Absalom in Book Six: Trying to Hold On 2019

Today really will be talking to the void. I have one phone call to return today… a woman is furious with her ex-husband who she is certain molested her daughters when they were minors. However, this office prior to my hiring, investigated and spoke with all of the alleged victims. No charges were filed and the cases were officially closed. The children are all adults now living their own lives away from their mother and father. However the mother, certain that justice has not been done, calls us. Constantly. Demanding to talk to me. To try to give me ‘new information’ that will ‘force the case back open’. Since I started in July, she has called no less than 7 times. She called again yesterday, once again certain that she’s found the missing ingredient that we need to charge her ex-husband and ‘put him away for life!’ I don’t relish making that phone call. Especially because, as I’ve told her, if you want an investigation re-opened… speak with our Investigative Detectives, not the attorney’s office. MY involvement comes after the investigation. For instance in a different case: we had 2 girls report being molested. There is no physical evidence, but the Investigative Detectives did forensic interviews and charged the case. After listening to the interviews, I believe the girls. If we are required to take this case to court… there is a roughly 68% chance that we’ll lose because we have no “hard” evidence to offer. All we have is two girls under the age of 15 who said something happened… and the Defendant and the girls’ mother saying, “I don’t know where they get these ideas!” So… that case is tough. This other case? An ex-wife with a vendetta to re-open a case that has been closed for 4 years? I mean… I’m a Public Employee so obviously I’ll call her back, give her my time and attention, listen carefully… but… ultimately, there is very little I can do. I don’t know how many times I have to say this but (apparently in this area) I have to say it many times and loudly: IF YOU BELIEVE A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED, CALL THE POLICE; despite what Television and Movies may have you believe, Prosecutors don’t “take cases” that way and we certainly don’t have the resources to independently investigate crimes!

Other than that, though, it should be a slow-ish day. Magistrate court at 11. Mostly plea deals that aren’t what I would go with but are fair and objectively balanced. Then… as far as my schedule, nothing. Well, that isn’t technically true, I suppose. There is always calendar work to do and preparation for trials that likely won’t go forward.

Minor Political Thing:

I get that people will think I’m crazy but… I watch the news. NOT “Just Fox News” I consume the news the way someone researching The Planet might (because it is important to be genuinely informed, not just passively aware). So NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, BBC, CNN, Comedy News Programs, The NHK, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post… I do my homework. And I’ve noticed something terrible and terrifying.

We keep talking about “Two Americas” and yeah, that is easy. There are LOTS of Two Americas: Able Bodied vs Physically Disabled; Neurotypical vs. Neuroatypical, Politically Active vs. Politically Passive, Law Abiding vs. Law Breaking, Rich vs. Poor, Rural vs. Urban, Educated vs. Uneducated, Gender Conforming vs. Gender Nonconforming, and on and on and on. But the Two Americas that worries me most?

One America: Watches the President and sees him during the campaign request a hostile enemy nation interfere in our election. Watches a dozen of the President’s aides and cabinet members indicted or resigning over Secret Undisclosed Connections with the Russian Government. Watches the President terminate the head of the FBI due to “investigating Russia”. Watches the President alienate his allies, even among his cabinet, over pro-Russia decisions. Watches the President talk about withdrawing from NATO, Putin’s most heartfelt wish. Watches the President withdraw from Syria upon the request of Recep Erdoğan (something Putin specifically stated he wanted to see). Watches the President hold no less than 5 meetings with Vladimir Putin where US officials are not welcome and where no debrief of the meetings ever takes place. Watches the President dismantle elements of our Democracy that have been put in place specifically to prevent kowtowing to dictators.

