In Tiny Courts of New York, Abuses of Law and Power

NY Times ^ | September 25, 2006 | WILLIAM GLABERSON

[neverdem]

Broken Bench

Some of the courtrooms are not even courtrooms: tiny offices or basement rooms without a judge’s bench or jury box. Sometimes the public is not admitted, witnesses are not sworn to tell the truth, and there is no word-for-word record of the proceedings.

Nearly three-quarters of the judges are not lawyers, and many — truck drivers, sewer workers or laborers...

--snip--

A woman in Malone, N.Y., was not amused. A mother of four, she went to court in that North Country village seeking an order of protection against her husband, who the police said had choked her, kicked her in the stomach and threatened to kill her. The justice, Donald R. Roberts, a former state trooper with a high school diploma, not only refused, according to state officials, but later told the court clerk, “Every woman needs a good pounding every now and then.”

A black soldier charged in a bar fight near Fort Drum became alarmed when his accuser described him in court as “that colored man.” But the village justice, Charles A. Pennington, a boat hauler and a high school graduate, denied his objections and later convicted him. “You know,” the justice said, “I could understand if he would have called you a Negro, or he had called you a nigger.”

--snip--

Eeric D. Bailey, a 21-year-old black soldier from nearby Fort Drum, was facing a disorderly conduct charge after a tussle with a white bar bouncer. Sitting three feet from Mr. Bailey, the bouncer identified him as “that colored man.” Mr. Bailey’s jaw dropped.

The soldier, who did not have a lawyer, told the judge that the term was offensive. But Justice Pennington said that while certain other words were racist, “colored” was not. “For years we had no colored people here,” he said.

[A CA Guy]

UNIONS AND THE MOB.

[martin_fierro]

In Tiny Courts of New York, Abuses of Law and Power

And on the other end of the spectrum....

[pierrem15]

"For the nearly 75 percent of justices who are not lawyers, the only initial training is six days of state-administered classes, followed by a true-or-false test so rudimentary that the official who runs it said only one candidate since 1999 had failed. A sample question for the justices: “Town and village justices must maintain dignity, order and decorum in their courtrooms” — true or false?

The result, records and interviews show, is a second-class system of justice.

The first class — the city, county and higher courts — is familiar to anyone who has served on a jury or watched “Law & Order”: hardly perfect, but a place of law-schooled judges, support staffs and strict rules. The lower and far larger rung of town and village courts relies on part-time justices, most of them poorly paid, some without a single clerk. Those justices — two-thirds of all the state’s judges — are not required to make transcripts or tape recordings of what goes on, so it is often difficult to appeal their decisions."

The abuses are real, but I have to giggle at the pretensions of the Times that trained lawyers are the answer. The best liars and screwers of other people in the legal system are lawyers, and to every instance of abuse by the mere peon citizenry listed in this article, I can cite probably ten others in NY State of other judges and attorneys who have abused their position, railroaded people, lied, cheated and embezzeled.

Reforms, particularly the need for transcripts and restrictions on the power to jail, are probably needed. But this piece drips such condescension on ordinary people that it's a stunning portrait of what libs really think about the rest of us.

I mean, image that, someone with only a high school diploma trying to adjudicate the complexity of a traffic citation. But getting felons, welfare cheats and drug addicts to vote; well, that's a fundamental liberty.

[neverdem]

It's a good time to resurrect this thread. I had forgotten about it.

Injured Hillary Cop Silenced?

FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.

[The Mayor]

Sounds like here in WNY..

[neverdem]

UNIONS AND THE MOB.

Huh?

[FreedomCalls]

Eeric D. Bailey, a 21-year-old black soldier from nearby Fort Drum, was facing a disorderly conduct charge after a tussle with a white bar bouncer. Sitting three feet from Mr. Bailey, the bouncer identified him as “that colored man.” Mr. Bailey’s jaw dropped. The soldier, who did not have a lawyer, told the judge that the term was offensive. But Justice Pennington said that while certain other words were racist, “colored” was not.

If it is, the NAACP has to change its name. Until they do, one has to assume it's neither racist nor offensive.

[Doctor Raoul]

National Association For the Adancement of Who?

I'm sorry, but I'm sick and tired of the PC terrorists being able to drop a charge of racism based solely on "I AM offened" as a reason.

[Doctor Raoul]

Ditto for the United Negro College Fund.

[eleni121]

UNIONS AND THE MOB.
Huh?

---

why the huh? You know as well as anyone (doncha?) that it is unions and mobs that control most functions of this God forsaken state.

[A CA Guy]

I know personally that the east coast teamsters were the mob, at least when I was a child.

I haven't gone back since a kid though. Great move IMO.

