HOUSTON—Jurors in the trial of Harris County Criminal Court Judge Donald Wayne Jackson returned a guilty verdict Friday in his oppression case.
Jackson asked a young DWI defendant for sexual favors hours after she appeared in his courtroom.
‘I hope the message is we expect our elected officials and our public officials to follow the law and to act appropriately and not take advantage of people who otherwise are easy prey," said prosecutor Lance Long.
Jackson shook his head when the verdict was read and his attorney later expressed disappointment.
"I disagree with it. We'll ask for probation," said Dan Cogdell.
"If I didn’t become interested in him, then he would convict me because he is the judge," Venegas testified.
Jurors also heard an audiotape of Jackson responding to the allegations when confronted by an investigator with the district attorney’s office. The conversation was secretly recorded.
At first, Jackson denied that he took Venegas to dinner, but later changed his story.
"I don’t know what I’ve been accused of. I had dinner with a defendant who has a case pending in my court," Jackson said on the tape. "Her allegation is I had dinner with her and then I offered to get her a better lawyer if she didn’t like the lawyer that I had given her, and that I wanted to have a relationship with her."
Defense attorneys attacked the investigator for making the tapes without the judge’s knowledge.
They also tried to paint Venegas as a woman who played upon her looks to try to get special treatment. They played a tape of Venegas interacting with a Houston police officer after she was picked up on the DWI charge.
The video shows Venegas fixing her bra clasp as the officer turns away.
"I haven’t met anyone here who is nicer than you," Venegas says to the officer. "I’ve never been in this situation before. Never. I’m willing to do whatever I need to do for the law."
The defense says the tape shows Venegas was appealing to the officer for special treatment. They claim she was also looking for special treatment when she agreed to meet Judge Jackson for dinner.
Attorney Rob Todd is an attorney who may represent Venegas if she decides to pursue a civil case.
"I’m so tired of women who pursue sex cases being trashed," said Todd.
The jury will return Monday to sentence Judge Jackson. He could get up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Ariana Venegas testified earlier this week that Judge Jackson took her to dinner and told her he wanted a sexual relationship in exchange for helping her with the DWI case.
