Judge

Judge Donna Scott Davenport was the subject of a recent ProPublica investigation because of the staggering rate at which children are arrested and put in a juvenile detention center. Among cases referred to juvenile court, the statewide average for how often children were locked up was 5%. In Rutherford County, it was 48%.

The exposé centered on one particular case where police were called to arrest several children at Hobgood Elementary School in Murfreesboro. The children were identified from video footage from a recent fight.

But the children targeted were not participants in the fight, merely onlookers. School resource officer Chrystal Templeton refused to arrest the boys who were fighting because she figured the local district attorney thought they were too young to be charged. But she wanted to find a way to charge all the other students in the periphery.

So, Templeton, in consultation with two local judicial commissioners fabricated a crime called “criminal responsibility” that they thought would apply. On that basis, Templeton and several other officers made a public spectacle of arresting several children on school grounds, weeks after the fight had taken place.

But it turns out, Templeton and commissioner Sherry Hamlett were incorrect. When Hamlett came up with “criminal responsibility for conduct of another” as a possible charge, there was a problem. There is no such crime. It is rather a basis upon which someone can be accused of a crime. For example, a person who caused someone else to commit robbery would be charged with robbery, not “criminal responsibility.”

As for Judge Davenport, she not only appointed the commissioners herself, but it was her reputation for harsh treatment of juveniles, that motivated Templeton to find a creative solution for charging the children. She thought that getting the children to appear in Davenport’s juvenile court would ultimately help them. Eventually, the families of the children collectively received almost $400,000 in settlements from a class action suit against the city and county for illegal arrests and incarceration.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Any adult that is overly punitive in dealing with children risks God’s anger toward those who mistreat children. Children need boundaries and accountability, but they also need grace, forgiveness, and enough space to make mistakes without being branded as criminal outcasts.

19-year-old Robert W. VanSumeren stood nervously in a Michigan courtroom as Judge Michael Smith sentenced him to six years in prison for a string of local robberies. Robert said, “I was terrified. I thought my life was finished. I felt really lost and wondered how I’d ever get through it.”

Then almost two decades to the day, Robert, now 40, returned to that same courtroom and stood again in front of Smith. This time, Robert was asking the judge who had sentenced him as a teenager to swear him in as a new attorney. After finishing his prison sentence, he had attended college, then law school, hoping to give back to the community he had once stolen from. After passing the bar exam in July 2018, Robert underwent a lengthy investigation by the Michigan bar’s character and fitness committee and he got approval to be sworn in.

Robert said, “I didn’t know if the judge would go for it, but I thought it was worth asking.” Judge Smith said he was astonished by the request. But he was also delighted. “I have to take my hat off to him — he has changed his life. It’s really quite remarkable and rare. Very seldom do you see such a successful turnaround.”

When he had finished, Judge Smith shook Robert’s hand, posed with him for pictures and tossed out the usual decorum he requires in his courtroom. He said, “I’d like everyone here to feel free to applaud this man. He should be commended for changing his life.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Judge; Justice; Mercy; Grace – God can be a terrifying judge who condemns the guilty. But he is also gracious and forgiving to those who repent from their sins and are given a new nature by his Spirit.

When an envoy visited the White House to advocate for an inmate serving a life sentence, most of the headlines went toward fashion model and lifestyle icon Kim Kardashian West. However, accompanying her was former federal judge Kevin Sharp. Sharp carried an authoritative tone because of his years on the federal bench. But Sharp also had a specific opinion on the inmate in question because he was the one who sentenced him to prison.

Back in 2013, Christopher Young was sentenced to life in prison under a federal “three strikes” law, even though his drug charges were nonviolent. Sharp says Young should never have received such a harsh sentence, but that during the trial, his hands were tied because of the sentencing statutes.

Sharp vividly remembered that day in court, listening to Young give his formal statement:

If anyone is getting a mandatory sentence, you have to remember these are still people. You need to give them a chance to talk. It was the worst time I've ever had on the bench. I knew it was a mandatory life sentence. He knew it was a mandatory life sentence …

Sharp is notable for having left a lifetime judicial position to advocate for change:

Our criminal justice system is a mess. It's still the best there is, but there is so much we could do to make it better. And one of those things has got to be get rid of mandatory minimums. Let the judges do what you ask them to do. I got to the point where I'm thinking: “Is my role in society better on the bench or off the bench? Am I better off the bench working and advocating for a more fair criminal justice system?"

Possible Preaching Angle:

Those in authority have a responsibility to wield that authority justly. If we find we can make a difference for those without influence, we are obligated to do so. This will result in the honor and glory of Christ.