Got Jesus?

Would you rather sit on a pew or sit in jail?

That's the choice being offered in the town of Bay Minette, Alabama for those accused of non-violent misdemeanors (let's forget, for a minute, the absurdity of putting someone convicted of a non-violent misdemeanor in jail). In exchange for attending church on a weekly basis, a defendant can have his or her case dismissed.

I thought Judge Clinton here in Houston had a goofy idea when he offered to reduce community service hours in exchange for reading a Christian how-to book. That was nothing.

The police chief sees nothing odd about the program. He doesn't think it violates the First Amendment because no one is forcing folks to take part and participants can pick the church of their choice. He thinks it's a good idea. And it saves the city the $75 it would cost to house an inmate per day.

I'm all for alternative methods of sentencing and rehabilitating folks. Just locking them up in the county jail (or the state pen) ain't working. Giving someone an alternative to their destructive behavior can't help being a step in the right direction.

But church? Religion has been used for centuries as a tool of manipulating the masses. Tell people that their lives aren't going well because God isn't happy is a masterful way to getting them to tune out the inequities in our daily lives and not question authority. Religion has been used to justify murder, homophobia and sexual abuse.

The charlatans who parade in front of the television cameras live high on the hog as they press their congregants to give up more and more of their hard-earned income because "God will give it back ten-fold!" Just look who's living in the McMansion an driving the Mercedes.

And what about that whole First Amendment thing? You know, the little provision that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion. The Fourteenth Amendment applied those prohibitions to the states.

Offering to dismiss a case if a person attends church every week for a year discriminates against non-Christians and athiests. It violates the very spirit of equal protection under the law. Enacting such a policy confers additional benefits on those who share the religious belief of the judge.

Is the city getting a cut of the tithes?

I'm a (true) believer

A judge shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct manifest bias or prejudice, including but not limited to bias or prejudice based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status, and shall not knowingly permit staff, court officials and others subject to the judge's direction and control to do so.

Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3(b)(6)

Oh, Murray, Murray, Murray.

Don't speak so quickly. Have you forgotten that there was a Thirteenth Apostle (the Christian equivalent of George Best, I suppose)? I'm sure if we look long and hard enough that somewhere we'll find a testament written by some guy named Murray claiming to be that long lost apostle. Maybe that's who wrote the alleged Christian texts found in a Jordanian cave between 2005 and 2007.

(By the way, Murray, I liked the old layout better. I'm getting older and it hurts my eyes. There's always Google Reader, though.)

Another Houston colleague, Eric Davis, chimed in with a defense of Judge Clinton's using the bench as a pulpit. I understand what the judge gave as his motivation to offer "Jesus time" in lieu of community service. There are too many judges out there who just line up defendants and bring out on the chain for a mass plea (about how you'd expect the Rev. Sun Myung Moon to do it if he were a judge and not a huckster whatever he is). The problem though is that Judge Clinton was imposing a religious test in determining a person's sentence. And that, no matter how "divine" the intention, is just plain wrong.

Wiping out eight hours of community service in exchange for a person writing an essay about what it means to be on probation? Excellent idea. Discussing Jesus over coffee in exchange for wiping out the rest? Not so good.

This idea that having someone read a Christian self-help book will help them turn their lives around is fairly laughable when you stop to consider that some of history's greatest mass murderers were "God-fearing" men and that the Catholic Church conspired to cover up the world's largest child molestation ring. Just because you accept Jesus Christ as your savior or because you've completed a bunch of workbooks in Sunday school doesn't mean you're a saint. And, conversely, just because you're not a Christian (which I guess would be the majority of our fellow denizens of the earth), doesn't mean you're bad.

And just what is the message in Judge Clinton's book?

The origin of all problems–family, finances, career, relationships – can all be traced back to a single source: life-dominating sin. No human remedy can cure it. But everyone can find victory over sin in the Word of God.

Yes, you can also have victory over life-dominating sin, based on two biblical principles remarkable in their simplicity:

1. There is no human remedy for sin.
2. The only cure for sin is in Christ.

So, unless you subscribe to these principles, you can never achieve "victory over life-dominating sin." In other words, "I'm right and you're wrong."

Mark Bennett got it right when he looked at it from the perspective of the folks who didn't get offered the "I'm a Believer" discount. I don't think either of us is being alarmist when we ask whether the 4th, 5th or 6th Amendments are safe in Judge Clinton's courtroom.



This isn't a religious debate. I'm all for whatever people need to get through each day. I happen to prefer to lace up my running shoes and run around the neighborhood before the sun rises - but that ain't for everyone.

During the course of a meeting of the board of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association yesterday (called for the purpose of deciding what action, if any, to take regarding this incident), a member (who had spoken to Judge Clinton at the behest of the president) decided it would be a good idea to bring his new buddy, the judge, to the meeting.

And there he was, wearing a suit with a huge cross lapel pin. A true believer. The judge said he asked selected probationers if they were men of faith. He then asked if they were Christians. If he got the answers he was looking for, he offered them some "Jesus time" instead of community service. How could he not know that wasn't right?

In the end the leadership of HCCLA tucked its collective tail between its legs and decided not to do anything. Something about massaging the judge instead of stepping on him.

Said Stanley Schneider, past president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association:

“I think this is a man that we really need to get behind. Anyone who wants to take the innovative, and trying to do something to help people in his courtroom to succeed in life, he’s someone we need to applaud.”

