See also. overflow-y: hidden; Lying there, Hawk says, she couldnt help but think of all the defendants who had come through her court, some of whom had spent time in that very ward. Elections 2022 Figure it out, Balido says Hawk told her. However, she says she had valid reasons for firing each employee, ranging from performance issues to personality clashes, and that she stands behind her decisions. .indicate_scroll { $('.collapse').collapse('show'); For what felt like the first time in her life, she was home alone on Saturday nights. } The facility is coordinated with the Dallas Community Supervision and Corrections Department and the Dallas County Courts. No hug, no hello. Kill herself? Dallas County, Texas Location 133 N Riverfront Blvd, Dallas, Texas, 75207, United States Description Industry She was a formidable prosecutor but a quiet, understated worker. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,368,139. Hawk began losing weight. But then what? Absent her getting caught in a compromising situation with an animal, I couldnt think of what possible justification she could have for firing her.. text-align: center; I felt like I was doing all this work, and she couldnt be bothered to return my calls.. He probably wasnt serious when he said it.. her resignation letter to Governor Rick Perry in September 2013.

, See also:Municipal elections in Dallas County, Texas (2022). Hawk agreed to give it one more week. He considered an intervention. If Hawk wanted to tell everyone, Woodlief said, then she should do it. There was no talk of back surgery. But Creuzot didnt like the idea of switching parties to run. Ms. But local newspapers were publishing op-eds questioning whether he had overstepped his boundaries and worrying about lawlessness. Afterward, Hawk and her staff moved into their 11th-floor offices. The same day, Hawk fired another man, Jonathan Hay, who worked in the offices technology department. Ballot measures, Who represents me? When she got to 10 names, Woodlief told her she could stop. Another top lieutenant, Jennifer Balido, was across the hall. They vouched for Hawk, who had been elected as state district judge at the young age of 32 and was now in her 11th year. background-color: grey; font-size: 1.25em; Most of the prosecutors walked away from that meeting utterly confounded. She cant recall. Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. .key-messages li:last-child { margin-bottom: 0px;} padding-top: 8px; publican primary but won with a comfortable 63 percent of the vote in March 2014. Hit the deck. .votebox { She needed to turn the office over to her top assistant, Madson. Lets start.. He regularly appears in the news and on television as an expert on these and other criminal justice topics. p.survey-question {font-weight:bold;} Faith Johnson advanced from the Republican primary for Dallas County District Attorney on March 1, 2022. color: #888; max-width: 75px; They wed at University Park United Methodist in 1997. He has also presented at several national training conferences for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, and has taught drug court teams from across the country. But Woodlief hadnt been on Hawks payroll for nearly a year. background-color: #f9d334; font-weight: bold; Hawk started a program for 60 probationers. His current term ends on December 31, 2026. Incumbent John Creuzot defeated Faith Johnson in the general election for Dallas County District Attorney on November 8, 2022. Hawk wore the same black yoga pants shed had on for days and a wrinkled green t-shirt that was inside out. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro . When pressed, she would say she was an attorney. Contact our sales team. Student volunteers wanted! A woman in the technology department, Edith Santos, resigned at the end of the week. ), Weeks earlier, when Creuzot and I spoke before the Guyger trial, he was candid about the limits of his office, in a jurisdiction plagued with mistrust between the community and criminal-justice authorities. color: white; That night she told a nurse, Im going to kill myself anyway. Hawk called her husband, and he took her home. She wore a black dress, looking polished in her pumps and pearls, standing onstage before a crowd at the Frank Crowley Courts Building. Woodlief knew that if she were going to enter a candidate in any 2014 race, putting her firms reputation on the line, she needed to win. * After Creuzot was elected DA, Dallas County experienced a rise in violent crime and a decline in total convictions. