WEBVTT
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00:00:00.560Okay.
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00:00:01.439Fair morning.
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00:00:02.000Yeah.
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00:00:03.120We're recording.
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00:00:03.680All right.
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00:00:05.200So anything we say now?
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00:00:06.160We have copies of it.
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00:00:07.440Yeah, I have a record.
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00:00:12.960So we're going to kind of dance in the conversation, but is there anything you want us to cover?
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00:00:16.239You know, I'm happy to talk about whatever you guys want to talk about.
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00:00:16.640Okay.
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00:00:17.280Probate.
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00:00:23.920So I'm a probate court judge, and probate courts are a little bit unique, and not everybody knows what pro what happens in a probate court.
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00:00:25.519So if y'all want to talk about that a little bit.
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00:00:26.480Let's talk about it.
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00:00:27.440Let's introduce yourself.
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00:00:32.159Okay, so I'm I'm Judge Jason Cox, the judge of Harris County Probate Court No.
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00:00:34.880I was elected in 2018.
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00:00:36.799I take the bench in 2019.
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00:00:46.560Prior to being elected judge, I practiced in the area of probate and probate litigation since, well, for about 15 years before being elected judge.
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00:00:49.039So probate courts, a little bit different.
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00:00:51.039I need to get an introduction in here real quick.
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00:00:53.679Well hey, we can't not introduce Alexis.
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00:00:57.359Well, I mean, you know, we got to introduce the fact this is 22 sides.
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00:00:59.039I'm Alexis and I'm here with Robin.
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00:01:04.640And go back to the previous thing you just heard, because I'm sure you started from the beginning if you're listening to us.
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00:01:05.680Oh, sure, sure.
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00:01:06.799Who our guest is.
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00:01:07.280Sure.
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00:01:08.319Okay, now we can go.
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00:01:11.359Well, we have we have a judge with us today.
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00:01:13.840And you're you're already in it.
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00:01:15.519Like tell tell the people about what you do.
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00:01:18.079Okay, so so probate court number three.
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00:01:20.959We're one of five probate courts here in Harris County.
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00:01:26.480And Harris County has statutory probate courts, so it means that they're created by the legislature.
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00:01:32.640And the legislature creates statutory probate courts in parts of the state where there's big populations.
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00:01:37.760So we have Travis County, Tarrant County, Dallas County, El Paso.
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00:01:47.280There's about, you know, don't hold me to it because we keep adding to it, but I want to say there's about 20 statutory probate courts in the state of Texas.
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00:01:52.640And they're unique in that their jurisdiction deals specifically with probate.
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00:01:58.799So we deal with wills, trusts, estates, guardianships, and related litigation.
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00:02:13.120We have kind of a little tweak to our jurisdiction where there, if there's a case that's pending in like a district court that has a probate component to it, maybe one of the parties is an independent executor, or maybe somebody dies during the middle of the litigation.
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00:02:19.120We can reach out and grab cases from district courts and pull them into a probate court.
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00:02:20.479So they're very specific.
00:02:20.479 -->
00:02:26.639Other smaller Texas counties, rural counties, the probate's handled in courts of general jurisdiction.
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00:02:30.639So they may hear criminal cases, probate cases, divorce cases.
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00:02:36.319But in Harris County, we have five that specifically hear these probate-related cases.
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00:02:56.560In probate court three, it's even a little bit more unique than the other five in that we have, through kind of just a quirk of the way that the probate courts came to be in Harris County, we have what's called primary responsibility over all civil mental health commitment hearings in Harris County.
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00:03:08.479So those hearings might be to commit somebody for temporary mental health services, require them to take medication, might be for somebody who's incarcerated at the Harris County jail.
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00:03:16.800Maybe they're sick and they need medication, so they can be required to take medication through petitions filed in our court.
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00:03:25.680Or they may need treatment in order to have their competency restored so that they can participate in their defense and they need medication for that.
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00:03:27.759So we hear those cases also.
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00:03:40.560Otherwise, we'd have people who are mentally ill who can't participate in their defense sitting in jail for longer than they would serve for the for the for the acts that brought them into the into the jail in the first place.
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00:03:47.759That seems to be a general problem we have with you know people waiting for trial or waiting for doing various and sundry things.
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00:03:51.120They they tend to spend a lot of time in jail before That's right.
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00:03:52.960We decide whether or not they're guilty.
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00:03:53.599Yeah.
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00:03:59.360And and you know, they're deprived of their liberty while they're while they're inside the jail waiting for some kind of adjudication.
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00:04:03.680And if they're sick and can't participate in their defense, that just adds to their time.
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00:04:16.639And so we at the court can have hearings to require them to take medication so that they can participate in their defense and hopefully get an adjudication and and maybe even get you know out and on with their lives.
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00:04:17.360Okay.
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00:04:19.680That that brings up a whole lot of questions in my mind.
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00:04:20.240Sure.
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00:04:35.279Is this like always heard by a judge only, or are there juries or so that's that's a great question because you are entitled to juries in guardianship cases, in probate cases.
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00:04:41.519Sometimes you are only entitled to a six-person jury, sometimes you're entitled to a twelve-person jury, depending on the case.
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00:04:44.720In mental health cases, you are entitled to a jury.
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00:04:45.360Okay.
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00:04:49.920And you bring experts in, or we've never had a jury trial.
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00:04:59.360Uh and in the in the in the 20 or 25 years that the judge sat before me in this court, they hadn't had one either.
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00:05:01.439So we almost had one.
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00:05:09.040One was requested, but it got resolved by the time the the jury trial would have come around.
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00:05:16.560These these on the mental health side, one of the reasons that maybe we don't see more jury trials is they're they're fast-tracked.
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00:05:16.959Okay.
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00:05:28.319So mental health law is very deadline driven because we don't want people to be deprived of their liberty any longer than they have to be, because we're not talking about people who are criminals.
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00:05:29.279They're just sick.
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00:05:29.839Right.
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00:05:39.920And so when a person's picked up on like a mental health warrant, or maybe law enforcement brings them in to a facility, you know, they have to see a doctor within 12 hours.
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00:05:47.199The facility can only keep them for a few, uh a few, I want to say it's 48 hours, I think is what the requirement is.
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00:05:52.319They can keep them for 48 hours, but they have to petition the court to hold them longer.
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00:05:57.600The court has to hear their case at least within 30 days, and that's with continuances.
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00:06:00.560Usually they are heard within about seven days.
00:06:00.560 -->
00:06:06.800And so we try and get them moved through each piece of the system so they're not held any longer than they have to be.
00:06:06.800 -->
00:06:28.639And the other thing I think that's interesting about this area of law is even if I sign an order saying you're committed for a period of 45 days, if the patient is getting treatment and the doctor says you're no longer, you no longer meet the criteria, you're no longer a danger to yourself or to others, or or you're not decompensating.
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00:06:29.759You've reached your baseline.
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00:06:33.199The doctor can sign an order discharging them and they're free to go at that time.
00:06:33.600 -->
00:06:35.680And how long have you been in this seat?
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00:06:40.800So I was elected in 2018 and I started January 1st, 2019.
00:06:42.240 -->
00:06:53.199And I mean, your experience in public that I've seen, I've been at a lot of events, and I've always seen you just seem so kind and so willing to talk to people and so available.
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00:06:57.360Like I I get around to a lot of events and I've just seen you repeatedly.
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00:07:07.920And I think when people think of a a politician or a judge, they might think that they don't have access to them in everyday life.
00:07:07.920 -->
00:07:11.439But when I see you, it's like you're just so willing to talk to people.
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00:07:15.360I can't imagine like what your calendar even looks like.
00:07:15.360 -->
00:07:21.920Like Alexis is talking about backed up cases, but you're only talking about one one branch of what you you hear.
00:07:21.920 -->
00:07:23.920How often do you actually work?
00:07:24.480 -->
00:07:25.680Oh, I'm I'm there every day.
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00:07:26.160Okay.
00:07:26.160 -->
00:07:27.680Uh we are we're going to be able to do that.
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00:07:30.319Yeah.
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00:07:35.120So you know, going back to probate court three being a little bit different than the other probate courts.
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00:07:39.759So we have a courtroom in the civil courthouse downtown.
00:07:39.759 -->
00:07:45.199We have a courtroom in the Harris County Psychiatric Center, and we have a staff of 20.
00:07:45.199 -->
00:07:48.800We have a budget of about 6.4 million dollars.
00:07:48.800 -->
00:07:52.720We had 20,000 cases just on the mental health side alone.
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00:07:54.720So we keep things moving.
00:07:54.720 -->
00:08:01.519I'm fortunate to have a fantastic staff and an associate judge who does an extremely good job for us.
00:08:01.519 -->
00:08:02.879Who's your associate judge?
00:08:02.879 -->
00:08:04.319Her name is Amy Parsons.
00:08:04.319 -->
00:08:05.680Okay, just curious.
00:08:05.680 -->
00:08:06.480Sure.
00:08:06.480 -->
00:08:10.480And so we we we stay on top of things.
00:08:10.480 -->
00:08:20.079And that the mental health crew that you know make sure everybody complies with all these deadlines and nobody's held one second longer than the law says they can be.
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00:08:20.480Yeah.
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00:08:26.160Uh they they come to work every day with a servant's heart and they they do a fantastic job.
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00:08:26.959Okay.
00:08:26.959 -->
00:08:35.360So so how how backed up is it if Alexis is saying, you know, maybe people are being held long or you know, trying to wrap it up.
00:08:35.679 -->
00:08:37.440Not necessarily for this court, but for general courts.
00:08:38.960 -->
00:08:42.000So our clearance rate is over 100 percent.
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00:08:42.559Okay.
