Dan Morales
Encyclopedia
Daniel C. "Dan" Morales (born April 24, 1956) served as the 48th Texas Attorney General
from January 15, 1991 through January 13, 1999, during the administrations of Governor
s Ann Richards
and George W. Bush
. As attorney general, Morales reached a $17 billion settlement with big tobacco
companies. He also authored the controversial state interpretation of the Hopwood v. Texas case, which ended all affirmative action
in higher education in Texas until the United States Supreme Court reversed Hopwood in 2003. He is a graduate of Trinity University
in San Antonio and Harvard Law School
.
representing the 124th District of San Antonio and was re-elected in 1986 and 1988. Morales said during an interview with Texas Monthly
in 1996, that while toiling as a Bexar County prosecutor, "the exposure to the system and seeing victims get the shaft impressed upon me that changes needed to be made." Those changes, Morales came to learn, were best addressed at the legislative level, so he felt compelled to run in 1984 against the incumbent legislator and defense attorney Joe Hernandez. The young candidate excoriated Hernandez for, as Morales put it, "abusing the legislative continuance statute to delay the trials of rapists, murderers, and drug dealers he was representing."
declining to seek a third term-and later unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas
, losing the nomination in a runoff to then-Texas State Treasurer
Ann Richards
. Though his professional history suggested no particular dedication to minority issues, Hispanics turned out for Morales in droves, enabling him to eke out a victory over the Republican
nominee, State Senator J. E. "Buster" Brown
of Lake Jackson
in the November general election polling 1,729,735 votes (51.81 percent) to Brown's 1,509,553 votes (45.22 percent). He was reelected to a second term in the largely Republican year of 1994 defeating Republican, Harris County
Civil Court Judge Don Wittig, by polling 2,289,389 votes (53.70 percent) to Wittig's 1,850,403 votes (43.40 percent), but did not seek a third term as attorney general in 1998 and was succeeded by Republican and current United States Senator John Cornyn
, who had resigned from the Texas Supreme Court
in 1997 in order to run for attorney general. Cornyn later ran successfully for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008.
Though Morales and his bombastic predecessor are most often compared by their temperamental differences, how each has ran the attorney general's office is primarily informed by their respective legal background. By way of highlighting his prosecutorial experience, Morales selected Drew Durham, a former president of the statewide district attorney's association, to lead his newly formed criminal litigation division. (the loosed-lipped good ol' boy Durham showed an equal talent for interfacing with sheriffs and county prosecutors and for regularly offfending the liberal holdovers at the attorney general's office.) At the same time, Morales the former corporate lawyer sought to soften the agency's posture toward big business-a posture that, under Mattox, said Morales, "saw a necessity in riding herd all thte time on the greedy corporate entities." Out, then, went the upper-echelon staffers affiliated with the Sierra Club and minority rights groups; in came lieutenants who had previously represented large corporate entities.
The new attorney general purged the office's consumer protection division of a dozen or so excellent attorneys who nonetheless, Morales believed, had been groomed by Mattox to attack big business. Morales admitted in running a business-friendly agency but suggested he had found holier crusades for his office to pursue. "You know, suing Volvo and Quaker Oats [as Mattox did] gets you public relations," he said. "And those are legitimate lawsuits, but you have to prioritize. It's one thing to go after those entities where the middle and upper classes will be the beneficiary. It's another to focus our limited resources upon efforts that will benefit those who need it most."
Bob Bullock
expressed his annoyance at Morales by whacking him on the cheek.
Despite continuing squabbles over legislative issues, lawmakers have shown their grudging respect for Morales by vesting his office with unprecedented statutory authority in criminal as well as civil matters. State Democrats had reluctantly accepted the fact Morales wouldn't change for them. So had his six hundred or so subordinate attorneys, whose undying loyalty to Morales would've probably never commanded, but who nevertheless had learned from periodic head-rollings who is in charge. A truer measure of his political evolution is that his detractors are those he has earned by standing firm rather than being someone who just looks like he needed a good slapping.
and using political money for private purposes.
Before Morales' downfall, back in 2002, Morales was expected to run for the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring three-term Republican Phil Gramm
, however, he entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary for Governor of Texas
but lost the nomination to Tony Sanchez by a landslide margin on March 12, 2002. Sanchez polled 624,991 votes (60.99 percent) to Morales' 336,102 votes (32.80 percent). In that campaign, Morales refused to engage in a Spanish-language
debate sought by the Sanchez. He claimed that Sanchez's request for a Spanish debate would divide, rather than unite the state.
