Friday, March 29, 2024

Don Hill deserves a fair sentence

NDG’s View

The Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the appeal of the conviction of former Dallas City Councilman Don Hill on April 30, 2013. While there are only four legal issues to be reviewed by the Court, we, who support Don Hill in this matter, and in his past efforts for benefit of the African American community in Dallas, believe there are several other items worth mentioning on his behalf.

In the very narrow legal review process the Fifth Circuit must follow, the Court will only rule upon the following four possibilities of error:
• The sealing of the courtroom during jury selection in Hill’s trial,
• The allegation of prosecutorial error in closing arguments,
• Whether the verdict was contrary to the evidence; and
• Whether the overruling of an after-verdict motion by Hill’s attorneys was an error of the trial court.

Any overturning of Hill’s conviction will hinge on what the Court finds in these areas. But observers should look at the larger issues surrounding this travesty of justice.

This Southern Dallas housing-related debacle began with the dueling housing developers Brian Potashnik and James Fisher, who both vied for lucrative South Dallas housing contracts with the City of Dallas. A number of Don Hill’s associates and appointees were hired by these developers as “consultants” and paid fees reportedly with the understanding supposed a portion of these fees would trickle down (or up) into Hill’s pockets, ostensibly for favorable votes for those developers on city contracts. There is no evidence Hill knew these representations were being made. In fact, the evidence shows Hill was basically indigent throughout and actually never received any of the funds attributed to his purview.

The sentence handed down to Hill is the longest sentence for a public corruption charge ever handed down in American history, it is longer than sentences of those (white) persons found guilty of selling senate seats or bribing congressional and executive branch officials. And no money was ever paid to Don Hill or traced to Don Hill. As Don Hill was the only elected official charged, he bore the brunt of the convictions and received the longest sentence.

The structure of Dallas City Government in general, and the nature of the city council hierarchy and protocol specifically, makes it not uncommon for council members to meet with constituents, developers and lobbyists who desire to establish projects in their districts. It is a competitive process that not only provides tax credits to the developers from both state and federal sources, but it is a heightened process due to the shortage of housing in certain areas. Certainly Southern Dallas was one of those areas. Federal regulation mandated only one housing development per year could receive a tax credit, if multiple developments would be within least one mile of each other. Therefore, the contest for tax-credited housing developments in the south Dallas area was of major proportions.

Now comes a number of minority “consultants” who entered this fray representing they had the support and backing of Don Hill, none of which was ever presented in evidence. While there is evidence these “consultants”— Lee, Reagan, Farrington, et al — were paid by the developers and actually benefited from the contested housing development market—there was no evidence Hill participated or benefited therefrom.

He was a victim of sloppy bookkeeping, shoddy records, and bad personal associations. Don Hill should not serve 18 years in the federal penitentiary for those crimes.

 

Publisher’s Note: A Call to Action 

If you feel that an 18 year sentence was too harsh for Don Hill’s crimes, it is important to express your concerns to the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Concerned citizens are invited to attend the hearing on April 30 or contact the court by writing a letter.

The address is:

Carl E. Stewart
Chief Judge
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
600 S. Maestri Place
New Orleans, LA 70130-3408

6 COMMENTS

  1. The sentence handed to Councilman Hill is clearly overkill if not plain shameful. If he had brought a pistol to the council chambers and cussed everybody out and then shot somebody, he would have gotten a similar sentence! The sentence he got is the kind usually reserved for folk who are a threat to public safety.

    He did nothing but operate as Dallas politicians have always operated. It is rumored that his real crime was fighting against the North Dallas establishment and helping stop them from taking control of city council. His sentence is payback for fighting for the people – not that he’s a saint.

    The people of Dallas should rise up and reverse this judicial order.

  2. This is a TOTALLY RACIST case. Don Hill and his wife Sheila< two black people, got 18 and 14 years in prison, respectively. The Big kahuna, the BIG corrupt one, the instigator, the multi-millionaire developer Brian Potashnik, and his wife got 9 months and 0 years, respectively. It's been alleged that Former Mayor Laura Miller cut a deal with the FBI, and she became an unindicted co-conspirator that became a state witness. Brian Potashnik became a multi-millionaire because of laura miller's help! WHERE IS LAURA MILLER TODAY? Hiding in her bat cave?! Miller was Dallas most corrupt mayor and its BIGGEST LYING MAYOR.

    This case is the work of the Dallas Citizens Council who saw Don Hill, A BLACK MAN, as a threat to their power.

  3. Thanks NDG. I have prayed for, wondered, and desired info about Don and Sheila Hill before, during, post trial and imprisonment. Attended several days of the trial. Travesties were rampant, and obvious even to lay eyes and minds. The Jurists came across as biased, and missioned bound to the point of invoking(in me) feelings of a vendetta. The African American community seems to have abandoned the Hills, or to say the least, taken a sadly benign, laissez faire, attitude per the matter, and certainly that of innocence v guilt, unfair sentencing, etc., all germane to at least warranting an appeal, and being all encompassingly supportive there-of.

    I will write Chief Judge Stewart, and do so in a few days. Will post your information in part or full on my Facebook, and solicit letter writers.
    Thanks again!
    Joe Tave

  4. How is former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill any different than Ray Nagin of New Orleans or Kwame Fitzpatrick of Detroit? They were all elected public officials with great promise who ultimately betrayed their oath of office and the people of their cities. It is very difficult to believe that any of them got a raw deal.

  5. I can see why many believe Don Hill got a raw deal when white politicians for decades have done the same things he was accused of, and never faced federal prosecution. In Mr. Hill’s case, former Mayor Laura Miller took more than $60,000 in “contributions” from Potashnik and his family, then she voted in favor of Potashnik’s projects, wrote letters in support of him, and appointed him to a task force.

    The difference may be in Ms. Miller being more subtle about her support and not having any traceable conversations in which she promised anything to Potashnik. Or it may be related to their backgrounds. On the surface, many say she was ignored because she is white and more politically connected, and the feds went after the black guy because it was an easier conviction. It’s hard to dispute such a conclusion.

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