Christian court watchers keep tabs on judges

[CptSternn]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19833349/?from=rss

MANCHESTER, Ky. - John Becknell enters the courtroom and finds his usual spot in the front row, just behind the prosecutor’s table.

Becknell — a devout Christian known to many as “Brother John” — pulls out a pen and an inch-thick docket, mostly of drug and alcohol cases. For the next three hours, he takes diligent notes on the judge’s actions, the attendance of police officers, repeat offenders making another appearance, and so on.

The purpose? To make sure drug offenders in eastern Kentucky are getting what they deserve.

Frustrated with widespread drug abuse — especially of easily accessible prescription painkillers — a handful of mountain churches are moving away from their traditional role as a refuge for the poor and addicted. Now they’re more interested in law enforcement.

The Community Church of Manchester is leading the way through “Court Watch,” a program in which volunteers attend court hearings to monitor judges overseeing drug-related cases.

“It’s kind of a new position and very controversial,” said Becknell, who also runs his church’s local Christian television station. “A lot of churches shun getting involved in politics or going to court.”

The Rev. Doug Abner, pastor at Community Church — whose slogan for a 2004 anti-drug march was “get saved or get busted” — said the presence of Court Watch volunteers puts “mild pressure” on judges “to do the right thing.” The volunteers collect information for a database and look for trends in drug crimes.

The program concerns some other people of faith, who say it cuts against Christian values.

“The churches have traditionally been the humanitarian influence in society,” said the Rev. John Rausch, director of the Catholic Committee on Appalachia.

‘How many chances do you give them?’
Churches should focus on drug counseling and ministering to inmates, he said, citing part of the Gospel of Matthew (25:36) concerning the final judgment: “When I was in prison, you came to see me.”

“It isn’t, ‘I was up for charges and you made sure they threw the book at me,”’ Rausch said.

Abner said his church hasn’t neglected its prison ministry or other counseling programs. Still, he added, “we believe in giving people chances, but how many chances do you give them?”

The Community Church, 95 miles south of Lexington, also has fielded concerns about the volunteers overstepping the bounds of keeping church and state separate, but he said there’s no reason why congregants should stay away from the criminal justice system.

Ken Bolin, pastor at Manchester Baptist Church, said he supports Court Watch and sees no reason why churches and courts can’t work together to combat drug offenders.

“We’re such a major part of mountain life — why shut the church out of the institution?” he said.

Court Watch and Community Church came together three years ago, when Christian leaders in Clay County were overwhelmed by their deep-rooted drug problem. As in much of eastern Kentucky, drug abuse was a longtime epidemic in this area of about 25,000 — even afflicting members of Becknell’s family.

“Good people have sat back and done nothing,” Abner said.

‘How long are you going to wait?’
Desperate for a solution, Becknell began to work with Operation UNITE, a federally funded drug task force that covers 29 counties in southeastern Kentucky and which created Court Watch. He said that during his first few sessions as a court observer, he noticed officers not showing up, cases getting dismissed, judges doling out lenient sentences and the same defendants appearing before the same judge.

He came to this conclusion: “If you’re waiting for the courts to combat drugs, how long are you going to wait?”

Becknell and his fellow volunteers don’t limit themselves to collecting information — they also approach law enforcement and judges when they believe something is amiss.

UNITE Executive Director Karen Engle recalled the time Becknell questioned the task force about its own officers not showing up to court in his county. Turns out the officers hadn’t been properly subpoenaed, she said, but “we wouldn’t have known about the problem if he hadn’t reported it.”

Court Watch “holds everyone accountable, including UNITE,” she said.

Over the years, Becknell has trained around two dozen churches or church-sponsored groups in the program.

“The churches have such influence in the community — they’re an obvious place to recruit volunteers,” said Dale Morton, spokesman for UNITE. “They’re a captive audience ... they’re always looking for a mission.”

During a recent training session at the First Baptist Church in Grayson, Becknell described the transformation in his community: “If you do the crime in Manchester, you do the time.”

“If your circuit and district judges decided to hold people accountable under the law, your community would change in 60 days,” he told the group.

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Discuss: What do you think?

While Clay County’s judges say they welcome Court Watch, they also say they’d operate the same way — with or without observers.

“They know they’re welcome in my court anytime I’m there,” said District Judge Renee Muncy.

Yet, she added that she doesn’t feel pressured by the presence of Court Watch participants.

Neither does Circuit Judge R. Cletus Maricle, who said, “Some judges probably feel they are there to intimidate him. If the judge is intimidated, that’s his fault.”

[CptSternn]

Anyone else bothered by this? Right-wing conservatives masquerading as 'Christians' and playing vigilante, the home edition?

The fact the church leaders used the word 'combat' multiple times in their interview really speaks volumes.

Drug addiction, especially when you talk about addiction to prescription pain killers, is a medical condition. You can't fix a medical condition no matter how much you 'combat' it.

It's why heroin addiction is treated as a medical illness by most countries. Trying to 'punish' people who are themselves fighting an illness seems to be a bit harsh.

The fact these churches and their followers have decided to take it upon themselves and 'combat' sick individuals in their own community is quite mindboggling.

