I’m reading Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory, which is sort of a dual biography of Pat Tillman and history of Afghanistan. (Do I know how to party, or what?) Tillman was the Arizona Cardinals safety who left the NFL after September 11th to enlist in the Army. He was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire while serving as an Army Ranger. Fascinating dude, totally worth reading about.

One thing that you may not know about Tillman is that he was charged with felony assault when he was seventeen. It was a dumb mistake – he was out with some friends, and one of them left the group to try to start a fight with another group of boys. He succeeded, and being a shrimpy fella, proceeded to get a pretty decent beatdown. After a minute, Tillman and his friends returned, and the other boys took off.

Tillman misread the situation, and pounced on the largest of the boys who was running. And he beat the heck out of him, giving him a concussion and shattering his teeth. A few weeks later, he was charged.

He was also offered a scholarship from Arizona State University, which would be retracted if he were to be convicted of a felony. The judge, over the objections of the prosecutor, apparently reduced the charges to a misdemeanor, to which Tillman pled guilty. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 250 hours of community service, and he was allowed to keep his scholarship.

The boy that he beat up – one of his friends talked about that in the book. At the time, she had been furious. But when Krakauer found her, she was more reflective, and I thought it summarized very nicely what we believe, and what we do, here at Sumpter & Gonzalez:

She lamented that her only personal knowledge of Tillman revolved around one of the most regrettable incidents in his life. “What I take from Pat Tillman is that you are not who you are at your worst moment. After what Pat did to Darin, it seems like he really turned his life around and became quite an honorable person.”

When dealing with juveniles, this is especially true. But it’s really the case for everyone we deal with. When people ask me if I feel weird working for a firm that represents a lot of people who are guilty, that’s what I remember: They’re not what they’ve been charged with. Even if they did it – there’s more to a person than the worst thing they did in their life. If you reduce them that way, you have fewer opportunities for heroes like Tillman.

Labels: football, holistic advocacy, juveniles, pat tillman, public perception, second chances, standing up for people

posted by Dan   permalink   0 Comments

We said goodbye to Devin Rourke, our summer intern, today, as she gets ready to head back to Spokane for school. She did a terrific job and helped launch some projects that had been lingering for years. She also had some reflections on her experience, and about her take on the system she’s been studying. Here’s what she had to say:

I’ve been a legal/social work intern at Sumpter & Gonzalez this summer and I suppose that makes me a ‘guest’ blogger. I have learned a lot during my time here: About law, about social work, and about how they can be applied to help people. I might be naïve or an idealist, but I believe that we can change the corrections system so it accomplishes what it was designed to do.

The majority of those incarcerated are not convicted of violent crimes. However, 25% of those in jail for a nonviolent crime will be sentenced again, this time for a violent crime. Around 80% of prisoners in jail are repeat offenders. In California, a program was instituted that sent non-violent drug offenders to rehab instead of jail. It was significantly more successful in helping offenders battle addictions. It was also significantly cheaper.

Cheaper. Now there’s the magic word. States spent an estimated $51.7 billion in 2008 on the corrections system, and it is estimated that it costs around $29,000 to incarcerate an offender for a year. To make this even more frightening, in a 15 state study by the Department of Justice in 1994, 51.8% of offenders were back in jail by the end of 3 years.

How can the system be changed for the better? I think most can agree that the corrections system is not doing what it was designed to do. I think we can agree that it is costing the American people a lot of money at a time when people are counting their change. Most importantly, I think people can agree that the children of these offenders are innocent of all charges.

The children of the incarcerated have often been overlooked and mistreated by the system. They have been forgotten and left behind. There are 2.4 million children in the United States with a parent in prison. 7 million kids – that’s one in ten – have a parent who’s either in jail, in prison, on probation, or on parole right now. Approximately 75% of women in jail are mothers and 6% of women entering jail are pregnant. Kids whose parent or parents are in jail are 5-6 times more likely to end up in jail themselves and one of every ten of these children is likely to be incarcerated before age 18.

