Judge William Wayne Justice (1920-2009) RIP

[sonias]

AAS 10/14/09
Judge Justice dies at 89
William Wayne Justice was a giant in Texas history, the foreman of an audacious legal assembly line that churned out bulging packages of civil rights, equal justice and opportunities for the least among us.

(snip)

But today, most agree that William Wayne Justice shoved Texas, against its will, into the mainstream of society.

His legal compassion forever changed the lives of millions of schoolchildren, prisoners, minorities, immigrants and people with disabilities in Texas. He ordered the integration of public schools and public housing. He outlawed crowding, beatings and inhumane medical care in prisons and youth lockups. He ordered that community homes be provided to people with mental disabilities who were living in large institutions. He expanded voting opportunities.

And that was just the tip of the docket.

Justice also changed the landscape of public education. He ordered education for undocumented immigrant children and bilingual classrooms. And, back in the nonconformist hippie days of 1970, he ruled that bearded and long-haired students, including Vietnam veterans, had a right to attend public college. "I held that that was silly," he said in June 2009 while reminiscing about the old Tyler Junior College rule forbidding long hair on male students.

The full article at the link is worth a read.

Another great Justice has passed. Another good Texan moves on to a higher court. May he rest in peace.

Sonia

[Aragorn]

1. thanks

for posting this. It is a good argument FOR nepotism. BTW I had long hair and a beard back then. I was known as "the token hippie" in med school.

[Gulftrout]

2. William Wayne Justice's

Ruling on Texas prison overcrowding led to a 31% increase in violent crime the first 6 years after his ruling.

[sonias]

3. I'm sure you have a source for that claim right?

Even if that is true, it doesn't mean that Texas was doing the right thing by packing them in and mistreating them like they did. If the state had done a fair job of housing them then there would not have been a ruling against the state.

Put the blame where it belongs.

Sonia

[Gulftrout]

4. Letting hardened criminals

out of prison early wasn't the right thing to do either. Violent felons were let out of Texas prisons after doing a small fraction of their sentences.

[hobbit709]

5. What a crock

Whatever they were like before they went in, the conditions certainly didn't help them any.
But some people favor the lock them up, throw away the key and don't bother to rehab theory.

[Gulftrout]

6. What's the world coming to

when thieves, rapists, murderers and child molesters get mistreated in prison?? Get the violins. Early release? That's a crock.

[PDittie]

8. Well, perhaps you could

make the world better by returning to FreeRepublic.com

[sonias]

9. Spot on PDittie

Gulftrout thinks like a freeper, talks like a freeper, well you know ... probably is a freeper.

He's not tombstoned yet because he hasn't gotten personal .. yet. :eyes:

Sonia

[Gulftrout]

12. Wiiliam Wayne Justice

Caused the crime wave Texas experienced in the 1980's.

[PDittie]

16. Prove it

We'll wait while you collect anything but anecdotes.

[Gulftrout]

13. Perhaps you could

pull your head outta WWJ's behind.

[PDittie]

7. No it did not

That is at best anecdotal. Your feeble attempts to defame Justice are completely unwelcome here.

[Gulftrout]

11. "No it did not"

A 5th grader could argue better than that.

[PDittie]

15. Well sure but

you're not smarter than a 5th grader. I'm just trying to get down to your level.;-)

[sonias]

10. TCRP Joins Human Rights Community in Mourning Judge Justice

TCRP Joins Human Rights Community in Mourning Death of Judge William Wayne Justice
Statement of Jim Harrington, TCRP Director:

"The Texas Civil Rights Project joins the human rights community in expressing deep sadness upon the death of Judge William Wayne Justice. He was a stalwart advocate for the less fortunate and devoted his life to justice and fairness for all. As a judge, he played a major role in protecting and defending human rights in Texas. He indeed was a giant of civil rights, and did more than most anyone else has ever done to extend the protection and promise of the Bill of Rights to all Texans.

"Judge Justice's tireless efforts to open the doors to opportunity, including quality education, healthcare for all and a judicial system accessible to all was a star of hope for Texans and an inspiration.

"We will miss his perseverance and compassion on the front lines of the struggle for justice, but his inspiration and dedication will lead us on."

:kick:

Sonia

[Gulftrout]

14. All y'all need to quit

Kissin' that old dead man's ass. He caused a crime wave in Texas.

[Lithos]

17. Right...

Ignoring the lifetime achievements of this man who broke down the racist barriers affecting education, cleaned up the Juvenile Detention system which had become a dumping ground for displaced and unwanted youths, and who upheld basic voting rights by his rejection of some of the most outrageous gerrymandering of the type that Delay would have been envious, you focus on one aspect of his career.

So, let's look at it.

You argue crime wave, but ignore the plain and simple fact that the Texas Penal System was so broken beyond any repair that it was a crime in itself. While I strongly dispute your 31% figure (the only place I see this is from a self-written obituary some pro-death penalty advocate wrote up and posted on a usenet group), the facts remain that the Texas Penal system had essentially been designed to lock away people and throw away the key. The Ruiz ruling was issued in 1980. Looking at data directly from the Texas Law Enforcement Reports (http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/txcrime.htm), I definitely do not see any "31% figure" or spike which resulted.

Rapes which while up in 1980, were a continuation of a trend which started 1978-79. Murders follow a growth pattern which then looked to be following the population increase. Etc.

