With Tuesday's trial calendar going away, I have suddenly found myself with fewer things to do than normal. This has helped my desk catch a breath of fresh air. The papers and files that had cluttered the top of my desk, now clutter either: a) the trash b) my file cabinet or c) someone else's now-more-cluttered-than my desk. It's nice to see that faux wood plastic/composite top to a lawyer's trusty work surface. I didn't realize how long it had been since we last saw each other.
Sadly, it will begin to get covered again soon. August is looking rather hectic with two trial calendars within three weeks of each other. Hopefully though, August will also include a trip up north for my parents to see my pregnant wife just before she has to stop flying!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Fixated on me
There is a guy who hangs out in front of a convenience store near our office. He has some serious mental health issues, but generally he's a nice guy who always says hi and makes coherent small talk. He sometimes gets behind on his meds and ends up in jail and we stop seeing him on the streets for a little while. Then he gets out and he's back on the square downtown and we chat about his situation.
Yesterday morning I saw him there and he called me over. He kept thinking I was someone else and asking about what he needed to do on his case. He told me several times that he was heading over to the county's mental health services to get his medication. He also gave me his doctor's name and number and told me that he would be at his appointment, (which is today). He's usually pretty much homeless, or close to it, so I bought him a coffee from the nearby shop. He really wanted a pack of cigs, but I only had $2 in change in my pocket, but he seemed happy with a coffee.
A few hours later he called and said that he was on his way up to my office. He showed up here and started such a delusional rant we were all taken aback at the things he was saying. He kept asking me for money because he thinks that I'm his caseworker. He couldn't get it out of his head that I'm the person that is supposed to give him his SSI check or cash or whatever. His ranting was going on and on until finally my supervisor called me over and told me to just leave him in the lobby. He'd get tired of waiting and leave, which he eventually did. I talked to one of our clinical social workers about him. He has fixated on me for some reason. Who knows why? Maybe my name is similar to some counselor he had in the past? Maybe he really appreciated the coffee that I bought for him?
He called again today and told me that he is over at the mental health center waiting for his appointment for his shot. Hopefully he's telling the truth and will get medicated soon. He also said that he spent the night there last night after I wouldn't give him his money. That started another rant regarding gettnig money from me. He asked if he should come to my office after his appointment to get a couple of hundred dollars... He also asked several times if this was really me on the phone. He sounds really paranoid and delusional, it's so sad to hear him repeating all this crazy stuff. It's also really hard to try to correct him in his delusions. I can only say "no, I'm not your caseworker" so many times. I don't really know what to say after a while. He eventually hung up the phone.
I hope he's getting his shot right now!
Yesterday morning I saw him there and he called me over. He kept thinking I was someone else and asking about what he needed to do on his case. He told me several times that he was heading over to the county's mental health services to get his medication. He also gave me his doctor's name and number and told me that he would be at his appointment, (which is today). He's usually pretty much homeless, or close to it, so I bought him a coffee from the nearby shop. He really wanted a pack of cigs, but I only had $2 in change in my pocket, but he seemed happy with a coffee.
A few hours later he called and said that he was on his way up to my office. He showed up here and started such a delusional rant we were all taken aback at the things he was saying. He kept asking me for money because he thinks that I'm his caseworker. He couldn't get it out of his head that I'm the person that is supposed to give him his SSI check or cash or whatever. His ranting was going on and on until finally my supervisor called me over and told me to just leave him in the lobby. He'd get tired of waiting and leave, which he eventually did. I talked to one of our clinical social workers about him. He has fixated on me for some reason. Who knows why? Maybe my name is similar to some counselor he had in the past? Maybe he really appreciated the coffee that I bought for him?
