Gayle's Bard Blog--I Crave the Law

Don't miss the current post at Gayle's Bar Blog.  This is the her post/meditation on Shakespeare's seminal dramatization of the controversies that still animate modern legal debate, the letter versus the spirit of the law.  Or to put it another way, what role if any does mercy play in our insistence upon justice.  Gayle's blog is always excellent but it's a particular must read, because she is blogging on Shylock and the famous courtroom scene.

Yaweh Is My Realtor, Here on the Third Rock from the Sun

The other day I was telling you about the "smiling drifter" who got "personal" with the Judge whom he called "Deborah" (her first name) at a preliminary hearing. Brent Arthur Wilson was in court on a case on a charge of  breaking and entering into a foreclosed and padlocked home. His "B & E" came to light whe he submitted a deed claiming ownership of the house at the county recorder's office near Polson, Montana. 

This morning the Missoulian followed up with an interesting story about the eccentric nature of the deed language the drifter, Brent Arthur Wilson utilized  It turns out that the deed mimics langugage in deeds filed previously in Bozeman, Montana purporting to be grants of real property from Yahweh.  For a "legal description" of the property (precise descriptions of location) the real estate is described as being on the  "third rock from the sun." 

Maybe my right wing pal, and sometimes commentator, "the Pope" will weigh in with insight on these type of real estate filings.  According to the Missoulian story, this deed language turns up in financial documents and at websites like: - http://www.commonwealthofyisrael.org/ and americacanbefree.com (the latter of which has been shut down.)

The smiling drifter appears to be part of the fringe, anit-government, anti-taxation group.  His interaction in court tends to corroborate this impression.  The failure to give recognition of the jurisdiction of the Judge e.g. calling her by her first name instead of "Judge" or "Your Honor," and asking about the "establishment of a trustee," are all signature attributes of that strange and anarchic worldview.

Confession Is Good for the Soul!

The guy in the picture is Tory Davis, he and buddy, Donald Martin West, II, both from Tennessee were visiting the big city.  They had pulled over just outside of the Lincoln Tunnel in their beater with tinted windows and no license plate when the New York City Port Authority Police pulled up behind them.

 According to the report in the New York Post upon questioning these two "slack jawed yokels" (as the Post calls them) promptly confessed to possessing scads of pot, guns and ammo as casually as most folks share resident addresses and dates of birth. As you can see from Mr. Davis' mugshot they have not seen as much of Broadway as they might hope to see. 

The Matrix Says, Kick Your Ass. Grandma!

The Lousiville Courier-Journal is relating the story of the 57 year old Okolona, Ky. grandmother, Sharon Ramage, who was ironing clothes in June of 2007 when a flash grenade exploded at her back door (pic of home) , the door was shattered with a 45 pound ram, and a SWAT team stormed in.  The team comprised of Lousivelle Police threw Mrs. Ramage to the ground and handcuffed her; oh yeah, they seriously re-injured her post surgical knee.  A helicopter was hovering in the sky over the house and a $300,000 armored vehicle was at the stand-by.  Why? 

No reason. 

Well, not quite, the Louisville police were looking for her son, because he had processed film at the local Wal-Mart snd it contained a non-pornographic nude image of her son, Michael Ramage with his two young sons.   By the way, Michael Ramage was nowhere to be found. 

Ultimately all charges against Michael Ramage were dropped for the simple reason that he had not committed any crime.

Why did this occur?  Well apparently, the Lousiville Police and police departments around the country use a "scoring matrix" to assess risk assessments in serving warrants, which explains why we've been seeig these ridiculous looking armored vehicles pop up all over he internet that local police are acquiring as the toys, er, tools of law enforcement.  As explained in the news account, the police are "slavishly" using these scoring matrixes to determine when to go commando, and God forbid if you're in the way, or for that matter the wrong person, they will kick your ass. 

Grandma is suing, and the U.S. District Judge has given the Louisville Police until Monday morning to submit a response to her motion for summary judgment for violating one or two of her Constitutional rights.  

