Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The 1914 Crosby County Courthouse, a Georgian Styled Classical Revival Structure©2013 Chuck Lanehart
.
Vol. 21, No. 5; February 4, 2013
eMail: [email protected] By
Texas Independent Bar AssociationAustin, Texas 78767
Web Page: www.texindbar.org
Copyright © 2013 Texas Independent Bar Association and the following Commentators
Alan CurryHelena FaulknerJeffrey S. GaronLee Haidusek
John G. JasutaCharles Mallin
Gail Kikawa McConnellAngela J. Moore
Doug O’BrienGreg Sherwood
David A. SchulmanKevin P. Yeary
Clicking a hyperlink (such as a judge’s name) will load the linked opinionor document in your web browser.
It is TIBA’s policy that commentators do not summarize or comment oncases in which they were involved.
Volume 21, Number 5 ~ Monday, February 4, 2013 (No. 946)
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 21, No. 5 - February 4, 2013 - Page 3
Chuck Lanehart is ashareholder in theLubbock f i rm ofChappell, Lanehart &Stangl, PC. A 1977graduate of Texas TechUniversity School ofLaw, he is boardcertified in the field ofCriminal Law by theTexas Board of Legal
Specialization. Chuck served as director of theState Bar of Texas and as president of theLubbock County Bar Association. He was thefounding editor in 1987 of LCBA's monthlypublication, The Lubbock Law Notes. A formerdirector of the Texas Criminal DefenseLawyers Association, Chuck was awardedTCDLA's President's Commendation for"Outstanding Service to the Citizen Accused"and the President's Award for service to theTCDLA Strike Force. Chuck is a chartermember and former president of the LubbockCriminal Defense Lawyers Association. TexasMonthly magazine has named him a "SuperLawyer" in the field of criminal law. He haspublished several articles about legal historyin various publications. In 2008, Chuck wasnamed among the "200 Most InfluentialPeople in the History of Lubbock" by theLubbock Avalanche-Journal. See Chuck’swebsite: www.lubbockcriminaldefense.com.
CLICK HERE to see Chuck Lanehart’sIntroduction to his West Texas CourthouseSeries, The Good, the Bad and the Butt-Ugly.
Featured Article
The Crosby County Courthouse © 2013 - Chuck Lanehart
This article was originally published in the Lubbock Area BarAssociation publication, The Lubbock Law Notes.
Used by permission.
iiijj
The Crosby County Courthouse is classy,
but certainly not fancy. The structure seems
adequate to meet the needs of most county
business, but not necessarily the law business.
It could use, and deserves, big money from the
Texas Historic Preservation Program, but
renovation and preservation are not urgent
concerns. I give the courthouse Three Stars
(on a scale of one to five), and here’s why.
The Crosby County Courthouse is
intriguing, partly because it is the only
courthouse I know that is positioned whomper-
jawed, facing northeast (as opposed to one of
the single-syllable directions). Also, there’s a
fine town square in the county seat, Crosbyton,
but the courthouse is not on it.1 There’s a
legend that the District Courtroom originally
featured a classic “To Kill a Mockingbird”
balcony hidden above the current dropped-tile
ceiling, but no one seems to be able to verify this - it’s probably a myth. Completed in 1914, it
is one of the oldest courthouses on the South Plains, producing some tidbits of very interesting
history.2
1 The courthouse is located on the southwest corner of Berkshire and Aspen Streets. As I've writtenbefore, if the courthouse is not to be found on 1st Street, or Broadway, or Main, it has been misplaced.
2 The courthouse dates from 1914, making it older than all South Plains Courthouses except theDickens County Courthouse, erected in 1898. The Hale County Courthouse of 1910 still stands, but
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 21, No. 5 - February 4, 2013 - Page 1
72nd District Court - Crosbyton, Texas
Architects describe the Crosby County Courthouse as “an elegantly simple Georgian
styled Classical Revival structure.” One look at this building is proof evident that it is The
County Courthouse. Big columns are featured out front, with lots of concrete and bricks, and
a bold entryway with wide steps. The courthouse grounds are graced by a medium-sized
Bermuda lawn, with a few scraggly elms. There’s a historical marker and an outstanding
veteran’s memorial, featuring nine granite obelisks that pay tribute to Crosby County heros who
died in service to our country. A tiny oak tree thrives near the northeast corner of the
courthouse grounds. I’m told this tree originated from an acorn of the Treaty Oak in Austin.3
Courthouse parking is no problem, even when large jury panels are summoned.
The interior of the courthouse is utilitarian, with no ornamentation, no marble, and
linoleum tile floors. Crosby County officials – Clerk, Judge, Treasurer, Attorney – occupy the
first floor, with the District Clerk’s Office on the second floor adjacent to the District Courtroom,
which doubles as the County Courtroom when the County Judge has need for major litigation.
The District Judge also has a small second-floor office, but it’s mostly used for storage, since the
72nd District Judge is based in Lubbock.4
The District Courtroom has a
certain country charm, starting with
two walls of vintage photographs of
all the District and County Judges
who have served Crosby County.
Gallery seating space is not quite
adequate, with room for less than a
hundred jurors and/or spectators on
wooden pews. A row of windows
provides good natural lighting for
the courtroom from behind the
bench, and the attorney’s arena is
large and wide, with modest oak
most legal business is now conducted in a remodeled Sears & Roebuck building. The Swisher CountyCourthouse (1909) and the Scurry County Courthouse (1911) are also older, but the original trappingsof both buildings are now unrecognizable, entombed behind modern slabs of granite or brick.
