Posted on 08/25/2005 12:36:01 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob
I spent two days recently in the Circuit Court for Macon County, North Carolina, waiting to be a witness. The Bailiff called people to order, “This is a Court. Tuck in your shirt.” It’s an indication of folks hereabouts that half the males stood up and tucked in their shirts.
At the end of this I have a suggestion for y’all. Here’s what I saw in this Court.
First, of a total of more than 200 people, only two non-lawyers were wearing suits and ties. Maybe elsewhere, folks put on their best duds to go to court, but not in the Blue Ridge.
But it’s issues, not clothes, that make the lower-level trial courts a human comedy of citizens and law. There were three basic categories of citizens in court: first, veteran criminals, who’d committed crimes before, crimes now, and were apt candidates for future crimes.
Second, smaller category, were one-time criminals, people who’d run afoul of the law once, or a few times, but who might straighten up and fly right. The largest category were the friends, family, neighbors, and others, in court to support, testify, and participate however unwillingly in the law.
You’ll note I didn’t mention innocent defendants; there were very few. This court was handling non-jury crimes, no murders, armed robberies, rapes, arsons, the stock in trade of crime on TV and in books,. Such crimes were bumped up to the jury docket. These defendants either pleaded guilty (about 80%) or were found guilty (about 13%). And even of the roughly 7% who were found not guilty, many of them could have been convicted on the evidence presented.
What do these cases say about the state of justice in Western Carolina? First, the judge was giving most defendants two bites at the apple. If there was any significant doubt, or if he just wanted to give the defendant a break, the judge was finding them not guilty. Second, he was generous in suspending the sentences, and giving them on probation.
Sadly, many defendants granted mercy, refused to accept it. About a fifth of all the hearings were for probation violations. The defendants had failed to abide the terms. And, they got sent to jail despite their pleas for “another chance.”
Very unfortunate were the young defendants there with their parents. The attorneys were using “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” as stage props to get Junior a lighter sentence. Ironically, in most such cases, if Junior had been listening to his parents, they wouldn’t have been needed to help Junior get probation. The worst of these cases was a young man with some mental difficulties, who had attacked his parents with a chair. Still, they were standing by him. The judge cut him a lot of slack, and wished him well with his medical and psychological programs.
Then there is the small but common category of battered wives who set up for more of the same. These are women who call the police in a panic when they are being beaten up. They may press charges. But when they get to court two months later, they seek to drop the charges because “he loves me” or “he supports the children.” One wife came into court using a walker because she’d been beaten and kicked in the head. She was not forgiving.
More typical, unfortunately, was a woman asking that her husband’s bail be lowered and the assault charges dropped, so he could get out and resume work as a roofer. The Assistant States Attorney, an able and very overworked young woman, objected. She pointed out the details. The husband had (allegedly) dragged his wife to a river, held her head under water, handcuffed her in his truck threatening to kill her, and stabbed her several times, including a gash that took 14 stitches.
For the aggressive roofer, the judge refused the wife’s request. He recognized what she did not. She was a candidate to be maimed or murdered by her husband. Because attempted murder is a crime against society, not just the victim, the judge was within his rights.
And the winner in highest bail set for failure to appeal was a name everyone would recognize: Alexander Hamilton, at $3,000.
So, what’s my recommendation to you? Find your nearest non-jury, criminal court. Go early. Sit at the front. Hear everything. Observe how well, or poorly, justice is administered in your neck of the woods. I guar-on-d*mn-tee an enlightening experience.
About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
Hope you don't mind, I e-mailed your article to J.A.I.L.
Best regards,
Don Stone
That's fine that you sent this on to others with your compliments. But, what is J.A.I.L.?
John
Great post, great stories above. (Nothing ever happens to me - WAAAAAH!)
Interesting. My Step-Father practiced law in Rutherfordton until he passed away this past February. I gathered from some of the stories I heard the area is unique. Your account seems to be in sync with his.
