PROMISESKing David’s third son, Absalom, was ambitious and plotted to overthrow David. Absalom went to the city gates and met those who came to present their complaints to David. Absalom would say, "Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice." In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
After four years Absalom declared himself king and raised a revolt and David was driven out. 2 Samuel 15 PONDER THE COST TO THE TAXPAYERSPOSTED ON: 3/6/14
THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO REFERENCED IN THE "BEYOND THE BENCH" BLOG. The previous blog related information about the relationship between mental illness and substance abuse. Re-read that information and then consider this about those "frequent flyer" shoplifters, trespassers, public disorderly conduct perpetrators who end up in the Gila County jail: When a person is in custody, AHCCCS is cut off. The full cost of medical care of an inmate is borne by the County – no insurance adjustments for emergency room visits or medical tests/procedures. When an inmate’s mental illness is so severe that (s)he cannot understand the legal process, the cost of restoration to competency to the taxpayers of Gila County is between $7,600 (Yavapai County facility) to $24,000 (Arizona State Hospital) per month. This is not a rare event in Gila County -- during one week last year there were twelve (12) inmates in the Gila County jail with such severe mental problems that they had to be watched and segregated from the other inmates. Substance abusers tend to have networks of friends/co-users; not so for mentally ill persons. If a person is in need of a place to stay, it is better to be identified as a “user” because other “users” will let a “user” (but not a mentally ill person) crash with them. There are alternatives to jail to deal with persons who have a combination of mental illness and a substance abuse problem. Unfortunately, the solution requires experience, willingness to focus on help rather than arrest stats, and co-operation between the branches of government that does not seem likely in the next three years. MERCY BOOKINGSPOSTED ON: 3/5/14
THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO REFERENCED IN THE "BEYOND THE BENCH" BLOG. Our local radio station is quite vocal about the “frequent flyers” that appear on the roll of jail inmates. Quite commonly those people are there because of co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse. There are three times as many mentally ill people in prisons than in mental health hospitals, and the rate of mental illness in prisons is two to four times greater than in the general public …the largest de facto psychiatric facility in the country is the Los Angeles County Jail (Butterfield, 2003). Jails and prisons are constitutionally obligated to provide general and mental health care (Cohen, 2003). In fact, incarcerated individuals are the only U.S. citizens with legally protected access to health care. Jails may be the first opportunity for COD problem identification, treatment, and community referral (Peters & Matthews, 2002). At midyear 2005 more than half of all prison and jail inmates had a mental health problem… These estimates represented 56% of State prisoners and 64% of jail inmates. About 74% of State prisoners and 76% of local jail inmates who had a mental health problem met criteria for substance dependence or abuse. Two sets of interacting disorders [mental illness & substance abuse] that impair cognition, lead to behavioral disturbances, and result in both the commission of crimes and the inability to avoid arrest and subsequent sentencing. Nearly a quarter of both State prisoners and jail inmates who had a mental health problem had served 3 or more prior incarcerations. These individuals may have appeared as habitual criminals when they came to the attention of law enforcement and their criminal histories were accessed. In reality, they were persons with serious mental illness who were not receiving adequate treatment, and they acted in an inappropriate and often aggressive manner when stressed. If they have schizophrenia or other serious “Axis I” disorders, psychotic symptoms, or other serious dysfunction, inmates may suffer from delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (erroneous perceptions of reality), chaotic thinking, or serious disruptions of consciousness, memory, and perception of the environment. They may experience debilitating fears or extreme and uncontrollable mood swings. As a result of their illness, they may huddle silently in their cells, mumble incoherently, or yell incessantly. They may hear voices or “command hallucinations,” telling them to commit violence against themselves or others. They may exhibit their illness through disruptive behavior, belligerence, aggression, and violence. They may suddenly refuse to follow routine orders, such as to come out of a cell, to stand up for the count, to remove clothes from cell bars, or to take showers. They may beat their heads against cell walls, smear themselves with feces, self-mutilate, and attempt suicide (sometimes succeeding). In short, they may—and often do—behave in ways that prison systems consider punishable misconduct. In Washington State, “offenders with serious mental illness constitute 18.7 percent of the prison population but account for 41 percent of the infractions." Jail inmates who had a mental health problem were twice as likely as those without to have been charged with facility rule violations (19% compared to 9%). Inmates in local jails who had a mental health problem were also four times as likely as those without to have been charged with a physical or verbal assault on correctional staff or another inmate (8% compared to 2%). "Mercy bookings" by police who are trying to protect people with the severest forms of psychiatric illnesses also are surprisingly common. WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?POSTED ON: 2/21/14
