 Judge Hellums Must Change Her Policies or Leave Office
Judge Bonnie Hellums should follow the law and live up to her moral obligation to protect children. Judge Hellums must stop taking away children from parents simply because they did not attend a four hour parent education class. She should also stop dismissing cases simply because orders are not ready on the one and only entry date her court will allow.
The last issue of this newsletter respectfully called on Judge Bonnie Hellums to change policies which are illegal, unconstitutional and potentially dangerous for children. That article was written only after I had sent a long personal letter to Judge Hellums seeking to resolve the problem privately.
Judge Hellums was invited to respond but I have heard nothing from her, even though I promised to print her response verbatim in this issue.
The feedback from that first article about Judge Hellums has been amazingly positive. Lawyers and even judges have said they agreed with me and they all said they were happy someone was raising these issues. Here is a sample e-mail I received from a judge:
I absolutely agree with you on your article about Judge Hellums. It is shameful and appalling what she does in open court, surely it also qualifies as grounds for a judicial complaint! I also witnessed her take children away from BOTH parents due to not attending the idiotic class and actually told a CPS worker sitting in court. to go get the children!
Judge Hellums has announced in court that she knows some people disagree with her policies but she is not changing them.
So what now? I am going to begin a campaign to have Judge Hellums removed from office and begin a quiet, dignified campaign of clever but peaceful resistance to her. I need the names and contact information of parents who have had their children taken away by Judge Hellums for not attending the dumb parenting class. I need real people to file grievances and talk to the media. Please e-mail me at greg@enoslaw.com.
Can a family court judge allow her spouse (even if he is a great guy) to sit as a visiting associate judge? Does that seem proper or legal? Consult Texas Family Code Sec. 201.018.
Galveston County District Clerk Nominees: Kinard v. Wilson
Jason Murray resigned as Galveston County District Clerk within days of this newsletter calling for his resignation. His wonderful interim replacement, Doryn Danner Glenn is not seeking election to the post.
The Democrats have nominated former District Clerk Latonia Wilson, who was defeated by Murray in 2010. Wilson disgraced herself by the way she acted after she lost. Her employees were not allowed to meet during work hours with the in-coming clerk and she suspended one employee for even talking to the new guy, according to the Galveston News. Click here to the News story or here to see the News editorial "It's No Way to Leave Office."
The Republicans have nominated John Kinard, retired FBI agent and recent Sheriff candidate. Kinard has a law degree but has not practiced law in Galveston County.
The District Clerk election will be on the November ballot.
How to Venue Shop in Galveston County Family Courts
Galveston County judges are used to me suggesting how things should be done. They work in a new courthouse I first proposed that was built with bonds I helped pass as the Chair of the bond campaign committee. I re-wrote the local rules for family law cases and designed the FIS form used in Galveston County.
No judge has been more receptive to my numerous ideas than Jan Yarbrough. We have organized seminars together and I truly respect her as a hardworking, fair judge who really cares about making the right decision.
One of the arguments I have not won with Judge Yarbrough involves her part-time Associate Judge for CPS cases, Judge Suzanne Schwab-Radcliffe (full disclosure: I represented AJ Radcliffe in her divorce for a time).
Judge Radcliffe works two days a week doing a great job with CPS cases and she works the rest of the time as a lawyer in private practice. If someone hires Ms. Radcliffe or the lawyer she shares an office with and the case is in the 306th District Court, then the case gets automatically transferred to another court. It seems to me that who a party hires as a lawyer should not select (or de-select) the court. If the 306th is the court of continuing jurisdiction, what legal reason is there to move the case to another court? The rule should be that Ms. Radcliffe has to decline cases in the 306th and the hiring of her office-mate should have no effect on the court after full disclosure of the relationship.
Nefarious parties who want out of the 306th could simply hire Radcliffe, get the case moved, and then proceed with another lawyer since the cases are not transferred back if Radcliffe is discharged. This policy needs to be changed.
Useful Guide to Houston Area School Districts & Calendars
Ever been in mediation and needed to know when a kid's school got out for a holiday? Family attorneys and judges will appreciate my web site that offers quick access to the 2012-2013 calendars for all 52 public school districts in Harris and surrounding counties and the district web sites. Click here to go to the Houston Area School Districts Web Site and see all of the school calendars.
Attorneys and mediators frequently need to know when school holidays are or need contact information for a particular school to subpoena records.
This web site prepared by me also provides county by county maps of districts and has links to TEA school ratings.
Mini-History Lesson: The White Rose
The White Rose was a courageous group of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor who risked (then lost) their lives to oppose the reign of Adolph Hitler. The group became known for an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign, lasting from June 1942 until February 1943, that called for active opposition to the Nazi regime.
The students scatted anonymous leaflets around the University of Munich campus for eight months in the middle of World War II.
Six members were arrested, tortured and finally beheaded in 1943. The text of their sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germany, and in July 1943 copies of it were dropped over Germany by Allied planes, retitled "The Manifesto of the Students of Munich."
Today, the members of the White Rose are honored in Germany amongst its greatest heroes, since they opposed the Third Reich in the face of almost certain death. (Source: Wikipedia).
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