Ernie Ernst

Erwin "Ernie" Goree Ernst (1924/25–2013) was an American assistant district attorney, and district judge for Walker County, Texas. During a legal career spanning six decades, Ernst presided over several notable criminal cases, including the 1971 murder trial of John Hill, a Houston-based cosmetic surgeon who was accused of killing his wife.

Life and career

Ernst joined the United States Army Air Force shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and was part of a crew flying freight across the Pacific during World War II. After the war he enrolled at university where he studied law, and following his graduation he joined the West Texas District Attorney's Office as an assistant district attorney. Later moving to work for the District Attorney's Office of Harris County, Ernst rose there to become Chief Prosecutor, and was the County's first Chief of the Trial Division, with responsibility for a team of over a hundred lawyers.

After spending two decades with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Ernst was appointed the first general counsel for the Texas Department of Corrections. He was later elected as the District Attorney for Walker County, and subsequently became a judge for the same county. Ernst sat on the bench for a number of years, only retiring following his 85th birthday in 2009. He died in 2013.

Ernie

Ernie may refer to:

People

Ernst

Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include:

Surname

Stevie Nicks

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums. She was deemed "The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll" and one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and, as a member of Fleetwood Mac, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. As a solo artist, she has garnered eight Grammy Award nominations and, with Fleetwood Mac, a further five.

Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 along with her romantic partner Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, Rumours, released in 1977, was the best-selling album of the year of its release and, to date, made sales of 40 million copies worldwide, which makes it the fifth-highest-selling studio album of all time. The album remained at number one on the American albums chart for 31 weeks and reached the top spot in various countries worldwide. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978 and produced four U.S. Top 10 singles, with Nicks' "Dreams" being the band's first and only U.S. number-one hit.

Poetry slam

A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite original work. These performances are usually judged by selected members of the audience or by a panel of judges.

History

American poet Marc Smith is credited with starting the poetry slam at the Get Me High Lounge in Chicago in November 1984. In July 1986, the slam moved to its permanent home, the Green Mill Jazz Club. In August 1988, the first poetry slam was held in New York City at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe and hosted by Bob Holman. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam took place in Fort Mason, San Francisco, involving a team from Chicago, a team from San Francisco, and an individual poet from New York. Soon afterward, poetry slam had become so popular that people were able to make full-time careers as slam poets; they traveled around the country and performed.

In 2001, the September 11 attacks actually had an interesting impact on poetry slam. This was because many performers were stuck in cities they had been performing in before the attack, and they could not get home because flights were down. After the attacks, a new wave of poetry slam started within New York City with the focus on the community of poets coming together to speak about and try to understand the terrorist attacks.