This example letter of introduction provided an opportunity for either a resolution that provided dispositional fairness at an early stage or it would be used to set the stage for the beginning of extensive litigation.  This letter, with an unfiled draft of the AMENDED AND CONSOLIDATED MOTION SEEKING RELIEF FROM THE DECEPTION, INCOMPETENCE, CORRUPTION, CONCEALMENT OF FRAUD AND OTHER MISDEEDS OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, was sent to the prosecutor.  A copy of the letter and draft of the motion was also sent to the trial judge. (copying the judge is questionable)  Local counsel and the prosecutor  in this case had been involved in heated disputes about Brady material before we became counsel of record in the case.  This letter was sent before we filed any motions, and the letter was the first communication we had with the prosecutor or the trial judge.    

    In this particular case, the end result was a life sentence for the client, a prison sentence for the pathologist and a district attorney who entered private practice after being voted out of office.

The case was  resolved only after federal civil litigation which resulted in exposure of the wrongdoings of both the pathologist and the district attorney, who was defeated in the following election.  The case is written about in Bill Hubbard's 1998 book, Substantial Evidence.  

  I am enclosing a draft copy of an amended and consolidated motion that we will be filing next week in the Palmer case.     We have not met before.  I would like to greet you and say hello by this letter before we begin this litigation.  I must say to you from the outset that my interest in this litigation is that Doug Palmer not be executed by the State of Texas.

  I am very open to discussing any differences that exist between the prosecutors and counsel for Doug Palmer.  I feel the courtroom is greatly overused in dispute resolution.  The purpose of this letter is to resolve as many of our differences as possible before the amended and consolidated motion is filed.

  Please give me or anyone at my office, in the event of my absence, a call any time Thursday or Friday.  If you prefer, my fax number is (404) XXXXXXX.  I will be available to meet with you or anyone from your office at any location in Texas anytime on Monday, March 30.  We can then discuss any inaccuracies or differences about the facts in the amended and consolidated motion; additionally, we can  discuss differences about the law and any other matter that could resolve our differences before or without the April 2 hearing.  We will change anything that is wrong before we file the amended and consolidated motion.

  I hate to end what is intended as a friendly letter with a stern ending, however, I must say if you wish to continue stonewalling counsel for the defense about these autopsy problems, we will litigate that stonewalling as well as the issues.

  Please accept this letter as an offer for a friendly and open beginning on my part and a new beginning to the end of this case on the part of everyone else.

  Give us a call to arrange a time and location for a meeting with Bill and me to correct any misunderstanding about the subject of this issue and we will be off to a good start.  We need to talk before we file the amended and consolidated motion on Tuesday.

                                   Sincerely,

                               s/ Millard Farmer

  cc: Honorable Patrick A. Pirtle