Thank you for the article about Judge Michael Kwan’s justice court in Taylorsville [“Judge Dread,” March 25, City Weekly]. It really is about time. However, as much as I enjoyed the article, I found it woefully under-informative.
The author barely touched on the fact that Judicial Supervision Services has a monopoly. They are the de facto supervision unit and treatment provider. JSS does not allow “clients” to complete cheaper or more effective treatment elsewhere—it’s only through them. With more than a thousand clients, I had to laugh out loud that Karina Jackson declined a year’s salary in deference to her “clients” needs. Yeah, right!
Judge Kwan only uses JSS—sending what percentage of “clients” to JSS? 100 percent? The “client” pays JSS a monthly fee for monitoring, monthly fees for drug/alcohol testing, fees for classes and treatment.
Who recommends that the client stop paying JSS? Oops, I mean, who recommends that the client has successfully completed his/her court orders? Yup ... JSS.
Who’s monitoring Judge Kwan and JSS?
What benefit does Judge Kwan receive for exclusively using JSS? Makes one wonder.
Keeping the poor in financial bondage until they are wrung dry is the apparent JSS motto. Keeping JSS “in the money” appears to be Judge Kwan’s credo. How about this: Leave treatment to the treatment experts, and leave the quasi law enforcement to the private probation people. Shame on Kwan and a system that allowed this to happen.
Louis Colorado
Salt Lake City
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