Let's be rational for a second, if justice is nothing more than a computer algorithm we are in a whole lot of trouble--the great late Phillip K.Dick forecast this dystopian future in Minority Report. 

Douglas County Crime Scene Investigator On Trial for Manufacturing and Planting Evidence

The Omaha World Herald is reporting on the trial of the Douglas County, Nebraska, Chief Crime Scene Investigator.  The allegations against David Kofed are essentially that he is a corrupt cop he manufactured and planted evidence in two grisly Nebraska murder cases where apart from the evidence Koefed manufactured and planted, no physical evidence existed.

In one case, shotgun slayings of the Strocks, a Murdock, Nebraska farm couple, blood evidence planted by Officer Kofed led to the conviction and incarceration of two men: Nicholas Sampson and Mathew Livers neither of whom had anything to do with the crimes.  In a twist right out of crime novel which should send a chill down the spine of anyone who thinks that just because someone "confesses" to murder the state can comfortably execute the defendants,--Matthew Livers "confessed" and in a deal with prosecutors implicated Sampson.   Eventually the real killers:  Jessica Reid and Greg Fester of Wisconsin, both pleaded guilty and are serving life sentences!

The trial is hair-raising, and a real cautionary tale that seems to be emerging as a theme in new accounts around the country;  rogue cops, prosecutors, medical examiners, short cutting their way to nail the bandit pervert justice and take lives, libety and respect for the law.

Orly on Her Way Out?

Talking Points Memo is reporting that the California disciplinary authorities are looking at everyone's favorite "Birther" lawyer/dentist, Orly Taitz.  Apparently submitting pleadeings and motions supported by perjurious affidavits and forgeries is not ok, afterall.  Taitz was admitted to practice law in California in 2002. 

Smiling Drifter Gets Personal with the Judge

The Missoulian reports on the strange tale of teh smiling drifter, Brent Arthur Wilson who broke into an foreclosed and padlocked area home, copied information about the residence and then filed a bizarrely-worded deed with county officials claiming the residence as his own.  At his arraignment, Mr. Wilson responded to inquiries by the Judge by calling her honor,  "Deborah."  The following account is from Vince Devlin's story:

"The curious case of Brent Arthur Wilson was continued for a week, but not before he and District Court Judge Kim Christopher sparred briefly Thursday morning at an omnibus hearing.  Wilson, 53, is charged with stealing a Polson-area home in foreclosure, allegedly by breaking in, changing the locks, and filing documents with the Lake County Clerk and Recorder's Office filled with unusual language, including descriptions that explain the property is located on 'the third planet from the sun,' and that Wilson had obtained ownership through 'a valuable consideration paid by the trustee to the creator, Yahweh.'

It was quickly established at the omnibus hearing that a court-ordered mental health evaluation for Wilson that was requested by prosecutors during Wilson's arraignment has not yet taken place. But when Christopher asked Wilson if he had anything to say, the drifter, who is representing himself, asked if a trustee had been established in his case. In doing so, the first word out of his mouth was 'Deborah' - the given first name of the judge, who goes by her middle name.

'You and I don't have a personal relationship,' Christopher told him. 'You will either address me as 'the court' or 'Your Honor.'"
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The balance of Mr. Wilson's courtroom remarks, made about as much sense as the deed he filed claiming to own the property he had moved into.  Something about this smiling man puts me in mind of the characters that populate the old Frank Capra movies.  I hope he gets the help he apparently needs.  Sometimes the eccentric, are just that, harmless and eccentric.  Unfortunately, too often they turn out to be dangerous predators.

Paging Dr. Levy--Part Two

According to the Tennessean, Tennessee's Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Bruce Levy (pic, on the witness stand), who was caught with the nicely-labeled package of marijauna in his Mississippi hotel room where he was moonlighting as coroner, and as reported on, here, at Bad Lawyer,--is now being investigated for stealing drugs from the dead.   

