterrence does not always mean prison for a defendant. The punishment should fit the crime. I first learned this as a child when I was sometimes given a chance to make amends for my wrong doing and sometimes had a piece of leather laid rather forcefully across my rear end. Always fearing the leather I tried as best as I could to avoid situations where making amends would be the best I could hope for. Criminals in Wise and Jack Counties need to be made to fear the situation where the best they can hope for is making amends( i.e. probation, restitution, rehabilitation) and thereby avoid the leather (i.e. prison).

When I first took office as County Attorney many defendants tested my resolve on whether or not I would go through with a trial. So far seventy-one (71) of those defendants learned that I was not bluffing. Thanks to the citizens and judiciary of Wise County forty-four (44), or sixty-two percent (62), of those defendants were found guilty and punished. I have had other criminal trials that did not result in a verdict. When a jury cannot unanimously agree on guilt or acquittal then the jury is hung and a trial, since there was no resolution, is not reported to the state. When I have had a hung jury I do not dismiss the case because the jury was hung. A defendant cannot believe that he/she will walk free if one juror is not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt. This is not deterrence and is not the law pure and simple. I make a new plea offer to a defendant in a hung jury case and if the defendant does not accept the offer then I will retry the case.

I recently tried a DWI case where the defendant refused to do any field sobriety tests and also refused to give a breathe/blood sample. The jury came back four (4) guilty two (2) not guilty. I made a new punishment offer to the defendant which still would require him to plead guilty to a DWI. The defendant refused the plea offer and a new trial date was set. The day of trial the defendant decided to take a new plea offer which was more severe than the offer made immediately following the hung jury trial. The new plea offer still required the defendant to plea guilty to DWI. I truly believe that this defendant was guilty, has been deterred from future conduct of this kind and further believe that most people who hear this story will also be deterred from driving while intoxicated in Wise County. I believed before I took office and my experience in office has taught me that deterrence works. I know that defense attorneys tell their clients that if they do not accept my plea offer I will go to trial on their case. I can only recall one instance where I dismissed a hung jury case and only two instances where the defendant did not plead guilty to the offense he/she was originally charged with.

Defense attorneys assess their client's case and tell their client what his/her options are. More than one defense attorney has told me that their client was considering a trial and changed their mind after counseling with their attorney and being told that if he/she (the defendant) did not take my plea offer that there would be a trial. This saves resources and allows juries to hear cases that are worthy of trial, those that reasonable minds can differ on. I have learned from this that deterrence also works with defense attorneys. Defense Attorneys do not tell their clients to set their case for trial because I will not try the case. This is something that I have learned as a prosecutor and also something that the Wise County Defense Bar has learned.

Further, I have learned that a prosecutor must have a good working relationship with law enforcement. How does a prosecutor create a good working relationship with law enforcement? It is human nature that a person will work harder for a person that he/she respects and who respects him/her in return than for a person he/she does not respect or who does not respect him/her. Respect is shown not only in the way you treat a person in a one on one situation but what you are willing to put forth for that person. All through my life I played sports. I was nearly always fortunate enough to have coaches who worked hard to make me, my teammates and my team better. They worked hard for me and respected me. I in return worked hard for them and gave them respect. Hard work and respect are a necessity for any working relationship to succeed. A prosecutor has to work hard for and respect those he/she works with. In return those people the prosecutor works with will work hard for him/her and will respect the prosecutor. I have been and still am willing to put forth hard work for the law enforcement officers of Wise and Jack Counties. When I took office on January 1, 2001 local law enforcement were not performing all of the sobriety tests in DWI cases. There are three standardized test used across the nation in DWI investigation. I met with local law enforcement and told them that for me to prosecute DWI cases they (local law enforcement) must perform all of the field sobriety tests in a DWI investigation. I was told that in the past the cases were almost always dismissed or plead down to another charge. Something I knew to be true from having been a local defense attorney for the previous seven (7) years. Local law enforcement was telling me that they were not going to put forth the effort because in the past the prosecution had not put forth the effort. I told them that things had changed, used money from my office to bring in certified instructors from other jurisdictions to convince them that things had changed. You know what? Things did change. Officers put forth the effort because they knew that I would put forth the effort and to this day officers are still putting forth the effort because they know that I am still putting forth the effort. I have a good working relationship with local law enforcement because I respect them and am willing to work hard for them. In summary hard work and respect beget hard work and respect. What does this mean for a prosecutor? Officers will work hard to bring the prosecutor a good case, defense attorneys will respect your word and counsel their clients not to take your plea offer or threat of trial lightly and defendants, and hopefully those who know their story, will for the most part be deterred from future unlawful conduct.

What do you believe is the biggest crime problem facing Wise County and what will you do to alleviate that problem?

The short answer: lack of criminal trials. I have had four less trials (71/75) in seven (7) years and nine (9) months than the preceding two county attorneys and the current District Attorney have had during their combined fifteen years and (9) months in office. All crime is a problem. If you as a citizen are the victim of a crime then that particular crime is the biggest criminal problem facing Wise County. Why does crime happen? There are many causes of crime. The only cause of crime that a District Attorney can affect is lack of respect and/or fear of the criminal justice system. How does a District Attorney create fear and respect of the criminal justice system in a criminal? Strict and fair punishment. How does a District Attorney achieve strict and fair punishment? Have trials. How does a District Attorney have more trials? Respect and work hard for those he works with and they in return will respect and work hard for him.

We hear a lot about change from the presidential campaigns. What kind of change would you like to see in Wise County and how can you make that change a reality?

I want to see criminals say "don't get caught in Wise or Jack County committing a crime because they are tough." How does a prosecutor make this change a reality? Trials.

Source for trial numbers: Texas Office of Court Administration, www.courts.state.tx.us/oca