Dr. Gates and What Is Not Being Reported

When so much has been written about the Gates incident I wonder whether additional comments or points of view are going to make any difference. But consider that no news articles that I have read have done any analysis of trash talking the police. Courts have addressed this question and have almost unanimously ruled that we have a free speech right to trash talk the police. Gates committed no crime by mouthing off. Of course, in the real world we might prudently choose not to assert rights we know we have. As a white man who has had encounters with the police I will add to this debate that even if trash talking them is our right it is stupid to escalate a confrontation with an armed man acting under the color of law. The cop was wrong no doubt; Gates was imprudent.

Sad to say, the real issue is a simple and incontestable truth. Most people who pass through the criminal system are black, latino, or asians with whites being a distant minority. The reason for this can be debated but the perception it creates is suspicion of people of color and fear of them not only by the police but by anyone deemed "white" in the US. The criminal system reflects our own racism. The Gates incident stands out because of his position in society. Meanwhile voiceless, powerless people of color are hauled off to jails and prisons for marginal crimes, many of which arise out of their impoverished conditions and no one says a word.

Beyond that the police are brutal, authoritarian and downright rough in many cities and communities. Try trash talking one as a white person and experience the result. You'll be arrested and not treated too nicely and then be charged with resisting arrest, obstruction or disorderly conduct. After that it is their word vs your's. Who do you think juries believe?

Crim News of the Day: Daddy Ate My Eyes

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A Bakersfield boy will likely be blind after police say his father bit out one of his eyes and mutilated the other.

After 34-year-old Angel Vidal Mendoza Sr. allegedly attacked the boy, police say Mendoza rolled his wheelchair outside and began hacking his legs with an ax.

Four-year-old Angelo Mendoza told police, "My daddy ate my eyes."

The boy's mother was not home at the time.

Officials with Child Protective Services declined to comment on the case.

Mendoza, under $1 million bond, is charged with mayhem, torture, child cruelty and inflicting an injury to a child.

The incident happened April 28, and a hearing is set for May 20.

Accused Killer Attacks Judge

One of the irritations of being a private defense attorney is going through courthouse security several times a day. One of the few counties left that doesn't search attorneys is San Joaquin County. Week before last during a murder trial, defendant was testifying when he attacked the judge with a shank he had smuggled in from jail. Bailiffs tried to get to her aid but a Lodi detective was quicker and shot the attacker, killing him, 3 times in the chest.

Of course he didn't get his shank from an attorney. But the whole episode reminds me that we represent clients who appear normal most of the time but once in a while go into crisis mode. It is neither foreseeable nor preventable.

The judge is recovering from neck wounds.

Reorganization

I recently (about 6 months ago) reorganized my practice so I do only criminal defense now. Family Law can be a real pain, though it pays well, and my claim to expertise in immigration never led anywhere. Now the only immigration law I do consists of exploring the consequences of criminal convictions or pleas for my clients.

Hey I keep trying to post more often but life gets in the way. This summer I had 3 felony trials (1 guilty verdict, 1 hung jury and 1 acquittal) then in August health problems diverted my attention. My health now is fine but August was no fun.

Right now I am working on an appeal, and awaiting a 1st degree burglary trial on September 29. Problem is the defendant confessed to police and even led them to the stolen property. Hard to defend except that the victim was a friend who is just as low life as him. Might get mileage out of that. I like to do trials but this is a second strike case and my guy is going to get really hammered if he goes to trial and loses.

Something to think about next week. Next (I promise) my two murder cases.

Black Man Accused

This week's trial: my client is a 30 year old black man who's been in jail almost a year awaiting trial. It starts at last tomorrow. If there are any blacks to serve on his jury I haven't seen them walking the streets of this rural community. He's accused of exposing himself in public which he denies and which I think I can demonstrate is a case of mistaken identity. He's searched, then handcuffed behind the back and put in the squad car for the ride to the police station. Once there he's searched again, this time nude, and nothing turns up. Dressed up again, he's cuffed once more and taken to the squad car for the ride to the jail. At the jail he's searched a 3rd time. Nothing turns up.

So the frustrated cop goes back to the squad car and searches the back seat where he find 8.9 grams of cocaine hidden in the seat of the patrol car. Client charged with possession and possession with intent to sell. Weird, bizarre, unbelievable? None of the judges on the case so far think so. But to connect this dope to my client you have to assume that the searches didn't turn up the dope because it was so well hidden on his body. Then you have to assume that with both hands cuffed behind his back he could have retrieved the dope and hidden it in the seat of the police car.

Prosecutor wants 7 years. If we can find 12 angry men he won't get squat.

Verdict In

My child molester client is toast; the jury found him guilty on all five counts against him. Since the sentences run consecutively in this area of the (California's famous one strike sex law, that is, one strike and you're finished). His sentence could be in excess of 100 years to life. As he is 34, this is an absurd proposition. Excessive punishment? Cruel and unusual? I'll say. If he lives to be 134, he would be eligible for parole. Why not just say life without possibility of parole? A friend of mine had a similar case, more serious, and his client got 467 years to life. Does anyone wonder why we have the biggest prison population in the world?

When we finally have jailed all the "bad" guys (and I'm not supporting child molestation) who'll be left? The Bush family?

Break down the prison doors.

PC 288 Trial

I'm in trial now on a child molest case. That's penal Code § 288. Why defend a child molester? That question assumes he's guilty; the real question is did he do it. In that context my role is to see that he is treated fairly and that his due process rights are respected. Due process means simply that you can't be deprived of your freedom unless you've had notice of the charges against you and a trial by jury. After the alleged victim testified the jury wouldn't look at me anymore. Delusion: confusing the lawyer with his client.

We go into second week on Monday. The penalties have gotten outlandish in this area of the law. My client is accused of having touched a little girl's vagina. If you are over 18 and your victim 10 years or younger, new Penal Code § 288.7(b) says your minimum is 15 to life. Make that life. Sex offenders don't get paroled anymore. If they do, six months before their release date two doctors from the Department of Mental Health examine them to see if they could re-offend. Nobody gets a pass. If you did get a parole date you'd just be transferred to a state mental hospital for 8 years, renewable for life.

One of the reasons why the United States has more people in prison than any other country in the world including China. Home of the Free, Land of the Brave.

Jack's Fate, Part II

Remember Jack, one of my first subjects. Clients often come back. Jack got shot 3 times in the back by gang members, narrowly survived and was put in witness protection. No sooner than done, Jack manages to get busted again so now the DA wouldn't pay to hide him anymore. Too bad. Jack est un type bien as we say in French, a good guy, with a troubled heart. Reminds me of the title of a Fassbinder film: "Fear Grips the Soul." I hope Jack is till out there. Haven't heard from him in months.

Berzerk DA

In response to my post regarding criminal settlement offers with a high term and a probation report, I just got a 7 page single spaced letter from the DA on that case attacking me for everything I've done in the case and calling my post unethical. What BS. Any DA who can crank out a letter like that doesn't have enough to do. In criminal law we don't write a lot of letters as most interaction with the prosecution takes place in court. I guess this DA is just pissed because I got a major portion of the complaint against my client dismissed. Go pound sand.