He called again today and told me that he is over at the mental health center waiting for his appointment for his shot. Hopefully he's telling the truth and will get medicated soon. He also said that he spent the night there last night after I wouldn't give him his money. That started another rant regarding gettnig money from me. He asked if he should come to my office after his appointment to get a couple of hundred dollars... He also asked several times if this was really me on the phone. He sounds really paranoid and delusional, it's so sad to hear him repeating all this crazy stuff. It's also really hard to try to correct him in his delusions. I can only say "no, I'm not your caseworker" so many times. I don't really know what to say after a while. He eventually hung up the phone.
I hope he's getting his shot right now!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Tuesday Trial Day
Of my three DV cases called for trial today, zero of them went to trial today.
In one case, the persecutor in one of the cases asked for a continuance today, the day of trial. She says that her cop is out of town, or unavailable on vacation or something. The judge cheerfully granted her motion for continuance over my objection. This is pretty interesting in that it is entirely inconsistant with the judge's own "policy" for continuances. Her "policy" is not to allow a continuace if I ask for it, but to allow it if the state asks for it. It's a ridiculous double-standard that the she justifies to herself and tries to justfiy to us, but in the end it is still ridiculous. The judge is completely unwilling to follow the law when I present intelligent, accurate arguments which follow case law. In fact, she doesn't even wait for a response from the state when I make most of my arguments. For example the two continuances I requested: February: When I asked for a continuace on a case which I had been assigned to less than a week before trial, I got denied; April: When I asked for a continuace on a case which had been a bench trial just a few hours before we picked a jury, I got denied. In April, on my second request EVER, I get chastized for asking for too many continuances on trial calendars. SECOND in three months!! The state didn't even oppose a continuance in those cases...
In one case, the persecutor in one of the cases asked for a continuance today, the day of trial. She says that her cop is out of town, or unavailable on vacation or something. The judge cheerfully granted her motion for continuance over my objection. This is pretty interesting in that it is entirely inconsistant with the judge's own "policy" for continuances. Her "policy" is not to allow a continuace if I ask for it, but to allow it if the state asks for it. It's a ridiculous double-standard that the she justifies to herself and tries to justfiy to us, but in the end it is still ridiculous. The judge is completely unwilling to follow the law when I present intelligent, accurate arguments which follow case law. In fact, she doesn't even wait for a response from the state when I make most of my arguments. For example the two continuances I requested: February: When I asked for a continuace on a case which I had been assigned to less than a week before trial, I got denied; April: When I asked for a continuace on a case which had been a bench trial just a few hours before we picked a jury, I got denied. In April, on my second request EVER, I get chastized for asking for too many continuances on trial calendars. SECOND in three months!! The state didn't even oppose a continuance in those cases...
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Bar Complaints
I received notice of a complaint today. It is not a Bar Complaint yet, but it is a written complaint and the director of my office will respond on my behalf.
I represented this guy at trial a few months ago, and I got a directed verdict on two of three counts in the accusation. He was convicted of the third count, but he was time-served, no more jail time.
During the state's case he talked to me so much, and said the same thing over, and over, and over, and over so many times, I missed a lot of testimony from the state's only witness. So, in that regard, maybe I let him down by not asking the judge for a ball gag.
His complaints range from non-communication to refusal to ask for a Directed Verdict. That makes me wonder: "How did I get a Directed Verdict if I refused to ask for one?" In his letter he says that I should be disbarred.
I represented this guy at trial a few months ago, and I got a directed verdict on two of three counts in the accusation. He was convicted of the third count, but he was time-served, no more jail time.
During the state's case he talked to me so much, and said the same thing over, and over, and over, and over so many times, I missed a lot of testimony from the state's only witness. So, in that regard, maybe I let him down by not asking the judge for a ball gag.