3 The Treaty Oak is a once-majestic Southern live oak, the last surviving member of the Council Oaks,a grove of 14 trees that served as a sacred meeting place for Comanche and Tonkawa Tribes. Expertsestimate the tree to be about 500 years old and, before its vandalism in 1989, the tree's branches hada spread of 127 feet. It is located in Treaty Oak Park, on Baylor Street between 5th and 6th Streets.
4 For judicial purposes, Lubbock County was originally annexed to Crosby County, the first county tobe organized on the South Plains in 1886. The other counties attached to Crosby County were Bailey,Lamb, Hale, Floyd, Motley, Dickens, Hockley and Cochran.
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 21, No. 5 - February 4, 2013 - Page 2
tables and leather-padded oak chairs for lawyers, litigants and jurors. Money from drug
seizures paid for a decent public address system and other modern electronic amenities.
The restrooms are quite a story. The Crosby County Courthouse has a long and notorious
history of lavatory inadequacy. Between 1939 and 1941, Crosby County officials recognized
that the courthouse had too few toilets, so they commissioned the construction of two new
freestanding buildings on the courthouse grounds. One restroom building was designated for
white males, the other for “colored.” Restrooms inside the courthouse apparently were reserved
for white women, but it is not clear where black women were consigned. The segregated
restrooms still exist as storage facilities on the courthouse grounds, but the racist signs
designating “colored” finally faded away. Today, the few restrooms that exist in the courthouse
are all small and hard to find. Some have been commandeered by county officials and deemed
“private.” When a large panel of jurors is summoned for duty, breaks must be extended to
compensate for long waits to use the restrooms.
There are a couple of nooks and crannies in the courthouse basement that might be
appropriated for lawyer-client conferences and general privacy.5 Otherwise, the Crosby County
Courthouse is not very lawyer-friendly. I’ve heard few complaints concerning the heating and
cooling of the Crosby County Courthouse, as the building has been retro fitted for almost all
modern amenities.
The history of Crosby County and its courthouse could fill a small shelf of books.6 The
courthouse was located at Crosbyton only after a series of sometimes violent political skirmishes
that saw Crosby County first established at Estacado, and later at Emma. Allegations of
courthouse arson and county records thefts were rampant during these provincial wars among
the far-flung county towns. The architect of the 1914 Crosby County Courthouse, M.L. Waller,
was a student of the Prairie Style of architecture, invented by the American icon Frank Lloyd
Wright.
On May 14, 1923, two criminal defendants were shot dead awaiting trial for attempted
murder, as they sat on the Crosby County Courthouse steps. The shooter and complainant, the
aptly named D.L. “Poppin” Payne of Ralls, fired eight rounds from his .45 caliber pistol into the
bodies of Maud Rippy and J. Sweaza of Dimmitt. A third defendant, Dick Rippy, locked himself
in the men’s room until Payne could be captured. Payne had reportedly survived at least two
prior attempts on his life by the Rippys and Sweaza. The trouble apparently stemmed from a
contentious game of poker.
Crosby County is one of a few South Plains counties that have made a serious attempt
to take advantage of funding from the Texas Courthouse Preservation Program.7 The county
5 The Crosby County Courthouse once housed the Crosby County Jail in the courthouse basement.
6 The Crosby County Historical Museum on the town square in Crosbyton is an outstanding place. Gothere and find out.
7 Texas Historic Preservation Program: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/courthouses/chdefault.shtml.
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 21, No. 5 - February 4, 2013 - Page 3
Crosby County officials authorized construction ofsegregated restroom buildings between 1939 and 1941.
applied for and received about $200,000 from the State in 2000, almost all of which went to
architects and engineers for preliminary research to recommend more funding for preservation
and renovation. Because the program required qualifying counties to provide matching funds,
Crosby County opted out of the estimated three million-dollar price-tag to fund recommended
courthouse improvements.
The juxtaposition of the
Crosby County Courthouse, Crosby
County Jail, and the residence of the
Crosby County Sheriff is special.
Few West Texas communities opted
to locate the courthouse, the jail and
the residence of the High Sheriff on
the courthouse grounds. The 1926
Crosby County Jail stands just west
of the Crosby County Courthouse,
adjoining the 2044-square-foot
Sheriff’s personal residence.8
Finally, I must comment on
the character of the people who have
occupied the Crosby County Courthouse. My lawyer memory dates from 1977, when Denzil
Bevers was 72nd District Judge, covering Lubbock and Crosby Counties. I tried my first felony
case with Judge Bevers on the bench, and he remains one of my favorite people. At age 89, he
has as sharp a wit as anyone I know, he’s a connoisseur of country music, and he is a kind and
gentle man. Blair Cherry followed Denzil as 72nd District Judge. He was a former Lubbock
County District Attorney, and therefore I expected the worst from Blair. As it turned out, Blair
proved to be one of the brightness judges ever to occupy the Crosby County Courthouse, with
one with the best judicial temperaments anywhere. Joe Heflin practiced law in Lubbock County
for many years, but eventually escaped to become a very popular and dedicated Crosby County
Judge. He then fell into disrepute as a member of the Texas Legislature (a Democrat!), but
those of us who know him still think he’s okay. Crosby County Attorney (with felony
jurisdiction) Mike Ward and I were law school friends and classmates. He became a Crosby
County prosecutor about 30 years ago, and at every opportunity he has kicked my butt in court.
Despite his mean streak, Mike’s a great guy, and he helped me research this article. Thanks,
Mike.
8 The jail was renovated and expanded in 1965 and again in 1984.
TIBA’s Texas Law Reporter - Vol. 21, No. 5 - February 4, 2013 - Page 4