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot is a nationally-recognized leader in criminal law and criminal justice reform, with more than 30 years of experience. And she was considering taking them, a lot of them. She was known for running one of the most efficient courts in the county. If an issue arose, she told them, shed deal with it. I dont think she really grasped the magnitude of what was about to happen, Milner says. Hay was stunned by the firing and given no explanation. margin-top: 0px; .percentage_number { Balido went home and opened a bottle of wine. Nor did she want to have a discussion about the money with Hawk. Thank you, Dr. Woodlief., Hawk desperately wanted her friend to stay and desperately wanted her to leave. Hawk could leave the clinic at any time, and she considered leaving every day. Hawk stayed for five and a half years. Hawk asked some questions about logistics. Hawk said she thought someone had broken into her house. Elections in 2023 | The first sentence: Where is Susan Hawk?. He was well-liked around the office. Youre going to get better, she said. As people introduced themselves, Hawk felt her anxiety rise. color: white; But when Hawk was out of the office, Wirskye would slip over to see Balido. width: 100% Hawk asked for his resignation. * Seeks to "end mass incarceration" Before signing her as a client, though, Woodlief needed to make sure Hawk understood what she was getting into. She still had not unpacked all of the moving boxes in her new duplex.

} Woodlief told them she had drafted a statement. In April 2019, John Creuzot, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, announced that his office would not prosecute theft of necessary items, such as diapers or baby formula, with a value less than $750. .votebox { } } John Creuzot was born in New Orleans and spent his youth in Houston before coming to the Dallas area in the 1970s and graduating from the University of North Texas in 1978 and Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1982. } But the political work builds Woodliefs relationships with the citys leaders, a potential draw for corporate clients who often need things from City Hall. Her friend was tucked safely inside the clinic, where she couldnt hurt herself. She grew up in Arlington, as Susan Lynn McWithey. Then she would refill the Trazodone prescription, take all the pills, and that would end it. Instead, she planned to drive alone to the Frank Crowley Courts Building later that week and park in her reserved spot. Whats the cause and effect between citations and tickets and arresting people for traffic violations, and the murder rate? By August, the warnings had reached nearly 12,000. padding-bottom: 8px; That weekend, reporters began calling Woodlief, wondering where Hawk was. overflow-y: auto; Someone had come in asking whether she was monitoring Hawks communications. I sat there thinking that I couldnt believe this is what my life had come to. Her brother is seven years older. Apply for the Ballotpedia Fellows Program, .infobox { I was just really, really scared.. But what if she took them all at once? They were both blond, in their 40s. Nothing to do now, Hawk thought, but put her head down and get back to work. font-size: 12px; width: 100%; That alone could do it. She said she just wanted to put the past behind her. The cost-benefit study by the SMU Economics Department showed that DIVERT saved taxpayers $9 in criminal justice costs for every $1 spent on participants in the program. Then all of a sudden Id call her, and she wouldnt call me back, says attorney Milner. It was monogrammed with an M, for Menninger. They could be home by nightfall. .image-candidate-thumbnail-wrapper { John Creuzot (Democratic Party) is the Dallas County District Attorney in Texas. She notes that she fired far fewer people than previous administrations did when they assumed the office. Creuzot's numbers came from Business Insider, which cites several federal agencies as its original sources. Dont let this bed consume you.. They felt that this particular DA race was pivotal in contributing to our mission of ending mass incarceration, Villalobos said. width: 35px !important; And the story made clear that she had misled everyone while running for office. The legacy of Creuzot's pioneering work is the expansive growth of diversion courts in Dallas County and beyond. The next day, she started campaigning. line-height: 1.5em; The meeting turned tense. But the marriage was short-lived. font-size: .9em; background-color: red; She started her Lexus SUV and steered it through the empty streets. Ive always wanted to be DA.. .results_table_container { font-weight: bold; Needing to leave that and so much else behind, Hawk started looking for a new place to live. Creuzot told me he has talked with representatives of retail associations, who have not mentioned a shoplifting spike, and any allegations of an uptick in crime as a result of his policies have not been substantiated. .contact_office { font-size: 0.8 em; margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;} She enrolled in law