After his primary loss, Morales stunned his party by endorsing the successful Republican
nominees for Governor of Texas
and Lieutenant Governor of Texas
, Rick Perry
and David Dewhurst
, respectively. In the 1990s, many Democrats had expected Morales to become in time either governor
or U.S. senator.
Morales and a onetime law associate were indicted on federal charges of trying to fraudulently obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in attorney fees from a state settlement with tobacco companies.
Upon his plea of guilt, federal Judge Sam Sparks said. "You've breached the very valuable trust the people of Texas gave you,"
Morales served time in the Federal Correctional Institution
in Texarkana
.
He was released to a halfway house
near his native San Antonio at Christmas
2006. He was released on Friday, March 30, 2007, according to the United States Bureau of Prisons. On December 15, 2003, the Texas Supreme Court accepted Morales' resignation from the bar in lieu of discipline.
Prior to his attorney general tenure, Morales was a member of the Texas House of Representatives
from Bexar County.
Morales and his ex-wife, Christi, have a young son.
Texas Attorney General
The Texas Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Texas.The department has offices at the William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in Austin.-History:...
from January 15, 1991 through January 13, 1999, during the administrations of Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. As attorney general, Morales reached a $17 billion settlement with big tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
companies. He also authored the controversial state interpretation of the Hopwood v. Texas case, which ended all affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
in higher education in Texas until the United States Supreme Court reversed Hopwood in 2003. He is a graduate of Trinity University
Trinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
in San Antonio and Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
Road to the Texas Legislature
Following his graduation from Harvard Law School, Morales landed his first postgraduate job at the Houston corporate law firm Bracewell and Patterson in 1981 and the following year joined the Bexar County district attorney's office. After an eighteen-month stint of prosecuting minor drug cases, the 28-year-old Morales ran successfully for the Texas House of RepresentativesTexas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
representing the 124th District of San Antonio and was re-elected in 1986 and 1988. Morales said during an interview with Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
in 1996, that while toiling as a Bexar County prosecutor, "the exposure to the system and seeing victims get the shaft impressed upon me that changes needed to be made." Those changes, Morales came to learn, were best addressed at the legislative level, so he felt compelled to run in 1984 against the incumbent legislator and defense attorney Joe Hernandez. The young candidate excoriated Hernandez for, as Morales put it, "abusing the legislative continuance statute to delay the trials of rapists, murderers, and drug dealers he was representing."
Texas State Attorney General
After six years in the legislature, the earnest but obscure three-term San Antonio legislator announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Texas. The position opened up following the two-term incumbent, Jim MattoxJim Mattox
James Albon Mattox was a Dallas lawyer and Texas Democratic politician who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives and two four-year terms as state Attorney General, but lost high profile races for Governor in 1990, the U.S. Senate in 1994, and again as attorney general...
declining to seek a third term-and later unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
, losing the nomination in a runoff to then-Texas State Treasurer
Texas State Treasurer
Texas State Treasurer was a political office in the U.S. state of Texas, established in the Constitution of 1876. It was abolished in 1996.-History:...
Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
. Though his professional history suggested no particular dedication to minority issues, Hispanics turned out for Morales in droves, enabling him to eke out a victory over the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, State Senator J. E. "Buster" Brown
J. E. "Buster" Brown
James Edward Brown, known as J. E. "Buster" Brown , is an attorney and lobbyist in Austin, Texas, who served from 1981 to 2002 as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate from District 17, based in Brazoria, Fort Bend, and part of Harris counties, south and west of Houston...
of Lake Jackson
Lake Jackson, Texas
Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city population was 27,614....
in the November general election polling 1,729,735 votes (51.81 percent) to Brown's 1,509,553 votes (45.22 percent). He was reelected to a second term in the largely Republican year of 1994 defeating Republican, Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
Civil Court Judge Don Wittig, by polling 2,289,389 votes (53.70 percent) to Wittig's 1,850,403 votes (43.40 percent), but did not seek a third term as attorney general in 1998 and was succeeded by Republican and current United States Senator John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
, who had resigned from the Texas Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...
in 1997 in order to run for attorney general. Cornyn later ran successfully for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008.
