Eastland Senior Staff Attorney John M. Bailey Appointed Justice There

Texas's 11th Court of Appeals' senior staff attorney John M. Bailey has been named a justice of that court by Governor Rick Perry. The 11th Court of Appeals sits in Eastland, the smallest appeals-court city in Texas, a 1920s oil boomtown in west Texas. Eastland, next to the city of Cisco-- where Bailey lives-- and virtual ghost town Desdemona, is a short drive from Abilene, which the court serves. It is also the court for Midland. Bailey replaces retiring justice Terry McCall and his term will end at the next election. The Abilene Reporter-News story is here (behind a pay wall).

When I was a prison public defender I always enjoyed traveling to Abilene and San Angelo, marveling at how a place so rocky and lacking in water could be absolutely choked with thorny, prickly flora (I suppose thorns and prickles and burrs are a plant's way of saying "Get me the hell out of here! At least my children!").

Since Bailey lives in Cisco, this blog will follow its policy of playing one of its favorite tracks from the band "War" whenever it can find an excuse. I note for the record that to the best of my knowledge Bailey is not, in fact, a friend of mine, and, additionally, for all I know, Bailey is a teetotaler.