Dear Client... (2 parter)

Part I

Dear Client, Please don't ask me again why the judge told you you're not eligible for a public defender and you have to hire a private attorney. It's because the first time you came to court, you were wearing a full length mink coat, carrying a Gucci purse and matching wallet, and rocking a huge diamong engagement ring. If you want someone to believe you're broke, maybe it'd be a good idea to stop being so damn flashy.

Good luck with your case,

[Not Your] PD [No Mo']

Part Deux

Dear Client, So you learned your lesson from the last court appearance and THIS time you came to court looking raggedy with welfare papers and a 3 year old child in tow. Well played, ma'am. Well played.

Back on the case :(,

PD

Dear Client...

Dear Client, Just because you told your girlfriend to give the police a fake name when you beat her up THIS time doesn't mean you're off the hook. You know why? Because the last 3 times you beat her up, she gave her real name, and the DA has all the records of those incidents and basically put 2 and 2 together. That and, since she doesn't speak English, the neighbor who translated for her to the police told them her REAL name. You aint slick, -PD

Dear Client...

Dear Client, I really don't care that you're a "confidential informant fa' da' NYPD homicide bureau". The cops that arrested you didn't care, the DA doesnt care, and the judge that just set bail on you clearly doesn't care. You hold no weight behind these bars, so stop looking for some to throw around. Best, PD

SURVEY SAYS..... JUSTIFIED

Seattle Cop Deemed Justified In Punching Teen Girl In the Eye

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20008037-504083.html

SEATTLE (CBS/KIRO/AP) Apparently they take jaywalking very seriously in Seattle.

The Seattle Police Officers' Guild is saying Patrol Officer Ian P. Walsh was justified in punching a 17-year-old girl in the face after she shoved him during a dispute over jaywalking. Rich O'Neil, president of the Officers' Guild, said that Walsh used "appropriate" force when he punched the teen during a struggle with the teen and another woman, 19-year-old Marilyn Levias, according to local station KCPQ.

Check the rest of the article, as well as a longer version of the video that starts earlier in the incident, after the jump

Children Are A Gift From GOD... But Some People Deserve Coal Instead

Runaway NJ Mom Surrenders To Police

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBS)

http://http://wcbstv.com/local/dashnay.beckwith.jersey.2.1759218.html

The Jersey City mother accused of leaving her three kids home alone has turned herself into police. Dashnay Beckwith is charged with neglect and child endangerment.

The Jersey City mother accused of leaving her three kids home alone has turned herself into police. Dashnay Beckwith is charged with neglect and child endangerment. Her two, three and six-year-old sons were all found Tuesday on their apartment balcony naked and without food. Beckwith claims she left the children alone to go on a job interview. Deputy Police Chief Peter Nalbach said the 6-year-old actually tried covering for his mother:

Dear Client...

Dear Defendant, How is it that you can't remember your lawyer's name or what he/she looks like?? Now I don't know from experience, but it seems to me that if ever I were roughed up by the police, handcuffed and arrested, accused of a crime and made to stand in front of a judge to defend myself against the charges, I'd be sure to remember the name and face of the only person on my side. That's just me though. -PD

Dear Client...

Dear Client, I know you don't want to miss your case being called in front of the judge, but that is really no excuse to crouch down in the back corner of the courtroom with your three year old son while he urinates into a poland spring bottle. That's just nasty, and the bathroom is right up the hall. Signed, PD

So... how do we feel about this?

I'm sure we all have heard about and/or seen by now the video of the Seattle police officer who got into err... a bit of a scuffle with two Black teenagers earlier this week (and on Martin Luther King Jr Way, of ALL places. Why is there ALWAYS some violence going down on MLKJr. Street/Boulevard/Avenue/Way, no matter what city it's in??) Anyway, if you havent seen it yet, check the video below after the jump

Today's "Pissed Off" Moment

*slide soapbox out from under my desk and stands atop*

 

     First of all, let me just say that I am a public defender. While I understand that not all of my clients are innocent of whatever they are accused of doing, it is my job and my DUTY as their attorney to represent them zealously and to the best of my ability. When I represent a client, I'm not just trying to "get them off", I am trying to get them the disposition that best serves them and the interests of justice at the same time. It's not just about getting their case over with or getting one more file off of my desk. It's about serving the needs of my client in whatever way possible just as the DA purports to serve the needs of "The People" in penalizing my client for what he or she may or may not have actually done.

