Domestic violence court

What I saw in domestic violence court this week was both interesting and disturbing.

I saw a defense attorney follow the assistant district attorney around staring at her butt and salivating. I saw a 17 year old drug addict mouth the word mother fucker to his father while his father testified against him. The kid was stoned as he stood before the judge, his eyes half closed and bloodshot. He swayed crazily and could barely stand.

I saw a 48 year old man accused of assaulting a female request a court appointed lawyer to handle his case.

"Do you work?" asked the judge

"No sir" he said to the female judge

"How do you earn your living?" she inquired.

"I live with my mom." He said. Pointing her out as she sat in the peanut gallery

"What does your mom do for a living?" she asks.

"She's disabled" He replies

I saw a rather muscular young lad plead guilty to assault inflicting serious injury, only to have the judge tell him she wouldn't accept his plea.

WTF!!!! I think to myself. The man's attorney, a crotchety old guy who got irate and yelled at me one time when I started laughing at him as he tried to intimidate me on a dwi case (which he plead his client guilty to after "talking" to me in private) was overjoyed.

I waited for an explanation as to why the judge did this after the man's tiny very pregnant wife told a story of how her "loving" husband beat her so badly she was put in I.C.U. for three days. This girl was sooooo small and he was soooooo big, she had to be at least eight months pregnant.

"I did the protective order hearing on this case a few weeks ago and I've never seen a woman that had been beaten so badly before" Says the judge. "I don't feel I can be fair and impartial in sentencing the defendant." Declares the Judge.

"WHAT !?!?!?!?" I think to myself. "finally a judge sees first hand the monstrosities these guys inflict on someone. And she found the beating so repugnant she can't fairly sentence him?" Hello structured sentencing! You can sentence him to the max, the minimum, or the middle. "SEND THAT ASS TO PRISON FOR A WHILE" I think to myself. Not even a question of guilt or innocence he told you he's guilty.

Any way the judge recuses the guilty verdict and reschedules the case to be heard by another judge.

The crotchety old lawyer salivates as he lowers his yellow smile to the defendant's ear and whispers not so quietly "you need to fight this. You'll go to prison if your found guilty. Your wife and unborn child need you."

My skin crawls because I know next time he will plea 'not guilty.'

I wonder what would be said if I refused to go to a domestic, because "I had been there before and knew that the guy always beats her into a bloody mess and I don't think I can be impartial." Maybe he has been telling the truth about her running into his fists all this time after all.

Laughing hysterically inside at this point because I figure it's better than crying.

I can hear the dispatchers talking to this woman on the phone as her husband bludgeons her with a rolling pin..."I'm sorry ma'am, we can no longer send any officers out to help you. They've all been there too many times and we have determined that they can no longer be impartial. If someone other than your husband beats you please call and we can possibly assist you. Have a nice day ma'am."

I watched as another girl (also pregnant) begged the judge to the charge against her boyfriend and lift the protective order that she had placed on him. In her purse she has pictures of her black eyes, and her back covered entirely in bruises, from where she curled up over her infant child to protect it while her "man" punched and kicked her severely in the back and ribs. The judge will never see the pictures though, because she agrees to dismiss the criminal charge and lift the protective order.

The girls boyfriend stands behind the defendants table with his mouth gaping open and his tongue lazily hanging halfway down to his chin. I notice he is drooling slightly. He looks about as smart as a retarded tree sloth.

They leave the court room together. About 20 seconds later the sloth and his babies mommas momma are drug back into the court room by two bailiffs. It seems babies mommas momma was none to happy about this guy getting away with beating her daughter and commenced to layeth the smack down on sloth boy in the lobby. The judge lets the sloth go and sternly shakes her finger at babies mommas momma and lets her go as well.

The judge calls a ten minute recess. I go down stairs to stretch my legs. I see a long haired, face and neck tattooed freak from court who just had a protective issue ordered against him standing at the magistrates door. I don't know what he's up to but I' sure it involves some retaliatory abuse of the system. I try to get away before he can corner me and ask me some stupid question or tell me how I can help him. I'm too slow, crap, here he comes.

"Hey man." he says as he approaches me.

"Man?" I think. "since when am I this guys drinking buddy. In the words of the famous luda "git back! git back! You don't know me like that!" I think. I smile inside. I'm due back in court in like two minutes.

"My wife just took a protective order out against me. She stole my xanax like two months ago. I tried to get a warrant but the magistrate said I had to talk to an officer and have it investigated"

His mommy is with him. He's a grown man and his mommy has to come to court with him.

"Well" says I "If you go to that window over there and tell that woman what you need someone will come to help you. I have to get back to court." I finish.

"k" he says as he and his mommy slime off and around the corner. I go back to court and sit for three more hours watching the idiocy and drama play out. I watch a woman argue with her husband about what they were arguing about the fifteenth of the prior month, in open court. The peanut gallery is laughing at the couple. Every one but them can see how ridiculous they are.

finally the A.D.A. tells me they will have to reschedule my case. They put it on a day I work night shift. "Buety" I think.

I make my get away as the judge and A.D.A. apologize for making me sit in court for the last six hours. At least the court room is air conditioned I think as I leave.

I get to my car and before I can leave I catch the eye of a guy I can only describe as a maggot. He is obviously irate over some form of perceived injustice. He strides over aggressively. Fists balled, chest sticking out, brow furrowed to the point his eyebrows have disappeared. He was in d.v. court and had a protective order issued against him. By looking at him He needs to have one out against him.

"Hey man I was just in court and my girl had a protective order issued against me!"

"O.k." I say.

"And she brought this other guy to court with her!" he says enraged.

"O.k." I say

"Why the fuck isn't he in jail?!?" the maggot demands to know.

"He was making faces at me an' shit the whole time we were in court. Tryin to punk me out!" He blares.

"O.k." I say

"Why the FUCK isn't he in jail!" maggot asks again.

"What did he do to go to jail?" I ask

"He grows weed man, fucking weed!"

"where at?" I inquire

"At his house man but the fuckin cops already came and took the shit" says maggot.

"Oooooaaaky, and they didn't arrest him?" I ask

"No man they can't fuckin find him" reports maggot

"Are there warrants on him?" I ask

"Yeah" states maggot

I refer him to the same window as mommas boy and tell him to tell her what he needs help with.

I then go to arbys with big red machine thinking I am away from the consolidated weirdos and will at least eat in peace. I get my food and sit down. Adjacent to me sits an older woman.

She looks at me and informs me that "she's been arrested for assault before, but it was all bologna. A big mistake. A mis-justice."

"That's unfortunate " I say. As I begin to choke down my dry roast beef sandwich. I can barely hear her as she continues on, telling me the specifics of her case, and what REALLY happened instead of the lies that were told about her in court.

"Neato" I think as I eat as fast as I can.

Put me in the middle of a disorderly mob duking it out.

Fun!!

Tell me about your drama

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