McSpadden should retract his statements
On behalf of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of attorneys dedicated to defending the rights of the accused and protecting the Constitution, I find some of State District Judge McSpadden’s recent statements to the Houston Chronicle — specifically, those directed toward blacks in the criminal justice system — inaccurate, indefensible and unacceptable. I call on him to retract his statements.
In his letter to the Houston Chronicle, the judge opined that “in the case of young black defendants who are disproportionally represented in our (criminal justice) system, they are not receiving good advice from their parents as did my generation, to cooperate with law enforcement at all times, and respect the laws” (“Judge McSpadden speaks loud and clear on Black Lives Matter,” page A14, March 2).
He added that, “(t)hey are advised by ragtag groups like Black Lives Matter to have utter contempt for our judicial system.”
As we near the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, it is shocking that someone in a position of authority such as McSpadden would make such a statement.
It shouldn’t be necessary for TCDLA or anyone else to have to educate Harris County’s most experienced criminal judge on why many African-Americans at times have a strained relationship with law enforcement, but I will attempt to do so. One hint: It has nothing to do with what he apparently perceives as a superior upbringing from his own parents or the advice of the advocacy group “Black Lives Matter,” which wasn’t even founded until July 2013.
Numerous studies have proved what criminal justice practitioners and educated Americans have known for decades: When it comes to encounters with law enforcement, blacks and other races are not treated equally. Based on identical behavior, blacks are more likely to be stopped, questioned, searched and arrested. Blacks are more likely to be treated roughly once they are arrested. As we’ve seen in numerous videos, unarmed blacks are more likely to be shot by police.
As to the post-arrest “experience” (where prosecutors and judges get involved), blacks are more likely to be charged with a crime, more likely to be convicted and usually receive stiffer sentences.
If McSpadden truly wonders why many blacks and law enforcement have a complicated relationship, he might wish to start by examining the basic facts stated above.
However, as a judge who likely isn’t profiled or targeted by law enforcement or anyone else, it is understandable how he may not be able to grasp what it is to experience the fear that many blacks feel when they simply encounter police — even in instances that do not result in an arrest. How can he possibly know what that’s like?
Moreover, as a person whose job it is to ponder these issues, how can he not know that there are alternative explanations for people’s apparent behavior to the grossly oversimplified explanation that he offered in his comments to the Chronicle. No one is challenging his upbringing, so why is the judge challenging theirs?
Please don’t consider this an indictment of McSpadden’s fairness in decisions he renders from the bench. I have spoken with many Harris County criminal defense practitioners who say he is a fair judge, one who isn’t afraid to step up and do the right thing, even if it occasionally ruffles a few feathers. As he is an educated and intelligent jurist, TCDLA urges the judge to use his intellect and reason to acknowledge that his statements about blacks in the criminal justice system are not only wrong, but they perpetuate false, harmful stereotypes that are hurtful to many people. This is especially so, because he is a judge with a great deal of power and influence in Harris County.
TCDLA calls on McSpadden to withdraw his public statements about blacks in the criminal justice system and to use his remaining time on the bench to publicly recognize the very real problems between blacks and law enforcement — and the actual reasons for these problems — which I have attempted to outline.
McSpadden is an intelligent man, and he has the power to retract his statements and change his thinking. TCDLA encourages him to do so.