TCC official plea bargains, gets probation
by Chris Taylor, editor-in-chief

     Tarrant County College trustee Gwen Morrison’s legal battle ended Thursday, Jan. 11, with a plea bargain that could leave her without a criminal record.

     State District Judge George Gallagher accepted the plea but deferred a guilty finding for six months. If Morrison complies with her probation, which includes restitution, the conviction will not be recorded.

     Morrison had been charged with double filing expenses with both TCC and the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD). She was facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the felony theft charge, which alleged five different instances of taking money by deceit from 1992 to 1996.

     Morrison was scheduled to stand retrial for the felony charge on Jan. 22 after a jury deadlocked on the theft case in April. That charge was dismissed as part of the plea.

     As part of the plea, Morrison agreed to reimburse FWISD $1,462 for expenses she had already received from TCC. Morrison also was ordered to pay fees for her six-month probation and $2,000 for her court-appointed attorneys’ fees.

     Also as part of the plea, Morrison had to sign a 10-page document acknowledging what witnesses would have testified about her duplicate travel expense payments. The witnesses described trips in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 when Morrison received expense payments from TCC and FWISD.

     Morrison has denied that she improperly accepted travel money from both TCC and FWISD, but pleaded no-contest to tampering with government records, which is a misdemeanor.

Attorneys Leon Haley and Jim Lane were appointed to represent Morrison after her previous attorneys withdrew from the case. Lane and Haley urged Morrison to accept a plea bargain.

About the plea, attorney Leon Haley said in the Star-Telegram, “After one hung jury, it was obvious that no one wins by going to trial again.

     “It’s in Mrs. Morrison’s best interest to bring this to a close and get on with her life,” he said.

     Prosecutors Joe Shannon and David Lobinger said they were glad to avoid a second trial.

     “I’m pleased we resolved this matter with minimal fuss,” Shannon told the Star-Telegram.

     The plea could allow Morrison to resume full duties as a college trustee. Morrison was re-elected in May, just one month after her trial was declared a mistrial. Morrison could regain her voting powers after the probation ends.

     The plea bargain ends four years of delays, postponements and even a mistrial.

     Morrison told the Star-Telegram she is ready to turn her attention to the future.

     “Despite the fact that some people wanted to discredit me, out of love for the people in my life and Tarrant County, I decided to put the past behind me and look forward,” she said.