00:08:42.559 -->
00:08:42.799Okay.
00:08:42.799 -->
00:08:44.639So we've that we work very hard on that.
00:08:44.639 -->
00:08:57.759And really, the the probate cases, the Wills, Trusts, Estates, and Guardianship, those are hard to clear as quickly as other cases because they stay by their nature, they stay open longer.
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00:08:58.159Okay.
00:08:58.159 -->
00:09:11.120So say take a guardianship case where somebody has an IDD intellectual disability diagnosis and they're 18 and they're getting ready to turn 19, and they're going to need a guardianship.
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00:09:16.480They a guardianship might be established for them and they may live for another 70 years.
00:09:16.480 -->
00:09:20.240And so that guardianship could be open for 70 years.
00:09:20.240 -->
00:09:32.879So you can't look at that as a case that you can just get on your docket and get off your docket because if a guardianship's open for 70 years, they file reports, the court goes out and visits them, and so they that stays an active case on our docket.
00:09:32.879 -->
00:09:39.039Other cases come in, you know, other cases that are like regularly litigated cases, like a will contest.
00:09:39.039 -->
00:09:41.120You know, that's gonna have a beginning and an end.
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00:09:48.879It may not be, you know, within six months, it may be a couple of years, because it's a litigated case, uh, but that'll have a definite end to it.
00:09:48.879 -->
00:09:51.200Other cases don't necessarily.
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00:10:00.080The mental health cases do, though, because at some point somebody's gonna get committed and that commitment's going to end and they're gonna be released.
00:10:00.080 -->
00:10:02.799And so th those those work their way through pretty quick.
00:10:02.799 -->
00:10:03.039Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:10:03.200 -->
00:10:06.960So essentially the idea of a backlog doesn't really apply to probate courts.
00:10:07.360 -->
00:10:14.639Yeah, I you know, and I look at my other probate court backlogs too, because obviously I want to make sure I'm keeping up with my colleagues, and we're all doing about the same.
00:10:14.639 -->
00:10:18.960We've all got close to a hundred or over a hundred percent clearance rates.
00:10:19.440 -->
00:10:20.080That's nice.
00:10:20.240 -->
00:10:24.080Yeah, there's a lot of civil and criminal courts who would love to have anywhere close to that.
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00:10:25.519Yeah, yeah.
00:10:28.000 -->
00:10:28.159Okay.
00:10:28.559 -->
00:10:29.679So what are you doing now?
00:10:29.679 -->
00:10:30.320Right now.
00:10:30.320 -->
00:10:32.000What do you mean, right now?
00:10:32.000 -->
00:10:33.360You running for office?
00:10:33.360 -->
00:10:34.080Oh, I am.
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00:10:34.720Oh yes.
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00:10:36.080By the way.
00:10:36.399 -->
00:10:37.600I just want to check and see.
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00:10:38.000Yeah, yeah.
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00:10:40.639No, I'm running for the re-elect you to keep this goodness going.
00:10:40.639 -->
00:10:41.360There you go.
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00:10:43.519I'm uh I'm running for my third term.
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00:10:43.919Okay.
00:10:43.919 -->
00:10:47.279Uh I'll be on the ballot this November 3rd.
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00:10:51.120Early voting starts October 19th and runs through the 30th.
00:10:51.120 -->
00:10:57.679Vote early if you can, so you're not subject to shenanigans on election day.
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00:11:00.080If you don't like lines and in the voice.
00:11:00.320 -->
00:11:00.480Yeah.
00:11:00.720 -->
00:11:01.039Yeah.
00:11:01.039 -->
00:11:06.720And you know, and mail b mail in voting is safe, but I I always think it's a good idea to vote in person.
00:11:07.200 -->
00:11:09.519And what like who can vote for you?
00:11:09.519 -->
00:11:10.320Uh is that everybody?
00:11:10.799 -->
00:11:11.679Everybody in Harris County.
00:11:12.000 -->
00:11:12.879Okay, wonderful.
00:11:12.879 -->
00:11:17.759And so when you see Judge Jason Cox on the ballot.
00:11:18.159 -->
00:11:19.440At the very bottom almost.
00:11:19.440 -->
00:11:20.720So keep on going.
00:11:21.360 -->
00:11:22.639All the way down, all the way down.
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00:11:23.200That's the point.
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00:11:24.480All the way down, yeah.
00:11:24.480 -->
00:11:27.679I mean, you've got to go all the way down, and this ballot's long.
00:11:27.679 -->
00:11:28.320It is.
00:11:28.320 -->
00:11:31.039It's like five or six pages long, maybe even longer than that.
00:11:31.360 -->
00:11:38.080We've had a few people on, and and we always say, you know, the the lower down the ballot, the closer you're gonna be to people that you might actually see.
00:11:38.080 -->
00:11:52.879And I think that, you know, being up against just getting out of the pandemic, a lot of people had to confront where they're at with their probate issues, you know, if they were ready for it, not ready for it, what should they have available?
00:11:52.879 -->
00:12:00.720Uh I mean, and talk to their loved ones, their neighbors that may or may not have been like ready for it either.
00:12:00.720 -->
00:12:02.480I mean, I can only imagine.
00:12:02.480 -->
00:12:08.639And now that we're past the pandemic, some of us kind of got out of it without having to address that.
00:12:08.639 -->
00:12:14.879Like, what would your average person need these days to support themselves going into probate?
00:12:14.879 -->
00:12:31.679Because if you're on social media, there's a lot of misrepresentation, I think, of people saying, Oh, you're always gonna have to go to probate no matter what, or oh, you can skip probate if you just have these things handled, or you know, get lawyer representation and then you won't have to go.
00:12:31.679 -->
00:12:38.399And I I think to the average person, it's it's in the feed, but I I don't think they ever get really like straight answers.
00:12:38.720 -->
00:12:44.559Yeah, so there there are some things that you can do to avoid having a probateable estate.
00:12:44.799 -->
00:12:45.120Okay.
00:12:45.440 -->
00:12:55.600So, you know, if if you have a will and you want to leave everything by your will, your will is gonna have to be probated in order for it to be valid and enforceable.
00:12:55.600 -->
00:12:57.759So that's one option.
00:12:57.759 -->
00:13:05.840But if you have assets that are say they're cash in accounts, you can do you can set up the accounts so that they're payable on death.
00:13:05.840 -->
00:13:11.759Or usually it's it says joint tenancy with right of survivorship or transfer on death or pay on death.
00:13:11.759 -->
00:13:14.879There's usually a little box you can check on the signature card.
00:13:14.879 -->
00:13:25.519If those are all of your assets in that account, you can designate somebody to be that beneficiary, and those funds will pass to that person without needing to go to probate.
00:13:25.919 -->
00:13:26.159Okay.
00:13:26.159 -->
00:13:36.000So if you have a bank account and you're not sure if you have someone assigned to that, if in the event that you're gonna die, because like 10 out of 10 people will.
00:13:36.320 -->
00:13:36.639That's right.
00:13:36.879 -->
00:13:38.000You know, I mean, maybe quick.
00:13:38.559 -->
00:13:41.360When we would have clients come in and they'd say, Well, if I die, we'd say no.
00:13:41.360 -->
00:13:42.240It's when you do that.
00:13:43.200 -->
00:13:48.559It's when it's when I I think all of us are around 45 highway might be sooner than others.
00:13:48.559 -->
00:14:08.000But you know, so you're checking with your bank account, and in the event that when you die, you have it allocated to somebody that's pay upon death, like your friend, your loved one, your partner, your spouse, your neighbor to look after your cat, like like whatever it is that you want that money to go to, just tell your bank.
00:14:08.720 -->
00:14:11.279Yeah, you you can tell them and they'll help you with the paperwork.
00:14:11.279 -->
00:14:15.360And it's the same for like employee benefits or insurance benefits.
00:14:15.360 -->
00:14:21.519So those kinds of things that have beneficiary designations, they pass outside of probate.
00:14:21.519 -->
00:14:28.559So you don't need to go to court in order to make sure that those funds or those assets transfer to the person that you're doing.
00:14:28.559 -->
00:14:29.919Well, what about real property?
00:14:29.919 -->
00:14:32.639You can do this with real property.
00:14:32.639 -->
00:14:40.480You can create a transfer on death deed, but it ha this is if you're trying to avoid avoid going to a lawyer.
00:14:40.480 -->
00:14:49.759This is one I wouldn't go avoid going to a lawyer for because transfer on death deeds need to have certain magic language in it in order for them to be effective.
00:14:49.759 -->
00:14:56.320And you don't want to set something up and then have somebody file a lawsuit saying, well, this didn't pass the way you meant it to pass.
00:14:56.720 -->
00:14:56.879Okay.
00:14:56.879 -->
00:15:06.080So I'm talking to my mom, and my mom has her house paid off in this hypothetical example, and she says, you know, I'm not going to make it every day.
00:15:06.080 -->
00:15:11.200And I'm like, okay, on the day you're not going to make it, let's get the paperwork done ahead of time.
00:15:11.440 -->
00:15:11.519Right.
00:15:11.759 -->
00:15:13.279Then we have to see a lawyer.
00:15:13.279 -->
00:15:16.159Or we can do this by some of the things.
00:15:16.480 -->
00:15:16.879Possibly.
00:15:16.879 -->
00:15:27.039So there are so when you're dealing with real property in it, it's there's lots the the good thing in Texas is there's lots of options that you have for making sure that your estate goes to who you want it to go to.
00:15:27.519 -->
00:15:29.279That might be why there's not like a straight answer.
00:15:29.759 -->
00:15:33.600Yeah, but the other thing is they work for some assets, but not for others.
00:15:33.600 -->
00:15:34.159Okay.
