Every grade-school American social studies class teaches that, in the United States, we have a system of separation of powers. To the Founders, it was obvious that the executive branch must be separated from the judicial branch, both of which must be separated from the legislative branch. Despite this centuries-old command, Midland County, Texas, for 20 years employed lawyer Ralph Petty as both an assistant district attorney by day and a law clerk to Midland County’s judges by night.
