This should be good

A humanitarian award as a weapon? Strange twists in the Brown Hand Center doctortrial

It seems like such obvious advice, but if you've got a penchant for cocaine and beating up your wives (you know, allegedly), maybe you shouldn't put your family on television to advertise your business.

Opening statements in the trial of former hand surgeon Michael Brown began Tuesday for his alleged assault on wife Rachel dating from August 2010. According to reports from the arraignment, Brown is accused of "twisting his wife's arm forcefully behind her back as if attempting to break it" during an argument until his bodyguard intervened. In the first morning of the trial, prosecutors claimed that Brown threw two heavy vases and his 'Joanne Herring 2010 Humanitarian of the Year' award at his wife during the altercation at their home.

Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin characterized Rachel Brown as "enraged" during the altercation and claimed the charges are an attempt to get more of Brown's fortune, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Michael Brown is charged with a third degree felony assault based on a previous plea to assaulting previous wife Darlina while she was pregnant. Rachel Brown (who previously claimed that her husband regularly assaulted her between 2004 and 2006) filed for a restraining order against her husband after his August arrest and filed for divorce in January 2011.

For a longer look at Michael Brown's history of unstable behavior, check out this Houston Press cover story from 2002.

Brown rose to prominence after developing a new treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, and he owns Brown Hand Center clinics in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Brown "retired" from medical practice in 2006 after his medical license was revoked for testing positive for cocaine while on probation.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”