Child abuse cases are nothing new in Texas, unfortunately. But the story of one coming out of Aransas County (Corpus Christi) has really taken the national and social media by storm. The story involves Judge William Adams and his daughter Hillary Adams and goes back to 2004 when the then 16 year old girl video taped a spanking that turned into a beating. A video that the now 23 year old claims she uploaded to YouTube in an attempt to break a cycle of continued harassment.
We won’t dwell on the facts here, they are being reported and blogged about well enough in the Houston Chronicle and some national media. But it has us wondering what it might tell us also about the judicial temperament of some of the people on our benches. Specifically, those that sit in judgement of others who are themselves suspected of abuse.
Apparently the State Commission on Judicial Conduct has already had so many complaints though that they have taken the surprising step to release the following statement. (Public statement below)
No doubt we will be following this story in the future for its larger implications on our state judicial system, as much as the particulars of this specific case.
In the interim we strongly recommend interested readers look at some of the blog postings of John Bicket, a clinical social worker at Texas Children’s Hospital who works with these children and families, and often reports on the facts of such tragedies.