Here Come Da Judge

A family law judge in McAllen, Texas recently came under fire for the captured-on-video beating of his then sixteen-year-old daughter.
For those of you who haven't seen the video, Judge William Adams wears out a belt on his daughter Hillary, reportedly because the teenager was downloading pirated materials through the now-shuttered file-sharing service once known as Kazaa.
He enters her bedroom with a belt in hand, ordering her to get on her stomach, and when she doesn't, he proceeds to strike her on the legs and other places on her body with said belt.  "The big one" as he tells his wife when she goes to retrieve it.
As a journalist, I know there are certain standards with regards to objectivity, because I have researched this case thoroughly.  I know that Hillary was in many ways, a spoiled little brat who didn't seem to get the gravity of her actions, and said little else other than "stop" to her father as he was beating her.  She also waited until Daddy took away her Mercedes and threatened to cut off financial support in reaction to her dropping out of school, to release the now-seven-year-old video footage.
But did she deserve THIS?
Why didn't Judge Adams and wife Hallie simply take away the computer?  Didn't work?  Why didn't they take everything out of her room other than clothes and the bed?  Still nothing?  Why didn't they take her bedroom door off the hinges?
What makes this case even more appalling is that Judge Adams is a family court judge...presiding over cases like juvenile justice, adoption, crimes by parents against children.  Did he not see injustice by his own hand?
As an educated man, I would have expected Judge Adams to have taken a more psychological approach in dealing with his daughter before resorting to such brutality.
Because that's exactly what it is.  Was all this really necessary?
Hillary Adams was clearly no physical match for her father.  And from what I saw, not much for her mother, either.  Yet she was savagely beaten like a rented mule.
If you're a firm believer in corporal punishment, like I am, here's where the line is drawn.  This is important for everyone to know.
Reasonable force. 
Translation:  use only the force your own arm can provide.
No "weapons" of any kind.  This includes (but not limited to) belts, broom handles, tennis rackets, boards, bats, chains, rolling pins, purses or...closed fists.
Keep all physical punishment contained to the buttocks.
But most importantly is this:
Corporal punishment should only be used as an absolute final resort, and NEVER as a first line of defense.
And never, ever, when you're angry.
As for the judge being judged, don't look for that to happen, as the clock ran out long ago for charges to be brought against him...even at the federal level.
But the damage has been done.  Judge Adams is up for re-election in three years, and any bid to return to the bench would result in this being dredged up by a potential opponent.
He's already been tried in the court of public opinion...and found guilty.
I hope that some good can come out of this.  That parents who go too far in disciplining their children will not only suffer, but so will their families. 
And I hope the judge will someday learn this and rebuild his fractured family.
And that Hillary Adams can move on with her life and become a productive member of society, despite a rather tormented past.


NEXT WEEK:  Cyber-schools...a good idea?