His complaints range from non-communication to refusal to ask for a Directed Verdict. That makes me wonder: "How did I get a Directed Verdict if I refused to ask for one?" In his letter he says that I should be disbarred.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Three Trials, Three Cases, One Day
Next Tuesday will be a good one. Three trials all scheduled for that day. Today I met with a client and his wife. The State's witness, the wife, keeps trying to tell the prosecutor that the cop is lying in his report. That she wasn't injured, that he made stuff up when he wrote the report. Of course, the prosecutor won't even meet with her. She won't agree to reduce the charges. Hopefully, she won't win at trial either. We're coming in with the 'victim' as a witness for the defense. This will be my first jury trial where I can say that.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Criminal Defense Blogs
There's currently a compilation of some Public Defender blogs over at Gideon's webpage (also listed in the links of this blog). It is a pretty big list of blogs, and often there are snippets and samples from a lot of them. This blog is currently not listed there, but I hope to make the cut soon!!
Along a similar line, Jaime, a criminal defense lawyer from Austin, is putting together a list of criminal law related blogs. You can find it here.
I've submitted this blog, maybe it will get noticed? Jaime's idea may turn into a good place to check for criminal law blog updates from around the country, sort of like Gideon's tracking of the Public Defender blog world.
Along a similar line, Jaime, a criminal defense lawyer from Austin, is putting together a list of criminal law related blogs. You can find it here.
I've submitted this blog, maybe it will get noticed? Jaime's idea may turn into a good place to check for criminal law blog updates from around the country, sort of like Gideon's tracking of the Public Defender blog world.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Revoke for the Balance
"Revoke for the balance"
Words that do not go well together?
Words that you don't like to hear?
Words that give you a sinking feeling?
The real answer: Words I heard today.
My Motion to Recuse the Judge was denied. I stood alone with my client. He had a defeated look on his face. She revoked the balance of his probation.
Words that do not go well together?
Words that you don't like to hear?
Words that give you a sinking feeling?
The real answer: Words I heard today.
My Motion to Recuse the Judge was denied. I stood alone with my client. He had a defeated look on his face. She revoked the balance of his probation.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Public Defense: The New Gay Marriage
The public defense world in Georgia is cracking, crumbling and falling apart. Some may say it's already fallen. It started with the legislature cutting our budget in half mid-year. It continued with bad decisions at the state-wide management level. The office that handles conflict cases for Metro Atlanta (Fulton and Dekalb counties) was shut down with two weeks notice for the employees. Their 1,800 client will be unceremoniously dumped by management onto the plates of various PDs in the area. PDs that already represent the co-defendants in most of those cases. There is a lawsuit to keep it open, filed by members of the criminal defense community who care about the constitution.
There are op-ed pieces by state reps who say that spending less than $1000 to defend a person charged with a felony is A-OK with them. If you are poor and charged with a crime in America, you'd better hope you are anywhere other than Georgia. The op-ed pieces remind me of the Gay Marriage issue from the last election. It's uncanny really. I don't know which is worse: The politicians with dirty motives or the easily swayed, ignorant public who can't recognize bullshit rhetoric that's being flung into their eyes.
How is public defense "the new gay marriage?"
States in the US are still separate entities, no matter how strong the federal government becomes. States are still able to recognize their own laws and policies and determine which laws and policies from other states they will recognize as well. For example: A concealed weapon permit is valid in the state that issued the permit, and some other states will recognize your right to carry a weapon with that other state's permit. BUT, some states do not recognize that right, and if you're carrying you can get arrested despite your permit. If another state's law is against the public policy of your state, your state is not required to recognize that state's law. So, if your state does not recognize same-sex marriage, there's no requirement that you recognize a same-sex marriage from another state. A same-sex couple can't get married in New York and come to Georgia and expect the same rights. They can't get medical benefits, they don't have automatic inheritance rights, they can't come here and get divorces either.
Despite this established policy, in the last election same-sex marriage was a big issue in Georgia. Lots of politicians "came out" (ha ha, I'm clever) in support of a constitutional amendment against same-sex unions. Was there a chance that Georgia would soon change it's laws? Was Georgia the next in line after Vermont and Massachusetts to make it into the 21st fucking century? No. Not even close. There was no way this should have been an issue. Despite the complete uselessness of a constitutional amendment, state reps jumped at the opportunity to get support on this highly emotional issue. They had found a way to motivate conservatives to get out and vote.