00:15:34.159 -->
00:15:43.519So there's things like small estate affidavits where there's just real property and maybe a small amount of cash that a person can fill out by themselves.
00:15:43.519 -->
00:15:45.519They're on our county clerk's website.
00:15:45.519 -->
00:15:51.039You can get a form and shout out to our wonderful county clerk, Tanisha Hudspeth, who is doing God's work right now.
00:15:51.039 -->
00:15:52.320No kidding.
00:15:53.279 -->
00:15:58.399This is like a built-in commercial for Tanisha Hudsmith because uh she's amazing.
00:15:58.399 -->
00:16:06.720Her coworkers are amazing, and she's also on the ballot, like probably really low down the ballot, but she is the highest person you could be voting for.
00:16:06.720 -->
00:16:22.639I mean, there I mean it's a it's a contest of this election, but Tanisa Tanisha Hudspeth runs these voting polls, but she also does really great work on like what you're saying, all these forms marriage, divorce, kid forms for school.
00:16:22.639 -->
00:16:31.679She even opened up weekend days in case you can't go to these offices during the week because you worked something outside of a nine to five or whatever.
00:16:31.679 -->
00:16:35.600So look up those resources from the Harris County.
00:16:36.080 -->
00:16:42.559Harris County Clerk's office has a really great website, and they've got forms that are probate-related forms too, kind of like what we were talking about.
00:16:43.840 -->
00:16:44.080Okay.
00:16:44.080 -->
00:16:56.480And I was even recently looking into this because my my my mother just purchased a car, not to brag, it's her final car, and she wants to hand it off when she's you know no longer with us.
00:16:56.480 -->
00:16:59.200But you can't just you can't just be like, here's the keys.
00:16:59.200 -->
00:17:02.240You know, you have to actually get that in on a form too.
00:17:02.559 -->
00:17:03.039That's right.
00:17:03.039 -->
00:17:13.599So on the title, on the back side of the title, there should be information that you can fill out after many years from now, hopefully, after your mom passes away.
00:17:14.160 -->
00:17:15.039Yeah, not tomorrow.
00:17:15.359 -->
00:17:22.480Not tomorrow, but there should be form on the back that's kind of like an affidavit that you should be able to fill out to transfer title to yourself.
00:17:22.880 -->
00:17:23.119Okay.
00:17:23.119 -->
00:17:23.759Okay.
00:17:23.759 -->
00:17:30.000I think these are really scary topics that just really put a lot of people in a freeze position.
00:17:30.000 -->
00:17:36.240And I appreciate you speaking to it because again, it's like click here and you might not ever get anywhere.
00:17:36.240 -->
00:17:47.440But if you can go to these real websites where, you know, the district county has put together forms, then those are gonna be the ones you actually need when you get there in person.
00:17:47.440 -->
00:17:48.559So you might as well start now.
00:17:48.960 -->
00:17:49.119Yeah.
00:17:49.119 -->
00:17:54.400And you know, it people do get nervous about talking about death and planning for death.
00:17:54.400 -->
00:18:05.599But I think once they sit down and start thinking about it and talking about it, it becomes a much easier conversation because you know it you you kind of get past that feeling like if I if I do a will today, I'm gonna die tomorrow.
00:18:05.599 -->
00:18:08.079Because then, you know, nine times out of ten, that's not gonna happen.
00:18:08.480 -->
00:18:08.720Right.
00:18:08.880 -->
00:18:08.960Right.
00:18:09.279 -->
00:18:10.720And if you do, it's gonna be really suspicious.
00:18:10.720 -->
00:18:14.880If you're to meet in the hospital, you know, maybe that's the case.
00:18:15.839 -->
00:18:19.920But I think before you're in the hospital is a better time to to talk about it, though, right?
00:18:19.920 -->
00:18:44.480I mean before you've lost a little bit of sanity, a little vitality, like like you know, people are about to gather with their loved ones, whether it's chosen community and they want to voice how they want to be taken care of, or whether it's legal community and they like haven't gotten the paperwork to back that up, like you know, like now's the time to maybe bring that to a few potlucks or a few uh, you know, uh holiday events coming up.
00:18:44.799 -->
00:18:57.920Yeah, and you know that it you've made such a great point because especially for people in our community, you know, I'm I'm married to my husband, and I fortune I'm fortunate to have a family that accepts as a as a truly married couple, right?
00:18:57.920 -->
00:19:01.920But not all of us in the LGBTQ community are.
00:19:01.920 -->
00:19:26.160And if you are if you are somebody who's ill and you wait till you're in the hospital to do a will that leaves everything to your spouse, right, and they have a family that doesn't respect your relationship, that's gonna give them an opening to say, well, they were coerced to do it while they were weak and in the hospital, or they didn't have the capacity because they were on all of this medication to do it.
00:19:26.160 -->
00:19:27.759We see cases like that.
00:19:27.759 -->
00:19:30.799Not as many as we used to, but we see cases like that.
00:19:31.279 -->
00:19:34.960So do it while you're feeling well and get a few witnesses.
00:19:34.960 -->
00:19:40.400And I don't know, and we're in October, so it's like before you're a ghost, let's get this handled.
00:19:40.400 -->
00:19:49.200Like, I mean, you know, make it about make it about the real candy and trading your assets and holding your values, not about necessarily like trick-or-treating.
00:19:50.079 -->
00:19:54.160Yeah, the nice thing is that usually you get a few hospital stays before you get there.
00:19:54.160 -->
00:19:54.799Yeah, that's right.
00:19:57.359 -->
00:19:59.440Yeah, that's right.
00:19:59.440 -->
00:20:04.000And you know, there's other documents, not just a will, that I think are really handy to think about.
00:20:04.000 -->
00:20:04.720Like what?
00:20:04.720 -->
00:20:13.599Like a like a power of attorney if you have somebody in your life that you really trust or that you're you know that you're married to, or is a partner of a lot of.
00:20:13.599 -->
00:20:15.200They don't have to be separate.
00:20:15.200 -->
00:20:16.400Well, that's true.
00:20:16.400 -->
00:20:16.880You're right.
00:20:17.279 -->
00:20:18.240But but they could be, right?
00:20:18.240 -->
00:20:25.279Like somebody if you have a loved one that's not interested in being the one that has the final say, then maybe pick the one that can say it.
00:20:25.599 -->
00:20:32.160Yeah, well, you know, that's that's that's a very true point because sometimes people don't want their spouse to be their agent under a power of attorney.
00:20:32.400 -->
00:20:32.559Right.
00:20:32.559 -->
00:20:34.000Yeah, sometimes it's for good reasons.
00:20:34.240 -->
00:20:34.480Yeah.
00:20:34.480 -->
00:20:44.880But but a power of attorney, you can you can execute it in such a way that it's not effective immediately, but it becomes effective upon your incapacity.
00:20:44.880 -->
00:20:53.759So you say in the you know, say that you say that you execute these documents and then you have a heart attack and you can't communicate.
00:20:53.759 -->
00:21:05.119That power of attorney will spring into life, and that give that agent who you've named the ability to make, you know, maybe decisions for you based on what you've expressed to them.
00:21:05.119 -->
00:21:13.119You can have a durable one, which covers health care and things like that, or you can have a financial one, which covers your financial assets.
00:21:13.119 -->
00:21:21.279And the other thing that you can do, which I think is really important, is you can do a declaration of guardian in the event of need.
00:21:21.279 -->
00:21:33.920So if you you know somebody that you want to take care of you when you're in a at a time in your life where maybe you don't have mental capacity, you can name who you want to be your guardian.
00:21:33.920 -->
00:21:38.160And you can also name who you don't want to be your guardian.
00:21:38.160 -->
00:21:39.920Okay, which is just as easy to be.
00:21:40.160 -->
00:21:41.440That might be a longer list.
00:21:41.440 -->
00:21:41.920Yeah.
00:21:41.920 -->
00:21:42.640Yeah.
00:21:43.359 -->
00:21:54.559So, and and that gives you some kind of surety and and some comfort knowing that it look, if the worst happens and I can't communicate, at least the paperwork is there that says this is what I want.
00:21:54.960 -->
00:21:55.839That's beautiful.
00:21:55.839 -->
00:22:09.519I mean, there's there's a conversation that can be had about a Lot of different wants, but if you can put it in some legal paper with your loved ones, do you necessarily need a like a notary or can it just be a witness?
00:22:09.920 -->
00:22:11.519For some documents, you do.
00:22:11.519 -->
00:22:14.880I believe the powers of attorney need to be notarized.
00:22:14.880 -->
00:22:19.119I think the declaration of guardian in the event of need needs to be notarized.
00:22:19.119 -->
00:22:19.680That makes sense.
00:22:19.680 -->
00:22:22.720Wills need to be executed a certain way.
00:22:22.720 -->
00:22:29.519So they have to have two witnesses and be notarized if you want the most straightforward, clean probate you can get.
00:22:29.519 -->
00:22:32.160You can have handwritten wills.
00:22:32.160 -->
00:22:34.720And these come up in court all the time.
00:22:34.720 -->
00:22:43.759You know, a person can draft their own will and write it out as long as it's entirely in their own handwriting and has their own signature.
00:22:43.759 -->
00:22:45.519It can be probated.
00:22:45.519 -->
00:22:52.000The person will have to go to court and they'll have to have witnesses that know the handwriting and can prove it up.
00:22:52.000 -->
00:22:59.759It's, you know, I'm a former probate attorney, so I always say, don't write your own will, always go to a lawyer.
00:22:59.759 -->
00:23:04.240But you can do it if you have kind of a handle on how you really want things to go.
00:23:04.240 -->
00:23:18.880The the where we see people get into a little bit of trouble is maybe the handwritten will might be a little ambiguous and it might leave some room for interpretation for somebody who might want to attack it.
