Sure, Don Hill and Ray Jackson May Have Violated Judge Barbara Lynn's Gag Order, But They Didn't Mean To Do It.

Sam Merten

Ray Jackson (left), along with Sheila and Don Hill

​Attorneys for former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and Ray Jackson, who represented Hill during last year's City Hall corruption trial, argued in court Thursday afternoon that any violations of U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn's gag order issued shortly before Hill's trial began were not willful, and therefore not criminal. While Hill did not take the stand, Jackson spent the significant part of the six-and-a-half hour bench trial walking Lynn through the events following a June 18 interview granted to WFAA-Channel 8's Gary Reaves.

Former FBI Special Agent and Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence Hart, appointed by Lynn to investigate the case, maintained that the interview was "replete with violations," but Lynn outshined his aggressive prosecution during her questioning of Jackson. And although she said it wasn't an indication of how she planned to rule in the case, Lynn closed the trial with harsh words for both Jackson and Hill.

"I am extremely disappointed in your conduct, and I feel compelled to tell you that," Lynn said, adding that their statements to Reaves jeopardized an impartial jury, which was "just wrong."

The direct examination from Jackson's attorney, Mark Werbner, intended to paint the picture of a negligent lawyer "blindsided" by a reporter. Jackson testified that he has thought about the interview "almost daily" and watched it several times.

"As I look back on the interview now, I had an error in judgment," he said.

Jackson claimed his gut feeling was to not grant interviews because he was busy preparing for Hill's trial and didn't want to risk violating Lynn's gag order. But he did it anyway because Victor Vital, Sheila Farrington Hill's attorney, had recently interviewed with a newspaper. Once the interview at his law office began, Jackson said it was clear that Reaves wouldn't stick to ground rules established by Ken Carter, Hill's consultant who had arranged the interview. Those ground rules, according to Jackson, were to not talk about the case. Jackson thought it would be a "fluff" piece.

As Reaves asked questions that Jackson said made him "extremely uncomfortable," he testified that he kicked and elbowed Hill, but admitted that he did nothing to stop the interview or verbally counsel his client. And although the gag order was only 30 feet away in his office, he didn't have a copy with him, despite concerns that some of Hill's statements may have violated it.

"I panicked," Jackson said. "I didn't know exactly how to stop the train once it was moving."

Werbner then had Jackson explain the three steps he took to rectify the situation: notify the court, contact Reaves and cancel his remaining interviews. Jackson testified that he immediately called Vital within a minute of the conclusion of the interview, but Vital would later testify under questioning from Lynn that no such conversation took place. Then Jackson said he went to Vital's office where Vital was meeting with Jon Mureen, a fellow Baker Botts lawyer who assisted him with Farrington Hill's defense, and one of Brian Potashnik's lawyers to ask them if they felt like any of the statements violated the order.

After a discussion, Jackson said it was agreed that he should notify the court, so he began composing an e-mail to Lynn's assistant on his iPhone. But in the middle of it, his battery died, and the e-mail was never sent. Vital would later testify that he didn't want to send an e-mail from Baker Botts because he didn't want to be associated with the situation. Jackson said he then told Ken Carter to talk to Reaves about using documents instead of some of Hill's quotes, and Vital also sent Reaves an e-mail, although it didn't tell him to hold off on the story. Finally, Jackson canceled the rest of the interviews he had scheduled prior to the trial.

"I probably should have found some way to stop the interview or got up and left," Jackson said.