"Just Let Me Live My Life!"

Chicago Tribune reporter Kate Thayer's follow up to the Schaumberg Cluttered Lawn trial, evokes incredible sadness and despair at the spectacle of a pathetic and impoverished resident defending his way of survival.

"A sad and angry John Wuerffel asked jurors Thursday to just let him be while Schaumburg officials argued in an unusual trial that his property is so cluttered as to be hazardous. 'Leave my dog and me alone,'  Wuerffel, 62, said tearfully. 'Just let me live my life – what’s left of it.'

When neighbors and village employees testified that the property could attract rodents, bugs and catch fire and needed to be cleaned up, Wuerffel, acting as his own attorney, lashed back.  'What one man considers garbage, another considers treasure,'  he said, explaining that he raids garbage containers for bottles, cans and other recyclables he plans to return to other states for the 5- or 10-cent refunds. He said he cannot work due to a disability.  Jurors at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse will hear closing arguments Friday in what officials have said is the first such trial in a municipal case. Jurors must decide if Wuerffel is guilty of code violations and should be fined for his property in the 1400 block of Hampton Lane.

The village is seeking a court-ordered cleanup of the several inoperable vans in his driveway and the mounds of trash in the yard and throughout his three-bedroom home. But only the judge can issue such an order There have been two previous cleanups since 2008. After village employees explained those, Wuerffel said they'd stolen his property.

The trial, which began Thursday morning with jury selection, was interrupted several times when Associate Judge Hyman Riebman had to remind Wuerffel of the legal process. He is not eligible for a public defender because the matter is not a criminal case with jail as a possible outcome.  Wuerffel, who brought a black crow figurine to the defense table for good luck, often strayed from questioning witnesses, instead making statements of his own. He wheeled around the courtroom in an office chair and told the judge and jurors that he learned courtroom procedure by watching the O.J. Simpson case on television.

Wuerffel’s next-door neighbor for 26 years, Margy Bedyk, testified that the home he bought in 1971 only became a problem in the last four to five years.  'It’s filthy, disgusting; it smells,' she said, describing the last year as the worst.   Bedyk said she and her family have seen Wuerffel use his yard as a toilet. He began living in his yard and a van earlier this year after he was locked out of his home as part of a foreclosure process. The lock has been removed, but Wuerffel stays outside because he said the village has marked the house uninhabitable and there are no working utilities.

Public Health Officer Mary Passaglia testified that she’s been tracking the condition of the home since the court-ordered cleaning last year. She showed jurors photos of what she called the deteriorating property with mold and water damage, breaks in ceilings and clutter blocking hallways and entrances.  Fire inspector Bruce Buhrkey said the house is a hazard because the debris is combustible and passage almost impossible."
_____________________________________________
Go ahead, defend your life, it isn't easy.  I'm represented, and yet I can not defend the clutter and disgusting neglect of my life's obligations.

Schaumberg, Illinois Cluttered Lawn Case Jury Picked

A jury has been selected in the Village of Schaumberg's prosecution of the local resident with the cluttered lawn.  Here's the Chicago Tribune's account:

"Opening statements will begin this afternoon in the unusual trial-by-jury of the Schaumburg man cited for piles of clutter and garbage on his yard and inside his home.


John Wuerffel, 62, is representing himself in the case to determine if he violated several ordinances relating to the condition of his property. Attorneys have said a village ordinance has never progressed to a jury trial. The village is seeking a court order to clean up Wuerffel’s home, which contains numerous bottles, cans and other such items. It would be the third such clean-up by the village since 2008.

Wuerffel faces a fine, but his main objection is village workers taking his property and hauling it away.  Wuerffel has been living in a van on his driveway since he was locked out of his house during a foreclosure process. Although the lock has been removed, he continues to live outside because the house has no utilities. This morning, Wuerffel and village attorneys picked a 12-person jury, plus two alternate jurors, at the Rolling Meadows courthouse. He sat at the defense table with a black crow figurine, apparently a good luck charm, beside him.

He mostly asked prospective jurors if they were prejudiced against those with disabilities or long hair. Wuerffel has long hair and has said he is bipolar.  His neighbors in the 1400 block of Hampton Lane are expected to testify on behalf of the village this afternoon, and village attorneys are seeking to take the jury to see the property. The judge has yet to approve that.