00:23:18.880 -->
00:23:27.680But you know, certainly we we saw a well, we had a handwritten will on the docket today, it didn't get reached because the person passed the hearing, but we see them all the time.
00:23:28.160 -->
00:23:34.240And in this world of electronics, is it acceptable to do like a video or you know, of the person?
00:23:34.640 -->
00:23:35.039Not yet.
00:23:35.039 -->
00:23:35.359Okay.
00:23:35.359 -->
00:23:37.359We're not we're not at that point yet.
00:23:37.359 -->
00:23:55.200I will say that it when I was practicing probate as an attorney and we were litigating cases, we loved it when somebody would videotape a will execution ceremony because almost always they would put something in there that was terrible for their case.
00:23:55.200 -->
00:24:00.079You know, it would they would they would think that this is this is this is gonna be great, nobody's gonna have any questions.
00:24:00.079 -->
00:24:06.640You can show this to the jury, and they'll just see I was doing exactly what my mom wanted to do, and he'll be like, Oh, sign here, mom.
00:24:06.640 -->
00:24:08.880No, no, sign here, here, sign here.
00:24:08.880 -->
00:24:10.240Don't read that.
00:24:10.240 -->
00:24:12.400Yeah, all on video.
00:24:12.559 -->
00:24:12.880Oh no.
00:24:13.200 -->
00:24:20.880I've never seen a videotaped will ceremony that ever benefited the person who thought they had a slam nut case.
00:24:20.880 -->
00:24:22.319So that's funny.
00:24:24.240 -->
00:24:24.640Don't do it.
00:24:24.640 -->
00:24:25.200Don't do it.
00:24:25.200 -->
00:24:25.519Yeah.
00:24:25.519 -->
00:24:26.960Well, it brings up a good point.
00:24:26.960 -->
00:24:36.640So if somebody is losing their mental capacities, and maybe this is a crossover between your branches, like there's some signs there, but it hasn't deteriorated yet.
00:24:36.640 -->
00:24:41.200Like maybe dementia or something, is that's a time to get a lawyer.
00:24:41.200 -->
00:24:47.680Uh that you know, that way you have a sound witness, or you know, like how how do you approach that question with your one?
00:24:48.079 -->
00:24:53.200So in order to execute a will in Texas, you have to have what's called testamentary capacity.
00:24:53.200 -->
00:24:57.119And the good news is that's actually a pretty low threshold.
00:24:57.119 -->
00:24:57.440Okay.
00:24:57.440 -->
00:25:18.480You need to know who you're who the objects of your bounty is, you know, where where you're going to give your property, what property you own, the manner that it's going to be distributed, and you have to have the mental ability to hold that all of that in your mind long enough to execute the will, and you have to know that you're executing a will.
00:25:18.480 -->
00:25:20.480So that we've got like five elements.
00:25:20.480 -->
00:25:25.279It's an old case from Texas that that outlines these elements, but we've kept them.
00:25:25.279 -->
00:25:28.480But it's it's a very low level of capacity.
00:25:28.480 -->
00:25:38.079So just by means of example, if if if we're talking about testamentary capacity, that's less than what you would need to execute a contract.
00:25:38.079 -->
00:25:47.039So, you know, it's it's a pretty low standard to reach because we recognize that people young people generally, young healthy people don't do wells, right?
00:25:47.039 -->
00:25:52.960It's usually somebody who's a little bit older and who's facing the inevitable.
00:25:52.960 -->
00:25:54.960Yeah, and maybe in the hospital.
00:25:54.960 -->
00:25:56.079It may be in the hospital.
00:25:56.319 -->
00:26:03.519There's like so many people starting college right now that are doing questionable things more than like your average senior, but they're not right in the will, you know.
00:26:03.519 -->
00:26:04.319Exactly.
00:26:04.319 -->
00:26:12.559Yeah, it's just a society like has us wait until you know, we always think it's not gonna be us or it's not gonna like well, there's some more time or whatnot.
00:26:12.559 -->
00:26:18.160But I appreciate you like touching this topic because when people do think about it, it can be a little scary.
00:26:18.160 -->
00:26:22.240And and and no one's like, here, here's how you do it, here's how I did it with my family.
00:26:22.240 -->
00:26:26.240I mean, there's I just don't find those conversations around me a lot.
00:26:26.240 -->
00:26:28.640And and I I'm glad that you do that.
00:26:28.640 -->
00:26:33.119I mean, and in your work, like, is it hard for you to maintain?
00:26:33.119 -->
00:26:38.640Because you're obviously rerunning for the seat, and you know, but it's it sounds like it could be heavy sometimes.
00:26:39.119 -->
00:26:39.680It can.
00:26:39.680 -->
00:26:56.720It can, but the the benefits or or the the good feeling you get from the work that you do certainly outweighs the the days that you have where you you're just like I why am I putting myself through this?
00:26:57.279 -->
00:26:58.160Right, yeah, yeah.
00:26:58.480 -->
00:27:08.240So there's there's lots of you know, we're talking about probate courts like they're the worst places in the world because you're going there because somebody's dead or somebody's incapacitated or they're in a mental health crisis.
00:27:08.240 -->
00:27:11.440But there's a lot of joyful things that happen in probate courts too.
00:27:11.680 -->
00:27:12.079Like what?
00:27:12.400 -->
00:27:18.640So you know, we we one of the best things that we do is a competency restoration.
00:27:18.640 -->
00:27:28.160So so sometimes for certain kinds of mental events, they can they can render a person incapacitated.
00:27:28.160 -->
00:27:36.000So say you have a traumatic brain injury uh and you lose your ability to really make good executive decisions, right?
00:27:36.000 -->
00:27:46.559For somebody who experiences that, they can go through a lot of physical therapy and really regain the baseline they had before that happened.
00:27:46.559 -->
00:27:57.440It takes a lot of work, but so you may have created a guardianship for that person when that thing happened, but through their hard work, you're able to have a hearing and to restore them to capacity.
00:27:57.759 -->
00:27:58.079Nice.
00:27:58.319 -->
00:27:59.039Which is really great.
00:27:59.039 -->
00:28:02.720The other really good great one that we see is body can heal sometimes.
00:28:02.720 -->
00:28:03.440Yeah, yeah.
00:28:03.440 -->
00:28:16.079And for for patients, I don't want to call them patients, people who have an IDD diagnosis, especially ones who are on the autism spectrum, they may get a full guardianship right when they turn 18.
00:28:16.079 -->
00:28:24.079But through lots of occupational therapy, lots of support in the community, they may be able to have some of their rights restored.
00:28:24.079 -->
00:28:24.480Wow.
00:28:24.480 -->
00:28:31.599So we had a we had a young man, he got a guardianship when he was 18, who had an autism diagnosis.
00:28:31.599 -->
00:28:39.759And you know, we were talking to the parents, and the parents were saying, you know, you know, really you we have to take away his right to drive and his right to vote and all this.
00:28:39.759 -->
00:28:41.440I mean, everything gets taken away.
00:28:41.440 -->
00:28:49.839And it came out that he he really wanted to drive, and that scares the court because we don't want anybody getting hurt.
00:28:49.839 -->
00:28:51.039You know, this is a public health issue.
00:28:51.039 -->
00:28:55.759And he had a job where he was working at a grocery store.
00:28:56.000 -->
00:28:56.319Okay.
00:28:56.799 -->
00:28:59.759And they lived in a rural part of Harris County.
00:28:59.839 -->
00:29:00.079Okay.
00:29:00.240 -->
00:29:08.160And so we talked to them and we said, okay, look, here's let's let's figure out how we can tailor this to this person.
00:29:08.160 -->
00:29:19.200And so we said, okay, we're gonna we're gonna start without giving you the right to drive, but why don't you go and visit with the doctors of the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research?
00:29:19.200 -->
00:29:26.640And there's another place also that does this where they can assess the ability to drive for somebody who's had an injury like that or who's somebody who's IDD.
00:29:26.640 -->
00:29:28.799Come back and tell us what they say.
00:29:28.799 -->
00:29:29.759So they did that.
00:29:29.759 -->
00:29:31.440They came back, he got a good report.
00:29:31.440 -->
00:29:31.680All right.
00:29:31.680 -->
00:29:33.359We said, okay, here's what we're gonna do.
00:29:33.359 -->
00:29:39.039We're gonna start off, you're gonna we're gonna limit the area that you can drive in.
00:29:39.039 -->
00:29:42.720You know, you can drive to work and back, maybe in the neighborhood.
00:29:42.720 -->
00:29:52.720You can, you know, during these times of days, and you're gonna tell us if you ever get a ticket or you ever have an accident, y'all are gonna tell the court and we're gonna reevaluate.
00:29:52.720 -->
00:29:54.720So they did that.
00:29:54.720 -->
00:29:56.400He's never had a problem.
00:29:56.400 -->
00:30:04.480Yeah, and you know that that's you it's gonna allow them to live their life with a higher level of personal sovereignty, which is what we would all want.
00:30:04.480 -->
00:30:11.680And that's really what Texas law wants us to do in guardianship, because Texas laws and guardianship are actually more progressive than you would believe.
00:30:11.680 -->
00:30:13.759That's beautiful being Texas.
00:30:13.759 -->
00:30:24.799We're always supposed to look for the least restrictive alternative and always supposed to evaluate whether there are supports and services out there that can help a person avoid the need for a guardianship.
00:30:24.799 -->
00:30:30.720So it's not supposed to be a conveyor belt, cookie cutter, you get a guardianship, and this is what it looks like.
00:30:30.720 -->
00:30:35.279We are supposed to consider the individual and make sure it's tailored toward them.
