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There Aint No Justice 007
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*-* There Ain't No Justice *-*
*-* #07 *-*
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*-* Phoenix Modernz Inc. 908/830-8265 *-*
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-At the End of My Rope-
So far in my relating of my dealings with the law, I have pretty much stuck
with my associations with the police. Well, I have left mucking with the
police behind, and moved on to the world of legal aides, lawyers, and
judges.
First off, a few facts. Believe NOTHING that the cops tell you about your
rights. Trust the Miranda, but nothing else. The cop who told me I wasn't
entitled to a public defender until I had a court date was full of shit. In
fact, I'd still be WAITING for a court date if I hadn't gone off and gotten
a Public Defender...
This is the same cop, by the way, who told me that I had been indited back
in October. He waxed quite poletic on the length of my Grand Jury trial,
and how I'd been found guilty (in absencia, I might add). I asked him why I
hadn't been informed, and was told that I didn't need to be present... I
asked him who had acted in my defense... that he didn't have an answer to.
Cops are ignorant... about everything but donuts. And don't you forget it.
Once you've got the Public Defender, have HIM call the EFF. They won't
really want to talk to YOU, and all they ever told me to do was to have my
lawyer call them. Don't get me wrong... the EFF is a great organization;
but they are lawyers. They want to talk to other lawyers, not scared
hackers who have little to no idea how much trouble they're really in!
Anyway, on with our story...
I had been basically vegetating for a few months, when a friend took a
renewed interest in my case. He contacted a Mike Godwin via internet, and
started getting me to do something about my predicament again. Talking to
the EFF was a pretty strange sensation: my initial conversation with Mike
Godwin went something like this...
Me: Hello?
Mike: THIS IS MIKE!
Me: <pause> Hello?
Mike: This is Mike...
Me: <longer pause> Ummmm...this is Tal Meta.
Mike: This is Mike...Hello?
Needless to say, I was not encouraged by the way this conversation was
going. When I finally got him to acknowlege that I was there, and
participate in the conversation, all he really told me to do was get a
lawyer, and have the lawyer call him. Let me add, though, that the EFF is
not all knowing. Mr. Godwin was fairly certain that the whole case would be
dismissed under the speedy trial statues. Unfortunately, the state of NJ
doesn't HAVE a speedy trial statute. Maybe Massachussets does... (this
being where they are located). Don't take every word they speak as gospel
either. Afterall, unless you're paying them, they have at best an academic
interest in you. Don't go jumping for joy just because someone there tells
you you are saved.
Going down to the legal aid office to request a public defender didn't
impress me any more than talking to police dispatchers had in the past.
While friendly, the folks who worked there were uniformly ignorant, and I
was asked more than once if I was SURE that my case was still active.They
had this big list of things I needed to bring with me to request public
defense, (none of which I had been warned about on the phone) but they
never asked for anything but a copy of my arrest warrant. I guess I just
looked sufficiently poor. But to be on the safe side, bring your whole life
history along for the ride. Tax Records, returns, pay stubs for the last
three years... anything that proves you're poor. Me, I declared bankruptcy
back in 91...that was all they needed to hear.
Having been approved for Public Defense, I was eventually called in for my
first interview with the PD's investigator. The thing I have grown to hate
most in these proceedings is explaining over and over again to totally
computer illiterate people what it is that I supposedly have done. The
second thing I hate is when the very people responsible for depriving me of
my computers seem to be totally incompetent at retaining things like the
records of my arrest. I wonder sometimes what would have happened if I had
simply NEVER done anything... Would they have finally found my case when I
was sixty or something?
The day of my meeting with my public defender, I spent some time waiting in
an overly small waiting area with 5 of my fellow felons. Three were there
on various drug charges, one for assault, and the last for prostitution.
Four were alone, and one brought his Mommy. Mom wasn't allowed to do much
except sit outside with the great unwashed... so if you're over eighteen,
leave Mom at home. Nobody wants to see her. The pinnacle of the morning was
when this old geezer walks in and asks if he has a claim against his
insurance company because they cancelled his policy. The lady behind the
desk (who was a total bitch in the first place) gets all bent out of shape
trying to explain to the geezer that the public defender's office only
deals with people ACCUSED of crimes, not every Joe off the street with a
beef against someone.
I think one of the reasons my lawyer was so happy to see me is that I
represented something genuinely DIFFERENT than his normal crowd...
Anyway, I eventually got to meet the guy whom the state of New Jersey had
chosen to defend me from the charges against me. He seemed competent
enough, but he, like everyone else, has had a hard time grasping exactly
what it was charged with.As he had no access to the evidence that the
prosecution had (and had lost!) he didn't have alot to say to me. But he
accepted my story with a grain of salt and sent me on my way.
Now, the reason I stared to write this file is that my case finally started
to take off. I received one letter from Criminal Case Management informing
me that I should report for inprocessing into the Pre-Trial Intervention
Program; a New Jersey program designed to give first time offenders a
"second chance", by allowing you to be put directly on probation without
going through a trial. You can plead not-guilty, serve a 1 year probation,
and then have the case DROPPED... you get your equipment back, and the only
thing your criminal record contains is a note to the effect that you've
used up your one shot at a PTI.
However, when I called my lawyer, he informed me that he had moved for a
probable cause hearing, which, if I won that, would have my case dismissed
wholesale. However, no sooner do I get off work early to go to this, then I
get a phonecall from the lawyer telling me not to show up because the
prosecutor has moved for an adjournment. What this means, my lawyer
explained, was that the prosecutor's office suddenly realized that they had
no witnesses, and were thus unprepared to demonstrate in court why this
farce should continue any longer.
My lawyer felt all this was a good thing, as it meant that my chances for a
dismissal had climbed. He sees no case, I have no idea what they EVER saw,
and now the prosecutor is forced to grasp at straws. My lawyer is also
currently looking to cut a deal with U.S. Sprint whereby they drop all
charges, and I agree not to scan their exchanges anymore. Its amendable to
me... after all, there are dozens of other companies to fuck with!
In any case, this concludes yet another chapter in our neverending battle
with the forces of law and justice. I'm in the mood for something different
for awhile... so expect the next file to be... obtuse!
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