One serious, one not so serious, both from Boomtown DA
(Background for young people and non-Texans: Vance was the District Attorney for Harris County from 1966 – 1979. More than likely, there will be a longer post about this book once I finish it.)
It is the duty of the district attorney in Harris County, Texas (Houston included) to represent the State of Texas in all serious criminal cases. That includes the misdemeanors carrying jail time which are tried in our County Criminal Courts at Law and the felonies tried in our District Courts.
It is the duty of the district attorney not just to convict but to see that justice is done. [Emphasis added. -DB]
The “Cladue” in the next quote is Claude Langston, who was an investigator for the D.A.’s office. As Vance puts it, “Thirty years in the homicide division gave Claude a nose for finding witnesses and good barbecue.” (“Orange” refers to the glass bottled soda, not the fruit itself.)
Claude often said, “You know, even sittin’ outside in August in ninety-nine degrees isn’t so bad if a man has some good barbecue and a large orange. That’s just part of a good homicide case.”
[…] is that Mr. Vance is a guy I’d like to sit down with over some barbecue and a few beers or a large orange. He’s committed not to putting people behind bars or running up a huge win-loss record […]