Today, Brian Nichols has a public defender, or three. He is accused of killing a judge, a deputy, a Federal Agent in 2005. The State is trying to execute him. His defense bill has been called into question and has been reported at, ballpark: $1.5 million. They have several prosecutors working on this case full time. Several of the prosecutors make, ballpark: $150,000 in salary. There are also State investigators, paralegals, etc. The state plans to call almost 500 witnesses. There is a lot of news coverage here about the case and mostly about his defense bills. The local coverage has lasted long after the national media stopped covering highlights (never the local budget battles). At first there was a lot of national news. Brian Nichols was all over CNN and the like, the manhunt was especially good for generating ad revenue. His girlfriend and meth partner was on Oprah making money selling her story. Everyone here knows Brian Nichols. Everyone knows his lawyers have been paid by the state, although nobody talks about the cost of the prosecution, only the defense.
For a lot of people it is a "hot topic" and an emotional issue to see Brian Nichols being represented by public defenders. Some people are mad that their tax dollars are being spent to give him a defense. Now is the perfect time to make public defense the target of popular hatred. State reps have seized this idea and succeeded in making headlines by cutting the state-wide budget in half. This got them in the news. This got the debate started. This will get people out to vote.
I think the State has done its best to stop citizens from receiving effective representation and to stop them from having constitutional rights. We'll see something on the ballot that will give people the idea that they're helping to fight "the war on crime." It may be as simple as a budget allocation issue, or something as big as the disolution of the state-wide public defender system. If that happens, it won't just be people accused of crimes that each face a life crisis, it'll be a whole lot of their lawyers too.
There are op-ed pieces by state reps who say that spending less than $1000 to defend a person charged with a felony is A-OK with them. If you are poor and charged with a crime in America, you'd better hope you are anywhere other than Georgia. The op-ed pieces remind me of the Gay Marriage issue from the last election. It's uncanny really. I don't know which is worse: The politicians with dirty motives or the easily swayed, ignorant public who can't recognize bullshit rhetoric that's being flung into their eyes.
How is public defense "the new gay marriage?"
States in the US are still separate entities, no matter how strong the federal government becomes. States are still able to recognize their own laws and policies and determine which laws and policies from other states they will recognize as well. For example: A concealed weapon permit is valid in the state that issued the permit, and some other states will recognize your right to carry a weapon with that other state's permit. BUT, some states do not recognize that right, and if you're carrying you can get arrested despite your permit. If another state's law is against the public policy of your state, your state is not required to recognize that state's law. So, if your state does not recognize same-sex marriage, there's no requirement that you recognize a same-sex marriage from another state. A same-sex couple can't get married in New York and come to Georgia and expect the same rights. They can't get medical benefits, they don't have automatic inheritance rights, they can't come here and get divorces either.
Despite this established policy, in the last election same-sex marriage was a big issue in Georgia. Lots of politicians "came out" (ha ha, I'm clever) in support of a constitutional amendment against same-sex unions. Was there a chance that Georgia would soon change it's laws? Was Georgia the next in line after Vermont and Massachusetts to make it into the 21st fucking century? No. Not even close. There was no way this should have been an issue. Despite the complete uselessness of a constitutional amendment, state reps jumped at the opportunity to get support on this highly emotional issue. They had found a way to motivate conservatives to get out and vote.