The Other America: Refuses to have any genuine conversation about these problematic Trump issues because they say “Trump pisses off the people I don’t like!” They celebrate the “anger and anxiety” of their enemies, refusing to acknowledge that Trump is doing either stupid or dangerous things. They delight only in the suffering of the people they don’t like and see anything that Trump does as “worthwhile” if it “upsets libtards!” It is an immature “You’re mad, so I’m happy” mood that has feverishly coalesced into “Whatever Trump does, says, or wants; I SUPPORT” despite the fact that much of what Trump does/says/supports directly harms the United States and the very people that are supporting him. Red States tend to have more people on Food Stamps, SNAP, WICC, and Housing Assistance. Almost all of which is suspended, under funded, or shut down due to the current government shut down.

And that is the most concerning thing of all to me. We have one America saying, “Look at all these horrible things. Can we talk about this? Can we have a genuine and rational discussion about these very real, very concerning things going on?” The other America is saying, “Get over it, you Outrage Obsessed Liberal Pussies! Trump is the man! Trump is doing God’s work! You don’t like what he’s doing? GOOD! We don’t like you, so that means he’s doing great things!”

Truly frightening.

Personal Issue of No Importance:

As an individual working in Government, I have an E-Mail service that is constantly available to me. I also have a telephone service provided exclusively through my office. On days where I am the only attorney, from the hours of 10 and 1, I have two (two) secretaries who can answer the phone. The ONLY people that should be calling my cell phone during work hours are (1) telemarketers; (2) judges with anxiety; or (3) family and friends. Defense Counsel should know to call my office line for work conversations. I just received a cell phone call from a number that was not programmed into my phone. Assuming it was a telemarketer, I did not answer it. I looked the number up on reverse number searches (something I have become exceedingly skilled at due to past Telemarketer and past Defense Counsel jobs). It was a Defense Attorney that is expected at Magistrate Court. WHY ARE YOU CALLING MY CELL PHONE? CALL THE WORK LINE! Just… bit of a personal annoyance.

Second personal annoyance: Crimes of Monetary Punishment. Some crimes don’t come with jail sentences, they strictly come with fines. However, some people are career criminals who are looking at many years in prison. Because of this, they often request a jail sentence to run concurrently with their other matters in order to resolve things. Because, in their estimation, if I’m going to be in trouble for 5 crimes in 3 counties… why not do 1 prison sentence and resolve all the matters at once. From a certain point of view, it makes sense. But from our perspective, it is literally getting out of being held accountable. RANDOM Scenario to explain. Let’s say I’m in Feral County and shoot my neighbor’s dog to death. A crime carrying a $500 penalty. Then I drive to Long County where I’m recorded paying for a prostitute. A crime carrying a 2 year sentence. Then I’m finally stopped and arrested in Miami County where the police find 62 ounces of cocaine in my pockets. A crime carrying a 5 year sentence. SO I request that I plead guilty to everything and do 5 years, facing no other consequences. From our perspective… that is someone saying “I’ll admit to doing the two other things; but I’m only really being punished for the drugs.” People do this all the time and, too often, are totally allowed to do this. In other words, they go on massive crime sprees and only really face minor punishment as our systems are too crowded to give Consecutive Sentences in every case where they probably should.

That being said…

I don’t mind being a good guy when I know that I am doing the right thing.
An important sentencing hearing was scheduled for next week. The department of corrections is required to file a report before the hearing. Due to the judge’s schedule, he suddenly changed the hearing to this Friday. Well, the report hadn’t been filed and I spoke with Defense Counsel. She was upset as that report is an important part of her job and mine. She wanted a continuance but her client thought he could “outsmart the system” and get his case tossed if the report wasn’t filed. She tried to convince him that, legally, that isn’t how it works. And, honestly and technically, if the report wasn’t filed, the State (me) could recommend a much harsher sentence. So… a continuance is needed for justice to be properly served, but Defense Counsel can’t file the motion because her client is an idiot. I file the motion. I even state that a resistance is expected. Defense files a resistance claiming that the client has demanded his sentencing not be delayed (even though, technically, the sentencing is now 4 days earlier than planned). Some lawyers would get pissed about this stream of events. I can hear them now, getting red in the face and screaming about looking like an asshole professionally and looking dumb and all the stupid ego-based bullshit that gets way too many lawyers in trouble. Me? It isn’t about me. My job is to serve justice. Period. The only time I’ll get my panties in a twist is when an attorney intentionally fucks with me in a way that is clearly unethical for no reason other than to win at all costs. That shit makes me blow a gasket. But that isn’t this situation. This situation was (1) discussed ahead of time; (2) done in service to justice; (3) to try to get around a demanding idiotic Defendant; (4) who was trying to control a situation of which he was not fully aware.

