State Representative Gilbert Serna In 2000, Texas State Representative Gilbert Serna, a Democrat, pled guilty to multiple charges of theft by public servant. He was placed on probation for 10 years, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and was required to pay a $3,000 fine along with restitution of more than $13,000. Investigation and Indictment of Tom DeLay For over two years, Earle and eight separate grand juries investigated possible violations of Texas campaign finance law in the 2002 state legislative election. Earle denies that his pursuit of DeLay was part of a partisan "fishing expedition". His investigation of two political action committees that spent a combined $3.4 million on 22 Republican Texas House races focused on a political action committee founded by DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority PAC. During the investigation, DeLay charged that Earle was a "runaway district attorney" with "a long history of being vindictive and partisan". On September 28, 2005, a grand jury indicted DeLay for conspiring to violate Texas state election law. Texas prohibits corporate contributions in state legislative races. The indictment charged that Texans for a Republican Majority, DeLay's PAC, accepted corporate contributions, laundered the money through the Republican National Committee, and directed it to favored Republican candidates in Texas. The presiding judge in the case, Pat Priest, a Democrat, eventually threw out the charge and the Court of Criminals Appeals upheld this decision in 2007. Earle's second attempt to secure indictments against DeLay failed. That grand jury returned a "no bill" due to insufficient evidence. The jury member questioned stated that Earle appeared visibly angry with the "no bill" decision. Earle eventually received an indictment against DeLay from a third Austin grand jury that had been seated for a few hours. This indictment was on charges of conspiracy to launder money. DeLay's lawyers asserted the indictment was flawed legally, as laundered money is defined in the Texas Penal Code as money gained in the "proceeds of criminal activity". DeLay's defense stressed that corporate donations to political campaigns are a normal, legal business activity. Due to a House rule requiring a party leader to step down if indicted, the indictment required DeLay to resign as Majority Leader. In a counter complaint, DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, filed a motion against DA Earle, charging him with prosecutorial misconduct in the DeLay indictment. DeGuerin sought court permission to depose grand jurors. DeLay filed a motion