Some things
WTF, work? So the filter on the network is now blocking Dreamwidth as a "social networking" site. But not LJ. Idek.
Fuck youuuu A case I had today had to be postponed, because the county that's holding the defendant in jail didn't bring him. Judge Super Bitch (several of you have heard me complain about her before) picked out the new court date before we even called the case, and then she asked me if the date was okay. I said no, actually, it's not because I will be out of the state that week. She basically told me she didn't care, and to figure it out. For those not aware: yes, this is atypical behavior for normal judges, who recognize that they can't just pick dates at random without consulting the attorneys. This is unfortunately not atypical for Judge Super Bitch, who is as her pseudonym indicates a super bitch.
Fuck this guy too A defense attorney who I will call Jim (not even close to his real name) had his client take a plea on a gun case in the district court, then appealed. In this state, an appeal from the district court means you get a brand new trial in the circuit court. (Yes, this is a stupid and redundant system.) I could see from the file this is what happened, because several of the charges had been dropped (as frequently happens for a plea) and also one of the witnesses and the prosecutor in district court told me so. I assumed this wasn't a true case of a new trial- usually if you take a plea in district court you only appeal it to quibble over sentence, not because you really want a trial. But just in case, I prepared a motion asking the judge to reinstate the charges that were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement.
We get into court and Jim immediately starts blustering that he wants a trial, blah blah. Surprised, I ask why he pled guilty. He says there was no plea, it was a trial. I say, that's funny because the ASA in district said it was a plea. Jim says it wasn't, in fact he went and filed the appeal himself that same day. I know that this is a total lie, because the paperwork in the court file shows that the defendant filed the appeal himself two days after the plea- along with paperwork alleging that he was too poor to pay the appeal fee or for a lawyer. (Jim is a privately retained attorney, not a public defender.) I ask why, if it was a trial, did the ASA dismiss some of the most serious charges against his client? He can't explain that one.
When I call the case we go up and talk to the judge. I explain that the attorneys disagree about what happened, and that this posed a problem for me because I wanted to file this motion to reopen the charges, which I can only do if they were dismissed as part of the plea, not for another reason. Jim protests and says he's never had that happen, but I've known this case law since I was a baby prosecutor- so either Jim is stupid, or he's lying about that too. I say I want a postponement so we can pull the tape from district court and see what happened. But here's the clincher...this is how I know Jim is not just misremembering, but lying. We have a short break while the judge reviews the case law I cite in my motion, and then talk again. And now, as it becomes clear that the judge is seriously considering my motion and may end up hearing the irrefutable evidence that Jim is lying, Jim starts to backpedal. He says his partner "refreshed his memorY" and he now says "oh yes, I think something like that happened."
But he's still hedging. He said he doesn't think it was clear that it was a guilty plea, it was somewhere halfway between a plea and a trial (wtf does that mean?). He also claims that the defendant didn't get any benefit because the sentence wasn't agreed on, as if getting a bunch of charges with higher penalties dropped isn't a benefit. (As if whether you made a contractual agreement or not depends on how good a deal the contract was. Fucking contracts 101! People make dumb agreements all the time, it doesn't mean they weren't agreements!) So the judge postpones the case so he can hear the tape.
I listened to it yesterday. Guess what? Jim is a fucking liar. It's crystal clear on the tape, Jim himself saying what the agreement is, the discussion up front about the charges being dropped as part of the plea, and the statement that there's no agreement on the sentence, the State is asking for 3 years and the defense is free to argue for less. (Not standard in guilty pleas, but not uncommon enough to be remarkable.) Of course, as is the way with attorneys, we'll all pretend Jim wasn't lying, because we can't absolutely prove it. But I know, and I hope the judge knows, that he was fucking lying. I definitely made sure the rest of my colleagues know. There's not a lot you can do about sleazy lawyers unless you actually catch them breaking the law and can prove it, but I think it's important that these people get the reputation they deserve, so at the very least my fellow ASAs know to be on their guard against their dirty tricks.
Noncon vampire porn I'm so fucking stuck, you have no idea. Idek want to talk about it.