So, instead of looking at the real numbers, you repeat a bunch of hogwash cherry picked statistics from people who have an agenda. Instead of blaming legislators who let crime rates (all types) surge 595% from 1978 to 1988 (the trend started *well before* the Ruiz ruling) when the population grew 80%, you blame Judge Justice. Instead of blaming the legislators who in their attempts to look good on crime had created minimum term limits for many non-violent crimes (we have over 2,000 different felonies on the books, including 11 which involve oysters) which have forced the system to grow at an outlandish rate and which had the by-product of releasing violent criminals ahead of non-violent criminals, you blame Judge Justice. Instead of noting that the very nature of the Texas Penal system creates hardened criminals - taking those who were originally non-violent and pushing them ahead into violent behaviors, you blame Judge Justice. Instead of noting that the Texas Penal system was also the repository of many mental patients whose conditions were allowed to deteriorate further, who were turned suicidal and violent in "ad-seg" units, you again blame Judge Justice instead of the system which did nothing. You also don't blame anyone for the lack of any transition system or social network inside of Texas for those being released. Instead of noting that the Texas Penal system tolerated and encouraged violent crimes inside of its own walls in such large numbers, it made any external criminal increase pale in comparison.

The Texas Penal system remains broke. The fact that over 180,000 people inside of Texas are currently behind bars, with 750,000 under some sort of judicial supervision (parole, etc.) the highest percentage of population in the nation and significantly (2x) more than the UK (who has 3x the population), should tell you that something is broken. The fact remains that the Texas legislative and executive bodies use the Judicial and Penal systems as an excuse and dumping ground for their failures to deal with social issues affecting the state. We have more prisons than institutions of higher learning. We also as a state spend 7 times on prisons than education. I guarantee you that Judge Justice is not the reason for that and I can guarantee you the problem existed before his rulings and look to exist well beyond them.

[Gulftrout]

18. The facts prove otherwise..

Texas crime statistics, Texas, Texas rape, Texas murder, Texas property crime, ... Texas Law Enforcement Agency Uniform Crime Reports 1980 to 2005 ...
www.disastercenter.com/crime/txcrime.htm - Cached - Similar
Violent crime in Texas 1980- 77,978 cases
Violent crime in Texas 1986- 109,925 cases
Do the math.
You people are blinded by your own bullshit.
Police had to keep arresting the same thugs over and over.
There's a real naiveteness about you.

[Lithos]

19. Let's look at the numbers again...

Pre Ruiz -
From 1974 to 1980 (six years), the population went from 12,050,000 to 14,169,829 while the violent crime rate went from 47,008 (3.9 per 1000) to 77,978 (5.5 per 1000) or a 141 % increase.

Post Ruiz
From 1980 to 1986 (six years), the population went from 14,169,829 to 16,682,000 while the violent crime rate went from 77,978 (5.5 per 1000) to 109,925 (6.58 per 1000) or a 124 % increase.

Crime rates were going up in Texas well before Ruiz. There is no statistical event that you an use to point a finger at Ruiz and Judge Justice as having a effect on increasing crime in Texas.


L-

[sonias]

20. Pick the first google hit you got - really?

"You do the math." "I know what you are but what am I" type of naivete? :P

So what's your brilliant explanation for why the crime rates keep going up 30 years after the case was settled? Is Judge Justice responsible for that too? Despite the highest incarceration rates in the country, crime still keeps going up in Texas. We built more prisons, created a whole new industry of private prisons and incarcerated more people but damn why do those numbers keep going up?

Pew Charitable Trusts 2.28/08
More than One in 100 Adults Are Behind Bars, Pew Study Finds
(snip)
According to the report, 36 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons saw their prison populations increase in 2007. Among the seven states with the largest number of prisoners—those with more than 50,000 inmates—three grew (Ohio, Florida and Georgia), while four (New York, Michigan, Texas and California) saw their populations dip. Texas surpassed California as the nation’s prison leader following a decline in both states’ inmate populations—Texas decreased by 326 inmates and California by 4,068. Ten states, meanwhile, experienced a jump in inmate population growth of 5 percent or greater, a list topped by Kentucky with a surge of 12 percent.

National Institute of Corrections
2007 Crime Rate for Texas
The crime rate in Texas is about 19% higher than the national average rate. Property crimes account for around 89% of the crime rate in Texas which is 21% higher than the national rate. The remaining 13.7% are violent crimes and are about 9% higher than other states.

Incarceration Rate (2007)
Incarceration Rate per 100,000

Texas National Avg.
669 447

Don't tell me you work for the private prison complex, do you? Is that your real interest?

I call your bullshit. You're basically arguing for the sake of your pathetic view of the world. Most of us on this board prefer hope and courage. As was mentioned above you would find more comfort among your friends at FreeRepublic. You really would.

I'll miss a great man like Judge Justice, who made a big difference in the lives of millions in Texas. And I have enough respect for humanity to argue for someone like him. You on the other hand will be gone one day and maybe no one will even notice.

Sonia

[Gulftrout]

21. Tacky Tacky Tacky

"You on the other hand will be gone one day and maybe no one will even notice." You threaten to "tombstone" people of differing opinions. You're a bully. Conform to the ultra-left or be cast out. You're no different than the people you dislike, the far-right of the Republican Party. My hometown, Houston, paid the price for William Wayne Justice's idiot decision which unleashed criminals. Crime affected my family on personal level in the 1980's. You people sit in your ivory tower and decide what's right for "us". Your unsympathic position towards victims drives people away from the Democratic Party. The backlash against WWJ's ruling and Democratic Party softness on crime will continue to keep it as the minority party in Texas.