The ties that bind
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Bobby Newman
Looks like the Harris County courthouse connection between Houston’s Divorce Lawyer Bobby Newman and the 308th District Court’s Judge James Lombardino is falling apart.
At the final hearing today in the Kora Leach custody case, Newman stood in front of Lombardino and asked for attorney’s fees of more than $200,000 to be paid by the young mother.
Judge James Lombardino
Lombardino surprisingly said “No.”
The judge has been forced to distance himself from his campaign financier after the public pressure of the Dolcefino Consulting Family Injustice investigation into possible corruption and ethics violations in the family courthouse.
In January, a request was made for Lombardino to recuse himself in another protracted divorce case – the Avery/Rodriguez case. Lombardino said no. Then in June, with no pending request from either side, Lombardino did recuse himself. Less than three weeks before that, Dolcefino Consulting released a video detailing Lombardino’s relationship with the lawyers in the case – Bobby Newman and Jared Woodfill.
There have been lots of other lawyers claiming Lombardino shows favoritism to Newman in the past.
In a high-profile international divorce drama, Marcelle Guimaraes – the woman who fled to Brazil with her son – says Lombardino ignored her allegations of domestic violence and sex addiction by her ex-husband, Houston doctor Chris Brann.
Newman has been one of Lombardino’s top donors over the years, giving him tens of thousands of dollars and appearing in many cases in the 308th Family Court. Lombardino’s first fundraiser was on a Newman family boat. The relationship has prompted complaints lots of public complaints.
Kora Leach’s attorney John LaGrappe has filed a criminal complaint involving Newman. LaGrappe told Dolcefino Consulting, “I believe the District Attorney should investigate the relationship between Newman and Lombardino.”
One of the most disturbing revelations in the entirety of our Family Injustice investigation involved Judge Lombardino’s own family. Judge Lombardino failed to disclose Bobby Newman was representing his son David in a divorce case, likely for free, while Newman practiced in other cases in Lombardino’s court.
Maybe all the push back has scared Lombardino straight. The judicial elections are only 34 days away.
“Voters need to send a clear message in November”, says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “Judges need to disclose conflicts. Period. Lombardino failed the test. And lawyers need to learn a lesson that campaign cash shouldn’t play a role in fights over children.”
A growing number of victims of Harris County family Injustice have hired Dolcefino Consulting to expose the ethical issues staining the courthouse and help prepare formal complaints to the State Bar of Texas and Judicial Conduct Commission when they are wronged.
For more information on our Family Injustice Investigation, click on the Harris County Family Judges page.
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