school at the upstart Texas Wesleyan University, in Fort Worth, where Watkins was one year ahead of her (he was part of the inaugural graduating class, in 1994). But Hawk wanted to work directly with Woodlief. .inner_percentage.Green { A couple of her closest supporters had put together the event as a casual fundraiser to help her pay off some of her campaign debt. Hawk seemed to grow more paranoid as time went on. I thought we needed to go rip the guys face off, Neerman says. (Creuzot has said that he was asked to do an interview on Justin Lords suicide, and was told the material aired would relate only to that subject.) PO Box 181268 Her husband was supportive, she said. Hawk looked at her, partly amused, partly annoyed. The discharge process took four hours, Hawk said. 929 Followers. The next morning, she walked into the Suicide Resilience group. color: #6db24f; Hawk announced her run for district attorney and sent. Allison V. Smith. But any celebration would prove to be short-lived. By this point, Wirskye had had enough of Hawks paranoia. Two years after joining the district attorneys office, at 26 years old, she married a lawyer. font-weight: bold; .widget-row.Republican { The suggestion that she wasnt the right person for the job was particularly galling because shed worked for many of the lawyers who were now filling Hawks ears with advice. It was an emotional meeting, and, in the end, Hawk put her trust in Woodlief. .widget-row.value-only.white { Shook had served as a prosecutor under DA Bill Hill and had run against Watkins for district attorney in 2006, losing the bruising contest. In the coming weeks, Woodlief and her team learned what they could about Judge Susan Hawk, piecing together her political narrative. The previous summer, Hawk had married her third husband, a Dallas anesthesiologist named John Geiser. She called me and apologized, Milner says. vertical-align: middle; She felt driven into a corner, with no good way out. } ), Creuzot has also been in the news for his role in another high-profile case. In interviews with D Magazine, Hawk discussed her general feelings about her early days in office. INNOVATION AND NATIONAL REPUTATION District Attorney John Creuzot has earned a national reputation for his innovative work on drug courts, criminal justice reform and evidence-based sentencing. Also at the table were Creuzot, Hawks father, and a respected criminal defense attorney named Toby Shook. But his eyes were teary. } 431 Following. At this point, the lines had blurred badly for Woodlief. The homicides had slowed, but not stopped, and were still on pace to set a 10-year record. They say its really therapeutic to hold a cold orange, Woodlief said, picking one up off her tray. King Jr. Justice Award, Texas Bar Criminal Justice Section Outstanding Jurist, Texas Bar Criminal Justice Section Judge of the Year, Dallas County Democratic Party Legacy Award, Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Dallas Peer Recognition, D Magazine Best Criminal Defense Attorney Recognition, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board, appointed by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Texas Punishment Standards Commission, which rewrote the Sentencing Provisions of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Judicial Advisory Council to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, Texas Bar District Six Grievance Committee, City of Dallas Ethics Task Force, appointed by Mayor Ron Kirk, which rewrote the Rules of Ethics for Officials for the City of Dallas, City of Dallas Task Force on Homelessness, including spearheading The Bridge Homeless Shelter. The center works to ensure successful substance abuse treatment and reintegration into the community. The DA, John Vance, decided to retry Adamsand assigned the case to one of the prosecutors who had initially mistried him. The facility is coordinated with the Dallas Community Supervision and Corrections Department and the Dallas County Courts. .clearfix { Later, Woodlief began receiving calls from attorneys around town who had learned about the rehab. During her divorce, she had moved into a duplex in Highland Park. All the girls wanted to be her. Had she gone to Whole Foods to get a bottle of water, something to wash them down? } At Woodliefs house, the women laid out their plan. On January 1, Hawk took the oath of office. div.survey-scrollbox { height:400px; overflow:scroll; margin:20px; padding:10px; border:1px solid gray; } Judge Creuzot served . According to those numbers published in July, 17.8 percent of Black Americans older. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Biography submission guide. There is one bond that ties these soft-on-crime DAs together they. He remembers sitting down, thinking that Hawk seemed serious. A few weeks after I interviewed Creuzot, Guyger was convicted of murder and sentenced by a jury to 10 years in prison. They were both blond, in their 40s. As Hawk wrestled with stress in her personal and professional life, an addiction to pain pills grew worse. If Hawk truly believed he had done that, he told her, she should call the police. display: inline; p.survey-response {white-space: pre-line;} He pushed the phone across his desk. .mw-body #mw-content-text .votebox .race_header h5.votebox-header-election-type { } She cant recall. Wirskye listened for the sound of Hawks heels clicking down the hallway. } She missed being a judge. She missed the authority and power that came with her black robe. She told me she had just gotten back from rehab, Creuzot says. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. His current term ends on December 31, 2026. On the other hand, she was angry with Wirskye. She asked her mother and brother to come to the office for support. Currently, this position is held by John Creuzot, a Democrat who defeated Faith Johnson, appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, after Susan Hawk resigned in 2016. } I just didnt have any fight left in me, Hawk says. In fact, he was one of the attorneys who had told Hawk to fire Woodlief early on. Political advertising paid by JohnCreuzot Campaign, Albert Black,Treasurer. As her health was improving, a story appeared on the front page of the Morning News. She says doctors diagnosed her as having a slipped vertebra. Wirskye refused. They searched for pills, feeling their way along every pants seam. .mw-body #mw-content-text .votebox .race_header h3.votebox-header-office-name { display: inline-block; The incumbent, Craig Watkins, was vulnerable. overflow-x: scroll; This Dallas, Texas-related article is a stub. The district attorney, Bill Hill, promoted her to deputy chief when Hawk asked to take over a backlog of 100 old child abuse cases that had languished for more than three years. They needed to get to know Susan Hawk.. office. } But Hawk wanted her for the post, saying she needed someone she could trust. I can honestly say that.. After about an hour of discussion, Hawk turned to Woodlief. She missed the authority and power that came with her black robe. But then her eyes filled with tears. display: inline-block; } Likes. Her marriage unraveled, and Hawk moved into a spare bedroom in Woodliefs house. The women talked for hours, trying to think of what to do next. Will you help me?, No, Woodlief said. For years attorneys told stories about the party, about the drunken female judge dancing across the floor, doing kick lifts as if she were in aerobics class. background-color: #dac113; She says she began thinking of ways to kill herself. Dallas County. } She would work to convince everyone she was healthy. Hawk would sit in her office, firing off ideas like pinballs. You just hear about the DAs in these cities saying the big, bad cops are out there arresting people who are just trying to survive, Mata said. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Wirskyes performance was lauded. She printed the contract, and they finished the paperwork that day. We love you, he told her. .votebox-scroll-container { font-weight: bold; } One issue involved looking at the racial . Counties | font-style: italic; .infobox p { Dallas, Texas 75201. Hawk is outgoing and looks more like a Barbie doll, with silk tops and dangling earrings. } Amid the early backlash over his petty-theft policy change, Creuzot worked to control the narrative as best he could. She had several bottles of pills in her purse. The political rematch is a repeat from 2018, when Creuzot defeated Johnson, who was the District Attorney at the time. When Hawk told him that she wanted to leave, he made her promise to stay in treatment, to go to every group session, to try. Democrats swept into office at every level, turning the county solidly blue. } Watkins didnt do well. It was the first move in Hawks plan to reclaim the district attorneys office. font-weight: 100; margin-top: 1em; (Dallas police have denied any connection between the two, saying he was killed in an argument over a drug deal, but Browns family is pushing for an independent investigation. border:1px solid #FFB81F; .votebox-results-metadata-p { However, she says she had valid reasons for firing each employee, ranging from performance issues to personality clashes, and that she stands behind her decisions. } Hawk was officially committed. Outside of her close circle of friends, she did not tell anyone she was going to rehab. Her opponent, Democratic Incumbent John Creuzot, believes he deserves to be re-elected for addressing the issues he spoke about during his 2018 campaign. Over time, Hawk bonded with the other professionals. .inner_percentage.Republican { Each campaign had tacitly