Justice Does Not Always Come For All

Justice does not always come for all.  Maybe justice just takes time.  A jury convicted Judge Suzanne Wooten of bribery last Friday and I believe wrongfully.  This was a trial involving politics and the constant struggle for power.  

“Mr.” John R. Roach, Sr. probably didn’t appreciate the fact that Suzanne ran against and beat incumbent, Charles Sandoval.  Everyone involved in Collin County politics knew that while, John Roach, Sr. was in charge, “if you fight, he will indict”  (from my friend Montgomery).  Mr. Roach enjoyed instilling fear in everyone.  I feel sorry for his wife and family because I don’t think you can turn off the need for power when you go home.   It tells you a lot about the man, when he insists on being called “Judge” by his friends at informal settings and by his employees after he left the bench to become the District Attorney.  Judge Suzanne Wooten was just one of his many targets.   Fortunately, his efforts to prevent Judge Greg Willis from becoming the Collin County District Attorney were unsuccessful.   Greg will bring back some respect and integrity to our County.  Greg doesn’t need to demand respect.  He gets it because we want to give it.  We got lucky this time folks.   The John Roach, Sr. and Charles Sandoval’s will be back.  Who will be left to fight?  Who will have Suzanne’s guts and courage?

Charles Sandoval should never have been a judge anywhere.  He was and is, in my opinion, a very bad lawyer and judge.  Yet, the people, through our partisan politics, voted him into office.  He was the kind of judge, like many others, who would more than likely make you pay if you did not support him.  Suzanne knew the probable consequences when she decided to run against him.  She was given money by people who had been the recipients of his authority and wanted him out.  Many lawyers would not support Suzanne publicly for fear of retaliation by Sandoval if she lost the election.  Suzanne had the courage to take on the bully and beat him soundly in his bid for reelection.  Since the controversial donor to her campaign had a case pending in her court, she had a visiting judge hear his case to avoid any conflict of interest.  Now, think about all the donations given to campaigns from law firms, PACs, etc.   Why do they do it?  Do they enjoy giving money away?  Where is their Indictment?   Suzanne wasn’t bribed by anyone.  She did what most of us didn’t have the courage to do. 

As my good friend, Matt, put it, “A judge is now a convicted felon.  Suzanne will be disbarred, her law license and a lifetime of work is taken away in the blink of an eye.  An assistant attorney general will receive a hero’s welcome upon his arrival back to Austin.  The public will undoubtedly rejoice in the downfall and destruction of a lawyer.  An awful day for our profession…”  Is that how we are supposed to treat others?  I believe the prosecution violated their duty.  Their primary duty is not to convict, but to see that justice is done.  How does the Golden Rule fit in with all of this?  Is it really justice to ruin Judge Suzanne Wooten’s life?   I don’t think so. 

The assistant attorney general, John Roach, Sr., Chris Milner, Greg Davis and anyone else who had a part in this prosecution ought to be ashamed, not proud.  Judge Suzanne Wooten is the hero. 

I thank Judge Suzanne Wooten for standing up to a bad judge and the self-proclaimed Daddy of Collin County, Mr. John Roach, Sr.  I thank her for showing us what it means to be courageous.  This fight for justice is never ending.  Sometimes, we feel defeated, but we sleep and get up to fight some more.   I hope Suzanne will get back up and keep fighting in her journey.   I pray for peace for Suzanne and her family.   

Note- while I’m here:

 There has to be a better way to select our judges.  Although we’ve been fortunate lately (for the most part) in Collin County, partisan politics causes people to support and vote blindly.  It isn’t about getting the best person for public office; it is about picking teams and trying to win.  It is merely a game and unfortunately, most voters are simply, uninformed or affected by the propaganda that is constantly pushed in our faces.  The people that are starved for power will do what it takes and play the silly games to get what they desire.  If our local group of lawyers were to anonymously choose lawyers, who would be great judges, the list would include lawyers who would never choose to run because they would have to bite their tongues and maybe even lie to satisfy the “right” thinking, gullible individuals.   The list would surely exclude some judges currently sitting in our courts. 

The more I think and write about this, the more I blame myself for not having Suzanne’s courage years ago.  We humans are weak, scared, and selfish at times.  Doing the right thing is not always easy and usually involves risk.   I wish I had all the answers.  This world is not, and will never be, perfect.

Who is Timothy Cole?

Timothy Cole is the name of a man who once lived on this earth. Tim spent the last 13 years of his life in prison for a crime that he did not commit. When he was 25 years old, he was wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman and spent the next 13 years of his life in prison. I said white woman didn’t I? Does it matter? Well, it shouldn’t matter, but I believe everything matters when you are the one sitting in that chair with (12) jurors staring at you while the witnesses point at you and say, “He is the one, the black man wearing the black suit with the white shirt”.