00:30:35.279 -->
00:30:39.680So when we can do that and really come up with a creative solution, that's very gratifying.
00:30:40.240 -->
00:30:40.480Wow.
00:30:40.480 -->
00:30:40.960Wow.
00:30:40.960 -->
00:30:42.000Thank you for sharing that.
00:30:42.000 -->
00:30:45.119Because Houston is diverse even in its terrain.
00:30:45.119 -->
00:30:50.720Like not everything is Highway 45, and some of these areas are really manageable if you can just get to the U.S.
00:30:50.960 -->
00:30:53.279I would never let anybody drive on 45.
00:30:53.359 -->
00:30:54.319I avoid what I can.
00:30:54.319 -->
00:30:57.200You know, but it it's it's it's great.
00:30:57.200 -->
00:31:01.359And then what are some of your questions for this area, Alexis?
00:31:01.359 -->
00:31:03.440Because I know you do know quite a few judges.
00:31:04.079 -->
00:31:05.279Fortunately and unfortunately.
00:31:05.279 -->
00:31:07.200It's a week's bag.
00:31:07.200 -->
00:31:20.480But uh no, what I was going to say though, and your thing about driving, I was at a doctor's office and talking to the person who was drawing my blood, and she said that you know she was nervous because her grandkid was just starting to drive.
00:31:20.480 -->
00:31:23.519And so she told him, I'll buy you a car.
00:31:23.519 -->
00:31:26.640But for the first two years, you can't go on any freeway.
00:31:26.640 -->
00:31:30.319Yeah, you can get everywhere you want to go with back streets, but no freeways.
00:31:30.319 -->
00:31:31.440Otherwise, I take the car back.
00:31:31.680 -->
00:31:32.480Yeah, there you go.
00:31:32.640 -->
00:31:32.799Yeah.
00:31:32.799 -->
00:31:36.480And I was thinking, you know, that's probably a really good thing.
00:31:36.480 -->
00:31:37.440Yeah, no doubt.
00:31:37.440 -->
00:31:39.519You can get in plenty of trouble on the back streets.
00:31:39.519 -->
00:31:40.079You can.
00:31:40.079 -->
00:31:41.519You can get anywhere you need to go.
00:31:41.519 -->
00:31:43.359Yeah, so I have several questions.
00:31:43.359 -->
00:31:45.200I'm trying to figure out which order to put them in.
00:31:45.200 -->
00:31:50.960Number one, what do you wish people knew about coming to probate court?
00:31:51.359 -->
00:31:56.319You know, I I wish people knew that they're actually very user-friendly courts.
00:31:56.319 -->
00:32:02.480So we have staff attorneys on the court, we have lots of people who have a background in social work.
00:32:02.480 -->
00:32:10.400So we and we you people come in off the street all the time looking for help, you know, filling out paperwork that they need to fill out.
00:32:10.400 -->
00:32:12.799And and we are happy to do that.
00:32:12.799 -->
00:32:18.640And so we don't want people to feel like, you know, it's we don't want people afraid to come to court.
00:32:18.880 -->
00:32:19.279That's great.
00:32:19.599 -->
00:32:30.000And we, you know, especially with our neighbors who might be worried that their legal status might put them in jeopardy.
00:32:30.000 -->
00:32:37.599We want them to know that all of the services that are available to Harris County residents are available to them as well.
00:32:37.599 -->
00:32:41.039And they are welcome to come into court and be heard.
00:32:41.039 -->
00:32:46.880And uh if they have issues that are probate related, we are here to help them just like we are everybody else.
00:32:46.960 -->
00:32:55.119Aaron Powell It's important to voice that in this season because people are like, where can I go safely and trust that?
00:32:55.119 -->
00:32:56.079So thank you.
00:32:56.480 -->
00:32:56.799Yeah.
00:32:56.799 -->
00:32:57.119Yeah.
00:32:57.119 -->
00:33:03.599I'm sort of excited that you know our current county attorney is starting to do some stuff like that.
00:33:03.599 -->
00:33:03.839Yeah.
00:33:03.839 -->
00:33:08.960Abby's having this event at the law library with most of her staff, if not all of it.
00:33:08.960 -->
00:33:10.799And they're like, come on in, talk to lawyers.
00:33:11.119 -->
00:33:12.880Abby Kamen, she's also on the ballot.
00:33:12.880 -->
00:33:15.519She is please vote for Abby Kamen.
00:33:16.079 -->
00:33:19.119We didn't really plan this being just a pure advertising, but it is.
00:33:22.319 -->
00:33:22.400Yeah.
00:33:23.039 -->
00:33:35.759So we we work a lot with Abby Kamen's office on the mental health side because the people who bring petitions for involuntary commitment are the county attorney's office on behalf of the state.
00:33:35.759 -->
00:33:36.319Oh, okay.
00:33:36.319 -->
00:34:03.440So we all, you know, and even though it's a it's an adversarial process because we have the state seeking commitment, and then we have the patient who's represented by an attorney ad lightum seeking to avoid the commitment and the court, you know, hearing the case, it's really, speaking of gratifying things about the job, it's really great because we all kind of work together at the same time to try and make these cases work for people.
00:34:03.440 -->
00:34:06.960And just in case other people don't know what it is, what's an attorney ad lightum?
00:34:06.960 -->
00:34:14.400So an attorney ad litum is somebody who's appointed by the court to be an advocate for them in a in a certain kind of case.
00:34:14.400 -->
00:34:25.440And Texas law requires us in guardianships to appoint an attorney ad lightum to represent the proposed ward and advocate for whatever it is that proposed ward wants.
00:34:25.440 -->
00:34:37.440So if that proposed ward says, I want you to oppose this guardianship with everything you've got, because I'm leaving on a rocket ship to go to the moon at the end of the week.
00:34:37.440 -->
00:34:46.639Um, your job as an attorney ad lightum is to advocate, maybe not use that as your argument, but you know, advocate for them with everything you've got.
00:34:46.639 -->
00:34:48.400It might even be in your client's best interest.
00:34:48.400 -->
00:34:50.000RNAs is that guardian.
00:34:50.000 -->
00:34:52.880But even take that case to trial if you have to.
00:34:52.880 -->
00:34:56.719And it's the same on the mental health side as you you advocate for your client.
00:34:56.719 -->
00:35:00.559We also have guardians ad lightum, which are a little bit different.
00:35:00.559 -->
00:35:20.400Guardian ad lightum, it's kind of we call them the eyes and the ears of the court, and what they do is they visit with the proposed ward or the mental health patient, maybe, and they report back to the court what's in the client's, what they believe is in that person's best interest.
00:35:20.400 -->
00:35:29.599So one is it, the attorney adlitum is an advocate, the guardian ad lightum is the one who advises the court about what they believe is the best interest of the person.
00:35:30.079 -->
00:35:31.519Okay, that's cool.
00:35:31.519 -->
00:35:36.400So another question though, and it has nothing to do with well, maybe it does.
00:35:36.400 -->
00:35:37.920So what do you do for fun?
00:35:37.920 -->
00:35:41.280So my my husband and I love to cook.
00:35:41.440 -->
00:35:41.760Uh-huh.
00:35:41.760 -->
00:35:44.639We go through we go through phases.
00:35:44.639 -->
00:35:51.280We've been on an Indian cooking phase lately, so he's been making naan, which has been really good.
00:35:51.280 -->
00:35:51.840Yeah.
00:35:51.840 -->
00:35:56.000I've gotten to where I can make doll, and that's about it.
00:35:56.000 -->
00:36:00.880But he's he's the he's been doing things like butter chicken and doll.
00:36:00.880 -->
00:36:02.880He did tandoori chicken the other day.
00:36:02.880 -->
00:36:03.920Nice, which is good.
00:36:04.000 -->
00:36:05.840We did the house smells delicious, too.
00:36:06.079 -->
00:36:10.000It does, it it smells very warm, uh, the warm and spicy.
00:36:10.000 -->
00:36:18.960We went through a phase where we were doing Mexican cooking, not Tex Mex, but like Mexican Mexican cooking, which which was really good too.
00:36:18.960 -->
00:36:20.480And so we love to cook, right?
00:36:20.480 -->
00:36:23.039We like to travel, we have three dogs.
00:36:23.039 -->
00:36:43.599Uh you know, this is so funny because I was talking to him and and we were saying, you know, when when people who don't know a lot of gay people think about what their life must be like, they probably think that they're, you know, out all the time in the bars, uh on a parade float or whatever.
00:36:43.599 -->
00:36:43.760Right.
00:36:43.760 -->
00:36:48.480And I said, you know, all we do, and we're we're cooking, we're playing with the dogs, and we're watching the food channel.
00:36:48.480 -->
00:36:50.880So that's that's our life pretty much.
00:36:50.880 -->
00:36:51.679But it's a good one.
00:36:51.920 -->
00:36:52.159Yeah.
00:36:52.159 -->
00:36:52.719Yeah.
00:36:52.719 -->
00:36:54.239That's it sounds really comfortable.
00:36:54.239 -->
00:36:57.360And it sounds like you put in a lot of hard work for people.
00:36:57.360 -->
00:37:02.480And I'm glad that your teams are working together with that same heart of service.
00:37:02.480 -->
00:37:10.960And you know, when you're thinking about the next generation that could come into these fields, what would you say to them?
00:37:10.960 -->
00:37:14.000Like what what would what would be a good route?
00:37:14.000 -->
00:37:17.519Would it be to see if you could sit in on some of these things?
00:37:17.519 -->
00:37:26.719Or you know, I mean, like how do you how do you sort of like intern or look at it without getting completely into the field at first?
00:37:26.719 -->
00:37:31.199Because I I think sometimes that's important to just dip your toe in a little bit and see if you even like it.
