Lawyers in the DeLay Case Settle on Judge

AUSTIN, Texas — The Tom DeLay case appeared to finally have a judge Friday, after a judicial merry-go-round that illustrated the complications that can result when judges are elected and the charges are politically sensitive.

Senior Judge Pat Priest, a Democrat, was chosen to preside over the trial, in which House Republican DeLay and two associates are charged with conspiracy and money laundering in an allegedly illegal campaign-finance scheme.

DeLay’s attorneys got a different Democratic judge removed from the case Tuesday, saying campaign contributions the judge made gave the appearance of bias. But one of the former majority leader’s lawyers spoke glowingly of Priest on Friday.

“Pat Priest has the reputation of being one of the finest judges in the state, and he’s a Democrat, and he has a reputation for being a scholar. He has a reputation of being scrupulously fair,” attorney Bill White said.

State District Judge Bob Perkins, the Democrat initially assigned to the case, was deemed unacceptable by DeLay because of more than $5,000 Perkins contributed to Democratic candidates and causes over five years. One of the beneficiaries, MoveOn.org, has a “Fire Tom DeLay” campaign but did not when Perkins made his donations.