Kelsey's Attorney
Brandon Watkins'
Testimony
Kelsey's attorney brings to light that professionals who were closely
watching Kelsey after her return to Raye Dawn didn't see anything
alarming. Even he was able to see the animosity that was brewing between
the two families. So how could Kathie not be aware?
Huddleston: Mr. Watkins how do you
know my client?
Watkins:
I was Kelsey’s attorney. I was appointed to be the guardian ad litem and
represent the interests of the child. The Briggs family had hired Mr.
Hodgens and Raye Dawn was represented by Greg Wilson, so I represented
the interests of the child.
Huddleston: On June 15thh are you
aware of the court date?
Watkins:
Yes.
Huddleston: It was a full deprived hearing?
Watkins: Yes, it took a little more than a day.
Huddleston: Lots of witnesses who were cross examined by lawyers and ultimately Judge Key ruled an unknown perpetrator?
Watkins: Yes.
Huddleston: Did Judge Key appoint services in the home?
Watkins: Yes. CASA, CHBS, and DHS.
Huddleston: Did Raye Dawn cooperate?
Watkins: Fully.
Huddleston: Are you aware of the animosity between the families?
Watkins: Yes, I did receive some animosity between the
Smiths and the Briggs.
NOTE:
Kathie Briggs testified that there was no animosity that she was aware
of, yet this witness who was only vaguely familiar with the 2 families
was aware of it! Is it possible that Kathie LIED during her testimony?
Huddleston: What were the duties of all of those services?
Watkins: To monitor Kelsey’s progress and
ensure Kelsey’s safety.
Huddleston: What was the level of supervision in this case?
Watkins: A lot.
Huddleston: How would you compare
the level of supervision in this case to others?
Watkins:
As much or more than others.
Huddleston: Ever had one with more?
Watkins:
No.
Huddleston: Were court appearances
required?
Watkins: Yes.
Huddleston: Everyone goes to court?
Watkins:
yes.
Huddleston: July, August, September
was there any reports that concerned you?
Watkins:
No. They said she was doing great.
NOTE:
NO CONCERNING REPORTS! From the time Kelsey was returned to her mother
all the way through September. Yet Raye-Dawn “should have known”.
What is it exactly that she should have known?
Huddleston: Do you make
recommendations?
Watkins:
In September based on the information I recommended at first the case be
dismissed. She continued to thrive in my opinion.
Huddleston: Had you seen her?
Watkins:
Yes.
Huddleston: You testified in that hearing that she seems to be
extremely happy…mom has done everything she could, Kelsey was living
well, and flourishing. The mother deserves to have the custody back with
her, not DHS. And the DA’s office agreed?
Watkins:
Yes. Both of us withdraw that recommendation because according to Ryan
Luke the six months had not expired and Lance Briggs, the father was
coming home and I wanted to
meet him.
NOTE:
THE DA’s office agreed! That means SMOTHERMON! He agreed at the
September hearing there was NOTHING OF CONCERN!
Huddleston: So your decision to
withdraw the recommendation had nothing to do with my client?
Watkins: No.
Huddleston: Was the DA’s office
always involved?
Watkins:
Yes.
Cross Examination – Prosecution
Smothermon: You mentioned Ryan Luke, what does that
mean?
Watkins:
After a child is returned there is a time period to ensure everything is
smooth, not an abrupt cut off of services.
Smothermon: Did Kelsey live through that period?
Watkins: No.
Smothermon:
Have you seen the pictures of Kelsey with the bruises?
Watkins:
A couple.
Smothermon: Take a few minutes to look through this
stack of pictures. Have you seen those before?
Watkins:
No, this stack was certainly not made available to me. Based on the
information before me, I made a recommendation.
NOTE:
ALL of the photos were of the same injuries just taken over and over
again. Look at Kelsey’s clothes; she is even wearing the same thing!
The prosecution even included photos from the auto accident. To make
the injuries look worse than usual bumps bruises, and scrapes.
Smothermon: This case has cost you a great deal of
angst?
Watkins:
Yes.
Smothermon: You came to my office and you said based
upon information you had, at the time you made the right decision?
Watkins:
Yes.
Smothermon: In January did you have the luxury of
knowing two witnesses who say Raye Dawn beat her with a hairbrush?
Watkins:
No.
NOTE:
Donna Gilbreath one of the witnesses who made this accusation, she and
her daughter (Ashley) were the OWNER’S of the BASH BOARD mentioned in
the emails, per Shirica. Shirica said that she needed to remain nice to
Ashley (Donna’s daughter) because she “knew too much information” –
hummm… also convenient testimony, which NO ONE mentioned before
when being interviewed by OSBI – it just happened to pop into their
heads right before trial…amazing!
Smothermon: In September did you know Gayla Smith says
Raye Dawn told her Michael Porter had Kelsey on the bed or on her
stomach and eyes taped shut, did you know that?
Watkins:
No.
Smothermon: How about when Raye Dawn was concerned
that Porter told her Kelsey had fallen down the stairs?
NOTE:
Smothermon says himself that Raye showed CONCERN!!
Watkins:
No.
Smothermon: Would this information have been important
in your representing the best interest of the child?
Watkins: Yes.
Redirect – Huddleston
Huddleston -
Those pictures, are they one incident or many?
Watkins:
Don’t know.
Huddleston: The DA’s office had
pictures, did they give them to you?
Watkins:
No.
Huddleston: The January incident, you’re aware the police cleared
her?
Watkins:
Yes.
Huddleston: The DA’s office declined
charges?
