Ass’t AG Says Fired for Refusal to Attack Judge

DALLAS (CN) - A former assistant attorney general claims the Attorney General's Office fired her for refusing to make perjured testimony about a sitting Dallas County District Court judge.

Ginger Weatherspoon claims she was fired after she told her managing attorney, Paula Crockett, that two of the office's senior regional attorneys, Jim Jones and Harry Monck, tried to extract perjured testimony from her about Judge David Hanschen.

Weatherspoon claims she was repeatedly told to prepare and sign an affidavit containing numerous false statements, including that Hanschen had threatened the Attorney General's office, that assistant attorneys general were treated adversely in court and that prejudicial rulings were entered against an assistant attorney general.

After refusing to comply, Weatherspoon says, she was call in to the administrative offices, yelled at, told that Attorney General Greg Abbott himself was waiting on her signature on the affidavit and was confined in a room by Jones and Monck and told she would not be released until she complied.

Weatherspoon says she asked to see their supervisor, Mark Jones, and tried to tell him what had happened, but he was told he could not speak with her or take her report.

Ultimately, Witherspoon says, she prepared a typewritten statement that made no allegations of judicial misconduct against Hanschen, and she was released. She says she reported the incident to Crockett, who drove with her away from the administrative offices. As they were leaving, she says, Monck called Crockett and demanded she be brought back immediately so that changes could be made to her statement. She says she refused to comply.

Soon after, she says, she was retaliated against and fired. She says Crockett was removed as her supervisor and her new supervisor e-mailed her instructions at a time he knew she would be in court and unable to get to her e-mail until after the deadlines set by the e-mails had passed.

She also claims the office ignored her doctor's orders to place her on light duty restrictions after back surgery.

She claims that "Both Jones and Monck, as well as their supervisor, were publicly demoted because of their conduct."

Weatherspoon seeks reinstatement, lost wages and punitive damages for whistleblower violations. She is represented in Dallas County Court by Steve Kardell with Clouse Dunn Khoshbin.

Follow @davejourno

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