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Man Says He’s Been in Jail 2 YEARS — No Lawyer. No Evidence.
YouTube ^ | 09/17/2026 | The Court Docket Network

Posted on 09/18/2026 6:02:11 PM PDT by TexasKamaAina

Stephen Adams tells the court he has spent nearly 2 years in jail with almost no contact from appointed counsel and says he still hasn’t seen the evidence against him.

Judge Stevens reacts with disbelief and demands answers over the apparent breakdown in representation and due process.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: courts; prisonreform; prisons; stephenadams; youtube
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1 posted on 09/18/2026 6:02:11 PM PDT by TexasKamaAina
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To: TexasKamaAina

This seems to be fairly common.

Prison first, trial later.


2 posted on 09/18/2026 6:05:48 PM PDT by ansel12
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To: ansel12

It most commonly happens in County Jails where some judge denies bail.

It also happens when jails are overcrowded and nobody takes the side of the person who is jailed.

Communication in jail is hugely rationed and difficult to do. You have to pay for it. You are not allowed personal contact. The hours available are enormously restricted.

This allows people who do not have money or people keeping track of them are kept in jail and have not way of contacting counsel or any advocate outside the jail.

Big problem. What good is your right to call counsel when you don’t have a phone number or someone outside to call for you?


3 posted on 09/18/2026 6:35:14 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: TexasKamaAina

Speedy trial?

The person might have only committed an offense with six months maximum punishment.


4 posted on 09/18/2026 6:35:46 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: marktwain

They can make excuses but they need to go to prison for operating their organizations Soviet style and imprisoning people without trials and even incommunicado.

These are the systems of the well paid/well pensioned people operating them, they need to be arrested and tried for their crimes.


5 posted on 09/18/2026 6:41:07 PM PDT by ansel12
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To: ansel12

Wonder how much his appointed counsel has been billing the county or state for not visiting his client.


6 posted on 09/18/2026 6:41:23 PM PDT by ryderann
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To: marktwain

This is also a breakdown in judicial and jail procedures. In addition, from a handful of such cases I recall over the years, the defendants tend to be not very bright.


7 posted on 09/18/2026 6:45:58 PM PDT by Rockingham
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To: TexasKamaAina

We live in age that cares not at all about protecting constitutional rights. Judges consider constitutional rights to be things to be finessed, not respected.


8 posted on 09/18/2026 6:51:59 PM PDT by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Rockingham

Exactly correct. There is also the problem of overworked jail personnel just refusing to listen to people in jail. It is a sort of “they are all liars” and “they deserve to be here” and “not my job” all rolled into one.

Lots of jails have way more people in them than they were ever designed to handle.


9 posted on 09/18/2026 6:53:59 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: TexasKamaAina

Too busy fighting Trump and anchoring illegal immigrants to the bureaucracy tit, to do the legal work of the deplorable, American, Walmart stinking public.


10 posted on 09/18/2026 7:04:10 PM PDT by blackdog (The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.)
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To: TexasKamaAina

Been there done that...hated it/ One time I stuck by my guns and ate it


11 posted on 09/18/2026 7:04:35 PM PDT by mythenjoseph
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To: marktwain

Ain’t bail its weather God wants you to continue to serve HIM/I AM


12 posted on 09/18/2026 7:06:07 PM PDT by mythenjoseph
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To: mythenjoseph

God is in charge.

We often do not see God’s plan until later.


13 posted on 09/18/2026 7:10:29 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: marktwain
My father worked in a maximum security worst of the worst state prison. We lived on the prison property rear entrance road. We had lifers assigned to the farm detail join us for the big holiday dinners.

According to their chats, a lot of inmates are incarcerated for crimes they never committed. That's not to say however that they are not guilty of far more crimes and should be locked away.

Eventually the courts and police tire of a habitual criminal and their deeds. Once that point is reached, you could be doing twenty five years over a stolen candy bar. A vehicle stop could find you with a handgun-linked to a crime, drugs under the seat, and cash , yet you did nothing wrong at that moment in time. It's just the state eventually getting their problem off the street at their convenience. It takes a while to piss them off enough, but eventually they will get you and every little detail is in place before they even pulled you over.

14 posted on 09/18/2026 7:20:05 PM PDT by blackdog (The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.)
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To: TexasKamaAina

It is my understanding that accused persons arrested by the police should be brought before a magistrate.

There should be a police report, grand jury indictment, warrant or judicial contempt citation created for every incarcerated person.

If a person doesn’t get adequate representation when indigent that would be grounds for reversal.


15 posted on 09/18/2026 7:23:06 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: TexasKamaAina

“See ya in two years” says the judge.


16 posted on 09/18/2026 7:36:56 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The right of Democrats to embezzle elections shall not be infringed. )
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To: blackdog

I don’t believe it works that way in Blue urban cities. Iryna Zarutska’s killer was released again and again.


17 posted on 09/18/2026 7:37:48 PM PDT by citizen (Say it with me.....the UK is now UKistan. Short & to the point.)
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To: ryderann

he may not have made it to a preliminary hearing if the jail is crowded or has a high turnover rate on officers and court staff minimal contact or busy staff, I have an acquaintance that was indigent and not too quick on his rights got lost off the books in Leavenworth County and they made him a trustee and everyone thought he had been sentenced until he got tired of jail time and asked about his case. I’ll get back to you are famous last words.


18 posted on 09/18/2026 7:38:26 PM PDT by bdfromlv (Leavenworth hard time)
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To: ansel12

This seems so illegal. It’s like the Jan 6ers.

This is grotesque. Those responsible should have all their assets taken and their redundant organs removed for other US citizens, to pay for the cost of their next 20 years in prison.


19 posted on 09/18/2026 7:39:06 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: bdfromlv

Millions of people are processed by the judicial system. Some have no real understanding of their rights. Some have no backup family or friends.

There are quite a few horror stories out there. A good bit of it is just statistics. Put millions in jail over time, some screw-ups happen by all the stars lining up in just the wrong way.

I would not doubt there are hundreds of people in jail, at any one time in the USA, who should not be there, but they are. Some are there because of malice.


20 posted on 09/18/2026 7:43:16 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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