Judge Katherine Cabaniss, Judge Denise Bradley, Judge Vanessa Valasquez, Judge Bill Burke, Judge Bonnie Hellums Hopuston's Judiciary Who Support Christian Coverups and Drug Addicts Over Crime Victims Houston Texas

I am writing, as a drug court victim in Harris County, to publically admonish and highlight the judges in Harris County that support corruption, Christian cover-ups, and drug addicts over crime victims.  I would also ask Harris County voters, as a crime victim, NOT re-elect these judges in the upcoming elections.

DRUG COURT
Drug courts are special courtrooms that offer offenders arrested for crimes such as fraud, check fraud, credit card fraud, theft, prostitution, breaking and entering, forgery, etc., an intensely supervised probation and wrap around services (usually including Christian churches and AA) versus jail.  Separate, and certainly not equal, for the very same crimes.

FACTS ON DRUG COURT
- In the 5 years after Texas mandated drug courts in its 5 largest counties, representing 80% of its population, drug arrests jumped 50%.  Similar results have occurred in other portions of the country, a phenomenon known as net widening.
- In the 5 years after Harris County added its STAR Drug Court, drug arrests jumped 60%.
- Drug arrest increased substantially more in the counties that added drug courts in the 3-5 trailing years than those that did not during the same timeframes.
- The leading public policy foundation in the county, The Brookings Institute, found that 86% of drug courts cost more to operate than they save in jail dollars.  Brookings found that the average drug court costs taxpayers $5,000 more to operate than saved via jail, after accounting for the cost of wrap around services and crimes committed while on release (costs blatantly ignored by drug court sponsored studies).  This is the most comprehensive (largest) meta-analysis done of drug courts to date.  The Scottish and British Justice Ministries made similar findings.
- A recent GAO study found that just slightly more than 50% of drug courts actually reduce recidivism – meaning, nearly half are ineffective at lowering rearrest rates.
- While wrap around services providers and rehabs are benefitting to the tune of tens of millions a year in Texas, the average remuneration rate of drug offenders to victims is a measly 6%.  Shouldn’t some of these drug treatment funds instead be diverted to crime victims instead of rehab run by former addicts themselves??  Also, at pointed out by a lawyer friend of mine, it is easier for our good judges to get kickbacks from those rehabs they are routinely using on a regular basis, than public jails.

MY (OUR) CASE
In my case, I and my female roommate took in, and tried to help, the heroin addicted daughter of a man who ran a rehab located at a “recovery church,” Chapelwood/Mercy Street.  We (my roommate and I) have a combined 4 degrees, no arrest record, and have never been sued.  

We fed this girl, clothed her, convinced her to go to a rehab, drove her to it, paid for it, and reported and threatened her dealers.   We thought it was the right thing to do under the extensinuating circumstances of the fact her father ran a rehab at the church which helped other people’s kids – running it while hooked on pain pills himself, an issue neither the court system which does business with the church or church wants to speak about – and being prostituted at the club run by the former head of the NJ mafia.   

The girl ended up stealing my items, my friend/neighbors, and driving my car through my condo parking gate.  She was never ordered to pay a dollar in restitution.  She stole tens of thousands from another individual who tried to help her, and made another an unknowing getaway car in one of her crimes.

At the trial, per an internal affairs investigation by Harris County, the drug court manager entered to the courtroom to seek special treatment for the defendant.  Further, another crime victim, a credible working professional, stated he was threatened and thrown out of the courtroom, by  the ex-drug addict preacher who runs the drug church at which the defendant’s father ran the rehab while an addict at the same time.  The civil case, to reclaim damages, was in front of another judge from Chapelwood, the church in question, a clear conflict of interest.

A month and a half into the trial, after the family asked me to come to the trial and request leniency, I was stood up in a courtroom and told I was of bad character and ill repute by the judge.  She would never explain why, but later apologized to me through the court counsel.  I surmised via some very good evidence this was also the result of ex-addict preacher of the drug church.  I was told the order would be changed to victim, but could not be changed in the historical record.

HARRIS COUNTY JUDICIAL NATO AND THE ANATOMY OF A CHRISTIAN, RIGHT WING COVERUP INVOLVING GOOD CHRISTIAN VALUES

Judicial NATO – the premise that an attack on one Harris County judge or conflicts in the system is an attack on all. 

Within a month of the release of an audio of Harris County’s lawyers apologizing and promising a “reassessment of the entire drug court model,” the defendant’s probation officer apologized to me, and worked to have her put back in jail.  I did not request this personally.  The PO was infuriated.  I later found out she made untrue, disparaging statements about me, so as far as I am concerned, she got what she deserved.  You have to be a real piece of crap to say anything negative about someone who took you in, fed you, clothed you, and paid for your rehab and literally saved your life, who you then victimized.