Today, Brian Nichols has a public defender, or three. He is accused of killing a judge, a deputy, a Federal Agent in 2005. The State is trying to execute him. His defense bill has been called into question and has been reported at, ballpark: $1.5 million. They have several prosecutors working on this case full time. Several of the prosecutors make, ballpark: $150,000 in salary. There are also State investigators, paralegals, etc. The state plans to call almost 500 witnesses. There is a lot of news coverage here about the case and mostly about his defense bills. The local coverage has lasted long after the national media stopped covering highlights (never the local budget battles). At first there was a lot of national news. Brian Nichols was all over CNN and the like, the manhunt was especially good for generating ad revenue. His girlfriend and meth partner was on Oprah making money selling her story. Everyone here knows Brian Nichols. Everyone knows his lawyers have been paid by the state, although nobody talks about the cost of the prosecution, only the defense.
For a lot of people it is a "hot topic" and an emotional issue to see Brian Nichols being represented by public defenders. Some people are mad that their tax dollars are being spent to give him a defense. Now is the perfect time to make public defense the target of popular hatred. State reps have seized this idea and succeeded in making headlines by cutting the state-wide budget in half. This got them in the news. This got the debate started. This will get people out to vote.
I think the State has done its best to stop citizens from receiving effective representation and to stop them from having constitutional rights. We'll see something on the ballot that will give people the idea that they're helping to fight "the war on crime." It may be as simple as a budget allocation issue, or something as big as the disolution of the state-wide public defender system. If that happens, it won't just be people accused of crimes that each face a life crisis, it'll be a whole lot of their lawyers too.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Our Clients
Our clients often had mental health issues to deal with. Some of them are more severe, some are mild. Some are obvious, and others can hide their various issues well. This past month, a video appeared on youtube showing a young woman on a MARTA train. Supposedly she is now our client and locked up in jail (although in my opinion, our client looks nothing like the girl in the video). I have no idea how the police think they have the right person since she was not arrested at the scene.
Even if this isn't our client, it is a good example of what the court system deals with on a daily basis. If this young woman has mental health problems, she might get some treatment for whatever disorder she may have. If it is not "serious" enough of a disorder, she'll have to proceed through a confusing and frustrating court system designed to go as fast as possible so the judges and prosecutors can get to golf on time.
The one exception would be if she had been assigned to my courtroom. My judge is actually very fair and understands that there are various degrees of crazy and there are people that could use some help. For that, I've come to appreciate my judge more and more, especially when I hear about the other judges in the courthouse.
Even if this isn't our client, it is a good example of what the court system deals with on a daily basis. If this young woman has mental health problems, she might get some treatment for whatever disorder she may have. If it is not "serious" enough of a disorder, she'll have to proceed through a confusing and frustrating court system designed to go as fast as possible so the judges and prosecutors can get to golf on time.
The one exception would be if she had been assigned to my courtroom. My judge is actually very fair and understands that there are various degrees of crazy and there are people that could use some help. For that, I've come to appreciate my judge more and more, especially when I hear about the other judges in the courthouse.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
More Appointments to Miss
It's amazing how many people fail to show up for meetings with their lawyers. I am more stressed about their cases than they are. I have three appointments scheduled for todday and one tomorrow. Two of these were previously missed appointments that I rescheduled.
Some people do show up for trial never having met me, and then expect to have a trial. Scary thought. If you were charged with a crime and faced jail time, wouldn't you move in with your lawyer and look over his/her shoulder to make sure he/she was doing everything possible to win your case? I do have one client who keeps in touch quite a bit. He lives across the street from my office, so he pops in every once and a while to chat about his case. I can tell he actually cares, and is stressed about his charge. Maybe he's more innocent than the others? Or more guilty? Who knows, I'm not the jury.
Some people do show up for trial never having met me, and then expect to have a trial. Scary thought. If you were charged with a crime and faced jail time, wouldn't you move in with your lawyer and look over his/her shoulder to make sure he/she was doing everything possible to win your case? I do have one client who keeps in touch quite a bit. He lives across the street from my office, so he pops in every once and a while to chat about his case. I can tell he actually cares, and is stressed about his charge. Maybe he's more innocent than the others? Or more guilty? Who knows, I'm not the jury.
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