Wuerffel said he will not call any witnesses, but he could testify. He is not entitled to a public defender because the matter is not a criminal case with the possibility of jail.  The trial is expected to conclude today or tomorrow."
________________________________
How sad.  This pathetic situation is another one of those circumstances that give me pause, is this the only way to intervene on behalf of Mr. Wuerffel.  Maybe? 

Acting As Your Own Lawyer, Bad Idea

Here at Bad Lawyer, I've repeatedly talked about how ill-advised it is to act as your own attorney.  This is true, not only for lay persons;  but, the advice is equally, if not more true for lawyers.  Look there is just too much at stake when you are in the courtroom--you need objective insight and detached cool.  While self-representation is not impossible to pull off as the great former Youngstown, Ohio congressman and currrent Indian Casino-spokesman, James Traficante demonstrated, well, once--unless you are as batshit crazy as Jimmy, don't do it.

KansasCity.com reports onSt. Joseph, Missouri burglary suspect, Arthur Monk, age 52.  Mr. Monk did not have the wisdom of the Bad Lawyer readily available to him, and proceeded to trial in Buchanan County having fired his public defender.   It did not go as well as Mr. Monk might have wished.  Just as a professional note, when your trial judge is named Judge Dan Kellogg you might want to stick to "your Honoor" or "Judge," calling him Kelloggs (sic) probably isn't going to endear yourself to him. 

Also when your girlfriend comes into court and says you did the crime, and testifies that you told her that you did the crime, the correct response is not to call the testimony "hearsay."  First using a legal word, gives the impression that you know-what-the-fuck you're talking about when in reality your are a complete ignoramus.  Secondly, hearsay is a doctrine that applies to out of court declarations that are offered into evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted;  and, guess what, Ace, they come in agasint you under the well-recognized "exception" called "admissions against interest."  Did you ever notice, confessions are offered at trials all the time?  You see, there are things like Rules of Evidence that a prospective trial lawyer might wish to have some capacity to properly invoke.   Another thing, when "hearsay" is offered at trial, you might want to address the truth/content other than dismissing the testimony, as "just hearsay." 

Finally, when there is a video of you committing the crime, you might want to offer some evidence challenging the proposition that the person in the video is you.

In all seriousness, I was in court the other day and a scowling young man was sitting at the lawyer's table with a veteran lawyer who had obtained the offer of a plea deal that guaranteed that this young thug--also caught on video doing the deed he was accused of doing--would after all was said and done, still be able to get out of prison sometime in his remaining reproductive years.  The young thug told the judge that he and his lawyer were not "seeing eye to eye,"  and would the court please fire the lawyer and appoint a new lawyer for him.  The judge patiently explained to the defendant, that if he, the Judge, were charged with the crime, not only would he want this lawyer to represent him, but that he would listen to the lawyer's advice.  He then continued the scheduled trial for two hours.  When last I heard, the young criminal defendant came to his senses and took the plea deal. 

Every person involved in a legal proceeding as a party is in peril in the courtroom, do not act as your lawyer--the adage is true:  the pro se litigant has a fool for a client, and a fool for a lawyer.

I Did Not Commit That Murder, Afterall I Was Too Busy Running the Country

Sometime you should shut up and let a lawyer defend you.  Kevin Wayne Dunigan, pro se (Latin for fool for a client, fool for a lawyer) on trial for murder in Sacramento, California recently explained to the jury in his closing remarks that he could not have committed the murder he was charged with because he was running the country and working on solution to global warming.  Mr. Dunigan added that President Bush did everything he was told to do, and that he hoped President Obama would work with him to solve the remaining problems of mankind.

Unfortunately, for Mr. Dunigan the DNA evidence and eyewitness testimony seem to insure that he will have to pursue his efforts for world peace and harmony from behind bars, although one would thing that he will at least get a second crack at a jury trial on the fatal stabbing charge--since, it seems pretty clear that his bizarre-style courtroom style may have caused a mistrial.

For more:  http://www.sacbee.com/crime/story/2318023.html?mi_rss=Crime