Three Things Right Away in Book Six: Trying to Hold On 2019

Item One:

I am a little worried that my boss and I are currently facing our first considerable approach differences. I know it won’t explode into a big argument but I do worry that it may cause some waves for a while.

You see, even when a Defense Attorney decides to be bitchy, mean-spirited, or vindictive… if it is my first case with them… I’ll return all of their barbs with smiles. You can yell and scream and be as infantile as you like. I’ll be professional and composed and proper. In this way, the illusion is created that the Defense is unhinged, panicked, and attempting to obfuscate the truth. I consider it a brilliant opening strategy. And then the next time I deal with that attorney, I start everything closed, protective, tight lipped. The Rule Being: You have one chance to prove you can be an ethical, professional adult. If we complete a case and you have not shown me you are capable of doing that? Then you don’t get a second chance. This office is about the pursuit of justice, not “Win at any cost” and if you refuse to recognize the duty of The State to pursue justice, then I see you only as a “Win at any cost” attorney and I will not be as cooperative with someone who wishes to corrupt justice in such a manner.

There is a sex assault case I’m working. Victim stated consensual under-aged sex happened. Defendant stated consensual sex happened. That’s just where we are in the case. So, since my case is resolved through admissions, I didn’t mind Boss forming a plea deal and sending it to Defense Counsel. After all, I have other cases where we don’t have admissions and do have significantly traumatized children who did not consent to any sexual activity. That is where my focus is. Defense Counsel sent back a super bitchy response. Super bitchy. So even though it is my case, Boss wants to just crush this bitch. He has no time nor patience for my approach. He wants to use every dirty trick we’ve got to screw with this defense attorney. Clearly, I disagree. I sent back my honeyed e-mail saying (in summary) “I understand that you are working with your client’s word as fact. So are we. But while he’s telling you that he barely knows the victim, he told us that he had sex with her. Honestly, those two statements are not mutually exclusive. It would be wise to get depositions in this matter in order to make sure that all facts are sworn to before trial.”

Meanwhile, my boss is saying things like “We shouldn’t let them have any continuances or any depositions or any discovery. They didn’t file in a timely manner, she screwed up as an attorney, and then she disrespects this office. We should screw them at every turn.” AND I GET IT! I do. I really really really do. He wants to tell the community and our Board that we’re a winning office, tough on crime, and rigid in our application of justice. It makes sense. But I see justice as a diligent, tireless pursuit for the truth. NOT as a long line of convictions. And there are good reasons for both perspectives. Boss has been an attorney for 20 years. Never as a prosecutor. His entire being is focused on the Adversarial Nature of the Law. One Side versus The Other; they’ll do anything to win, we’ll do anything to win… justice is sorted by the court. I have been an attorney for 5 years. Twice as a prosecutor. My entire being is focused on the Victimizing Nature of Crime. The realization that every type of case I handle usually ends up with lifelong consequences for the victim. Justice is sorted by making sure the facts are known.

Different approaches. I just hope it doesn’t cause any actual problems.

Item Two:

I’ve never trusted the press. Ever. Even when I was doing interviews for theater and High School Swimming, I was cautious, cagey, and made damn sure any statements were exactly what I intended. I don’t know if or which of my criminal cases may hit the newspaper. I treat each one like it is being covered by the news and I prepare myself for the phone call of Random Angry Newspaper Reader every day on every case. Because while I have to understand that Granny TrashBags in Township is pissed that she read Johnny Cartheif isn’t in prison… the reality is that if we didn’t strike a plea deal keeping him out of prison, we likely would have had to dismiss the charges because if I can only take one case to court per month… I’m going to take Pervert MacPedophile to court, not Johnny Cartheif. (Post Script on that: We don’t even HAVE a trial per month. We have trial on October 22nd, and then not again until December 3rd!!)

What I don’t expect, though now maybe I should, is for the press to honestly and earnestly give a platform to any crackpot asshole who is pissed that their family or friends were convicted of a crime. THAT seems ridiculous, stupid, and inappropriate. But… apparently, that’s Small Town Journalism.

In this week’s newspaper, they published a single Letter to the Editor. This letter requires background that the letter writer did not provide and that the newspaper did not provide. I’ll provide it right now.

