Prosecutor John Gillespie of the Wichita County District Attorney's office hammered home the theme Tuesday that the fact a defendant had sites referring to children and sex on the My Favorites section of his computer was strong evidence of his intent to possess child pornography.
He was arguing in front of the Second Court of Appeals which moved its venue from Fort Worth to Wichita Falls for this one afternoon.
Chief Justice Terrie Livingston along with Justices Bob McCoy and Bill Meier listened to the arguments of both sides as the defendant attempted to have his convictions reversed.
A Wichita Falls jury had previously convicted the defendant of the computer child porn crimes.
Justices Sue Walker and Lee Gabriel also heard other cases on appeal from Wichita Falls Thursday afternoon in County Court At Law #2, which is the home courtroom for Wichita County Court At Law Judge Tom Bacus.
The justices will review written briefs submitted by attorneys on all the cases heard Tuesday before making a decision at a later date.
Prior to hearing the cases, the justices all addressed a meeting of the Wichita County Bar Association at the Wichita Falls Country Club.
At the luncheon Justice Meier quipped he owed former Wichita Falls Senator Ray Farabee an apology for filibustering one of his bills for 43 hours in the legislature in 1977.
"I've felt badly ever since for making him sit there and listen to me," Justice Meier, said adding this was the first time he'd ever been to Wichita Falls.
Justice McCoy told the meeting of attorneys the most frequently asked question he receives when he gets on the elevator every morning is, "How good are my chances of getting my case reversed?"
"The odds are that 7% of criminal cases are reversed and about 28% of at least a part of civil cases are reversed," Justice McCoy told the capacity crowd of Wichita Falls lawyers.
Justice Walker discussed arguing in front of the Court of Appeals while Justice Gabriel talked about judicial ethics at the bar luncheon presided over by president Ben Hoover .
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