Colleges

Texas judges accepted tickets

By TIMES WIRES
Published September 2, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas - Thirty judges accepted free or discounted tickets to Texas football games during the past five seasons, according to records obtained by the Austin American-Statesman under the Texas Public Information Act.

The recipients included some members of the state's highest civil and criminal courts as well as federal trial and appellate judges. The judges typically attended pre-game receptions sponsored by the UT System with free food and beverages, including beer and wine.

UT System records show the university supplied 449 tickets to judges from the 2001 through 2005 seasons. Of those tickets, 280 were free. The judges paid face value for the rest but did not make a contribution to Texas athletics required of ordinary fans for the right to buy tickets.

Legal scholars say the practice raises ethical questions.

The scholars note that state and federal judicial conduct codes say judges generally should not accept gifts from parties whose interests have come or are likely to come before them. The university is frequently involved in litigation, and a few of the judges have handled cases involving the school.

However, the conduct codes permit judges to accept "social hospitality." The occasional ticket could be regarded as such, especially if the judge in question is not presiding over a university-related case.

But a steadier supply of tickets probably does not qualify as ordinary hospitality, scholars say.

"It seems to me that something like this, particularly when you're talking about 30 or 40 tickets, which are worth a lot of money, is improper for a judge to accept," said Jeffrey M. Shaman, a law professor at DePaul in Chicago and co-author of a textbook on judicial ethics.

Two locals pick USF

TAMPA - St. Petersburg Catholic receiver Andrew Harris and former Gibbs cornerback Kevin Williams have made oral commitments to join USF's 2007 recruiting class.

Harris, who has 78 receptions for 1,528 yards and nine touchdowns the past two seasons, chose the Bulls over offers from West Virginia, Ohio State and Boston College.

"It's close to home, and the offense is very similar to what we run here," said Harris, 6 feet 2 and 185 pounds, who committed about two weeks ago.

Williams, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound cornerback, had five interceptions as a senior last season, returning two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns. He was recruited by West Virginia and Auburn in the spring but did not qualify academically.

Williams, who could also play receiver for the Bulls, is taking classes at William Penn University in Iowa but plans to enroll at USF in January after earning a qualifying score on the ACT exam.

Harris' teammate at SPC, running back Jock Sanders, is "leaning toward" USF, according to SPC coach Dan Mancuso, but is still considering offers from Florida and West Virginia.

Late Thursday

No. 24 Arizona State 35, N. Arizona 14: Rudy Carpenter threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns to rally past Division I-AA Northern Arizona in Tempe.

Chris Baloney's 35-yard interception return on the first play of the fourth quarter gave Arizona State its first lead at 21-14.

Keegan Herring added a 15-yard touchdown run with 11:58 left, and Dmitri Nance ran in from 6 yards to cap a late 91-yard drive that finally put the Sun Devils in control.

"NAU has a different style of defense that we never really see," Carpenter said. "... It was really confusing to us."

Carpenter was 17-for-24 with one interception, and Arizona State's defense sacked Jason Murrietta nine times.

[Last modified September 2, 2006, 02:08:46]