00:37:31.519 -->
00:37:34.239So we do we do have interns and clerks at the court.
00:37:34.480 -->
00:37:34.719Okay.
00:37:35.039 -->
00:37:39.039And I I am just holding that seat for I'm just I'm just keeping it warm.
00:37:39.039 -->
00:37:44.079I'm not gonna be a judge forever, and when it's time for me to go, which the time is drawing nigh.
00:37:44.079 -->
00:37:50.159I'm gonna I'm not gonna be one of these people that yeah, I'm not gonna be one of these people that you have to pry off the bench.
00:37:50.159 -->
00:37:52.400I'm gonna be ready to go and turn it over to somebody else.
00:37:52.400 -->
00:37:55.119So we like to have slides slide out like that.
00:37:55.119 -->
00:37:55.920That's right.
00:37:55.920 -->
00:37:56.159Yeah.
00:37:56.159 -->
00:38:02.639But we like to have young people in court with us learning and seeing what it is that we do.
00:38:02.639 -->
00:38:06.719I teach at uh U of H in the spring, I teach a probate-related course.
00:38:06.719 -->
00:38:07.199Wow.
00:38:07.199 -->
00:38:08.639And I love doing that.
00:38:08.639 -->
00:38:10.719I love talking to the law students.
00:38:10.719 -->
00:38:19.599And we actually we have some of our some of our classes are on Zoom so that I can be in the courtroom and they can see what it what it looks like.
00:38:19.840 -->
00:38:20.079Okay.
00:38:20.239 -->
00:38:26.079Sometimes I bring in people like from the county attorney's office to talk to them about what they do on the mental health side and stuff like that.
00:38:26.079 -->
00:38:31.599I hope that my enthusiasm for this area of law rubs off a little bit on them.
00:38:31.599 -->
00:38:46.480But yeah, we we we we like to see people with an interest and we want to foster that because especially on the mental health side, it's a smaller group of attorneys that practice in that area, and it's a nuanced area of the law.
00:38:46.800 -->
00:38:46.960Sure.
00:38:47.360 -->
00:38:50.639And so if somebody has interest, we want to bring them in.
00:38:50.639 -->
00:39:34.079And if you know, younger attorneys that want to be an adum, we have a yearly free CLE that we do every October where we require anybody who wants to be one of our attorney adlitums on the mental health side, we require them to take it because we need to teach them what the law is, and then we assign them to a seasoned mental health adlitum to shadow them because it's it's kind of an onerous appointment in that it lasts for about two and a half or three weeks, and they have to go around to all of the mental health facilities in Harris County where they might have clients who are patients and actually physically meet with them and talk to them and then you know prepare their defense before the court.
00:39:34.239 -->
00:39:41.679So and what's the youngest or lowest available starting point for that for someone to get into it?
00:39:42.400 -->
00:39:47.119So I I you know, out of out of law school or in law school for a clerkship.
00:39:47.119 -->
00:39:47.360Okay.
00:39:47.360 -->
00:39:48.800We don't have an age limit.
00:39:48.800 -->
00:39:53.119Out of in law school for a clerkship, out of law school for an appointment.
00:39:55.920 -->
00:40:00.480So basically they get to see what the facilities are like before they do anything.
00:40:00.480 -->
00:40:02.000Because a lot of people freak out.
00:40:02.400 -->
00:40:02.880They do.
00:40:02.880 -->
00:40:08.400And it's not it's not the safest job ever either.
00:40:08.400 -->
00:40:08.800Yeah.
00:40:08.800 -->
00:40:22.639And we've we've seen not fortunately, not any of our ad lightums get injured, but we've seen people get injured in mental health hospitals, not through any fault of their own, but just because somebody took them by surprise.
00:40:22.639 -->
00:40:24.079And those things happened.
00:40:24.079 -->
00:40:28.480And the people are in mental health hospitals because they're not stable.
00:40:28.480 -->
00:40:29.360That's right.
00:40:29.360 -->
00:40:34.480And they're and and they're a danger to themselves or danger to somebody else.
00:40:34.480 -->
00:40:36.079That's why they're there.
00:40:36.079 -->
00:40:38.400Cool.
00:40:38.639 -->
00:40:40.000So why should I vote for you?
00:40:40.239 -->
00:40:40.480Yeah.
00:40:40.480 -->
00:40:41.599Let's get into the deal.
00:40:42.000 -->
00:40:43.519Well, let's let's talk about that.
00:40:43.760 -->
00:40:47.280Um cross the French line.
00:40:47.280 -->
00:40:48.079Let's go.
00:40:48.719 -->
00:40:56.079So so for the past eight years, we've really had an opportunity to put in a lot of work in the court.
00:40:56.079 -->
00:40:57.599We've made it more efficient.
00:40:57.599 -->
00:41:09.280We've added a lot of technology which increases court access, especially for somebody who might be in the jail who wants to participate in their in their hearing, they can now participate via video.
00:41:09.280 -->
00:41:24.000The other thing we did was we, along with UT Health, Probate Court 3, County Attorney's Office, University of Houston School of Social Work, and I know I'm missing somebody.
00:41:24.000 -->
00:41:28.960We put together a program called Assisted Outpatient Treatment.
00:41:28.960 -->
00:41:40.880And what this is, is a program where instead of committing somebody to an inpatient hospitalization, they're committed to an outpatient uh hospitalization.
00:41:40.880 -->
00:41:43.519Well, an outpatient commitment.
00:41:43.519 -->
00:41:50.239So when they're committed to an outpatient commitment, they get a team of social workers through the Harris Center.
00:41:50.239 -->
00:41:51.840That's who I missed, the Harris Center.
00:41:51.840 -->
00:42:02.480They get a team through the Harris Center who helps them with housing, make sure that they get to make it to their doctor's appointments, get their prescriptions.
00:42:02.480 -->
00:42:14.639If they need toiletries, they help them get toiletries and get everything they need to be able to be on the outside and still complying with what is going to be a court-ordered treatment plan.
00:42:14.639 -->
00:42:22.880And so we focus on a population of patients who are repeatedly in inpatient settings.
00:42:22.880 -->
00:42:32.239So we we commit them to an outpatient treatment plan where they have to check in with the court and comply with their treatment plan.
00:42:32.239 -->
00:42:38.639And it's usually for a longer commitment, but we found that people thrive on it.
00:42:38.639 -->
00:42:46.559They, not all of them, but a good number of them are able to avoid having future inpatient hospitalizations.
00:42:46.559 -->
00:43:02.159And the other thing is, it's got a kind of a side benefit of saving the county money because the cost of one or two inpatient hospitalizations covers a year's worth of outpatient treatment.
00:43:02.400 -->
00:43:02.800Wow.
00:43:03.039 -->
00:43:25.840So uh we're able to, you know, keep these folks outside doing well and hopefully get to a point where they're long-term stable and can even step down or graduate from the AOT program and step down to an even less restrictive program through the Harris Center and you know continue to live and thrive outside of the you know the mental health system.
00:43:25.840 -->
00:43:39.360We got a $2.7 million SAMHSA grant for that, ran for four years, and the grant expired, but the program was doing so well that we were able to keep it funded through the county.
00:43:39.360 -->
00:43:41.199So it's ongoing.
00:43:41.199 -->
00:43:43.679What else?
00:43:43.679 -->
00:43:45.119What else about it?
00:43:45.119 -->
00:43:46.960We're looking to expand it.
00:43:46.960 -->
00:43:53.760We haven't yet, but we've had requests to to from other hospitals.
00:43:53.760 -->
00:43:59.760It's usually right now, it's just available through the Harris Center for mental health and also.
00:43:59.760 -->
00:44:08.559Also through the Harris County Psychiatric Center, but there's been other major hospital institutions that want to set up their own AOT program.
00:44:08.559 -->
00:44:12.480As soon as we can get funding and manpower to do that, we would love to be able to do that.
00:44:12.480 -->
00:44:12.800Okay.
00:44:12.800 -->
00:44:29.360Had conversations with other county departments about pilot programs that focus on people coming out of jail who have mental health issues that maybe can use this as a segue into a more stable living environment.
00:44:29.679 -->
00:44:30.000Yeah.
00:44:31.920 -->
00:44:34.320Oh, there was something else I was going to tell you.
00:44:34.320 -->
00:44:40.480Well, we definitely want to keep the AOT program going.
00:44:40.480 -->
00:44:42.159We want to build and expand on that.
00:44:42.159 -->
00:44:44.320There's other projects that we're working on.
00:44:44.320 -->
00:44:50.719The Harris County Psychiatric Center, the court facilities there, they haven't been updated since the 80s.
00:44:50.719 -->
00:45:23.119And so we recently worked with Commissioner's Court and got funded for $850,000 to redo part of the Harris County Psychiatric Center where the court is, which is important, not just for the staff that needs a decent place to, you know, do their job out there, but it's a it's a safety issue as well when you have so many people kind of shoehorned into a small area with like we were talking about earlier, people who are ill coming in and out, it's going to be a much better situation for them out there.
00:45:23.119 -->
00:45:26.320So we've got so we've had these successes.
00:45:26.320 -->
00:45:28.559We want to build on them and keep them going forward and evolving.
00:45:28.960 -->
00:45:29.360Absolutely.
00:45:29.360 -->
00:45:31.760What's the viability of you getting elected again?
00:45:31.760 -->
00:45:35.119Is there a competitor or I have a Republican opponent?
00:45:35.920 -->
00:45:37.440I don't know much about them.
00:45:37.440 -->
00:45:39.360I haven't been able to find.
00:45:39.360 -->
00:45:42.880I've heard that he's a nice man, which which is great.
