Houston Judge John Clinton thought it would be a good idea to replace community service with book reports. Nine defendants were sentenced to reading a book of the judge’s choice and reporting back to court in a month to talk to him about it.
This could have been a good idea if not for the book he ordered them to read: The Heart of the Problem: How to Stop Coping and Find the Cure for Your Struggles, its Amazon.com product description reads “…Scripture-based workbook that shows readers how to fight sin effectively and live a more problem-free life.”
The ACLU weighed in on the punishment: “‘The idea that a judge would use the power of the bench to coerce individuals appearing before him into accepting his religious beliefs offends the Constitution and should offend all Houstonians,’ said Dottie Griffith of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. ‘If true, Judge Clinton’s actions are patently illegal.’”