MONTHS ago, a business called the police. They had terminated a long-time employee who had refused to return a company credit card. The police began investigating the credit card. It was routinely still being used to provide fuel to the ex-employee’s car. He was arrested. The ex-employee was furious that after 26 years, he had been terminated by people he considered less ethical than he was. After all, he would say to anyone who would listen, these people were philanderers and adulterers who would have sex at work! Using a company credit card to fuel a company vehicle wasn’t a crime and what he did was certainly less criminal than what they did! Except… some problems to that logic. Adultery is not a crime. Having sex outside of your marriage is not a crime. Having sex at work is not a crime. Refusing to return, and then using, a Company financial device after being terminated by the company? THAT is a crime. So, while he considered his personal vehicle a “company car” while he was employed… attempting to make that same argument after he was terminated… and using company funds to fuel that vehicle after he was terminated… is a clear and obvious violation of the law. These are the facts. The man’s attorney explained to him that (as the attorney was privately retained) a trial would not likely change these facts and the man would still be found guilty. As is standard, the attorney said “We could go to trial if preferred, but I’ll need a $10,000 retainer.” This is standard because going to trial has considerable expenses and will eat no less than an entire day of trial itself. The man plead guilty and was put on probation. NO jail time.

So… now understanding those facts… we turn again to the Letter to the Editor. The man’s mother was furious that the justice system was so broken as to assume her precious child (who is 51 years old!) was guilty. She wrote a letter that took half of the newspaper page as to how the entire justice system had corruptly cooperated to conspire against her baby and how the community had NO IDEA how innocent her precious law-abiding son was.

The whole damned thing read like the kind of note you would pass in Junior High School when Becky’s best friend’s boy friend got Brenda in trouble with her parents. To be fair… some 70 or 80 year old woman whinging that her 51 year old son was convicted of a crime isn’t surprising or even that offensive. Hell, I would hope that if I was suddenly convicted of a crime and maintained my innocence that my own mother would (at the very least) be upset enough to hire me a different attorney to fight an appeal. So in this instance… going back to the junior high thing… I don’t mind that Trisha, Brenda’s best friend, is writing notes trashing Becky’s best friend’s boyfriend. It is expected. WHAT I DO MIND is that shit getting published in the paper. THAT is where I sit up a little more, take notice, and think “Okay, so these assholes are either so desperate for content or so desperate for ‘controversy’ that they’ll publish something this stupid.”

Granny can bitch all she wants. She can even put up a sign that says County Attorneys Suck and I don’t give a shit. When that shit enters the local paper of record? I’m a lot less okay with it. Even if people realize that this is just an old lady complaining that her son was rightfully convicted of a crime (which I hold no hope for), the newspaper has a responsibility to the truth. Or at least the news USED TO have a responsibility to the truth. All of that began to die starting in the late 1970s. As Television News transitioned from a “Profit Loss” model to a “Commercial Market” model, truth began to matter less than story. Who cares if it is true, it is what people want to see! This wasn’t the first time we’d seen such a turn. William Randolph Hearst certainly comes to mind (“You provide the pictures, I’ll provide the war). But there are always ebbs and flows to that and the rampant Hearst Money-Focus was rightly adjusted during television news media’s initial rise. That is, until the News Programs and Staff Changes of TV Media from 1977. People often point to CNN being the death of the Real News but it turns out, the big kick start on that was (surprisingly 60 minutes). As important as investigative journalism is (and it is!!) the requirement to come out with an interesting, compelling, easily told story (instead of simply reading the news) is where we start to see News Media turn towards entertainment. Then… shit yeah. If that was the slight turn, CNN’s 24 hour news model acted like a catalyst. You had a slow drip become a faucet. Then Fox News jumps in and starts specifically curating the news towards a specific political ideology. CNN responds by cutting deals with Time-Warner and People Magazine. Then the flood walls break. HLN, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg, FBN, CBSN, Newsmax, TheBlaze, Fusion, One America News Network, and many many more. And now news isn’t about news… now news is about sales.