Studies have found that the strongest predictor of offender success post-incarceration is strong family ties. Family ties are not only important for parents, they have a huge impact on the success of a child. Multiple parental arrests and the resulting pattern of repeated parent-child separation can be devastating for children and can have severe social consequences, such as emotional withdrawal, aggression, drug and alcohol abuse, failure to perform in school, and delinquency. Many of these children never experience a stable home as they are passed from relative to relative.

We have a vested interest in  how these kids grow up. It makes sense economically and in the interest of justice. What kind of people would we be if we punish the children for the crimes of their parents? If we don’t make a change in their lives now, when we have a chance, then we deserve the many costs of the criminal justice system.

Labels: juveniles, policy, recidivism, reoffenders

posted by Dan   permalink   0 Comments

Austin attorney and former bar association president Mina Brees passed away this weekend. The article touches on some of the controversy surrounding her, but regardless of that, our condolences to her family.

GamsoForTheDefense has a post about a 60-something year old man who's been living in his house for years who, oops, had his address put on the sex offender notification postcards by mistake.

GritsForBreakfast links to a Houston Chronicle op-ed about jail overcrowding. Seriously smart stuff.

Another GritsForBreakfast piece about bait cars, which we've talked about on the blog previously. He makes the cogent point that, if it takes weeks for someone to break into a car WITH THE KEYS INSIDE OF IT AND THE WINDOWS DOWN, the police probably don't need to be so concerned about that neighborhood.

The StandDown Texas Project has a great piece about mental illness and the juvenile justice system here.

And finally, there's a good one in the NYTimes from yesterday by Barbara Ehrenreich about whether or not poverty's become a crime.

Labels: bait cars, grits for breakfast, juveniles, linkdump, sex offender registration

posted by Dan   permalink   0 Comments

The 81st Texas Legislative Session was so unproductive that it has been dubbed by many as "the Seinfeld Session" - the session about nothing. However, just because there was little accomplished and taxpayers' money went largely down the drain does not mean that there was no damage.

Unfortunately, even in a Seinfeld Session, we still can't escape the insatiable legislative urge to rack up a few penalty enhancements and create a few new crimes. And since ignorance of the law excuses no one, I thought I would post the criminal justice highlights of the 2009 Legislative session:

The Good

SB 839: Abolishes Life Without Parole for Juveniles
Amends § 12.31, Penal Code, Capital Felony, to provide that a juvenile convicted of a capital felony that was certified as an adult pursuant to § 54.02, Family Code, will be sentenced to life, not life without parole.

Amends § 508.145, Government Code, Eligibility for Release on Parole; Computation of Parole Eligibility Date, to provide that a juvenile convicted of a capital felony that was certified as an adult pursuant to § 54.02 is not eligible for release on parole until the actual calendar time the inmate has served, without consideration of good conduct time, equals 40 calendar years.

SB 1940: Authorizes Pretrial Diversion Program for Veterans
Adds Chapter 617, to Subtitle E, Title 7, Health and Safety Code, Veterans Court Program Defined; Procedures for Certain Defendants, to provide the commissioners court the authority to establish a veterans deferred prosecution program whereby if a veteran successfully completes a veterans court program, the court shall dismiss the case.

SB 1681: Requires Corroboration of a Jailhouse Informant

Adds Article 38.075, Code of Criminal Procedure, Corroboration of Certain Testimony Required, to require corroboration before a person can be convicted on the testimony of a jailhouse informant. Provides that corroboration is not sufficient if it only shows that the offense was committed.

HB 1736: Increases Payments and Services to Wrongfully Imprisoned
Adds § 103.052, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Lump-Sum Compensation, to allow lump-sum compensation of $80,000 per each year of wrongful imprisonment and $25,000 per each year served on parole or as a registered sex offender.

