http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_GonzalesAs counsel to Governor Bush, Gonzales helped Bush be excused from jury duty when he was called in a 1996 Travis County drunk driving case. The case led to a minor controversy during Bush's 2000 presidential campaign because Bush's answers to the potential juror questionnaire did not disclose Bush's own 1976 misdemeanor drunk driving conviction.<1> (
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdui1.html) Gonzales' formal request for Bush to be excused from jury duty hinged upon the fact that, as Governor of Texas, he might be called upon to pardon the accused in the case. Upon learning of the 1976 conviction, the prosecutor in the 1996 case (a Democrat) felt he had been "directly deceived". The defense attorney in the case called Gonzales' arguments "laughable".<2> (
http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/05/jury_duty/index.html)
As Governor Bush's counsel in Texas, Gonzales also reviewed all clemency requests. A 2003 article in The Atlantic Monthly alleged that Gonzales gave insufficient counsel, failed to take into consideration a wide array of factors, and actively worked against clemency in a number of borderline cases. (The state of Texas executed more prisoners during Gonzales' term, and still has more prisoners on death row, than any other state.) <3> (
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200307/berlow) <4> (
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030620.html)
Gonzales has been also accused of having connections with the former energy company Enron, which collapsed amid financial scandals in 2002; the law firm Gonzales worked for in Texas, Vinson and Elkins, represented Enron, and the company gave Gonzales $6,500 in campaign contributions for his 2000 run for re-election to the Texas Supreme Court, in which he defeated Libertarian Lance Smith with 81% of the popular vote.
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