Item Three:

Speaking of news, though, I do wish we had more honest and truth-focused journalists who wouldn’t just let asshole fuckery politicians say whatever the hell they want. If I hear one more batshit GOP bastard try to stare at an interviewer dead on and say “You’re mis-stating that” when the interviewer is reading from the GOD DAMNED TRANSCRIPT… I’m going to freaking lose it.

It is one thing to say, “You’re only covering this story because of your political bias.” THAT (while dumb) is still at least sane. To have someone literally read a document the White House published and then say “That’s not what was said” is just… so much… 1984, George Orwell, crazy-making, insane bullshit fuckery as to make me want to pull my hair out.

AND THEN… okay, I want to back up here to prove a point.

I did not support Barack Obama. I never voted for him. There’s some honesty. I liked him as a person. I liked him as a speaker. I liked the man. But I didn’t vote for him. Why?
Because in 2008… he didn’t have a strong political history that pointed to solid policy decisions. And I would ask everyone that was excited about Barack Obama Why are you supporting him? NONE of them said, “Because I like his policy on....” They all said “It’s time for change!” or “W. was the worst president ever, we need a democrat to fix this shit.” or “I like the idea of having a black president.” NONE of them could directly point to a specific political policy or ideology. And that bothered the fuck out of me.

SO TODAY… the local people almost literally tripping over themselves to announce their support of Trump… I ask them the same question. He’s been in office since 2017. What policy or government change has he done that you support.
Some say “The economy.” And I press them. And the response is usually, “Well, it’s true the local economy hasn’t seen much help. And the farmers haven’t had much luck. But he’s bringing back manufacturing and coal jobs, so that’s what counts.” I ask them numbers, details, specifics. I provide them with the proper numbers, details, specifics (in fact, Coal continues to hemorrhage jobs at an even faster rate and manufacturing simply moved from China to Vietnam). When faced with those facts, they laugh and ask if I believe everything CNN tells me. The irony being, my facts don’t come from CNN but it is damned obvious they believe everything Fox News tells them.
Some say “Immigration.” And there is something to that. The US has accepted fewer refugees and is fiercely attacking immigration in all forms. And honestly, sincerely, shame the fuck on us for that. If you’re worried that immigrants are criminals… making it easier to be a LEGAL and DOCUMENTED immigrant is the answer. Because if they are in the system, it is easier to find and deal with them. If you’re worried that immigrants will be bad for the economy… show me your economics degree. Because NEW BLOOD is how you get NEW IDEAS is how you get INNOVATION. Remember the incredibly technological advancements we had from the 1900s through the 1970s? A lot of that came from bringing people over from war-torn European countries and/or soviet defectors. And now? Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Asian markets are killing us in Innovation. While we release the latest iPhone 11, now with dumber camera bullshit… the Asian Markets are developing Apps and business models that can get an American Teenager a custom pair of quality shoes within 5 days. Frankly, we NEED new ideas.

So I just sit and feel stumped. Other than “I hate liberals” or “Fox News is my brain” or “I’m a billionaire that never wants to pay taxes”… I honestly can’t see why people are willing to work SO HARD to create a completely different reality just to support this man.

A Republican Senator even stated, “I have no problem with any of the president’s actions and this impeachment investigation is illegal and attempts to thwart the will of the people.” A LAW MAKER SAID THAT!
(1) You damn well should have a problem with the President’s actions. You don’t care that he has repeatedly attacked all US Intelligence Agencies? You don’t care that he actively obstructed justice in an effort to keep his friends and colleagues from jail? You don’t care that he leaked classified troop movements to the Russians? You don’t care that every time he suggests a military response (terrorists, immigration) his aides need to remind him that we can’t commit war crimes? You don’t care that he has already spent more than 200 years of presidential salaries on Golf Trips and Trump Properties… enriching himself immensely while claiming to be great for “not taking a salary?” You don’t care that he STILL hasn’t fully staffed his Presidential Cabinet? You don’t care that he has fired more White House staff in his first three years than most presidents go through in 8? You don’t care that he incessantly attacks our allies while making excuses for our enemies? You don’t care that to build his border wall, he tried to take money away from the military? You don’t care that he specifically ASKED FOR FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN OUR ELECTIONS on multiple occasions? If that’s true.. you’re not a Senator… you’re an Anarchist.
(2) The impeachment is NOT illegal. It should be noted, truthfully, that there is reason to state that the Impeachment Proceedings have not begun in the traditional, normally approved fashion. Typically, Judicial Committee recommends, the House votes, impeachment proceedings begin. That didn’t happen this time. What DID happen is that SIX DIFFERENT committees were investigating Trump impeachment level offenses, including the judicial committee. Nancy Pelosi finally got over herself enough to state that the House was moving toward impeachment investigations. SO… the investigations had already begun… those investigations would recommend impeachment or not… the House would vote on whether to impeach. SO, in other words, the investigations aren’t ILLEGAL… they were just ANNOUNCED. Which should have been fucking obvious when the President and the White House are actively interfering with subpoenas which… I’ll talk about a bit later.
(3) As far as “thwarting the will of the people.” I hear republicans say this ALL THE TIME. Constantly. Any investigation into this president is an attempt to thwart the will of the people.

