Baloney,she thought if they showed up without a lawyer the Judge would postpone or go easy.
They were told to get a lawyer and they didn't.
Tough.
Awww... our public edukayshin system at work...
Considering that the little miscreant was guilty (already determined, I note...and with private counsel!), the judge seems to have been the very soul of fairness.
Not arranging for a public defender in a timely manner was a further irresponsible act. And appearing in court dressed in a t-shirt is idiotic at best. If they could afford a private attorney to begin with, surely they could acquire an inexpensive dark suit as well.
Now as to whether the victims of the crimes will ever see a dime....I hesitate to speculate. I would not be optimistic.
Mistake number two was proceeding with the on-the-record hearing with the defendant claiming he didn't understand the proceeding and continuing to request an attorney and the judge barrelling along to assess the restitution despite the defendant's protests. You can bet the public defender's office, once it gets off its butt, is going to appeal this, and the judge is going to be hauled before the Judicial Review Committee. Heck, the kid may not even have to pay the restitution because the judge screwed up so badly.
Mistake number three was not recognizing the reporter.
You might be able to excuse the fundamental lack of knowledge about the law and case law, but you cannot excuse the absolute stupidity of the judge in not recognizing a reporter on the courthouse beat busily scribbling notes.
"Restitution hearings are routine and are rarely covered by the press. A reporter for the St. Petersburg Times chanced upon Elias' hearing. His mother later gave a tape recording of the proceeding to the reporter."
Sure you did. Then this:
"...when Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the bench in November 2000."
then this is thrown in:
"He had no judicial experience before his appointment."
In 2002, this is the start of a lot of crack investigative journalism. Forget any IJ on a Dim however, only Repubs are ever under scrutiny.
Oyea, estupido! Tu ozo mucho donero! $4,608.94
Bet that judge will NEVER again make that mistake when this is reversed upon appeal....
"I'm like, dang. The way they speak and the way they put their words, I don't understand!"
You gonna live here, better learn our ways son!
By his own admission he was GUILTY. Too late to whine about sentencing.
I don't suppose it occurred to him to think, "I'm like, dang. If I had stayed in school and paid attention I'd understand"
I used to work as a probation investigator, so I spent a lot of time in court. It never ceased to amaze me how ignorant of judicial system most people are.
BTW, before being too hard on this judge, it was fairly clear to me that this was a hit piece on a Jeb Bush appointment, and, as such, I'm sure there is more to this than the reporter chose to tell us.
Elias' mother, Evangeline Castillo, had hired a private attorney to hammer out a plea agreement weeks earlier. But she could not afford to retain the lawyer, Tina Dampf, any longer.In other words, you knew you wouldn't have a lawyer for this hearing, since you knew you couldn't afford the lawyer you had before. And, since you knew this, and you didn't make alternative arrangements (i.e., asking for a public defender), then the court can only interpret that you don't want a lawyer.
She figured her son would be assigned to a public defender for the restitution hearing.
"Mr. Elias, do you have a lawyer representing you in this matter?" Nielsen asked the youth at the beginning of the hearing. He said he did not.
"So, Ms. Dampf is no longer representing you in this matter, is that correct?" Nielsen asked.
Yes, Elias said.
"All right, well we're going to proceed . . . at this time," Nielsen said.
In addition, the judge asked the defendant if he had a lawyer. It is not the judge's place to advise of Miranda rights; that responsibility belongs to the arresting officer. Defendant had a lawyer, and gave her up - the reason is immaterial - it's the defendant's responsibility to replace said lawyer, and that includes asking for assistance from the court when necessary. If you don't, then that's on you.
Word of advice to the mother - never have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent; you are obviously unarmed...
On a seperate note, if the boy AND his mother didn't have enough sense to dress him properly when going before a judge then they should expect that they will not receive the best of reviews.
Didn't even have to be a suit. A decent pair of jeans and a collared shirt would be enough.
Really!? I hope she is being posecuted now. She can't legally tape that under Florida law.
Spoiled wise ass brat defendant
enabling parent who should also be forced to pay restitution for not keeping her kid in school.