The judge who ordered the investigation, Stricklin, and the criminal court counsel who conducted it, both resigned/retired within a release of the audio.  Stricklin was replaced as administrative court judge by Mike Anderson, an original drug court judge.  Anderson, later elected DA, cancelled the existing investigation ordered by his predecessor while in a seemingly severely conflicted position to do so (as former drug court judge, and huge drug court advocate).  Rick Perry, a huge specialty court supporter, named Marc Brown to replace Stricklin on the bench – within a few months, Brown was a specialty court judge as well.

Oddly, within a month of the release of the audio, Bill Burke, an ex-alcoholic from Chapelwood Church, was named the new drug court judge – this was rather stunning, to say the least, since Harris County promised me action against Chapelwood and a “reassessment of the entire drug court model.” 

After I began emailing members of the Texas Senate and Representative criminal justice committees in the 2012 session, it seems Judge Campbell, mid-term, announced her “retirement” within a matter of weeks.  She stated in a Chron article she was quitting because of the cases that “did not work out.”  I am still wondering whether that retirement was due to her poor management of the case, or, stating via counsel that the drug court manager advocated for the defendant in the case.  Good old Rick, a big drug court supporter, replaced Campbell with Cabaniss, then a member of the Harris County Drug Court Foundation.  Rick can’t have his judges making negative comments about his marquee new criminal justice policy, such as they need to be “reassessed,” or associated, corrupt Protestant Christian Right-Wing organizations, run by a bunch of ex addicts and alcoholics.

When I sought an investigation of the case outside of Harris County (the AG office), it never happened.  One of Perry’s criminal justice staff members told me that they knew everyone in the AG’s office, and the case would go nowhere.  Federal investigations advised me this case was among the worst government ethics that they had seen regards conflicts, but that no federal laws were broken.

THE FOLLOWUP
In the 6 years since this case, there has been an explosion across this country of issues with the blind leading the blind.  According to tenant 12 of the 12 steps, addicts are supposed to help other addicts – this takes the form of provided wrap around services to the court and serving as judges, as well. 

Just in the last 2 years, there have been over a dozen issues.  As few examples.  In Florida, a drug court judge was forced to leave her courtroom after slurring on the bench drunk.  In Illinois, a drug court judge overdosed from drugs bought from his drug court probation officer.  He also released one of his dealers before the overdose.  In Tennessee, a drug court judge purchased drugs from and had sex with a drug court defendant in his courtroom.  In Colorado, a drug court judge crashed her car, drunk, into a fence. 

In our case, the offender’s deferred adjudication comes up for removal in a year and a half, 5 years post coming off probation.  At that time, I expect her to still have not apologized to me, or another other victims, per her strong Christian values she learned in Chapelwood Church.  I also expect Rick Perry’s newly appointed druggie court crony, and friend of most of the rest of the judges named herein, to clear off / seal her record without expecting the defendant to have every shown an ounce of remorse to the people who helped save her life, she victimized, and who she then defamed. 

If you support this, these judges need your vote for re-election. 

Chapelwood Crackhead Cult Church is still associated with the court, 5 years after an independent internal investigation promised action against the church.  I have seen neither action, nor a reassessment of the entire drug court model.  The prizewinners associated with Chapelwood whose preachers threatened crime victims in my case include:

• The ex-alcoholic head preacher of the church, Jim Jackson

• The ex-crack using and thief founder of the drug mass at Chapelwood, Matt Russell, who threatened and threw one of our crime victims out of the courtroom

• Bill Burke, an ex-alcoholic from the church who was mysteriously named the new drug court judge a matter of weeks after the internal affairs investigation promised action against Chapel in the Woods Drug Church

• The Father who ran the rehab at Chapelwood Church while stung out on pills himself, both of whom’s daughters became drug addicts and strippers, and one of whom went on a yearlong crime spree causing tens of thousands in unanswered damage

• Judge Ridgway, who did not recuse himself from the civil case (lawsuit) – another proud Chapelwood member

• Bill Henderson, who was tasked to respond to me on behalf of Judge Emmett, yet another Chapel in the Woods member, has an impressive resume including a bankruptcy fraud arrest and indictment, an obstruction of justice conviction, and another arrest related to taking his car back personally from an impound yard while striking a worker there with the car.

The ethics at Chapelwood are quite impressive.  This organization, hosting quite a few members of “bad character and ill repute” seems to still maintain an association with our court system five years to the date we were promised action.