If those allegations prove to be true, the problems for Dr. Levy and the Tennessee system of justice will be on a whole other level.  You see, Levy's credibility as an expert witness took a nosedive with his arrest on the drug possession charges, if it turns out that he was stealing drugs from the dead and persons were prosecuted based on Levy's testimony, holy frijoles...get ready for the prison doors to come flying open and the lawsuits to begin.  I imagine that a number of habeus corpus petitions were readied in law offices in and around Tennessee and come to think of it, Mississippi late this week.  Wow!

Judge Floyd, Not the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer

Juvenile Court Judge Alsion Floyd is ordering the lying sluts who accuse those nice young men who get charged with rape and sexual assault to take polygraph exams, according to Cleveland .com.  Are you saying, what?  Me too.  I stupidly thought that being a "qualified" Judge, the Honorable Judge Floyd was astute enough to assess the credibility of accusers, and would not need the assistance of testing not-otherwise-admissible in court.  Silly me.

Here's an excerpt from Rachel Dissel and Leila Atassi's story: 

"A Juvenile Court judge has ordered at least four teenage girls who were victims of sexual assault to submit to polygraph tests, baffling prosecutors and upsetting the victims.  Cuyahoga Juvenile Court Judge Alison Floyd ordered victims in separate cases to be examined after she had found their attackers delinquent, the Juvenile Court equivalent of guilty.  Floyd also ordered the teenage boys who were accused of rape and other sex crimes in those cases to undergo polygraph examinations as part of an assessment done before the teens would be sentenced.  None of the teen victims has followed the judge's order.

Floyd did not respond to three days of attempts to contact her for comment."
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The news report notes that the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court which like all courts has very little money in its budget will not pay for these polygraph exams.  And as you might imagine there is an appropriate expression of outrage from the Rape Crisis director who aptly argues that this Judge is setting these young women up for re-victimization.  Absolutely asinine!

What is this Judge thinking?

Innocence

My February 2 post on Chicago priest Father Przybylo continues to draw posts, the most recent comment was from an anonymous Catholic who suggeted that sinces it's LENT we should withdraw "judgment" of Father Przybylo and contmeplate whether there might be a false allegation.  I responded to the comment, and I won't repeat the remark I left there, if you're interested click on the link.

However I did note that this Blawg has repeatedly highlighted situations where people have not only been falsely accused of crimes, they have been convicted, incarcerated and in at least one instance executed in Texas, (see the posts relating to Cameron Todd Willingham.) 

A friend of mine is or rather I should was a school teacher here in OurTwon,a nd he was accused of "kidnapping and rape," and after endless delays and continuances, his case wen tot trial last week.  I knew "Ryan" because like me he's a veteran and like me he went to school on the GI Bill and worked his ass off while he got his degree.  During the several years prior to his indictment he earned a fantastic reputaton and was a rising star.  More charismatic, than good looking; I knew that he would attract attention from the girls, and before he obtained his teaching certificate we actually talked about the necessity of "maintaining boundaries."  When he was removed and accused, I was devastated.  I can only imagine the horror he felt; my efforts to reach him were unavailing as he disappeared off the radar.

Shortly before Ryan's trial my daughter's friend, "Sally," received a subpoena to testify for the prosecution. Sally retained the Blonde Super Lawyer to represent her, because as Sally reported to the BSL, she didn't have any information; and Ryan had always been appropriate with her even though Sally liked to talk to him after school.  When the prosecutor heard from the BSL, he decided he didn't need Sally's testimony afterall.  Last week Ryan went to trial and he was acquitted of all charges.  Ryan was actually innocent. 

Can Ryan revive his moribund teaching career?  Probably not.  It's hard for schools to reinstate even "falsely accused" former teachers in light of potential liability.  I pray my friend Ryan can make peace with this awful experience and find something deeply satisfying in life. 

In this world, all things are possible.  Do false allegations get made, get prosecuted, result in conviction, end up in incarceration?  Yep.