00:45:42.880 -->
00:45:45.519I'd rather be a nice man than a mean man.
00:45:45.519 -->
00:45:46.000Sure.
00:45:46.239 -->
00:45:48.800Uh but I if you're going out for this seat, I hope you are.
00:45:48.800 -->
00:45:52.239Also, he can find something else to do.
00:45:52.559 -->
00:46:00.000Yeah, and uh I haven't been able to find any kind of a website or Facebook page or really much.
00:46:00.000 -->
00:46:05.840And I'm I'm I'm a I'm I'm a pretty avid researcher when I put my mind to it.
00:46:07.679 -->
00:46:10.480How dare you find anything yesterday when I was looking for it either?
00:46:10.480 -->
00:46:11.519I couldn't find anything.
00:46:12.239 -->
00:46:12.880How dare you?
00:46:12.880 -->
00:46:20.079How dare you run for this seat of such high need and importance and not do your work.
00:46:20.079 -->
00:46:23.360Do not vote for people who can't put in the work.
00:46:23.360 -->
00:46:24.480Oh my gosh.
00:46:24.480 -->
00:46:31.840In fact, I hope the one thing that people are hearing is that it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when these conversations come up.
00:46:31.840 -->
00:46:42.719And even though you may not have someone with a mental capacity that is in need of some of these systems, we are all in need of these people being taken care of.
00:46:42.719 -->
00:46:44.320Oh, yeah, it's a public health issue.
00:46:44.320 -->
00:46:48.320And and the people who take care of them being taken care of, as you're pointing out as well.
00:46:48.719 -->
00:46:54.159And unfortunately, we've started training the police and constables, et cetera.
00:46:54.159 -->
00:46:55.199They do a great job.
00:46:55.199 -->
00:46:56.159A little bit better.
00:46:56.239 -->
00:46:56.400Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:46:56.400 -->
00:46:57.920Yeah, they do it, they go do a great job.
00:46:57.920 -->
00:47:00.400We work really closely with Precinct One constables.
00:47:00.400 -->
00:47:00.800Yeah.
00:47:00.800 -->
00:47:02.559Yeah.
00:47:02.559 -->
00:47:08.960And so uh they they serve our warrants and we stay in really close contact with them.
00:47:08.960 -->
00:47:29.440And we've got such a good relationship with them that if sometimes warrants get filled out by angry spouses that maybe not have uh maybe not be as truthful, and so we've got a good enough rapport with our constables that they'll call the court and say, you know, y'all might want to take a look at this more.
00:47:29.440 -->
00:47:32.400We're getting a real funny feeling about this.
00:47:32.400 -->
00:47:37.119Uh and we take them seriously, and uh, you know, we treat them like a partner.
00:47:37.840 -->
00:47:47.920No, it's important because I know the general gist of some people is that they don't want to call the cops if it's a wellness issue because they're afraid that they'll exacerbate it.
00:47:47.920 -->
00:48:01.599And you know, you just don't want to be the one that is hearing ongoing domestic violence or ongoing mental issues of some sort, and then you're the one that like adds to it by calling the cops.
00:48:01.599 -->
00:48:13.679And and but I I think it's important to point out that in Harris County there are people that put mental wellness first on these calls and and is also concerned for those things.
00:48:13.679 -->
00:48:15.679You know, I mean that doesn't get enough press.
00:48:16.079 -->
00:48:28.880And always, always, if you find yourself needing to call law enforcement, tell them if you think it's a mental health issue so that it alerts them to have their specialized folks go out there and deal with it.
00:48:29.280 -->
00:48:34.159I've had several situations where my first question was, do you know what constable precincts you're in?
00:48:34.159 -->
00:48:38.239And if they're in precinct one, I'm like, call the constable.
00:48:38.239 -->
00:48:38.480Yeah.
00:48:38.480 -->
00:48:41.840Don't call HPD, call the constable, tell them it's mental health.
00:48:41.840 -->
00:48:42.079Yeah.
00:48:42.079 -->
00:48:43.599Because they actually have a pretty good team.
00:48:43.599 -->
00:48:44.960Yeah, they have a great team.
00:48:45.280 -->
00:48:48.159They might get out there sooner, you know, like it just depends.
00:48:48.159 -->
00:48:50.719So is there anything that we're missing?
00:48:50.719 -->
00:48:54.239Because we obviously want this work to continue.
00:48:54.239 -->
00:48:56.800We want you to win.
00:48:56.800 -->
00:48:59.920Uh I mean, it but it's not a done deal.
00:48:59.920 -->
00:49:01.199Like people have to actually get out of here.
00:49:01.360 -->
00:49:04.480You have to vote, you have to click the box, go all the way down the ballot.
00:49:04.480 -->
00:49:06.800You have to yeah, you have to go through the whole thing.
00:49:07.119 -->
00:49:13.760You know, it's gonna take a while because there's a lot of propositions stuck in there that you probably know nothing about.
00:49:13.760 -->
00:49:16.320You can get a sample ballot ahead of time or eat it.
00:49:16.639 -->
00:49:20.639There is one about decriminalizing THC.
00:49:20.639 -->
00:49:23.280So, you know, if that's your thing, hang in there until you get to the bottom.
00:49:23.280 -->
00:49:24.480Then you better get out there and vote.
00:49:24.480 -->
00:49:26.480Go through all of them until you can get through that.
00:49:28.719 -->
00:49:30.000So you know, you gotta go through everything.
00:49:31.840 -->
00:49:32.320Motivation.
00:49:32.320 -->
00:49:32.800Okay.
00:49:32.800 -->
00:49:39.039Well, you can get your sample ballot on Harrisvotes.com and uh another thing that Tanisha's doing well.
00:49:39.039 -->
00:49:42.239Yeah, yeah, that's Tanisha's website that she runs, right?
00:49:42.239 -->
00:49:52.719You can you can check out voting locations, you can check out the times for early voting and the location near you, the lines that may not even be in existence.
00:49:52.719 -->
00:49:58.320But if you're concerned about like going out for lunch and then getting back in time, like check the website.
00:49:58.480 -->
00:49:58.719Yeah.
00:49:58.719 -->
00:50:02.639And and I think that there's well, I know there's going to be a hotline.
00:50:02.639 -->
00:50:17.679So if there are, and I wish I had the number, but if you feel like for some reason you're being denied your right to vote, okay, you can call that hotline and speak to somebody that can assist you and give you some direction.
00:50:18.000 -->
00:50:18.239Okay.
00:50:18.239 -->
00:50:27.360And Alexis always points out that if you if you feel like that to talk to the actual person on location, uh I don't know, the judge.
00:50:27.360 -->
00:50:28.800The judge of the election judge.
00:50:30.079 -->
00:50:30.639The election judge.
00:50:30.960 -->
00:50:39.760And you know, other people there aren't quite as up to speed on what they're supposed to do as the judge, but they are a judge at that point in time.
00:50:39.760 -->
00:50:40.320Yeah.
00:50:40.960 -->
00:50:46.960And that's, you know, and it's all the more reason to vote early so that if you run into some kind of a problem, exactly.
00:50:46.960 -->
00:50:50.559Uh you can get it resolved while you still have time to vote.
00:50:50.559 -->
00:50:53.199You don't want to be doing it at seven o'clock on November 3rd.
00:50:53.519 -->
00:50:53.679No.
00:50:54.000 -->
00:50:54.159No.
00:50:54.159 -->
00:51:10.159And also take your family, take your friends, take your neighbors that may not have a ride or a plan or they don't have anything to do because I think these issues are closer to people's hearts than some of the rhetoric out there or some of the, you know, mud-slinging topics.
00:51:10.159 -->
00:51:13.599Like, okay, great, we've all seen commercials.
00:51:13.599 -->
00:51:27.280But, you know, when I'm with my friends and in community, the real conversations are like, what are we gonna do when our friends, family, loved ones, community members who have no one actually pass?
00:51:27.280 -->
00:51:29.360Like, how can we make sure that they're taken care of?
00:51:29.360 -->
00:51:38.159What are we gonna do when we're really not sure if these people do have a guardian or these people's mental well-being is slipping in sort of some ways or whatnot?
00:51:38.159 -->
00:51:46.400And so it's just great to know some resources and some people that are gonna be there to look you in the face when you actually do go to probate court.
00:51:46.400 -->
00:51:47.519So so thank you.
00:51:47.840 -->
00:51:48.320Yeah, thank you.
00:51:48.320 -->
00:51:50.480And thank you all for the opportunity to come and talk to you.
00:51:50.880 -->
00:51:53.199So can you see your website where people can connect with you?
00:51:53.599 -->
00:51:53.760Sure.
00:51:53.760 -->
00:51:57.280It is re-elect judgejasoncox.com.
00:51:57.760 -->
00:52:01.440Reelect judgecox.com.
00:52:01.440 -->
00:52:03.280And we'll put that in the show notes.
00:52:03.280 -->
00:52:08.639And are there any events coming up that you're hosting or I'm not hosting anything.
00:52:08.719 -->
00:52:11.599I'm I'm I'm hitting the campaign trail, though.
00:52:11.599 -->
00:52:12.880I'll I'll be at St.
00:52:12.880 -->
00:52:15.039Peter's Church on Sunday.
00:52:15.039 -->
00:52:15.280Okay.
00:52:15.280 -->
00:52:18.559I'll be block walking Saturday morning.
00:52:18.559 -->
00:52:22.159I'll be at drag bingo at Resurrection Church just for fun.
00:52:22.559 -->
00:52:23.360Drag bingo.
00:52:23.360 -->
00:52:26.159Drag bingo at Resurrection Church is a whole thing.
00:52:26.159 -->
00:52:35.679That is as a as a family event that's super fun and really cheeky comments, but it's a good fundraiser, but it's family friendly people.