HB 2730: Requires DPS To Waive Surcharges for Indigent

Amends § 708.158, Transportation Code, Indigent Status and Reduction of Surcharges, to state that DPS shall waive all driver’s license surcharges for a person who is indigent.

• A person may submit the following to establish indigency: most recent federal income tax return or wages reflecting the person’s household income does not exceed 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines or documentation that the person is receiving governmental assistance.

The Bad

SB 328: Expands Police Power for Mandatory Warrantless Blood Tests

Amends § 724.017, Transportation Code, Blood Specimen, to expand mandatory warrantless blood draws if a person is arrested for an offense under Chapter 49 of the Penal Code involving the operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft and the person refuses the officer’s request to submit to the taking of the specimen voluntarily and:

• an individual other than the person has suffered bodily injury and was transported to a hospital or other medical facility for medical treatment;


• person is under arrest for DWI with child passenger under 15;


• the person has been previously convicted of DWI two or more times; or


• the person has been previously convicted of DWI with child passenger under 15, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter;

HB 2086: Creates New First Degree Felony Crime of Directing Activities of Criminal Street Gangs and Creates Definition for Gang-Free Zone and Provides Penalty Enhancements

Adds § 71.023, Penal Code, Directing Activities of Certain Gangs, to create the new crime of directing activities of certain criminal street gangs which is a first degree felony.

Adds § 71.028, Penal Code, Gang-Free Zones, to establish gang-free zones and to increase penalty category to the next higher category (except for first-degree felonies) if it is shown that the actor is 17 years or older and commits a crime in a gang-free zone; specifically, if the offense was committed:

• Within 1000 feet of any school, higher education institution, youth center, or playground; or


• Within 300 feet of any shopping mall, movie theater, public swimming pool, video arcade; or


• On a school bus

HB 2240: Creates New Offense of Continual Violence Against the Family
Adds § 25.11, Penal Code, Continuous Violence Against the Family, to create a new offense of continual violence against the family, a third degree felony, if during a 12 month period, a person commits family violence two or more times.

The Ugly

HB 2846: Increases Age of Child Victims for Outcry Statement to 14 and Expands Outcry Statements to Include Acts Other Than the Alleged Offense that Were Committed Against the Child Victim or Other Victim Under 14

Amends § 1, Article 38.072, Code of Criminal Procedure, Hearsay Statement of Child Abuse Victim, to increase the age of a child victim from 12 to 14 for purposes of admitting an outcry statement and to allow outcry statements for criminal attempt of certain offenses.
Amends §2, Article 38.072, Code of Criminal Procedure, Hearsay Statement of Child Abuse Victim, to allow outcry statement of child victim under 14 concerning other crimes, wrongs, or acts other than the alleged offense and allegedly committed by the defendant against the victim or another child younger than 14.

SB 727: Requires Judges to Order DNA Sample Collection for Defendants Granted Probation for a Felony and Juveniles Adjudicated of 3g Offenses

Amends Article 102.020, Code of Criminal Procedure, Costs on Conviction for Offenses Requiring DNA Testing, to require a person placed on community supervision to pay $34 if DNA sample required.

Adds § 54.0409, Family Code, DNA Sample Required on Certain Felony Adjudications, to require the court to, on adjudication of a 3g felony or felony involving a deadly weapon, collect DNA, as a condition of probation, from a juvenile.
Adds Subsection J, § 11, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, Community Supervision, to require a judge granting probation to a defendant convicted of a felony to require defendant to provide a DNA sample.

Click here for our full 2009 Legislative Summary of new criminal justice laws.

Labels: blood draws, dwi, juveniles, pretrial diversion, texas legislature

posted by Kristin Etter   permalink   0 Comments

If there is one area of law that has changed more than any other through the years, it is juvenile law. And I don’t mean change in terms of legal definitions or statutes, I’m talking about change in terms of societal perception and treatment.