Dottie Griffith of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (who filed a complaint against Judge Clinton) had a slightly different take:

“The idea that a judge would use the power of the bench to coerce individuals appearing before him into accepting his religious beliefs offends the Constitution and should offend all Houstonians. If true, Judge Clinton’s actions are patently illegal.”

See also:

"Judge's sentence involving Christian book causes controversy," KHOU-TV (3/28/2011)
"Reading lesson for cons was Christian book," Houston Chronicle (3/29/2011)

Paper training for judges?

What is the proper response when you have evidence that a judge has violated the Constitution in the course of suspending someone's sentence?

How do you react when a judge asks a defendant entering a guilty plea whether or not he believes in Jesus?

Do you (a) send someone to have a private heart-to-heart with the judge, or (b) file an ethics complaint? Do you accept an explanation that the judge didn't realize he was doing anything wrong, or do you call bullshit based on the politics of the folks he keeps company with?

Is it even that big a deal? We are, after all, supposedly a Judeo-Christian nation. The Founding Fathers, however, were Deists who brought a whole different perspective to the dinner table than evangelical Christians.

If you launch a head-on assault on the judge, do you risk turning the Bible-thumping Teabaggers out in greater numbers to vote for judicial candidates with R's after their names? Or is it politics be damned, it's time to take a stand?

If we make a big stink about it, do we make it harder for any clients we may have who find themselves in that court? Or, do we stand for principle?

I will say this, I find it hard to believe in this day and age that a man could practice family law and then run for a criminal court bench without having a clue that religion has no place in the courtroom. The path to the Republican nomination in Harris County is to pander to the Christian right - and that means putting God "back" in government. That dynamic isn't going to change -- the nature of our political process means that candidates on the extreme fair better in party primaries than candidates in the mainstream; in the general election, however, both candidates move toward the middle and hope that no one was paying attention to the primary season.

If a judge knows that if he crosses the line all he'll get is a chat over coffee with a defense attorney, where's the harm? On the other hand, if a judge realizes he might get slapped with an ethics complaint, he, and his colleagues, will think twice.

Maybe this situation is touchy because no one wants to be seen as being opposed to religion. I think there are some folks out there who are afraid to confront a judge because they don't want the judge to take it out on their clients. Well, if that's the case, the judge will have future complaints on his plate for acting vindictively.

Futhermore, our very presence in the courtroom pisses off judges. Just think of how efficiently the docket would move if there weren't defense attorneys pushing for better deals and challenging the legality of police conduct. Without us mucking up the works, just imagine how many cases would plead out on the first setting in plenty of time to get a round in that afternoon.

It's a matter of principle, not expediency. If a judge is going to be so cavalier as to ignore the First Amendment's prohibition of state-sponsored religion, how's he going to treat the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments?

Just like that cute little puppy that left you a present in the living room; sometimes you have to stick his nose in it.

Preaching from the bench

"Do I ever have a deal for you. I know you don't have time to do all that community service you will be assigned as part of your probation -- so what would you say if I were to waive it in exchange for you reading something instead? Sounds pretty good, so far, doesn't it?


I'll tell you what. If you'll read this bible study book that I've written, I'll waive all of your community service hours. Sound like something you'd like to do? It's a whole lot more convenient than having to get up and go somewhere for some forced "volunteer" work, isn't it?


Hey, while we're at it, here, before you enter that plea, do you believe in Jesus?"

I'm sure that's not exactly how the talk goes when entering a plea in Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 4,  but it is apparent that Judge John Clinton hasn't spent much time reviewing the Establishment Clause. It is also apparent that the judge either doesn't know, or doesn't care, that there are many religions around the world that don't exalt Jesus as the earthly embodiment of God. A trifling detail, I know.

I wrote about Judge Clinton when he was still candidate Clinton prior to last November's election. Judge Clinton is a retired police officer who was allowed to attend law school while working so long as he promised not to practice criminal law. He and his wife opened up a family law practice. That's his experience. At least the black-robed prosecutors judges who went directly from the DA's Office to the bench have experience in criminal law.

When asked why he was running for the bench, Judge Clinton replied:

This race is important because I see these as gateway courts. Often, young criminals make their first stop here. We have to make a firm impression on them. We must also protect the rights of both the accused and the victims. I think that often we look beyond the victims and what they are going through when crime enters their lives. These courts play a vital role in keeping our community safe and secure.

Excuse me, your Honor, the last time I checked, the Constitution laid out the rules that protect the citizen accused. The duty of the judge is to ensure that the accused's constitutional rights are protected from the time he is approached by the police until the time the case is resolved. It is the defendant who has the right to a fair trial and due process -- not the state and not the alleged victim.

That's right, until the state has proven beyond all reasonable doubt that a criminal act has taken place, there is no victim. There is a complaining witness or an alleged victim - but that's it. Using the word victim implies that one has already decided that a criminal act took place.

He then went on to say

I am the candidate with the practical experience and the perspective we need in this court. I will always look out for victims and protect the Constitution. These courts play a vital role in protecting our community. That's something I've been doing my entire adult life.

Judge, the role of the courts is not to protect the community. The role of the courts is to ensure that a person accused of a crime is afforded a fair trial and due process of law. Protecting the community is a task assigned to law enforcement agencies, not the men and women wearing black robes sitting behind an ornate raised desk.

While Judge Clinton is forcing his religious beliefs on the people in front of him, he might want to take a look at Matthew 7:1 --

Judge not, lest ye be judged.

Let's face it, when the only qualification for a judge is whether or not there's an R or a D after their name, we get exactly what we deserve.