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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1975)
Brazos County prosecutor Roland Searcy for the state THE BATTALION Page 9 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 1975 By STEVE GRAY Staff Writer It is 10 o’clock Wednesday morn ing in the Brazos County Cour troom where about 40 misdemeanor cases await disposition. On one side, in front of County Court Judge Bill Vance’s bench, a defendant and his attorney sit on a table making last-minute prepara tions before court begins. At another table on the other side, a man sits with slightly graying hair. Brazos County Attorney Roland M. Searcy Jr., is waiting to give the state’s case. Searcy, 36, has oc cupied the county attorney’s office since January 1973. He defeated another local attorney, Doug How ell, for the post in the 1972 elec tions. Searcy works out of a small two- room office on the third floor of the Brazos County Courthouse in Bryan. The office walls are lined with bookshelves filled with jour nals and related texts. Searcy spends a lot of time thumbing through those law books, keeping up with changes. And that, Searcy says, is a vital part of his job. "I spend about an average of 10 hours a day on the job and about four or five hours during the weekends working on the upcoming week’s cases, he said. “That means I’ve got to keep abreast of what’s going on in legal circles. Searcy received a bachelor’s de gree in history from A&M in 1961 and a law degree from Baylor Uni versity Law School in 1964. He joined W. C. Davis, now district court judge, in private practice. It wasn’t long before he got an idea of what criminal law practice is like. “I remember the first case I de fended was a man accused of mur dering a police chief and wounding a highway patrolman, he recalls. “We were able to get him a life sen tence when he could have gotten the death penalty. About a year later Searcy decided to go into law practice for himself. In January 1966 he began teaching a government course at the old Allen Academy Junior College and taught there until May 1970 when the junior college was dropped. Two years earlier, in 1968, he had made his first bid for the county attorney’s seat against Tom McDonald, now the district attor ney here. “I lost that race by 76 votes out of 11,300, Searcy said. “It was a tough one to lose. Searcy continued his private law practice and in September 1970 be came a member of the business ad ministration faculty at A&M as a lec turer on business law. In January 1972 Searcy decided to run again for the county attorney’s office. He said he filed for the position after he learned that McDonald had decided to run for district attorney. Searcy defeated a local attorney, Doug Howell, for the position. He had to resign his teaching position because at that time state law prohi bited university employees from running for office. Before becoming county attor ney, Searcy was campaign coor dinator in Brazos County for Senator Lloyd Bentsen during the getting behind on their payments. “I guess I sort of serve as a legal information agency,” Searcy said, “but I get a lot of calls that concern civil action that I don’t handle as county attorney.” The county attorney’s duties in clude prosecuting misdemeanor cases in county court, representing the county in civil action and assist ing the district attorney in prepar ing felony cases. earcy - county attorney Campus briefs Campaign reform speaker Senator Betty Andujar of Fort Worth wdll speak on campaign reform Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in room 224 of the Memorial Student Center. Admission is free to the Political Forum event. Basement traditionalism The Basement Committee will hold a Traditional Music Night in the Basement Coffeehouse April 19 from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. A combination of blues, bluegrass, and ballads will be provided by various musicians. Admission will be 25 cents. For further information call Jim Reeves at RQa OQQiR Wildlife film festival The Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society is sponsoring a film festival April 10 in the Harrington Center in room 207. The films are from the Sierra Club, Ducks Unlimited, and Chevrolet Motor corporation. Admission is 75 cents for non-members and 50 cents for members. ‘Hellstrom’ showing Cepheid Variables will present “The Hellstrom Chronicle, ’ at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. in the Rudder Theater April 10. Tickets are $1. For further information contact the Cepheid Variables at 5-1515. Cafeteria J New and Better Than Ever. You Will Be Pleased With These Carefully Prepared and Taste Tempting Foods. Each Daily Special Only $1.39 Plus Tax. “Open Daily” Cafeteria: 11 AM to 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM to 7 PM Snack Bar: 7 AM to 10 PM MONDAY EVENING SPECIAL Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Whipped Potatoes Your Choice of One Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea TUESDAY EVENING SPECIAL BREADED FISH FILET w/TARTAR SAUCE Cole Slaw Hush Puppies Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee WEDNESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Chicken Fried Beef Steak w/cream Gravy Whipped Potatoes and Choice of one other Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea THURSDAY EVENING SPECIAL Italian Candle Light Spaghetti Dinner SERVED WITH SPICED MEAT BALLS AND SAUCE Parmesan Cheese - Tossed Green Salad Choice of Salad Dressing - Hot Garlic Bread Tea or Coffee “EATING OUT IS FUN” FRIDAY EVENING SPECIAL Mexican Fiesta Dinner Two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas w/chili Mexican Rice Patio Style Pinto Beans Tostadas Coffee or Tea One Corn Bread SATURDAY NOON and EVENING SPECIAL “Yankee Pot Roast Texas Style” Tossed Salad Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter “Quality First” SUNDAY SPECIAL NOON and EVENING ROAST TURKEY DINNER Served with Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Dressing Roll or Corn Bread - Butter - Coffee or Tea Giblet Gravy And your choice of any One vegetable Searcy said he also gets calls from people who say they want to drop charges that were previously filed in the county court. But he says he usually refuses to comply with the complaintant’s wishes. “I just feel that once a person files charges I am obligated to go ahead and prosecute them because it costs me time and money to fill out all the paperwork and put the case on the county court docket,” Searcy said. WHATABURtfR RESTAURANT That’s your nearby Whataburger : restaurant. Stop in any time and fill ft up on a juicy quarter pound of pure * ground beef. Top it off with an order ft of crisp golden french fries and a ” super shake and discover that ft Whataburger is Whataburger should * l,e I College Station Bryan 105 Dominik Dr. 110l Texas Ave. I 1970 election. He was also a dele gate to the state Democratic Party conventions in 1970 and 1974. Searcy still maintains a private civil law practice but said he will soon phase that out in order to be come a full time county attorney. “The job always has been a full time one and sometimes I find my self pressed to keep things in order and running smoothly,” he said. “Tom (McDonald) left things in good shape for me when I took over, though.” Searcy said that since he took of fice the caseload has increased be cause of the county’s population growth. “We filed about 1,000 cases in 1974, which is 30 percent more than in 1973,” he said. “That doesn’t in clude worthless check cases, which are now handled by the justices of the peace.” Searcy said between 175 to 200 bad check cases are filed in the county now each month. The phone in the office never seems to quit ringing, Searcy said. 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