00:52:36.000 -->
00:52:37.280It is it's so much fun.
00:52:37.280 -->
00:52:39.360And so I yeah, I grew up in Houston.
00:52:39.360 -->
00:52:41.440I'm a I'm a third generation Houstonian.
00:52:41.440 -->
00:52:46.719All my high school friends still live here, and I I come from a very conservative family.
00:52:46.719 -->
00:52:53.039And so I I am always trying to get them to come with me, and I've I've been able to get them the last few times.
00:52:53.039 -->
00:52:58.960I said, look, you you can't be afraid of a drag queen singing a carpenter song at a church.
00:52:58.960 -->
00:53:02.239You know, it's gonna be a good time, I promise you.
00:53:02.960 -->
00:53:10.079I it's uh I have a niece and a nephew, they're twins, and I took them when they were eight because the there are kids there, you know.
00:53:10.079 -->
00:53:20.960It's it's a it's a it's a friendly church, and and I told my nephew who's really into art, I said, Well, there's gonna be all these like painted faces, and I just think that'd be really cool for you to see how they put art on their face.
00:53:20.960 -->
00:53:25.599And he's like, Yeah, and I said, I mean, they might be in dresses where they have all this art, and he's like, Yeah.
00:53:25.599 -->
00:53:29.280And then I told my niece, I was like, Girl, you're gonna see nails that you've never seen before.
00:53:29.280 -->
00:53:36.639And she was like, Yes, you know, she was like super excited, and the bingo part, they're like acting like you know, fun with the dopplers and and the things like this.
00:53:36.639 -->
00:53:39.039And and afterwards, I said, Well, what'd you guys think?
00:53:39.039 -->
00:53:42.639And my nephew goes, I think that was inappropriate.
00:53:42.639 -->
00:53:44.000I said, I said, why?
00:53:44.000 -->
00:53:46.079And he goes, Well, because there was drag.
00:53:46.079 -->
00:53:48.079And I said, I said, what part was drag?
00:53:48.079 -->
00:53:50.320And he goes, I don't know.
00:53:50.320 -->
00:53:53.440And and and I said, I said, Well, you had fun.
00:53:53.440 -->
00:54:00.159There, there, you know, there was some silliness, and and you even won the bingo, you got your popcorn, like, you know, calm down, sir.
00:54:00.159 -->
00:54:03.039And you know, and and he had to think about that.
00:54:03.039 -->
00:54:07.039And then fast forward, they're now 21 years old or of age to vote.
00:54:07.039 -->
00:54:12.880And and and he says to me, like, I just don't know why everyone doesn't like stand for each other.
00:54:12.880 -->
00:54:14.480And do you still go to church?
00:54:14.480 -->
00:54:16.079I said, What makes you think I go to church?
00:54:16.079 -->
00:54:20.000He goes, Well, that bingo that you took us to, and I said, No, that was at a church, right?
00:54:20.000 -->
00:54:22.480And you can go there if you want, they're great and everything.
00:54:22.480 -->
00:54:25.199But I was like, that was just like at a church, it was just an event.
00:54:25.199 -->
00:54:27.760And and I said, But remember you said it was inappropriate.
00:54:27.760 -->
00:54:31.119He goes, Wow, I was a jerk.
00:54:31.119 -->
00:54:33.119And I said, I said, no, no, no.
00:54:33.119 -->
00:54:37.599You just you're just saying things that people think and feel because they don't know.
00:54:37.599 -->
00:54:39.920But you look at the pictures, they had a blast.
00:54:39.920 -->
00:54:42.159You know, I said I said, Yeah, it was real inappropriate.
00:54:42.159 -->
00:54:43.519You're having a you know, ton of fun.
00:54:43.519 -->
00:54:44.400I'm showing the pictures.
00:54:44.400 -->
00:54:47.119And he goes, Yeah, I didn't, I didn't know, I didn't know what I was saying.
00:54:47.760 -->
00:54:50.000We've always had such a good time when we've gone.
00:54:50.480 -->
00:54:56.400There's there's like really good fundraisers at RMCC on I think 11th and TC Gesture.
00:54:56.400 -->
00:55:01.360And you know, if at times that has been a voting space.
00:55:01.360 -->
00:55:02.400I'm not sure if it still is.
00:55:05.760 -->
00:55:09.199Yeah, I'm I live kind of close to there, and so I drive by there on the way to work.
00:55:09.199 -->
00:55:15.280I I haven't seen them as a voting location, but they're constantly doing having a blessing of the animals.
00:55:16.719 -->
00:55:17.280Advocacy work.
00:55:17.280 -->
00:55:17.679Yeah.
00:55:17.679 -->
00:55:23.280I've taught yoga there because they've asked me to, uh, you know, like I I've I I've always been a well-received guest there.
00:55:23.280 -->
00:55:26.719And and the thing about it is I've always seen everyone be welcomed.
00:55:26.719 -->
00:55:36.320And so they have the caucus endorsements there, and you know, it's just it's a if you're looking for something in the heights to go do something like you know, plenty of parking and a good time.
00:55:36.320 -->
00:55:36.480Yeah.
00:55:37.440 -->
00:55:38.320And it's for a good cause.
00:55:38.559 -->
00:55:38.719Yeah.
00:55:38.719 -->
00:55:41.360So any closing sentiments?
00:55:41.760 -->
00:55:54.480I was just thinking, you know, one of the things we've done over the last several years is we being Transgender Foundation of America, is we've funded people who want to start Pride someplace, like in West Texas, especially.
00:55:54.480 -->
00:55:57.679And, you know, we give them money to start the first one.
00:55:57.679 -->
00:55:59.440It's like you gotta make the money for the next one.
00:55:59.440 -->
00:55:59.599Yeah.
00:55:59.599 -->
00:56:07.280And I've started laughing because what Pride in West Texas first shot looks like, and it's like they do burgers, beer, and a drag queen.
00:56:07.280 -->
00:56:08.000There you go.
00:56:08.000 -->
00:56:09.760Gotta start somewhere.
00:56:09.760 -->
00:56:11.519And I'm like, what else do you need?
00:56:11.519 -->
00:56:12.159I mean, come on.
00:56:13.119 -->
00:56:17.360It's just good to to point out what it is for people because it's gotten so blown out of proportion.
00:56:17.360 -->
00:56:27.679And and then, hey, like if you're in a big city like Houston, like you might have been in some parades that we've been in, and and it's it's downtown, and there's like tons of floats, tons of people.
00:56:27.679 -->
00:56:36.000And I loved seeing people in the parking garages on all these levels, like all the like four-fifth level, and people cheering for each other.
00:56:36.000 -->
00:56:42.880I mean, it's one thing to be walking in a parade where there's people on your right and left, but it's a whole different world when they're like above you cheering.
00:56:42.880 -->
00:56:44.639Like I thought that was so cool.
00:56:44.800 -->
00:56:45.840I was like, wow.
00:56:46.159 -->
00:56:48.880Just imagine if we cheered for each other in humanity.
00:56:48.880 -->
00:56:56.559And I appreciate you coming in today because you're doing that for people who don't get to see other people all the time.
00:56:56.559 -->
00:56:58.400And and your teams are doing that.
00:56:58.400 -->
00:57:02.719And and then we want our listeners to remember that there are good people out there doing things.
00:57:02.719 -->
00:57:10.559There are, you know, the world's working to some capacity, and sometimes our news doesn't reflect that, sometimes our conversations don't reflect that.
00:57:10.559 -->
00:57:14.639But there's a lot of work to be done, but there's a lot of work going on every single day.
00:57:14.639 -->
00:57:19.039And the people who are doing a lot of good work don't have time to get to the mic like this.
00:57:19.039 -->
00:57:22.480So thank you for taking time out and just sharing with us.
00:57:22.800 -->
00:57:23.679Yeah, it's my pleasure.
00:57:23.679 -->
00:57:24.639I really enjoyed it.
00:57:24.639 -->
00:57:27.280If you don't like what's going on, go vote.
00:57:27.280 -->
00:57:28.079That's right.
00:57:28.079 -->
00:57:30.239If you do like what's going on, go vote.
00:57:30.239 -->
00:57:31.519Just for the the people that are there.
00:57:31.519 -->
00:57:34.639That's right.
00:57:34.639 -->
00:57:35.440That's right.
00:57:35.760 -->
00:57:35.920Yes.
00:57:36.159 -->
00:57:37.199It's it's not really hard.
00:57:37.519 -->
00:57:40.000If you've got rage, take it out on every click button.
00:57:40.000 -->
00:57:48.000You know, if you're if you're just like, you know, wanting to do something that is easier than ordering a Domino's pizza, go click buttons over there.
00:57:48.000 -->
00:57:53.840Like if you want to say that you made a difference, you really, really can by showing up and voting.
00:57:53.840 -->
00:57:56.639Because there's it's all gonna be up to like the turnout.
00:57:56.800 -->
00:57:56.960Yeah.
00:57:56.960 -->
00:57:57.280Yeah.
00:57:57.280 -->
00:57:57.920For sure.
00:57:58.159 -->
00:57:58.480Yeah.
00:57:58.480 -->
00:58:00.000So thanks for listening.
00:58:00.000 -->
00:58:03.280Thank you for sharing and thank you all for the work that y'all do.
00:58:03.280 -->
00:58:04.239Yeah, thank you.
00:58:04.239 -->
00:58:05.760And everyone, just take care.
00:58:05.760 -->
00:58:06.639Take care.
00:58:07.119 -->
00:58:07.519Thanks.
00:58:07.519 -->
00:58:08.960All right, bye, everybody.
00:58:08.960 -->
00:58:09.760Bye.
