Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III, in a scathing, 98-page order, effectively upheld a $21.3 million jury verdict in favor of Terry Bevill, a career police officer who was fired and arrested after saying he didn’t think a friend could get a fair trial in Wood County.
After a very long hiatus from reading, I got back to it in 2023. In 2024, I finished 95 books. So far in 2025, I am up to 88 books. I am going to limit this list to books I have finished in the past two years. As you will see, I enjoy a wide range of genres. I hope you find your next great read!
Editor’s note: The Texas Lawbook is pleased to offer this new column in partnership with Texas-based Half Price Books sharing our readers’ favorite reads.
Citing $100 million to $500 million in liabilities and assets, FCI Sand Operation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas on Wednesday.
Two heavyweights of the Houston business community, Jim Crane and Drayton McLane, were at their respective tables in the well of the courtroom as a panel of nine women and six men —12 jurors and three alternates — filed into the jury box in the Ceremonial Courtroom on the 17th floor of the Harris County Civil District Courthouse Thursday morning for the first day of testimony in a case where $440 million is at stake.
Pulling this list together was harder than expected. My book choices vary greatly — from chick lit rom-coms to biographies to thrillers. I love a book that doesn’t make me think. I’m a lawyer — I have to think a lot. So it’s sometimes nice to just read something light and mindless. That said, what this exercise taught me is that I am really drawn to books that weave storylines together and pull me in enough that I get to the “just one more chapter” stage. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. And, if you happen to come by Half Price Books’ flagship store in Dallas to grab one of these books, let me know! My office is right upstairs.
Editor’s note: The Texas Lawbook is pleased to launch this new column in partnership with Texas-based Half Price Books sharing our readers’ favorite reads.
This year, three Texas federal judges completed their master of laws at Duke University alongside other judicial officers from across the country and internationally. Two of the judges talked with The Texas Lawbook about their experiences.
After a week of testimony and nearly five hours for jury deliberations, one cousin walked away a winner Wednesday night. The cousins fought over the management fee, distributions and whether they were meeting the requirements of their jobs. The jury returned a $46 million verdict, but the defense will argue Gala has to pick which $23 million claim to recover damages on.
Twenty-six-year-old identical twins Socratis and Diamantis Zavitsanos often finish each other’s thoughts and sentences, although Diamantis talks a little more than his brother. Socs and DZ, as they’re known to friends, are both getting ready for law school in the fall, most likely at the University of Michigan, and they both speak passable Greek. But what they really want to do is make movies.
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