Liz's adventures in the justice system

[edenfalling]

I arrived at the police station at about 8:35am, was told to go upstairs and wait for Investigator H, and duly met him at about 8:40am. He is a pleasant man about my height, white and maybe thirty-five to forty-five years old. (I am terrible at judging people's ages.)

He went over what I remembered from the burglary, including a few questions like how far was I from the burglar when I saw him (about eight feet), did either of us say anything (I said something to the effect of, "What are you doing in my house?!"), could I verify that my window screen had been in my window that evening (yes, of course), could I swear that the hat had not been in the yard (it hadn't been there the day before, but I couldn't say about the evening or night), and a couple other things of that nature.

Then we went next door to Ithaca City Court, which is a very 1960s institutional-style building right on the edge of Six Mile Creek as it flows toward the Cayuga Inlet. There is a security checkpoint at the entrance, complete with baggage scanner and one of those free-standing faux doorways you walk through. The courtroom we went to was on the second floor; bathrooms were on the third floor. (The third floor, incidentally, was missing a lot of ceiling tiles, because the building is currently in the middle of a rennovation project.) Investigator H wanted me to observe court proceedings and make note of anything that struck me and/or anyone I recognized.

I recognized several people both among the lawyers and among their clients -- this is because a lot of people in town come in to the smoke shop for one reason or another -- but while there were three men who could have been my burglar, I couldn't tell you whether any one of them actually was. Investigator H said that was about what he'd expected, since I saw him so briefly in bad light fifteen months ago, but not to worry, this would not have any effect on the case. (I do not know if the suspect was, in fact, in court today; Investigator H wouldn't tell me one way or the other.)

I did not get to meet the DA, but I saw his back extensively while he and his aide sat at a table to represent the People in each case. The defense side involved at least ten different lawyers, some representing only one case, some handling three or four. There was frequent rearranging of the order in which cases came before the judge, as various clients turned out not to have arrived on time, which is apparently par for the course.

The case load involved a few drug cases, a bunch of traffic violations (some involving alcohol, some not), an assault case, a couple theft cases (one of which was also a drug case), and the odd case of a young man who apparently followed a female college student into an apartment complex, destroyed some packages with her name on them, and maybe snatched and broke her phone? He was representing himself and basically stonewalled the judge every time she asked him a question. It was an incredible display of idiocy on his part, because the judge clearly wanted to find some explanation for what had been going through his head so she could parole him instead of sending him to jail, but he just wouldn't help himself.

It was all interesting to watch, though I confess it made me feel rather cynical about the general level of common sense in my fellow human beings.

---------------

After leaving court, I did several useful things:

1. Got a haircut

2. Met RE at the smoke shop to get back the $10 I lent him on Monday

3. Ate lunch

4. Repotted my poor rootbound schefflera (aka my dwarf umbrella tree), potted some baby spider plants that had grown roots, and cut some more spider plant babies to put in water for a couple months

5. Read interviews with Ithaca's four remaining mayoral candidates (Democrat, Republican, One Ithaca party, and Independence Party/Democrat) in preparation for Tuesday's election

I feel unusually productive. :-)

Comments

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

And now you have done your civic duty!!! YEAH

[edenfalling]

Victory! \o/

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

Good work all around!

It sounds like the police station is still where it was back in the dark ages. I had to go in there once to make a report when some punk kids grabbed my purse while I was walking downtown after school. I remember it as bare and dingy, yet oddly not an uncomfortable place to be.

[edenfalling]

The police station is pretty sixties institutional too, but yeah, it gives off a surprisingly comfortable atmosphere. I didn't notice that so much in July 2010, partly because it was 5am and partly because I was very shaken up, but I remember once I got out of the room with only a bench and pre-installed handcuffs in the walls, the next office (which had a functional computer) was very normal and office-like, which was subliminally reassuring.