So yeah… I don’t mind looking like an asshole as long as I know I’ve done everything I can to make a situation right. Is that egotistical?

So now it is the afternoon and I’m feeling… I don’t know. Somehow off. Maybe it is because I am waiting for rulings on two different motions with the same judge. Maybe it is because we’re ordering the Home Theater stuff but there is one or two things left to take care of before it is officially taken care of. Maybe it is because, for the first Wednesday since the Holidays, I don’t have anything scheduled tonight. Maybe it is because I still haven’t called back that mom that wanted me to call her. I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. But I’m just feeling… off, right now.

Well… positives and negatives :/

So the case I filed a Continuance in? That Defense requested but officially resisted because of Client? Heeeeeeeeeeere’s the thing.

Victims are often seeking forms of justice that we can’t provide. In this particular case, the victim had lived with the Defendant being subjected to Domestic Violence for six years. So she comes to this case with all 6 years of anger. Well, the case at present isn’t what she wants or thinks.

Original Charges: 12 Counts.
Count of Domestic Violence and Harassment against 6 people.
AT DEPOSITIONS (thus Under Oath) three of those people say “Nothing happened to me, I was too far away from everything to hear what was going on; but I did see him attack the other three.” SO RIGHT THERE, I AM REQUIRED TO DISMISS HALF OF THE CHARGES because three victims say “We saw what happened, we weren’t involved. I don’t know why we were considered victims.” So now I have 6 charges. Three of them are charges where, if this guy pleads guilty, I can enhance any future criminal matter that he is involved in. This is a “Future Proofing” a violent offender move. But how to get him to plea? Instead of requiring MAX sentences, which no judge would give me anyway, I offer to allow the Department of Corrections Investigator decide what punishment should be. We offer to rely upon their investigation for sentencing if he pleads to the 6 charges. He takes the deal and is released from jail until sentencing.

Primary Victim is, was, has been blind, maddening FURIOUS about the whole thing the whole time. She was furious that what started as 12 charges became 6. Because “how is he going to spend his life in prison now?!” She was furious that we did a plea deal that involved sentencing because “how is he going to spend his life in prison now?!”

She is going to be SUPER pissed when she finds out that the Investigator said, “Defendant has significant mood and drug disorders. Defendant would be best served in a Treatment Facility where better choices and healthier behaviors can be fostered.” So, we’re suggesting probation under the supervision of Required Residential Treatment. Primary victim is going to be SUPER pissed! Because that isn’t life in prison.

And I get it… but this is the frustrating part of the job. If it were up to me, I would have wanted him to serve 5 years. A judge wouldn’t have likely agreed to anything more than 4 years. 4 years Prison Time with 100 days credit for time previously served! Which, when actually being served, is only 2.5 years at most. The required treatment plan gives him 2 years. So technically, my deal got him what he likely would have served anyway but since I got him to admit to Domestic Abuse… any of his future instances of Domestic Violence are enhanceable offenses that become Felonies. While what I did may not feel the most “emotionally satisfying” to a person that is rightfully “super angry”; what I did was the most strategically intelligent and is best for any future potential victims while simultaneously acting as punishment and accountability for the criminal actions charged. In short… I get why someone would be upset; but I would also hope that they could reason. But of course I should know better. People in emotionally heightened states don’t reason through things; and the age of reason is largely dead anyway. I just hope this doesn’t swing back around and get me or the judge wicked bad publicity.