I learned second hand that Mr. Wright was thinking about running for this office. I learned for sure via Susan K’s announcement (see tab "What's Your Image of a Judge"). I haven't heard or read what Mr. Wright thinks the issues are. At this point, the Tim Wright campaign theme appears to be: Vote for me, I’m not Bob Duber. When I ran for judge the first time, I was similar to Mr. Wright: I had a supportive spouse and children to go with me on the campaign trail. (My spouse has since passed away and my kids are grown and on their own.) I was supported that first time by some people who were for me because of who I was and some who were for me just because I wasn't the other guy. Here is how this campaign is different from the first time I ran: When I ran for the office of judge, the office was vacant. I respected the incumbent and how his knowledge and experience benefitted the public’s interest. I waited patiently until he decided to retire. When I ran, all the candidates had experience in divorce law, criminal law, probate law, juvenile law -- any candidate could take the office and “hit the ground running”. Then the issue was which, not whether, one was better prepared to serve. REAL ELECTION ISSUES 3POSTED ON: 2/20/2014
According to Mr. Wright’s announcement in the Payson Roundup, as of December 19, 2013: The judge’s seat Wright is seeking holds jurisdiction over a number of areas in Gila County, including cases about title to property, the legality of a tax, felony criminal cases, actions of forcible entry, insolvency, actions to prevent nuisance, probate, divorce, juvenile matters, and naturalization. Mr. Wright has it wrong, the judge’s seat he seeks in Gila County doesn’t have jurisdiction over naturalization. Federal immigration law determines whether a person is an alien, the rights, duties, and obligations associated with being an alien in the United States, and how aliens gain residence or citizenship within the United States. It also provides the means by which certain aliens can become legally naturalized citizens with full rights of citizenship. Immigration law serves as a gatekeeper for the nation's border, determining who may enter, how long they may stay, and when they must leave. Congress has complete authority over immigration. Presidential power does not extend beyond refugee policy. Except for questions regarding aliens' constitutional rights, the courts have generally found the immigration issue as nonjusticiable. Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/immigration REAL ELECTION ISSUES 2POSTED ON: 2/19/14
According to Mr. Wright’s announcement in the Payson Roundup, as of December 19, 2013: The judge’s seat Wright is seeking holds jurisdiction over a number of areas in Gila County, including cases about title to property, the legality of a tax, felony criminal cases, actions of forcible entry, insolvency, actions to prevent nuisance, probate, divorce, juvenile matters, and naturalization. Mr. Wright has it wrong: the judge’s seat he seeks in Gila County doesn’t resolve insolvency cases. United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. They function as units of the district courts and have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal district courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases arising under the bankruptcy code, (see 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a)), and bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_bankruptcy_court REAL ELECTION ISSUESPOSTED ON: 2/18/14
It appears that Tim Wright has finished assessing whether he will run for the Superior Court seat held by Judge Duber.
According to Susan K., he was in town asking Republicans to sign nomination petitions. Now maybe we can turn to real issues. According to Mr. Wright’s announcement in the Payson Roundup, as of December 19, 2013: The judge’s seat Wright is seeking holds jurisdiction over a number of areas in Gila County, including cases about title to property, the legality of a tax, felony criminal cases, actions of forcible entry, insolvency, actions to prevent nuisance, probate, divorce, juvenile matters, and naturalization. Mr. Wright has it wrong, the judge’s seat he seeks in Gila County doesn't serve as the tax court. The Arizona Tax Court, created in 1988, serves as the statewide venue for all civil appeals involving a tax, impost, or assessment. Cases may be filed using a simplified “small claims” procedure when the amount of tax is less than $5,000 or the dispute concerns valuations or classifications of property with a market value of $300,000 or less. Otherwise, cases are filed as “cases of record”. The court is physically located within and administered by the Superior Court of Maricopa County, and appeals of Tax Court cases are heard in a special department of Division One of the Court of Appeals. From Arizona Judicial Branch Website: http://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/39/2008DR/Tax_Court.pdf |
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