Okay. Lets consider the following.
President Bill Clinton
First Term Popular Vote: 44,909,806 beating Bush by 5,805,256 votes
First Term Electoral Vote: 370 beating Bush by 202 votes
Second Term Popular Vote: 47,401,185 beating Dole by 8,203,716 votes
Second Term Electoral Vote: 379 beating Dole by 220 votes.

And yet… Bill Clinton was successfully impeached for perjury because he lied under oath about an affair.

NOW
President Donald Trump
Popular Vote: LOST THE POPULAR VOTE BY 2,868,686 VOTES (source)
Electoral Vote: 304 beating Clinton by 77 votes.

And yet… investigating impeachment for attempting to interfere in the election… is thwarting the will of the people? Are you fucking kidding me?!

Briefly on Subpoenas:

When I was a child, I was horrified that so few people cared about perjury. I repeatedly stated that honest and truthful testimony is a requirement for the process of American Justice because testimonial evidence is the cornerstone of trials. (Yeah, I was destined to be a lawyer, lol). In law school, I looked into it. How far had perjury been relegated since 1996? I looked into this in the year 2012 (so 16 years difference). Perjury is a non-issue now. We expect people to lie to serve their best interests and as attorneys we have to get around this. We can never indicate that a witness has been untruthful. They swear an oath to tell the truth and we are required to operate as though that oath matters. But we do tell the jury that each side has a personal interest and their testimony is likely influenced by that interest.

As an adult, I am horrified that so few people care about subpoenas. One of the most powerful and important things a court can do is issue a subpoena. A subpoena is an official document certified by the court to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. In other words, if someone is able to refuse a subpoena without penalty… our entire system collapses. If I cannot require testimony or evidence be produced… we have no practical form of law. Civil, Criminal, nothing. Without the ability to “call and subpoena witnesses, or require proof be produced” the State, Defendants, and Private Parties are all screwed and our courts simply act as dusty reminders of a time before Chaos.

HONEST CONVERSATION FROM JAIL LAWYER TIME:
Inmate: My girl says I hit her and we demanded depositions. What that means?
Me: It means that she will be subpoenaed to appear and give her testimony under oath.
Inmate: What if she don’t come?
Me: A few things might happen. She could be sent to jail for refusing to appear. As far as your case, they may re-schedule the depositions, dismiss, or go to trial.
Inmate: So, if I’m talking to her, not that I am but if… should I tell her to go or not?
Me: First, don’t talk with her on jail phones. They record each call and there is a no contact order in place. Second, tell her to go. It is better for her to go and change her testimony (if she wants to) then for her to skip it.

SO HEAR ME: Even my professional advice is… better to answer a subpoena and perjure yourself than to ignore a subpoena.

And yet Donald Trump and the White House have repeatedly instructed Trump associates to ignore subpoenas. Not just subpoenas to appear (though that is bad enough); but subpoenas duces tecum (which is ridiculously bad). If he were a criminal… we would have revoked his pretrial release and let him sit in jail due to interfering in the investigation. AS PRESIDENT he has sworn an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. BY INSTRUCTING PEOPLE TO IGNORE SUBPOENAS he has directly acted to countermand, ignore, and violate the Constitution of the United States.

SO WHY DOES IT SEEM THE GOP COULDN’T CARE LESS?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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