NOTE:
BASED ON THE POLICE REPORT – the DA – RICHARD SMOTHERMON refused to file
charges. If the “State” cleared Raye-Dawn of this and refused
charges, how was it legal for him to even present ANY TESTIMONY
regarding that incident? Wouldn’t that be DOUBLE JEOPARDY? (I guess
since she was never actually charged, they could still bring it up-
way to leave a loop hole Smothermon!!.)
Watkins:
I did not know.
Huddleston:
How about the tape incident, they didn’t tell you all of the children
were laughing and giggling, would that have made a
difference to you?
Watkins:
I would have taken that into account.
Huddleston: No one saw Kelsey fall down the stairs, and no one saw
any injuries, would that have mattered?
Watkins:
I would have considered all of the information in front of me.
NOTE: This
attorney for KELSEY would have taken into account the fact that the all
of the children were laughing and playing during the CLEAR TAPE
incident. Remember there were NO REPORTS OF CONCERN from
June through Sept. This is the ENTIRE time that Raye-Dawn had Kelsey
back into her full time care.
NO REPORTS – remind me again what she was supposed to “have reasonably
known”???
What Kelsey's Attorney
Had to Say
This is an excerpt from former Judge Craig Key's book, "A Deadly Game of
Tug of War: The Kelsey Smith-Briggs Story." It's on page 112 and gives
insight as to what really happened from the legal standpoint of Kelsey's
return to her mom, Raye Dawn.
During this time, newspaper ads, ran by Sheila Kirk, were distorting the
facts of Kelsey’s case. The attorney for Kelsey decided to set the
record straight, and sent the following letter on September 21, 2006, to
the editors of both the Lincoln County News and the Stroud American.
Both papers ran the letter he sent as follows:
“To the Editor,
As the attorney for Kelsey Smith-Briggs, I am writing this letter to set
the record straight regarding several issues pertaining to Kelsey’s
case. Unfortunately, her death has become a political football and it
concerns me that some are pointing fingers without having full knowledge
of the facts.
Whether you support Judge Craig Key or his opponent, Sheila Kirk, I
would encourage everyone to base their decision on the truth rather than
emotion. To do otherwise would not serve the voters and citizens of this
county. The truth is Judge Key had the legal obligation to return Kelsey
to her mother. The Court, as well as myself, were advised that the
mother had completed the Individualized Service Plan created for her by
the Department of Human Services (DHS), and there were no additional
requirements of her. The Oklahoma legislature has declared that it is
the official public policy of this state to reunite children with their
parents under such circumstances.
The truth is that Kelsey’s placement with her mother in June of last
year was conditioned upon the stipulation and Court order that there
would be significant monitoring by various child welfare agencies. That
is exactly what happened. The truth is that during the four months that
Kelsey was in the care of her mother, none of those responsible for
overseeing Kelsey’s well-being ever reported to me or the Court that
there were any problems with the care she was receiving. The truth is no
one ever objected to or appealed Judge Key’s ruling to return Kelsey to
her mother.
Based upon the evidence presented to the Court, and the monitoring and
oversight requirement that was put in place on behalf of Kelsey, I do
not believe that at that point in time any of the parties involved in
the case feared for her safety, much less, her life.
No one has a crystal ball or can foretell the future. Judges and lawyers
rely on the law and evidence. Everyone knows this. The more Kelsey’s
tragic situation is exploited and politicized, we will only move farther
from the truth of what really happened to Kelsey. The people of Lincoln
County should not be pulled apart or deceived by this sad incident.
Sincerely, … Attorney for Kelsey Smith-Briggs”
This is what Kathie does. She throws out statements to get everyone mad at a person or organization and watches as they feed on the hatred. Brandon Watkins wasn't Kathie's attorney, he was KELSEY'S ATTORNEY.
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kjbriggs Kelsey's Grandma  Posts: 1,107 Group: Super Moderators Joined: Nov 2005 Status: Away Reputation: 
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05-14-2006 11:00 PM
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05-14-2006 10:34 AM
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donnasking Senior Member Posts: 229 Group: Registered Joined: Feb 2006 Status: Online Reputation:
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sixesmum GTK's Grandma Posts: 138 Group: Registered Joined: Nov 2005 Status: Offline Reputation:
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06-06-2006 09:08 PM
Kathie Briggs then posted Brandon Watkin's personal contact information on her site. I've taken out the address and phone number for privacy concerns.
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kjbriggs Kelsey's Grandma Posts: 1,107 Group: Super Moderators Joined: Nov 2005 Status: Away Reputation:
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06-08-2006 02:20 PM
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06-08-2006 09:09 PM
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kjbriggs Kelsey's Grandma Posts: 1,107 Group: Super Moderators Joined: Nov 2005 Status: Away Reputation:
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06-08-2006 02:15 PM
Did we catch Kathie in yet another lie?
She said, "He
(Brandon Watkins) sat in the Judge's chambers with the Judge, the CASA
volunteer and watched Dr. Sullivan's deposition. He made the
recommendation to return Kelsey to her mother. He did not make this in
court so it must have been discussed in chambers. I don't know how
ethical that is, but I would think it should not be done."
From Judge Key's book, A Deadly Game of Tug of War: The Kelsey
Smith-Briggs Story:
"On the morning of the 16th, the only people who showed up to
watch the tapes of both doctors' depositions were Kelsey's attorney, the
CASA worker, and her supervisor. On the previous day, I had informed
everyone in the courtroom that I would start the viewing of the
depositions at 7:20am the following morning."
It appears Kathie failed to show up...again...
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