A.G. CANDIDATE TARGETS PRISON DEAL, ROBIN HOOD

THE TWO TOP PRIORITY ITEMS for Tom Pauken, who hopes to be the next Texas attorney-general, is to end control of Texas prisons by William Wayne Justice, "an activist Federal judge," and to abolish the "Robin Hood" school finance scheme which takes property taxes paid to a local district and sends the money to other districts. For over a decade, he said, under Attorneys-General Dan Morales and Jim Mattox the state made deals with convicts' lawyers that put our prisons under a U.S. court. "I intend to bring aboard a top-flight team of constitutional lawyers who will take that case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and seek to take Judge Justice out of controlling and supervising our prison system," he said.

Pauken recalled that Morales entered the prison agreement in 1992 and in 1996 Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act which required Federal judges to stop running state prisons after two years.

"Well, this hasn't stopped William Wayne Justice, and Dan Morales has never been able to use that legislation. It's going to take a new attorney-general, not bound by that prior agreement, who will work with Rep. John Culberson and Sen. Buster Brown who've been trying to intervene in this suit and take it to the Fifth Circuit. They've been thwarted by Dan Morales' office," he said.

is also a conservative precinct chairman, Overbey said.

Pauken warned that prisons face serious overcrowding this spring and the state will be hindered in dealing with it because of "silly rules" that are part of the agreement. "I spent three years in the military living in tents and barracks . . . yet you can't use tents and barracks to house prisoners."

He called Robin Hood a state property tax which is prohibited by the Texas constitution. When the issue arises again, he said, he will tell legislators that "Robin Hood will at some point be declared unconstitutional." He noted recent changes on the Supreme Court that bolster this expectation. For example, John Cornyn who backed Robin Hood left the court to oppose him in the GOP primary for attorney-general. "The reason we still have Robin Hood is because of John Cornyn," Pauken said.

New members he cited include a Court of Appeals Judge who argued that Robin Hood is unconstitutional, Greg Abbott who called Robin Hood unconstitutional as a Harris County district judge, and James Baker from Dallas whose "judicial philosophy is as conservative as those justices who dissented from the Cornyn ruling."

The prison issue, Pauken said, is just one example of the need for a Texas attorney-general "willing to stand up when Federal bureaucrats and other Federal judges" take away parental rights and property rights.

"There are encouraging signs," he said, "we can be more aggressive in challenging these Federal bureaucrats when they go too far and attempt to take away our state's rights or our private property rights." Among these signs, Pauken said, are recent Supreme Court decisions reaffirming states' rights under the 10th Amendment

Pauken was critical of Borders 21, a Federal program that designates a 120-mile wide strip straddling the Mexican border as an area to be jointly administered for environmental objectives.

Pauken called it the "product of an unratified treaty which the Clinton administration is putting into effect as though it had been ratified." He said as attorney-general he'll work with members of Congress against the plan and added, "I think the state would also have an ability to challenge it."

On two salient issues -- school choice and quotas -- Pauken firmly supported parental control and "equal opportunity for all -- not special privileges nor special handicaps."

Speaking of the Hopwood ruling in which a Federal court struck down admissions quotas at the UT law school, he said, "Morales correctly interpreted the decision of the Fifth Circuit -- you can't have quotas in admissions"

Pauken said the real problem facing minorities -- and other Texas children -- is "failure at the public school level." Quotas and preferences, he said, mask the failure of public schools to prepare students for college.

Pauken stressed there is little an attorney-general can do about the quality of education in the state but added, "I am very supportive of the principle of parental control of education and of their children's rights. I will not support attempts to undercut parental control."

Pauken was critical of Morales' handling of another case involving parental rights. The case is a challenge to a law that forbids giving prescription drugs (specifically contraceptives) to children without parental consent. The district court ruling striking down the law is currently on appeal by the state.

"The AG's office has not done a good job in defending that law,' Pauken said. He said he examined the state's brief and concluded some important arguments were left out and, "I was surprised by some of the positions taken by the AG."

He called it "ridiculous that kids can go out and get prescriptions from doctors and organizations without their parents' consenting to it. or even being notified.

The case also involves states' rights, he said, because Federal policy forbids parental notice and Texas law requires compliance with Federal rules. Pauken, however, believes Texans should have the right to make their own determination with respect to parental notification.

If Pauken wins the GOP primary, he will face former Attorney-General Jim Mattox in November. He ran against Mattox in 1978 and 1980 in contests for the 5th Congressional District.

"He's a very tough customer and you've got to be prepared for a rough battle if you're in the ring against Jim Mattox," Pauken said. He recalled that after the 1980 race some of Mattox' campaign workers were convicted of voter fraud.

Although he lost those races, Pauken notes Texas is "trending Republican and he doesn't have the advantage of incumbency.