When I was a kid if someone got into trouble at school they were dealt with by adults entrusted with the power to investigate and respond accordingly - Adults with the wisdom to evaluate a situation and discipline a child if necessary. A coach might order someone in gym class to do pushups, have a student run laps around a field, or even whack a behind with a paddle. Teachers might give additional homework, write a letter to a parent, or send a child to the principal’s office. Principals might reprimand a student, expel them, or send them home to face their parents. Parents might ground their child or levy additional chores. Whatever the response, adults in charge could exercise discretion when deciding what discipline, if any, should be administered. Police interrogations, strip searches, and criminal charges were a last resort. Now, investigative measures and disciplinary actions are, more often than not, pre-determined. Now there is zero tolerance.

On October 8, 2003, thirteen year-old Savana Redding was strip-searched while at school. Savana was an honor student who had never been in trouble before. Even so, because of an unsubstantiated allegation that she had brought drugs to school, authorities felt compelled to search her. First, she was forced to take her outer clothing off. A male vice-principal and female school nurse inspected her jacket, t-shirt, pants, shoes, and socks. When nothing was found she was told to pull her bra to the side, exposing her breasts, and shake it out. Still nothing. Finally, she was made to expose her pelvic area by pulling the crotch of her underwear out to see if any drugs had been hidden there. Nothing was found. During this process Savana continued to express her innocence. She never consented to the search and her parents were not contacted.

What kind of dangerous drug would justify such an evasive search? What were they looking for?

Advil.

Parents need to realize that student behavior, which in the past, would have been handled by the school - or better yet, the parents - is now, more often than not, pursued according to pre-determined directives and turned over to law enforcement. Criminal charges are filed and must be dealt with. One kid pushes another kid and assault charges are filed. A child sprays deodorant in a locker room, sets off a smoke alarm, and is charged with a felony. A kid who writes “bomb” on an empty envelope as a joke then makes the mistake of leaving it on top of a trashcan, is charged with terroristic threat. The list goes on and on. Don’t get me wrong - it’s easy to see how we got here. It’s a frightening new world with kids taking guns to school to exact revenge for perceived persecutions, joining gangs in order to feel tough and protected, self-medicating via prescriptions found at home or drugs purchased on the street. Terrible crimes occur in school these days that shock all of us. We have to do everything possible to ensure the safety of our children.

But aren’t we just taking the easy way out with zero tolerance?

A child’s life is so difficult these days, and I fear we are just making it tougher, albeit in the name of safety and a child’s best interests. A child is given no leeway to exercise poor judgment and make the stupid mistakes of childhood without grave consequences. An adult, meanwhile, can avoid making a mistake of judgment altogether by merely turning to zero tolerance. So much easier than weighing the facts and using common sense! We're saying, "It doesn’t matter that you are a child and do not know better, I will not burden myself with personal judgment regarding the situation and run the risk of making a decision that others might not agree with. Zero tolerance will make my decision for me."

Last week the Supreme Court found the search of Savana Redding to be unconstitutional. “Outrageous” was the term used to describe the school official’s actions. But I fear zero tolerance is here to stay in one form or another. A school official faced with the decision of how far to go when dealing with a child’s apparent misbehavior will almost certainly err on the side of caution and avoid the danger of subjective discretion. Whether violating a child’s constitutional rights in an effort to procure evidence or deciding to press criminal charges, caution will be the driving factor, not tolerance. When in doubt, search the child, call the authorities, and file the charges.

I think about this every time I’m confronted by an upset parent who doesn’t understand why their child has suddenly become involved in the juvenile justice system. Why is my child being treated like an adult criminal? Why have criminal charges been filed just because my child got into a schoolyard fight or had ibuprofen in his pocket? It’s hard to understand. Shouldn’t they, as parents, be given the opportunity to discipline their child without such drastic measures being taken? That’s when I remind them that the world has changed. That there was a time when a kid could act like a kid and be treated like a kid, but unfortunately… those days are long gone.

Labels: juveniles, public perception, taking the easy way, zero tolerance

posted by Dal   permalink   0 Comments