Court has been postponed once again.
Jonas arrived shortly before 9am at District Court 1. I arrived shortly after. Clare joined Jonas near the back of the court room. Another supporter and a reporter entered next. The woman bailiff was kinder than the one there at the previous court date. She asked everyone to put their cell phones on vibrate and then went around to make sure no one needed anything. The other lady told you to shut your phone off and didn't care if anyone had any questions.
After the defendants started making their pleas, two other people, there to support Jonas, walked in the court room. We all watched with pity as some mousy disabled man was handcuffed and forced to walk past the leering crowd twice. I'm not sure what his charge was, I could not hear very well in the back of the room. Next time I will sit closer. Clare, wanting to hear better, moved closer to the front.
Once again, Jonas' charge was the most ridiculous on the docket. Of course that is our opinion. I'm sure many others there thought their charge was ridiculous as well.
At after 10, his lawyer had not arrived yet. But when he walked in, his was the next case heard. At this point, the DA tells them that the officer (not sure if he was talking about Crisp, Riddle or both) called in sick. That's right, he (they?) called in sick to court. If Jonas had been sick, it would have been considered a "failure to appear". If a civilian plaintiff had done that, the case would have been dropped.
I question if they were truly sick, or if this is some sort of tactic.
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At this point, the DA tells them that the officer (not sure if he was talking about Crisp, Riddle or both) called in sick. That's right, he (they?) called in sick to court. If Jonas had been sick, it would have been considered a "failure to appear". If a civilian plaintiff had done that, the case would have been dropped.
Yup, that's the fukked-up system for ya. False arrests are made and bogus charges are brought against citizens by unlawful law enforcement officials. There are unfair, disproportionate risks and consequences for the citizens in these cases. All we have to do is compare the resources used by each side; a citizen's personal funds vs. unlawful law enforcement officials' taxpayer funded salaries; a disruption of the citizen's personal life (time off work for court dates, complying with bond order, etc) vs. unlawful law enforcement officials' just another day at the office.
Sure, the system allows us to countersue as a means of seeking justice. But, again, it's unfair because that process would be at the citizen's expense. And, if unsucessful, citizen loses.
In Jonas' case and those like his, what is at risk for the unlawful law enforcement officials if the truth trumps their lies and they lose the case? Certainly not a jail sentance or fines.
And what is at risk for the citizen? Jail time, fines, etc?
I sure hope you win your struggle!
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