Though Morales and his bombastic predecessor are most often compared by their temperamental differences, how each has ran the attorney general's office is primarily informed by their respective legal background. By way of highlighting his prosecutorial experience, Morales selected Drew Durham, a former president of the statewide district attorney's association, to lead his newly formed criminal litigation division. (the loosed-lipped good ol' boy Durham showed an equal talent for interfacing with sheriffs and county prosecutors and for regularly offfending the liberal holdovers at the attorney general's office.) At the same time, Morales the former corporate lawyer sought to soften the agency's posture toward big business-a posture that, under Mattox, said Morales, "saw a necessity in riding herd all thte time on the greedy corporate entities." Out, then, went the upper-echelon staffers affiliated with the Sierra Club and minority rights groups; in came lieutenants who had previously represented large corporate entities.
The new attorney general purged the office's consumer protection division of a dozen or so excellent attorneys who nonetheless, Morales believed, had been groomed by Mattox to attack big business. Morales admitted in running a business-friendly agency but suggested he had found holier crusades for his office to pursue. "You know, suing Volvo and Quaker Oats [as Mattox did] gets you public relations," he said. "And those are legitimate lawsuits, but you have to prioritize. It's one thing to go after those entities where the middle and upper classes will be the beneficiary. It's another to focus our limited resources upon efforts that will benefit those who need it most."
Feuding with Texas Democrats
It was 1991, Morales' first year on the job as Texas attorney general, and few would have characterized the then-35-year-old San Antonio native as an overnight sensation. His fellow Democrats didn't bother to conceal their distrust of Morales, whose conservative views were almost indistinguishable from those of the Republican he had beaten in the 1990 general election. His subordinates in the attorney general's office, zealously loyal to his crusading liberal predecessor, saw their new boss as an uninspired Milquetoast. And although he had spent the previous six years as a state legislator, the new attorney general did not get the family treatment during the 1991 legislative session when, in the heat of an argument over redistricting, then-Lieutenant GovernorLieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
Bob Bullock
Bob Bullock
Robert Douglas Bullock, known as Bob Bullock , was a Democratic politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 15, 1991–January 19, 1999 during the terms of Governors Ann Richards and George W...
expressed his annoyance at Morales by whacking him on the cheek.
Despite continuing squabbles over legislative issues, lawmakers have shown their grudging respect for Morales by vesting his office with unprecedented statutory authority in criminal as well as civil matters. State Democrats had reluctantly accepted the fact Morales wouldn't change for them. So had his six hundred or so subordinate attorneys, whose undying loyalty to Morales would've probably never commanded, but who nevertheless had learned from periodic head-rollings who is in charge. A truer measure of his political evolution is that his detractors are those he has earned by standing firm rather than being someone who just looks like he needed a good slapping.
Fall from Grace
In October 2003, Morales reached a plea deal and admitted to having falsified documents in an attempt to give another lawyer a chunk of the state's tobacco settlement. Before the agreement, Morales had faced trial on twelve counts that included conspiracyConspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
and using political money for private purposes.
Before Morales' downfall, back in 2002, Morales was expected to run for the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring three-term Republican Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
, however, he entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary for Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
but lost the nomination to Tony Sanchez by a landslide margin on March 12, 2002. Sanchez polled 624,991 votes (60.99 percent) to Morales' 336,102 votes (32.80 percent). In that campaign, Morales refused to engage in a Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
debate sought by the Sanchez. He claimed that Sanchez's request for a Spanish debate would divide, rather than unite the state.
After his primary loss, Morales stunned his party by endorsing the successful Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominees for Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
and Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
, Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
and David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst is the 41st and current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, serving under Governor Rick Perry since January 21, 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Texas Land Commissioner from 1999 to 2003. Dewhurst announced on July 18, 2011, that he was running for the...
, respectively. In the 1990s, many Democrats had expected Morales to become in time either governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
or U.S. senator.
Morales and a onetime law associate were indicted on federal charges of trying to fraudulently obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in attorney fees from a state settlement with tobacco companies.
Upon his plea of guilt, federal Judge Sam Sparks said. "You've breached the very valuable trust the people of Texas gave you,"
Morales served time in the Federal Correctional Institution
Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana
The Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in unincorporated Bowie County, Texas, near Texarkana, Texas. The prison, near the Texas-Arkansas border, is north of Shreveport, Louisiana and east of Dallas, Texas. It is a low-security facility used for the...
in Texarkana
Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue...
.
He was released to a halfway house
Halfway house
The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a...
near his native San Antonio at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2006. He was released on Friday, March 30, 2007, according to the United States Bureau of Prisons. On December 15, 2003, the Texas Supreme Court accepted Morales' resignation from the bar in lieu of discipline.
Prior to his attorney general tenure, Morales was a member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from Bexar County.
Morales and his ex-wife, Christi, have a young son.