I must have missed those semons during church where they said, go ahead and judge, and if others don't judge the way you want, feel free to go after them yerself in the name of God.

I remember when churches reached out to help alcoholics, instead of sending in people to harass the judge to make sure they were locked away from their families for years.

[Splintered]

My opinion is this:

The churchs stay out of politics, and the Government will promise not to decimate the church, thereby angering all of the people who are church-goers.

Meanwhile, the government stays out of churches, and the churches don't try to burn the government to the ground, which angers people who like the government.

This is despite my disagreeance with the war on drugs.
This is depsite my disagreeance with consensual crimes.
This is despite my disagreeance with churchs in general.

You do your best to stay the fuck out of my courts, and I'll do my best make sure the government doesn't decide your faith illegal.

[ArtificialOne]

And..... There's heaps of extreme leftist organizations masquarading around looking in every corner and under every bed. <ACLU, moveon.org,etc.> Why not a conservative organization. You don't like Balance?

[CptSternn]

The difference is that the groups you listed are not religious groups. If there was a conservative group that didn't try and bring God into all of their arguments, then I would support having them out there.

It's when a group claims they are right, because of their religion, that bothers me.

If a right-wing political group wants to sit in court and pressure judges, well work away I say. Just don't try and tell me they are doing it because it's what God wants. I believe in God, but I don't believe in what they are doing in his name is right.

I'm honestly offended in many ways. Why not just have a 'thieves for Jesus' group? Or 'rap1sts for Jesus'? If we are going to say God supports one group who thinks they are doing the right thing, why stop there? Why can't anyone who has an axe to grind just invoke the name of God and add it to their groups supporters, and then go around telling people you do it because it's God's will?

If you want to form a right-wing group to influence politics, I support you fully, whole-heartlily. If you want do to it under the guise of a religious organisation and claim the God I worship somehow supports your beliefs and not mine, thats where I take issue.

[deafasadoornail]

Originally Posted by CptSternn

I'm honestly offended in many ways. Why not just have a 'thieves for Jesus' group? Or 'rap1sts for Jesus'? If we are going to say God supports one group who thinks they are doing the right thing, why stop there? Why can't anyone who has an axe to grind just invoke the name of God and add it to their groups supporters, and then go around telling people you do it because it's God's will?

You don't think this happens already?

Right-wing non-religious people in the United States often belong to the Libertarian Party or some such. I'd do a Google search because I DO think these groups exist, even if they are not vocal. I know that PJ O'Rourke, for instance, is a right-wing political writer/critic but not religious in any overt way.

America is a land of dualisms, so we pit the yelling liberals against the yelling conservatives because it makes for good TV (and we're secretly hoping they'll kill each other). Most people have more complex opinions than that, though. And we do have a history of bad judges because the judicial branch is supposed to restrain the legislative and executive branches, but they have precious few restraints on their own power. It is very, very hard if not impossible to remove a bad judge unless they actually show up for trial stoned or some such.

[ArtificialOne]

Good post Deaf!

[CptSternn]

Originally Posted by deafasadoornail

You don't think this happens already?

Right-wing non-religious people in the United States often belong to the Libertarian Party or some such. I'd do a Google search because I DO think these groups exist, even if they are not vocal. I know that PJ O'Rourke, for instance, is a right-wing political writer/critic but not religious in any overt way.

I've personally never heard of PJ O'Rourke, but I support non-religious affiliated pundits and their views, no matter what they are. That being said, my quams I hold are with the religious right, which is the vocal majority in America, not people like O'Rourke, who I have never heard of.

If O'Rourke was out there encouraging his listeners/readers to sit in courtsrooms, thats grand. But he's not. These are churches we are talking about - men and women who supposedly follow the path set by Jesus.

I forgot the part of the Bible which says follow thy neighbor to court and make sure he gets many years in prison, even if you yourself have no prior knowledge of the mans life or events in the case, because that's what Jesus would do.

These people could be out feeding the homeless, helping with second harvest, building homes for the less fortunate, even mailing letters for a Christian charity, but they choose to do something that IMHO is the exact opposite of what Christian charity is about.

[ArtificialOne]

HAHA!! Figures! Stern doesn't want anyone else to have a view but him, but he says..."says" he doesn't have a prob if they're secular...cough<bullshit>cough...

And somewhere in these mess of threads and posts on gnet.. yesterday I think... I posted statistics on how xtians donate about 80% more than secular liberals. ANd it follows the smae route for volunteering to help people...

[Lapin]

To get back to the subject, this worries me.

I mean, honestly, the last time I checked, churches were sanctuaries for the needy and downtrodden. You don't get much lower than someone who is in pain trying to beat an addiction and needs someone to hold their hand while they ride out withdrawal.

There is no one there when they're in prison. Why doesn't the church set up rehab and follow-up programs instead?

This doesn't sound Christian. It sounds controlling. And a bit scary.

[KontanKarite]

Hell, I'm all for liberals and conservatives keeping each other in check.

I'm also of the mind to punish the dealer, help the addicted.

Sadly, the dealer is sometimes an addict as well.