agreed to ignore the others most sensitive issue, thereby avoiding mutually assured destruction. Honestly, she began to sound like some of these people who come into the courthouse wearing tinfoil on their heads.. .hideResponses { display: none;} Hawk spent four weeks at The Meadows, seeing a therapist, attending group sessions. Over the weekend, an assistant DA, Justin Lord, had been found dead at home. A friend came to meet him at the elevator. All Rights Reserved After the watch party at Meso Maya, past midnight, Woodlief and Hawk returned to Woodliefs house. padding-left: 0; Woodlief said, This is the bravest thing youve ever done.. width: 100%; The next morning, as news outlets across the city reported the story, any relief that Hawk felt vanished. But in the coming days, Hawk felt despair. All rights reserved. It was a shared space, with a large partition between beds for privacy. For the first time Friday, District Attorney John Creuzot spoke on the record about Dallas Police evidence issues. Thats the story she told the Dallas Morning News, which printed this quote in its report about her impending surgery: Ill be stronger than ever when I get back.. Hawk remembers walking past the nurses station, feeling like she was in a trance. Are you sure you dont want to think this over for a few days? Woodlief asked. DA John Creuzot's Tweets. As the days moved forward, they began learning how to do their jobs. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. } She was a trained attorney, not an accountant. font-weight: bold; display: table; John Creuzot Creuzot dismissed the misdemeanor deadly conduct charges against the Dallas officers who had been indicted in Timpa's death, and he said his office "dropped the ball" on. But I think I cautioned her that I wouldnt go around telling everybody and their mama about it.. with them. font-size: 0.9em; He wouldnt tell anyone, he said. She missed being a judge. $('.hideResponses').on('click', () => { But she declined to talk about her reasons for firing, or asking for the resignations of, specific employees, calling them personnel matters. Of those 24, she won 23 convictions. background-color: white; } We need to do something about it. But she was calm. Hawk began spreading word that she would be out of town for a couple weeks. Ive been given this opportunity to make Dallas County a safer place. .non_result_row div { It had the look of a high-end hotel, with built-in wooden furniture and a fluffy white duvet cover on the bed. The clear way to go in this campaign was to just present a contrast. Their relationship had progressed too quickly, and theyd married before they had really gotten to know each other, friends said. I promise., For the next few days, Hawk mostly stayed in bed. The next day, her mother and brother drove her to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Dallas County District Attorney, John Creuzot, photographed in downtown Dallas outside the Frank Crowley Courts Building. }. Help us provide information on American politics. She pulled a black cardigan over her t-shirt and workout pants, and willed herself outside. After about two weeks, I started thinking, Thats weird. She says she started taking more and more pain pills, spiraling into a deep depression. Too, Hawk had left behind a structured environment inside the Frank Crowley Courts Building, where staff arranged her calendar, and a crowded court docket provided a continuous stream of clearly defined objectives. During her divorce, she had moved into a duplex in Highland Park. .votebox-results-metadata { Also, many knew about her divorce. I dont want to work with these people, she said years later at a legal conference, to laughs. She studied the blow-dryer in her room. How to run for office | .race_header { They stayed up talking past 4:30, the rain still falling outside. } .results_row { The two women studied each other across the conference. Public policy. She felt stronger and began joining the other women in her unit for evening sessions of Guitar Hero on an Xbox. margin-bottom: .75em; With my 20 years of experience, there is no one more qualified to do this job, she said. Creuzot, who is up for re-election, has previously clashed with Abbott in 2019 when the governor accused Creuzot of stoking crime after he established policies against prosecuting low-level. What were they talking about? She was in charge of some really big felony cases at the time, and here I was freaked out about this little misdemeanor, Corrigan says. background-color: #f9f9f9; Hawk won a squeaker, with 50.4 percent of the vote. Hawk didnt know how long she would be gone. on Wednesday, July 29, Hawk finally climbed out of bed. During the campaign, the women had grown close. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said Tuesday he will end a double standard when his prosecutors present criminal cases to grand juries. She told him she felt overwhelmed by anxiety and paranoia. The center works to ensure successful substance abuse treatment and reintegration into the community. JUDGE JOHN CREUZOT BIOGRAPHY Judge John Creuzot, presiding judge of Dallas County's Criminal District Court No. behavior continued. .widget-row.heading { font-weight: 200; Hed recently been promoted to supervisor. $(".collapse-all").on('click', () => { .key-messages li {margin-bottom: 10px;} overflow-y: hidden; 4, guided the DIVERT court through inception and its initial growing pains. display: inline-block; Its county seat is Dallas, which is also the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest city in the United States. They wanted reassurance that Woodlief had a plan in case it became an issue. margin-right: 12px; It was a shared space, with a large partition between beds for privacy. Not only was Shooks loss to Watkins a personal defeat, the election cycle as a whole had been a blow to the Republican Party. She would need to stop wearing so much pink and ditch the dangling earrings. Im loyal to this office. Photography by Elizabeth Lavin Woodlief went out to the waiting room, as a psychiatrist joined Hawk. Will you do it with me? Hawk asked. background-color: #f9f9f9; The three went back 20 years. As the first black district attorney elected in the state, Watkins was losing support even from his southern Dallas base, the barbershop vote, as consultants called it. She seemed rattled, confused. } left: 0; She had planned to become a clinical psychologist but changed her mind after working in a mental health clinic. Her brain shifted rapidly from one problem to the next, an asset for a judge trying to clear a docket. }, 100); Hawk, this is a job you have trained your whole life for. Learn how and when to remove this template message, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, "Dallas County DA Susan Hawk: I sought drug treatment", "New Prosecutor Revisits Justice in Dallas", "Prosecutors Are Faulted In Dallas Murder Case", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dallas_County_District_Attorney&oldid=1148043126, John Vance, Republican, (first elected in 1986), This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 18:43. Suite 2100 background-color: #db0000; Dallas County, Texas is part of the Government industry, and located in Texas, United States. In her attempts to protect her friend, she created for her a public relations disaster. While some police feel alienated by Creuzot, critics of the police feel that he hasnt gone far enoughperhaps because he doesnt want to upset them more than he already has. Where was that money supposed to come from? She asked Creuzot to lunch. She has held every job at Allyn Media, from answering phones at the front desk to drafting invoices. Hawk says she doesnt remember how she came to be standing at the Whole Foods in Highland Park one day in October 2013. They decided to wait and see how it played out. position: relative; width: 350px; I mean, weve all known each other for two decades. .external_links_table { width: auto !important; } In a few hours, Hawk was supposed to board a flight to San Antonio, where she was booked to speak on a panel of district attorneys. Hawk had her own doubts about Woodlief and scheduled a meeting, intending to let her go. position: relative; Why hadnt she just taken those pills? In addition to his trusted service on both sides of the bench, Creuzot has earned a national reputation for his innovative work on drug courts, criminal justice reform and evidence-based sentencing. She went through Hawks purse, pulling out bottles of hydrocodone and Oxycontin. While on the bench, though, he clashed with other judges who he felt were making decisions outside their legal authority. If you dont come up and talk to me, then I will assume that there is no discussion and that it ends there., Some of you are not going to like me, and I dont care, she said. Santos saw the writing on the wall. You just cant teach that, says Vickers Cunningham, a judge at the time. Brian Corrigan remembers being a young prosecutor nervous about one of his first cases. She hadnt showered. if(document.getElementsByClassName("reference").length==0) if(document.getElementById('Footnotes')!==null) document.getElementById('Footnotes').parentNode.style.display = 'none'; What's on my ballot? We could all see that.. .image-candidate-thumbnail-wrapper .image-candidate-thumbnail { You can do this, she wrote. They sat at a conference table on the sixth floor of a McKinney Avenue office building, the headquarters of Woodliefs public relations firm, Allyn Media. I thought, These people are crazy. She and Woodlief sat together, picking at their trays of pasta and corn chowder.