J.A.I.L.- Judicial Accountability Initiative Law
I had a ticket about five years ago for running a stale yellow -- I was preoccupied with the driver to my right who wasn't staying in his lane. This was in a suburb of Detroit.
I went to court dressed for work -- button up shirt, slacks, etc. Sitting waiting to be called, I got to watch a string of "yutes" from Detroit slouching up the aisle when called, baggy pants, baseball caps, sullen attitude.
Every one of them -- guilty, pay the clerk.
I get called. I walk up to the front, head up, actually acting alert instead of half-asleep. "Good morning, your Honor" while looking him in the eye. The cop was there, verified my story. I did run the red, but with a reason. The judge asked me if my driving record was actually spotless as the printout he had indicated. "Yes, your Honor."
He dropped the ticket. Cleanliness and courtesy go a long way in a courtroom.
Do you still have relatives in Western Carolina? If so, please put them in touch with me.
John
I can't imagine many people following your suggestion, though -- not while we have Court TV.
IMHO Court TV is an atrocity. Television cameras should NOT be in courtrooms. "Reality TV" is an oxymoron -- nobody acts the same on TV as they do without a camera on them. I believe that TV in courtrooms taint the process -- reason enough to ban them.
I spent 2 days following my ex-wife around Hamilton County for two offenses. One offense was heard in one courtroom because it took place on the highways, the other was in a different courtroom across the county because it took place in the courthouse where the first offense was heard. I still don't understand that.
Hehe. You asked for it. Mom will eventually be contacting you via my screen name. She is well-aquainted with courtroom shenanigans in your neck of the woods.
A day in court is an eye-opener. I've been called for jury duty in Western NC on three occasions. The first was a 'date-rape' case involving two local university students. The defendant was in coat & tie, seated next to a demurely dressed 'drop dead gorgeous' legal assistant. Obviously, since she was safe sitting next to him, he MUST be innocent! (sarcasm off) As soon as the defense attorney found out that I was a former Marine with three daughters, he excused me from that jury.
The second time was for a murder case involving a Cherokee man from the local reservation who was accused of shooting a Park Ranger. It appeared that the defense team was not going to try to establish the innocence of their client, but rather aim for a lighter sentence due to alcohol impairment. They asked all of the prospective jurors if our lives had ever been adversely affected by alcohol consumption, either our own or that of someone close to us. My Dad was an alcoholic, so I was eliminated from that jury.
Third jury duty call was a civil traffic accident case. It took about 5 minutes for the 12 of us to agree that both were partially at fault and another half hour to make sure all the "i's" were dotted and "t's" were crossed. Since I was the foreman, after the courtroom cleared, I was asked by both sets of attorneys to give a debriefing as to how the jury decided the case. With the judges concurrence I did so. When I finally got out to my car that snowy evening, I discovered, after a short drive, that all four lug nuts on one wheel were loose. Strange coincidence, eh! (No accusations, but the plaintiff worked as a mechanic for a used car lot.)
Not quite as much fun as “Night Court”, but close!
One comment on court room attire.
I am blessed with an employer that actively encourages employees to serve thier jury duty. I have averaged jury call about every 16 months for the last 10 years or so.
On the jury instructions that we receive in the mail is the advice to wear comfortable casual clothes. I would say that about 75% of the folks on jury duty wear clothes that while not business casual are at least a step or two above blue jeans and a t-shirt.
I have only been on one jury, a criminal trial involving sexual abuse of a minor. It left a very bad feeling with me. I was called a few months ago and the defense attorney was the same one from my previous trial. I was excused, thankfully, as the first thought I had was that the defendant was toast. I tend not to get picked for juries, probably has something to do with my degree in criminal justice. The kicker is that I have never worked in the field since college.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Judges are people too. For the life of me I can't understand why defendants insist on maintaining their 'tude in court when they have reason to straighten up. Your loss is their gain.
Sounds like it would make for an interesting day. I just might do that one day, soon. After all, my taxes are paying for the courthouse, so I might as well use it some.
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