     That being said, jail is not the answer to every damn problem. When I see a client who has a pattern of behavior that suggests a psychological, substance abuse or other such problem, I cannot just stand by while the DA offers them jail time on a guilty plea, and acts as if he's doing them a favor because it's only 15 or 30 days and "they would get up to a year if they went to trial". Thirty days sitting in a cell is not going to rehabilitate someone with a mental illness. Thirty days sitting in a cell is not going to make a drug addict magically free of his addiction. All thirty days in jail will do is keep my client busy and yet unproductive for thirty days on the tax payer's dime when in many cases they'd be better served by some type of services or program. And does the DA care? Highly unlikely since that plea to thirty days in jail gets another case off of his desk.  I can't just accept that, and quite frankly, it pisses me off.

     I had a phone conference with a DA today about my client "Joyce" who was arrested and charged with assaulting and endangering the welfare her 3 year old daughter by spanking her. Joyce is no saint, she has a number of convictions for drug possession before 2000 and she's done several months in jail on those crimes. By the grace of God, she seems to have overcome her addiction, but her most recent contact was in the early 2000s when she was found guilty of endangering the welfare of her older child. The criminal court, family court and ACS systems have all been involved, and now on her current case, she finds herself sitting in jail with a ten month sentence hanging over her head. Joyce calls me everyday asking me if the judge might let her out of jail and allow her to do parenting skills and counseling programs. She's BEGGING for these programs and wants to eventually be able to reunite with her children who are now in foster care. She does not want to sit in jail (no one does really) if she could be getting the help that she needs to be a better parent on the outside.

     So I explain all of this to the DA, and for as many reasons as I give him why Joyce should be offered a plea with a program instead of jail time, he gives me a reason why she should stay in Rikers for another 6 months. In actuality, not only were his arguments not very good, they all gave strength to MY side. Him:  "She has numerous drug convictions." Right, because up until 2000, she had a drug problem which she was able to overcome with *surprise* a drug program. Before the program, she was in and out of jail, which didn't help anything. Him: "Her last conviction was for endangering the welfare of her other child and she did 3 months in jail for that and lost her child." Uh huh, which clearly shows that jail didn't serve her because she's back in the same position right now. What would serve her is if she can go somewhere and learn to be a better parent and caregiver to her children, who she loves and wants to reunite with down the road. She understands it is not a simple, easy or quick process, but it is something that she absolutely, unequivocally wants to do.

     The penal system is supposed to be a correctional and disciplinary construct, aimed more at rehabilitation than punishment (correct me if I'm wrong). Why then are the rehabilitative resources being withheld in favor of useless incarceration that will turn out defendants who likely will know no better than when they went in? Why do these resources even exist if the very people who need them are being denied access because of their past behavior that directly shows that they need these resources? I bet if I walked into a center and said "I want to learn how to be a good parent, sign me up for something!" and I don't even have a child, they would fall over themselves to get me enrolled. Yet there are countless children who are already living and being shuffled from foster home to foster home because mommy/daddy don't know how to take care of them and no one is willing to teach them. Something about that doesn't seem at all justice-like.

     Maybe the judge will see my point of view. I'll make sure to take my soapbox with me on Joyce's next court date.

While I'm figuring this blog thing out...

Here are some of my past "Dear Client" posts to tide you over for a bit :-)

Intro Intro Intro Intro....

Ok, so more than likely if you've found this blog, it means you know me from Facebook (or heard about it from someone who does) and have (or know someone who has) become a fan, a commenter or, (at the very least) a non hater of my occasional "Dear Client" status posts. You've (or someone you know has) enjoyed me chronicling my daily run ins with the ridiculous criminal dabbling of the indigent masses, and a lot of you have suggested I write a book or a blog to keep the posts coming more regularly...

And so it was.

This blog will be a substitute, nay, an extension of those facebook posts and other job related junk I feel the desire to write about on an occasional basis. If it makes me laugh, I'll post about it. If it gets a strong side eye from me, I'll post about it. If it pisses me off, best believe I'll post about it. I can't promise it will all be funny, but hey, can't please everyone lol.

As I recently posted on FB, I've decided to stop updating my statuses there with "Dear Client" posts because I don't want to be at my desk everyday looking over my shoulder and fearing I'll get in trouble with my employer or the Bar. FB has been ruining careers at an alarming rate lately and I'm not trying to have you read about me in the news for getting fired over a damn status update. As such I'd ask that you all feel free to comment on anything you see here, but leave my real name or any other identifying info out of your comments (especially those of you who know me personally). I obviously cannot go into too much detail about the people, places, or situations I post about because it's all truth and things I ACTUALLY have to deal with/put up with/ stomach on a regular basis (I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried).

That's about all for now, so I just ask that you guys be patient with me as I feel my way around this blogging thing. Once I get used to it, I'll do my best to update regularly.
Happy reading!