I can't wait for the 17th I need this fucking vacation SO BAD.
Fuck youuuu A case I had today had to be postponed, because the county that's holding the defendant in jail didn't bring him. Judge Super Bitch (several of you have heard me complain about her before) picked out the new court date before we even called the case, and then she asked me if the date was okay. I said no, actually, it's not because I will be out of the state that week. She basically told me she didn't care, and to figure it out. For those not aware: yes, this is atypical behavior for normal judges, who recognize that they can't just pick dates at random without consulting the attorneys. This is unfortunately not atypical for Judge Super Bitch, who is as her pseudonym indicates a super bitch.
Fuck this guy too A defense attorney who I will call Jim (not even close to his real name) had his client take a plea on a gun case in the district court, then appealed. In this state, an appeal from the district court means you get a brand new trial in the circuit court. (Yes, this is a stupid and redundant system.) I could see from the file this is what happened, because several of the charges had been dropped (as frequently happens for a plea) and also one of the witnesses and the prosecutor in district court told me so. I assumed this wasn't a true case of a new trial- usually if you take a plea in district court you only appeal it to quibble over sentence, not because you really want a trial. But just in case, I prepared a motion asking the judge to reinstate the charges that were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement.
We get into court and Jim immediately starts blustering that he wants a trial, blah blah. Surprised, I ask why he pled guilty. He says there was no plea, it was a trial. I say, that's funny because the ASA in district said it was a plea. Jim says it wasn't, in fact he went and filed the appeal himself that same day. I know that this is a total lie, because the paperwork in the court file shows that the defendant filed the appeal himself two days after the plea- along with paperwork alleging that he was too poor to pay the appeal fee or for a lawyer. (Jim is a privately retained attorney, not a public defender.) I ask why, if it was a trial, did the ASA dismiss some of the most serious charges against his client? He can't explain that one.
When I call the case we go up and talk to the judge. I explain that the attorneys disagree about what happened, and that this posed a problem for me because I wanted to file this motion to reopen the charges, which I can only do if they were dismissed as part of the plea, not for another reason. Jim protests and says he's never had that happen, but I've known this case law since I was a baby prosecutor- so either Jim is stupid, or he's lying about that too. I say I want a postponement so we can pull the tape from district court and see what happened. But here's the clincher...this is how I know Jim is not just misremembering, but lying. We have a short break while the judge reviews the case law I cite in my motion, and then talk again. And now, as it becomes clear that the judge is seriously considering my motion and may end up hearing the irrefutable evidence that Jim is lying, Jim starts to backpedal. He says his partner "refreshed his memorY" and he now says "oh yes, I think something like that happened."
But he's still hedging. He said he doesn't think it was clear that it was a guilty plea, it was somewhere halfway between a plea and a trial (wtf does that mean?). He also claims that the defendant didn't get any benefit because the sentence wasn't agreed on, as if getting a bunch of charges with higher penalties dropped isn't a benefit. (As if whether you made a contractual agreement or not depends on how good a deal the contract was. Fucking contracts 101! People make dumb agreements all the time, it doesn't mean they weren't agreements!) So the judge postpones the case so he can hear the tape.
I listened to it yesterday. Guess what? Jim is a fucking liar. It's crystal clear on the tape, Jim himself saying what the agreement is, the discussion up front about the charges being dropped as part of the plea, and the statement that there's no agreement on the sentence, the State is asking for 3 years and the defense is free to argue for less. (Not standard in guilty pleas, but not uncommon enough to be remarkable.) Of course, as is the way with attorneys, we'll all pretend Jim wasn't lying, because we can't absolutely prove it. But I know, and I hope the judge knows, that he was fucking lying. I definitely made sure the rest of my colleagues know. There's not a lot you can do about sleazy lawyers unless you actually catch them breaking the law and can prove it, but I think it's important that these people get the reputation they deserve, so at the very least my fellow ASAs know to be on their guard against their dirty tricks.
Noncon vampire porn I'm so fucking stuck, you have no idea. Idek want to talk about it.
I can't wait for the 17th I need this fucking vacation SO BAD.