Sustained!: March 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

The Judge and Jesus

By: Eric J. Davis

Last week a Judge here in Harris County began allowing probationers to shorten their community service hours by working through a Christian workbook used by prison ministries. By his own acknowledgment, he was trying to help people. He expressed frustration at seeing young defendants turn down probation, which would help them avoid a conviction, in favor of a conviction and a fine. He was trying to creatively approach the situation. He was bringing new ideas into the game and trying to tackle an elusive problem that had scored so much pain in the lives of many. So elusive has the problem been that many judges have stop trying anything new. They have resorted to running conviction factories, manufacturing broken lives. But this Judge wanted to try something he heard had worked. He took some caution in doing so. Prior to asking them whether or not they wanted to work through the workbook, he asked them their faith so as not to impose religious views on someone of a different faith.

No doubt, this action appears to violate the first amendment's prohibition of government establishing religion. But it is not violative of the fifth or sixth amendments, neither of which say anything about religion. There is no phrase "separation of church and state" in the Constitution. Government is only prohibited from establishing religion and from prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Further, the Constitution specifically limits "Congress," not the courts. Arguably, the Judge's program may be government imposing religion on people, which both establishes religion and inhibits the free exercise of religion (the desire for the absence of religion is religion). Confronted with the legal problems associated with his actions and the fact that people were offended, the Judge relented and vowed never to engage in this conduct again. His conscious SUSTAINED! people's objections to his conduct. He gave the explanation above and seemed sincere in doing so.

But some in our local defense bar were up in arms about it all. For them, the judge's apology was insufficient. They wanted to pierce his hands and feet with the metal rods of their anger and then fasten him to the tree of their self-righteousness. A friend who was a personal injury lawyer once told me that no one cries louder than a wounded Republican. Well, no one is slower to forgive than a wronged criminal defense lawyer. We who ask for mercy ought to be willing to freely extend mercy.

Our local group had a meeting to discuss what we should do. Many of my friends know that I hate going to meetings. Especially meetings to talk about doing something. I figure we should just do it. So I never attend those types of meetings. But I made time and I attended this meeting. At the meeting someone said, "It was the most offensive thing that could have possibly happened." I stopped and asked myself, "In what world do these lawyers live?" For someone to think that this was the most offensive thing that could have happened told me how out of touch some lawyers are with real people. Real people have more pressing concerns. And there are issues at the Courthouse that are more pressing. With all of the ability, energy and power that lawyers have; wasting our time and resources on this issue is a sin and a shame.

I expressed this opinion in so many words at the meeting and, as expected, it was not received well. Some were upset with it. And I am sure I have ruined relationships with some lawyers who were in attendance. But there were some lay people (non lawyers) who were in the room during the meeting and listened to most of the discussion. As I was leaving the courthouse, one of them approached me on the courthouse steps and asked to shake my hand and said, "What you said needed to be said.... We need more people to stand up like you did." After some refection, I realize that we as lawyers are out of touch with the people we serve. How can we effectively tell the stories of their pain and struggles if we do not try to walk a block in their shoes? Are we no better than the judges and prosecutors about whom we complain? Do we pass judgment quickly on people and pay no attention to their motives? Do we condemn people, giving them no opportunity to return? If we do, then we are no better than those we oppose.

For more information on the Consitution, see this video and constitutional lecture.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Suffer the Little Children

By: Jacquelyn Carpenter

The story of seven toddlers left alone with no adult supervision in a home daycare while the caretaker went shopping is beyond my imagination. Worse, is that she left grease cooking on the stove while she was absent from the home, which caused a fire. If you are in the Houston area, you are probably familiar with this tragic and fatal story. Daycare Worker Shops While House with Seven Toddlers Inside Burns.

As a criminal defense attorney, I feel compelled to give the benefit of the doubt to the accused, Jessica Tata, who has been charged with reckless injury to a child, seven counts of child abandonment and a federal fleeing to avoid prosecution charge. However, I have struggled with that concept in Jessica Tata’s case. I instead found myself focusing on the very thing that I request of juries during sentencing (which only occurs after a defendant is found guilty) - Mercy.

I was prepared to rationalize an argument for mercy regarding Jessica Tata. After all, accounts led us to believe that the children were quite happy in her care and the parents were pleased with her as well. Moreover, the parents of a child that died found it in their hearts, despite their grief, to forgive Jessica Tata. Furthermore, it seems quite clear that Jessica Tata was frantic herself, once she became aware of the fire, worried about the welfare of the children inside. Yes, all of this was tragic, but unintentional. I was prepared to contend that mercy should be shown this poor soul who would have to live with the end results of her irresponsibility for the rest of her life and may need counseling herself to do so. Then Jessica Tata did the unthinkable - she fled to Nigeria. Jessica Tata Flees to Nigeria While children died and others fought to live, Jessica Tata, whose irresponsible actions put them in that very situation unnecessarily, planned her escape.

Thinking the daycare situation would cause parents to gratefully watch their children more carefully, I was surprised to read a story today about a 2 year old toddler meandering the streets of Southwest Houston alone. Father Naps While 2 Year Old Wanders the Streets. The father napped while his daughter walked. Please understand that I am fully aware that accidents happen. I’m bothered, however, by what I view as preventable. For instance, if an adult were in the house, the fire was preventable or deaths of four children would have been preventable. In today’s instance, how did the two year-old reach the door and have the strength to open it. Assuming she could climb out of her crib, is it not basic to be able to keep a toddler in the house? I am not a parent; I have no children, but the vast majority of parents do not have children wandering around Houston alone. Other parents seem to be able to prevent this. Why did this father fail?

