Pat Priest (judge)

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This article deals with the Texas judge; for the Munsters actress, see Patricia Ann Priest.

Pat Priest (born 1940) is a retired Texas state court judge from San Antonio, most notable for having been appointed to preside over the criminal trial of former Congressman Tom DeLay on money laundering and conspiracy charges brought by Ronnie Earle. Priest was appointed to the case by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson.

As of June, 2006, Priest had dismissed one count of the indictment, which alleged conspiracy to violate election law. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld that ruling in September, 2007, dismissing the conspiracy charge. However, Priest denied DeLay's motion to dismiss the more serious charges of money laundering and conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and the prosecution is proceeding on those charges. These two remaining charges however came from a grand jury that had been seated less than one day while the first charge, that was thrown out, came from the sixth out six grand juries over a three-year period. Priest said once the appeals were exhausted he would then take up the remaining motions before his court including prosecutorial misconduct alleged against the DA, Ronnie Earle.

Priest, who attended law school at St. Mary's University in the 1960s, is also the author of a Criminal procedure casebook - Texas courtroom criminal evidence, 1998, ISBN 1-55834-530-2.