In 2004, Hillary Adams was 16. The daughter of a Texas judge, she set up a camera that recorded her father beating her with unrestrained rage and profanity. She recently posted that video on line here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl9y3SIPt7o
She wrote this caption:
2004: Aransas County Court-At-Law Judge William Adams took a belt to his own teenage daughter as punishment for using the internet to acquire music and games that were unavailable for legal purchase at the time. She has had ataxic cerebral palsy from birth that led her to a passion for technology, which was strictly forbidden by her father's backwards views. The judge's wife was emotionally abused herself and was severely manipulated into assisting the beating and should not be blamed for any content in this video. The judge's wife has since left the marriage due to the abuse, which continues to this day, and has sincerely apologized and repented for her part and for allowing such a thing, long before this video was even revealed to exist. Judge William Adams is not fit to be anywhere near the law system if he can't even exercise fit judgment as a parent himself. Do not allow this man to ever be re-elected again. His "judgment" is a giant farce. Signed, Hillary Adams, his daughter.Judge Adams' rulings on child abuse allegedly show that:
~He has held that a child should be ignored even if the child reports horrific child abuse.Hillary says she posted the seven-year-old video: “...after a barrage of harassment from my father over the phone, I snapped and finally uploaded it. Now I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”
~He has held that a parent or lawyer who relies on what a child says should be sanctioned.
~He has awarded children to their abusers.
The outpouring of support and disgust was immediate, with many reaching out to media outlets and local authorities on Hillary’s behalf. She says: ”I hope my father gets everything he deserves.... I’m so glad someone believes me, after all these years…."
Click on the title above to see the county's November 2nd news release:
ARANSAS COUNTY, TEXAS - Judge Burt Mills has today announced that Aransas County is aware of the video posted on YouTube regarding County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams, and the matter is now under review by the Police Department. Please refrain from communication with County offices or the Sheriff's Department on this matter until the review has been completed. Calls, emails, and faxes only create disruptions for other ongoing county business. The public's cooperation would be most appreciated.
As I write this in Rhode Island, I am grateful that our state does not elect judges, and that citizens increasingly come to testify before the Judicial Nominating Commission about candidates being considered for judgeships. But Rhode Island still remains the only state that gives judges lifetime tenure without review.
We need a review process that recognizes how such enormous discretionary power can corrupt our judges--especially in Family Court where judges often ignore standards of evidence, and lawyers can lie with abandon.
