The Rev. Johnny Jeremiah, a self-proclaimed community activist who is quick to tell anyone who will listen that he is an ex-convict gone straight, is again a wanted man.
The reverend, whose real name is Johnny Binder, can regularly be found associating with attorneys and their clients outside Harris County courtrooms.
However, prosecutors Monday said Binder, 58, is doing more than working with the downtrodden and their lawyers. He is accused of soliciting defendants for an attorney, a third-degree felony called barratry.
It is illegal for lawyers and so-called "runners" to directly solicit clients. General advertising is legal.
Binder, who has not been arrested, faces two to 10 years in prison if he's convicted.
He is accused of persuading a 28-year-old suspect to hire him and attorney Tiffany Mooney to defend against a drug possession charge, according to court records.
Text messages
In text conversations from Mooney's phone to a phone number listed on Binder's business cards, Mooney states: "You get 50 percent of all monies."
A return text four minutes later reads: "you are loosing (sic) your mind stop talking about money on this phone."
Prosecutors allege Binder and Mooney are the texters, and they are talking about splitting fees for bringing in new clients.
Binder was with Mooney when the two approached the young man in the courthouse and initiated the conversation, ultimately persuading him to pay $1,000 for representation, court records show.
The defendant dropped $900 off at Binder's home. He appeared in court Feb. 16 and told a state district judge that Binder was his lawyer.
Because Binder talks to everyone at the courthouse and is dependably dressed in colorful three-piece suits with an immaculate baseball cap that matches the suit, he is well-known at the courthouse.
When prosecutors heard a defendant say Binder was his lawyer, they took notice because his past also is well-known.
He appeared in a 1991 U.S. News & World Report article titled "The Men Who Created Crack" and was in and out of prison since the 1970s.
He has stayed out of trouble for more than 10 years working, he says, to help others.
After the defendant claimed Binder was his lawyer, the Harris County District Attorney's office began investigating.
Mooney was arrested Feb. 24 on a theft charge, accused of stealing $18,000 from a client in a different case.
After her arrest, investigators analyzed her phone to find the texts.
In text messages on her phone, prosecutors allege, Mooney was splitting money 50/50 with Binder, an arrangement that is prohibited by state bar rules. Lawyers cannot "split fees" with non-lawyers.
Mooney also was charged with barratry on March 6, accused of paying Binder to solicit clients.
No response
Calls to Mooney's attorney were not returned late Monday. Her office phone number, listed in Texas Bar records, was disconnected.
Calls to Binder's number were not returned.
"Defendants are entitled to an attorney of their choice and not be pressured," said Assistant Harris County District Attorney Wendy Baker. "They have a right to be free of solicitation at the courthouse."
Baker said prospective victims are asked to call the District Attorney's Financial Crimes division at 713-755-8333.
By Brian Rogers
Source: The Houston Chronicle
This means lawyer who do nothing for a case. In contrast to what many people believe, both public and private legal professionals are accountable of bad lawyering.
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