Judge Denies Mistrial in Slade Case

HOUSTON -- A prosecutor who has examined dozens of witnesses in the trial for former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade became a witness Friday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Slade's defense attorney, Mike DeGeurin, said Donna Goode leaked information to reporters about a pre-trial plea deal.

"I consider (that) to be an outrageous violation of ethics and law," DeGeurin said.

DeGeurin denied that any plea offer had been offered to Slade.

Goode told the court that she mentioned the plea, which included a minimum 25-year sentence, to someone who is not a journalist. That is when she said a newspaper reporter and several television reporters overheard her conversation.

Goode testified that she told reporters that the information was off the record.

Still, legal experts said they do not think leaked information about a plea deal is all that harmful to the case, even though it was widely reported.

"The defendant turned it down. So, even if a juror may have stumbled across that information how does that taint the defendant's opportunity for a fair trial?" said Geoffrey Corn, an assistant professor of law at the South Texas College of Law.

Slade has been accused of misspending more than $500,000 in TSU funds to decorate her homes.

If convicted she could face a range of sentences from probation to life in prison.

DeGeurin said Slade felt like she was "kicked in the stomach" when she heard about the leak.

Goode said she just was not aware of the media's rules.

"The prosecutor believed the comment was off the record and the news reporter said, 'I'm doing my job. Nothing's off the record,'" Corn said.

Goode said she also spoke directly with Local 2 reporter Mary Benton about the plea offer.

But KPRC Local 2 legal expert Brian Wice said the trial will likely continue.

"I think if judge Thomas asks the jury whether or not they've been exposed to anything of this kind, and gets their assurance that they haven't, I think that's probably as far as this is going to go," Wice said.

None of the reporters who were subpoenaed took the stand Friday. They have been asked not to speak about the hearing, which will resume on Monday.

Goode said she had no intention of making the plea deal information public. She said she would be more careful in the future.