Thousands in Texas Taxpayers' Money Wasted by Attorney General's Office to Represent Fired Prison Guard
(Part 1)

L. Amir-Sharif vs. Allen D. Allen
Brazoria County Court No.#67247-I

While Texas legislatures have and continue to seek ways to trim the state's budge (which has included cutting the budges of several state agencies and programs that serves the needs of taxpayers), the Attorney General's office has knowingly squandered tax dollars to defend a rogue prison guard fired by the state's prison system. The decision to waste Texas tax dollars rests squarely on the shoulders of Patrick T. Pope, an Assistant Attorney General, and his superiors in the law enforcement defense division of the Attorney General's office.

On three different occasions, Patrick T. Pope and his superiors have had an opportunity to settle the above styled lost/destroyed property suit for pennies on the dollar. First, there was a $113 settlement offer requested in 2012. Next, in 2013, a $375 offer to settle was rejected. Now a $500 settlement is on the table, and Attorney Pope has been asked to reply to this offer by January 10, 2014.

In exchange for these past two years of litigation (and counting), Texas taxpayers have earned the privilege of footing the legal expenses of ex-guard Angela D. Allen, which to date has cost approximately ten thousand dollars when the following is taken into consideration:

1. Expenses associated with Attorney Patrick T. Pope traveling from Austin to Brazoria County to appear in court.
2. Expenses associated with postage, copying fees, and e-file costs for all the items/documents filed in court since 2012.
3. Expenses associated with transporting me from prison and the added security used each time I must appear in court.
4. Wages paid to Attorney Patrick T. Pope for the hours he has spent defending an ex-guard since 2012.
5. Judicial resources expended to maintain this litigation on the court's docket since 2012.

What should outrage every taxpayer about this entire ordeal is the egregious fact that Attorney Pope and his superiors have represented the presiding judge, that they have no idea how to contact their client Angela D. Allen because she left no useful once fired. If I did not know any better, I would say that the law enforcement defense division of the Attorney General's office is engaging in dilatory and unscrupulous litigation tactics to pad their stats, justify their existence, and protect their budget from legislative cuts. What other logical explanation can you come up with?