Poker-friendly Prosecutor to run the show help out new Dallas District Attorney

A reader with three initials writes in:

hey dan have you heard any more word on the poker raids that happened at jackies ace high and the other room….any info bout the cases or the court hearings?

No word yet, TPG playa. However, I believe that several of the cases from the June Aces raid are set for trial(s) in January. We\’ll see if the prosecutors press forth against the \”not guilty\” pleas or if they simply push these back, as has been standard in Texas poker cases for the past 10 years.

There has been, however, one major-ish development that may or may not affect these cases: DA-elect Craig Watkins has appointed Terri Moore as his First Assistant. Says Ms. Moore:

“It is clear there is much work to be done in Dallas County. I am … prepared to make the necessary improvements to the District Attorney’s Office to restore safety and justice to Dallas County.”

You may recall that Pokerati enthusiastically endorsed her candidacy for Tarrant County DA (scroll down, just a little bit) on the grounds that she wanted to host a Texas Hold\’em campaign fundraiser. So ah, yes, safety and justice, good.

Here\’s a little more on Moore and some of the other new faces in the Dallas DA\’s office. Law-business Pokeratizens may find a few of the names kinda interesting.

Now keep in mind that just because a prosecutor may be a poker sympathizer (there\’s supposedly a pretty wild home game amongst the current brigade of Dallas DA\’s) the law is still the law. And thus elected and appointed officials have a duty to prosecute any crimes — even the bullshit ones — to the full extent of the relevant statute as it is written. So the accused in the November raids have the benefit of position … as they will get to see in early 2007 just how willing Dallas is to put Chapter 47 to the criminal (and political) test.

NOTE: According to the latest report by the FBI, Dallas is still the most crime-ridden big city in the nation! (Houston is second, San Antonio is fourth.) But don\’t worry, Texas … we\’re not tops in everything. In fact, we\’re way near the bottom when it comes to education.