We could say, “Well, our system isn’t perfect” or “that is just the way it goes sometimes”. But, we won’t do that when it is happening to “one of our own”.

Let’s think about what we are doing between the ages of 25 and 38. I’m leaving Texas Tech about a year before Tim was accused of rape. Tim is enjoying his life as a Tech student. Maybe he is thinking, “Life is good”. He has already served in the military. His parents, a Bell Helicopter manager and a schoolteacher, are proud of their son. Tim has no idea, or thought, that he will ever be accused of rape and be locked up for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, I’ve just experienced one of the best times of my life at Tech. I’m not thinking about the Tim Coles among us because it is all about me, and my life.

Tim is sitting in prison, and I am in Houston going to law school. My purpose is to go get a law degree so I can get out and make some money. Isn’t the money, the reason we live on this earth? The thought of defending Tim or anyone like him doesn’t enter my mind. Tim sits in his cell today as he does everyday, and I’m going to the beach in Galveston; riding my bicycle down the seawall; throwing bread at the seagulls; fishing in Baytown; catching a lot of shrimp; going out with my friends; and spending time with my family. Tim is spending time with his family too. He has a phone at his ear and a glass barrier in between him and his mother. He can see her tears slip down her face. My time with my family is more than a telephone call and I take it for granted. I don’t realize how special it is to be able to hug someone.

We are playing cards and board games at the lake house with my family while Tim is playing cards with other men in prison. The floor is a cold concrete floor with a drain in the middle of it. There is a stainless steel commode without a seat or a privacy door. The toilet paper is worse than what we get at a roadside park, like the one near Benjamin, Texas. Of course, there are no girlfriends or wives as God intended for us.

Well, I’m 29 years old now and have met the girl I’ve hoped for and we are getting married. A few years of living life go by and we have all three of our children now. Time is flying by for me, but Tim’s time is moving slower.

It is 1999 and I’m in Wyoming attending the Trial Lawyer’s College. It is beautiful out here and I’m learning things that I wish I learned in law school. Tim is in prison dying today from being locked up for 13 years, but the prison officials are calling it asthma complications.

On April 7, 2009, Judge Charlie Baird exonerates Timothy Cole. Judge Baird cited poor police work that destroyed, “downplayed or deliberately ignored” evidence showing that Cole did not abduct and rape a fellow Tech student. “The evidence is crystal clear that Timothy Cole died in prison an innocent man, and I find to a 100 percent moral certainty that he did not commit the crime of which he was convicted.” Judge Baird called for reforms to eye-witness identification, prisoner access to scientific evidence that could prove their innocence and compensation for the exonerated. What can money do for Tim and his family now?

Jerry Wayne Johnson, the actual rapist, confessed to the crime by sending letters to prosecutors and judges in 1994, but they were ignored. The innocence project attempted to be heard at a hearing in Lubbock where the case was originally prosecuted, but the judge refused their request. Tim’s family knew they had the rapist’s admission and DNA evidence that proved Tim’s innocence, but couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just say that “Tim is innocent”.

Texas leads the nation with 36 exonerations. Why? How can that be, with all the rights provided by our State and Federal Constitutions? We have the right not to testify; the Presumption of Innocence; the requirement on the Government to prove guilt Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. These words and phrases sound pretty good, but mean very little in our world. Many of us will go to church this Sunday and will be reminded of the unselfish gift of forgiveness. Yet, we live our lives during the week and forget the big picture. We live our selfish lives; we judge others, we hate, and don’t think about what our brothers, like Timothy Cole, are going through. Tim could have accepted the probation offer like many innocent people before him, but he was a man that would not give in to the pressures applied by our “justice system”. I will not forget Timothy Cole.

The “Robert Powell” in us all

Most of us don’t want to think about the “Robert Powell” in us. That would be like admitting we have a prejudice or something ugly like that. It is easy to say that someone else is prejudiced, but to find our own and say it out loud is difficult. It is easy to look at the way Powell acted and disown any similarity in us. I may look at myself in a minute, but it is obvious that when we look around at others in this world, we see the “Robert Powells” in other positions of authority. Some of them wear black robes; some stand at the pulpit; some are prosecutors; some sit in our capitols; and some are lawyers like me.

Since I have seen Powell and other officers like him, I don’t view it necessarily as racially motivated, but rather his desire to exert the power that was given to him. The Spiderman quote comes to mind- “with great power comes great responsibility”. We have people in this world that want to be a cop, a judge, a politician, etc. for the wrong reasons. I believe the process begins after birth as opposed to conception. It is possible that young Robert was picked on as a child. It could be that he was starved for attention and respect as a child. I guess when we are starved; we may do what we can to feed the hunger.

For me, I need to use the power, given to me as a parent, more responsibly. Maybe if I give them more attention, respect, and love, they won’t be starving, as they become an adult in this world.