Written by Amanda Coers – A flurry of recent media attention, catapulted by Brownwood citizen Joe Cooksey’s claims of courthouse corruption and posted on his “Brown County Watchdawg” Facebook page, brings questions regarding the county’s nearly ten-year-old pretrial diversion program.
A pretrial diversion program is a voluntary program for offenders charged with misdemeanors in an effort to divert those offenders from traditional sentencing. Diversion programs have become increasingly popular with overloaded court systems looking to hold offenders accountable for crimes committed, but not necessarily apply convictions that would lead to criminal records, specifically traffic-related offenses that would incur state-applied surcharges.
The Texas Driver Responsibility Program, which began in 2003, applies surcharges for certain traffic offenses, such as driving without insurance or first-time driving while intoxicated charges, in addition to the original fines and court costs. Those surcharges are levied once a year for three years, and can range from $100 for accumulation of traffic tickets to up to $2,000 per year for drunken driving. Failure to pay can result in a suspended license.
Currently, the state of Texas statistically has more citizens who have had their driver’s license revoked than any other state.
In the face of a punitive system that seems to put profit over rehabilitation, pretrial diversion programs can provide an alternative for misdemeanor offenders who show promise of changing behavior. One example would be a well-known and respected member of the local community, Kim Bruton, owner of the popular Runaway Train Cafe.
For Bruton, the pretrial diversion program offered by Brown County Attorney Shane Britton’s office was a second chance after a costly mistake on Christmas Eve in 2007.
Bruton was on her way home from “Backroads” bar, after an evening with friends attending a performance by a former employee of her restaurant. She had a few drinks and was pulled over for traffic violations by a patrol officer.
“I was most definitely guilty,” Bruton said. “I failed a breathalyzer test. I did go to jail, and it was a wakeup call because I never should have driven under the influence. I was not in a good place at that point in my life.”
Though she was truly repentant and wanted to cooperate with punishment set by the court, friends convinced Bruton to retain an attorney, Dana Smith, to guide her through the process. Smith advised Bruton about the pretrial diversion program.
“I had never heard of it, didn’t have any understanding of it and honestly, it didn’t make sense to me because I was guilty, but I was being given a second chance,” explained Bruton.
Because her arrest was published as part of a police blotter report in the local newspaper, Bruton was worried about losing customers at her restaurant. Instead, she received an influx of visitors.
“More people came and were talking to me, praying for me, and reached out to me and offered support. Through that support and the diversion program, it was like a picture to me of what Christ does for us,” Bruton said. “That situation was a picture of when we are guilty in our sin, and Christ giving us a second chance, with no record hanging over our head.”
Bruton credits her experience with the pretrial diversion program, and the second chance she received, as well as the outpouring of support from the community to leading her to a Christian lifestyle. Bruton felt compelled to come forward with her personal story after hearing what she feels is a very negative picture of the pretrial diversion program in Brown County.
“It wasn’t like they said ‘Hey Kim, give us a thousand dollars and we’ll make it all go away’ it wasn’t like that at all,” Bruton explained. “I don’t think the program itself is corrupt. There’s no disputing what the program did for me. It’s about second chances, a chance at a whole new life for me.”
In Bruton’s case, pretrial diversion fees were paid in full upfront, including a $250 fee paid to the county clerk, a $500 donation paid to the Brown County DWI court program and a $750 donation paid to the Brown County attorney’s office. Bruton also paid $40 a month in probation fees for one year. After completing the program her driving record was clear of the DWI charge.
As a businesswoman, Bruton knew to retain paperwork for her agreement with documentation showing the funds received by the correct offices. But many other participants, wanting only to have the experience behind them, have not kept their paperwork.
“We have clear records that they’d pay the money,” Joe Cooksey told KTXS in a recent interview about the donation program. “We have the receipts and the money never showed up in the county treasury.”
Cooksey has spent several years personally combing through official documents and discovered what could be evidence of payments received by an employee of Britton’s office, but never given to the county clerk.
Cooksey’s efforts drew the attention of former Brown County Chief Deputy Bobby Duvall. Under the direction of Duvall, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Britton’s program in 2014. The sheriff’s office later handed the case over to the FBI, the Texas Rangers, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
The missing funds are currently under investigation and an employee in charge of receiving those funds is no longer with Britton’s office.
On June 14th, Brown County Auditor Jennifer Robison asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for an opinion on the pretrial diversion program offered by Britton’s office. An answer from the Attorney General is expected soon. There is some speculation as to whether or not Robison penned the letter on her own, or if there were outside influences contributing to the details listed in her inquiry.
An official response from Shane Britton’s office has been submitted to the Attorney General. A PDF of the 76-page-long document can be accessed here: shane-britton-response-letter
In the face of alarming accusations, Shane Britton has remained relatively silent, citing a legal obligation not to comment on an ongoing investigation.
He would, however, comment on the purpose of implementing the program.
“Making money was not our intent at any time,” Britton said. He went on to further explain it is often the goal of his office to keep most misdemeanor offenders out of court, and instead focus on more pressing cases, often dealing with family court and child abuse situations.
As the community awaits the official response from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office regarding Britton’s pretrial diversion program, there is no shortage of opinions shared locally on the subject. Results from the investigation of missing funds will also prove to be the final word on whether or not this program was indeed simply an effort to be creative with punitive measures, or something more concerning.