Just putting this there because… yeah. Dinesh D’souza is a jackass, always has been, but it shows where we are in the world. It is the week before a holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And a Right Wing Conspiracy Theorist who has written a book claiming that American Democrats are Nazis that also happens to be an immigrant and a person of color… is trying to slam Rosa Parks. The weird Alt-Right Bingo of Confusion on that has to be something. Like “Boo Immigrant.” “Boo POC.” “Yay slamming Black People!” “Yay pissing off libtards!” Truly… ignoring things selectively in order to focus on just the kind of hate they wanted to share at that moment.

Similarly, Cousin Asshole shared the following picture… not because he cares about Native Americans (often says “I call ‘em Indians and if they bitch, they can fuck off. We kicked their ass to extinction and never finished the job”) but because he deeply hates Muslims. In fact, a friend of his specifically said: “it makes me very angry to see a Muslim in my America.” Like… what the fuck?!

There are many problems with this meme. Obviously.
First: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments are not held on the House Floor; so false equivalence right away. The U.S. Supreme Court is a Court of Law where the judges can require, refuse, or allow just about any specific decorum they wish. Fuck, in smaller courts, I’ve seen attorneys be asked to return “properly attired” for not wearing a tie! Meanwhile, the floor of Congress is a lawmaking, voting body of individuals that have been elected to represent others. Court Room versus House Floor… if you don’t know the difference, take a civics class.
Second: Tribal Courts are a very real and very separate thing in the United States. Trust me, Native American Law is a very difficult and very tough class in Law School. Therefore, arguably the Court felt that the attire would be problematic in the same fashion that a British Judge could not wear his robe and wig to a US Supreme Court Oral Argument.
Third: Discrimination against a Native American is bad. Duh. Obviously. HOW AND WHY should prior discrimination be a reason to criticize changing a rule to stop discrimination? That is what breaks logic for me here. That is like someone standing up saying, “You said I couldn’t wear a t-shirt last year!” And the response being, “We’ve reconsidered the rule. We are now allowing t-shirts” and the response being, “BUT YOU CAN’T because you didn’t allow T-Shirts last year!” I hope that example has adequately demonstrated how bloody immature this specific response is. You’re acting like children screaming “Not fair, not fair, not fair” just because a rule was changed to be more inclusive.
Fourth: Our Constitution states specifically that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. (DIRECT Quote from the Constitution). So religious exemptions should have ALWAYS been acceptable. But we codified it because asshats didn’t embrace that theory. So now Jewish Men, Mennonites, the Amish, Sikhs, and Muslim Women (among others) can serve in the Senate without sacrificing their religious convictions.

Side Bar: And while I understand (and despise) the Red State Trump Supporting Hate Monger Uneducated anti-Muslim bullshit.... I also feel truly baffled when these “White American Christian” rejects don’t consider the consequences of their requests. Are you saying you WANT the government to pass laws that directly prohibit the free exercise of religion? So, you want a state religion? Then start doing your research on Norman Vincent Peale! Because that is the current President’s home church. Don’t like it? Want to praise God in your own way? Perhaps want to stay a person that isn’t required to go to Peale Churches every weekend? CAN’T. You were the one that wanted to make free religious expression illegal. You were the one that wanted to make State Religion enforceable. OR maybe we can embrace a world where the freedom to worship in your faith without government interference is one of the BEST THINGS America has going for it and is one of the reasons why places like Saudi Arabia and China are fucking awful? People so blinded by a fear and hate of Muslims that whether they understand it or not, advocate for laws that would directly destroy them.... that is some destructive hate!

Fifth: Kind of jumped the gun with that sidebar but… seriously… these people aren’t bitching about tradition, they aren’t bitching about rules of government, and they aren’t bitching about unfairness to Native Americans. This is ALL about “We shouldn’t be a country that allows Muslims” and the ignorance, hate, and stupidity of that is sickening, deplorable, and frustrating.

Last updated January 16, 2019