Please attend and lobby for Michael on Friday, the 3rd.

Hi,

We request your presence @ Michael's court date/sentencing on September 3rd, 2010 @ 720 9th Street @ earliest 9am and at the latest 10 am. Judge David Brown is presiding and I have conflicting court room/departments; so it is either Department 36 or Department 17 on Friday morning.

Michael has many redeeming qualities but those are frequently hidden under the guise of his behavior when he is using cocaine. He has finally come to grips with his addictions and also admitted that he has mental health issues as well - known as co-occurring conditions these days.

Addiction is also recognized as an official disability under ADA and we hope that the judge will use that as part of the criteria in determining how these latest alleged crimes will be addressed. Will Michael get the help he desperately needs and is ready to learn the skills and tools to live a conventional life? Or will he be warehoused yet again (like too many others) and basically CDCR's treatment will reflect that he should be given up on at this time and just be treated as throw-away?

He is seeking rehabilitation services/locations as explicitly promised in CDCR's acronym by including Rehabilitation in the name of their services offered in name of their criminal justice system. There is also a profession of well-educated individuals, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers that is predicated on the belief that promotes the idea they can work with people by using meds, therapy and behavior modification and by working in conjunction with each other that helps people change.

Then we have several support groups (AA, NA, SA etc) out there that also believe change is possible and provides an educational system and a support system to facilitate change and prevent relapse.

So, while we are requesting your presence, we are also requesting that you share your stories about how you have experienced MIchael as an addict and when he was suffering from other problems. We need as much proof as possible that he is an addict, but that he isn't a horrible person. The drugs drive a lot of the destructive behavior and I believe that may also supersede, to some degree to act rationally and have free-will go up in flames.

Please join us in our struggle to lobby for a new path for the judge to consider. And then, Michael has a responsibility to be 100% responsible to the people that are in his corner and respect all of us by working as hard as he can to overcome his addiction and that he complies with any medication requirements as well.

He wants to live life differently...I think we may help that happen by advocating for him in front of the judge on Friday, the 3rd.

Thanks!

Michael and Julie