Wooten found guilty: Judge convicted of bribery, other charges

District Judge Suzanne Wooten has been found guilty of six counts of bribery and three other charges by a jury of six men and six women.

After deliberating for a day and a half, the jury returned the verdict at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Visiting District Judge Kerry Russell had warned the courtroom that if anyone reacted improperly at the announcement of the verdicts, they would be removed from the courtroom. Also, a restrictive (gag) order which he put in place in November 2010 continues to be in effect, meaning that no member of the media can interview anyone connected to the case. The gag order may continue to be in place until three other people are brought to trial on charges connected to the case.

In addition to being found guilty of the six counts of bribery, Wooten was also convicted of money laundering of more than $20,000 but less than $100,000, conspiring to commit the offense of engaging in criminal activity and tampering with a government record.

The punishment phase of the trial is to begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Russell had promised jury members that they would not be required to come to the courthouse during the Thanksgiving holidays.

Assistant Attorney General Harry White told Russell he expected to need two days to attempt to get the jury to assess the penalties that he would propose. Defense attorneys Pete Schulte and Toby Shook said they could likely present the defense's position in one day. That could mean that Wooten's sentencing could be determined by Wednesday.

During Wooten's trial, White promised to bring James Stephen Spencer, Wooten's campaign manager, to trial, as well as David and Stacy Cary.

The state is alleging that the Carys funneled money through Spencer's checking account to help finance Wooten's campaign, as bribes to get her to rule in their favor on a parent-child relations case once elected. After taking office, Wooten declined to take the case. Had she taken it, she would likely have ruled whether David Carey would have been required to pay $415,000 to his previous wife, Jennifer Cary, in a divorce settlement.

White, in closing arguments Monday morning, alleged that Wooten was part of "a combination" that illegally produced money for her campaign between 2007 and 2009.

He said Wooten wanted to be a district judge for the prestige, and so people would refer to her as "your honor."

He also said what she did was "stupid," and that, "If she was on trial for stupidity, she would be convicted."

While on the stand Friday, Wooten consistently denied having any knowledge of any business deal between the Carys and Spencer in relation to her campaign. The jury apparently did not believe her.

Schulte said Wooten considered running against District Judge Charles Sandoval for some time because she felt he had been unfair in many of his rulings.

He told the jury earlier in the trial that his client made more money in private practice than she would as district judge, but wanted to serve as district judge to make certain that the people of the district were treated fairly.

Schulte also provided evidence that Wooten had enough financial resources available to finance her campaign without the alleged $150,000 that the state considered to be bribe money.

During closing arguments Monday morning, a large number of Collin County attorneys were in the 102-seat courtroom. Several of them said they had come to show their support for Wooten.

Several people in the courtroom said following closing arguments that they took offense to White's claim that Wooten wanted to be district judge so she could be called "your honor."

White also had alleged in his closing arguments that Wooten was smart enough to be involved in a scheme that could provide funds to get her elected.

The jury, after deliberating for a total of 13 hours, convicted Wooten following two weeks of testimony which began Nov. 7.

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