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Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Florida by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Martin was returning from a store buying some green tea and skittles. Trayvon Martin was wearing a hooded and was, by all accounts, minding his own business. Zimmerman shot Martin and alleged self-defense. His death was tragic. But to make matters worse, when officers sought to arrest Zimmerman and charge him with manslaughter, a prosecutor stepped in and blocked the charges. Upset by the disregard for this young man's life, people accross the nation took to the streets and protested. The lack of charges sparked discussion and activism from school yards all the way to houses of congress. Trayvon Martin's death increased awareness of our present state, much like Emmitt Till's death and the injustice that followed it increased awareness in the 1950s. People's objections to the status quo and the good ole boy's network were SUSTAINED! when Zimmerman's case was taken over by a new prosecutor and charges were filed.

The Gavel Goes Down on the 1%: Occupy This!

Protestors took to the Streets in New York, occupying Wall Street to protest corporate greed and corruption. The original protest began on September 17, 2011, and since then other protests have been held in 70 major cities and over 600 communities in the U.S. Many of these protest are still on-going. Here in the City of Houston, protestors are staging rallies nearly every week. Internationally, other protest have modeled themselves after Occupy Wall Street, in over 900 cities worldwide. These protests have been growing. We are witnessing the beginnings of a social movement. With their goals yet undefined, but steadily becoming more defined; the gavel goes down on the "Occupy" Movement's objections to the explotation of the 99% by the 1%. It will only be a matter of time until the energies of the protestors are transferred to other vehicles: like voter registration drives and engaging in other activities to increase social awareness.

The Gavel Goes Down: Police Officers Committing Crimes

In many places police officers commit crimes with impunity. But on March 31, 2011, a federal judge in New Orleans sentenced a former New Orleans police officer to 25 years in prison for his role in the shooting death of a man and the burning of his body after Hurricane Katrina.

David Warren was convicted in December of shooting 31-year-old Henry Glover without justification outside a strip mall less than a week after the storm hit in August 2005.

Sentencing is scheduled later for former officer Gregory McRae, who burned Glover's body in a car near a police station.

A jury also convicted former Lt. Travis McCabe of writing a false report on the shooting. His sentencing is on hold while his lawyers seek a new trial. But the Gavel Goes Down on Police getting away with Police Abuse. Twenty-five years may seem a little light for murder (The feds do not have parole and he will serve at least 20 years), but it certainly is a start.

The Gavel Goes Down: Oppression and Genocide in Sudan

Sudan may be headed for a split, with Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan forming two independent nations. Southern Sudanese election officials posted early results Sunday, January 16, 2011, indicating that perhaps more than 95 percent of voters in this regional capital voted to secede from Sudan. The referendum, held last week, was the capstone of decades of civil war in Sudan, which pitted Christian and animist rebels in the south against Arab rulers in northern Sudan. All indications show the weeklong referendum passing.

While the results are the first concrete steps for the south to secede from the rest of Sudan and become its own country, the final vote tally is not scheduled to be announced until Feb. 14. And true independence would not come before July 9, when an U.S.-backed peace agreement between the north and the south expires. It was signed in 2005. Still, many issues need to be ironed out, including citizenship rights, oil sharing and the future of the contested and volatile Abyei region, which was supposed to hold its own referendum on whether to join the south or the north but never did. But, the Gavel Goes Down on the world's objections to the attempted genocide that occurred in Sudan that resulted in the indictment of Sudan's president by the International Criminal Court.

In Washington, President Barack Obama congratulated the south on holding a peaceful, orderly referendum, calling it an "inspiration." But he also warned against breaking the peace agreement timetable.

The Gavel Goes Down: Ignoring the impact of Slavery on American History

After more than eight years of street demonstrations, arguments, haggling and missed deadlines; after extensive public debate about the impact of slavery on life in the United States and on the life and moral character of George Washington; after countless news articles and TV programs, the site marking the intertwined lives of presidents and slaves opened to the public on December 15, 2010 on Philadelphia's Independence Mall. "President's House: Freedom and Slavery in Making a New Nation" chronicles the story of race and power at the heart of our nation's birth. President George Washington owned some 300 slaves. His ownership of these slaves brought him status and power, which positioned him for the presidency. Despite Washington's signing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1793, many slaves owned by him struggled and obtained freedom. The exhibit is the fruit of the struggled of the Black community in Philadelphia. It is an acknowledgment that Black people were part of America and contributed to it from the beginning. The exhibit tells the story of the inhabitants of the first Executive Mansion: George Washington and John Adams and the nine enslaved Africans held there by President Washington during his two terms in office. It is a stark objection to the white-washing of American history.

The Gavel Goes Down: 55 Years After Rosa Said No

The Gavel Goes Down: Eliminating the Kibera

The Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya has long been known as "the largest slum in Africa." This assertion has been recently challenged and many observers now believe that Kibera is the second largest slum in Africa. In September of 2009, the government of Kenya began clearing the Kibera to -rehouse all of the Nairobi's slum residents. Kenya plans to move all of the residents within the next nine years to communities that will include schools, markets and other facilities. Through the use of U.N. funding, funds from other relief efforts, and its own resources; the Kenyan government is spearheading the project. I (Eric J. Davis) visited the Kibera in 2006 and had the opportunity to spend time with some of the residents. Due to my ethnicity and the fact that we were accompanied by some Kibera residents, we were able to blend in and pass for locals. The resilance of the people was amazing. It was a small city where the people appeared to govern themselves well. The Kibera was safer than many major American cities. Nevertheless, the effects of poverty were apparent. There were no schools, no clean water, no sewage and no hospitals. Should the resettlement survive legal challenge (some slum lords are claiming ownership of the land and are taking the government to court - people pay rent to live in the slums), this African nation will take a big step towards eliminating poverty in its borders. Kenya is proof that African nations can govern themselves. The gavel goes down on Kenya's objections to poverty.