[durasell]

Now it's Wall Street.

[Hong Kong Expat]

You say that like it's a bad thing. Without those guys we'd be like Mississippi or Alabama.

[neverdem]

I was grabbed by the by the story about the black soldier, and the apparent reaction by the author to the word "colored," implying that it was racist terminology. If so, how come the NAACP has not changed its name yet? It maybe archaic, but it isn't inherently racist. Various whites are called "white devils," and no one bats an eye.

[neverdem]

why the huh? You know as well as anyone (doncha?) that it is unions and mobs that control most functions of this God forsaken state.

I'll buy that argument in densely populated areas of the state, not the rural parts.

[A CA Guy]

The mob is business oriented, so if the action was somehow rural, they could be there to if it was lucrative.

[durasell]

There isn't enough money in the rural parts for them to pursue.

[neverdem]

There isn't enough money in the rural parts for them to pursue.

Neither do I recall any example in the story that hinted of mob or union influence.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[durasell]

Maybe there are secret unions upstate and the wiseguys really are legitimate businessmen...

[supercat]

The best liars and screwers of other people in the legal system are lawyers, and to every instance of abuse by the mere peon citizenry listed in this article, I can cite probably ten others in NY State of other judges and attorneys who have abused their position, railroaded people, lied, cheated and embezzeled.

It is true that having a dishonest lawyer as a judge is apt to be worse than a typical dishonest non-lawyer; on the other hand, if a judge happens to be an honest lawyer, he will be more familiar with the tricks that lawyers might attempt him than would be a typical non-lawyer, and would thus be less likely to get bamboozled.

I am reminded of James Randi's comment that the best person to evaluate the claims of a "psychic" is not a scientist, but a magician. I'd think the same principle would apply here.

[gonzo]

"...Various whites are called "white devils," and no one bats an eye..."

Personally, I prefer to be called a Honkie! It's got a nice ring to it - like cars or something.

Did I spell it right? Should I add an M-F to it? I dunno.............FRegards

[PAR35]

Most places, JP courts (or the equivalent) aren't courts of record. In most places, if you get a result you don't like, you can get a de novo trial with a real judge. Most times folks have gone to JP court because the case isn't worth the filing fees for the court of record.

[PAR35]

Personally, I prefer to be called a Honkie!

Not me. I make it clear at work that I only answer to 'Cracker'. No blue eyed devil here!

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Personally, I prefer to be called a Honkie!

Actually, The term "Honkie" or "Honky" (Ebonics spelling?) is a corruption of the word "Bohunk" which initially applied only to Bohemians, such as Hungarians and other Slavs of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.

[gas0linealley]

"I know personally that the east coast teamsters were the mob, at least when I was a child.

I haven't gone back since a kid though. Great move IMO."

This New Yorker seconds that!

[gas0linealley]

The Professor's hands take over rocking the baby's cradle when the nannie's are left behind, and when those babies take the reins of power, the Professor's interests are not forgotten.

[eleni121]

Now it's Wall Street.

---

What a hype statement to make.
Is that you Spitzer?

[eleni121]

You know as well as I the rural parts of this state resemble Appalachia back when...and have little if any clout in Albany.

Of course I was referring to the blue spots as being union aka criminally organized. And OC does not necessarily refer to the mediterranean cousins a la The Godfather (except maybe still in the Falls). Nowadays it's heavily unionized big health/education and big govt. that is corrupted to the tune of billions.

[eleni121]

I doubt that Mississippi and Alabama have drop out rates the size of New York's---to the tune of 50% in some localities.

The poverty I've seen in rural areas in Alabam and Missis pale in comparison to poverty in NYS.

I guess you haven't been around in a long time.

[neverdem]

Most places, JP courts (or the equivalent) aren't courts of record. In most places, if you get a result you don't like, you can get a de novo trial with a real judge. Most times folks have gone to JP court because the case isn't worth the filing fees for the court of record.

Thanks for the info.

[neverdem]

Nowadays it's heavily unionized big health/education and big govt. that is corrupted to the tune of billions.

What does that have to do with this story?

[eleni121]

UNIONS AND THE MOB.
Huh?


__________________________________________

That was you.

[neverdem]

"UNIONS AND THE MOB." - Someone else wrote that.

Huh? - That's what I wrote as in: "What does that have to do with this story"?

[eleni121]

You go your way and I'll go mine. Ciao.

[durasell]

Now it is Wall Street. The money is far to big for "da boys."

[Nik Naym]

"You know as well as anyone (doncha?) that it is unions and mobs that control most functions of this God forsaken state."




What planet are you from?

New York STATE is NOT NY City.

There are plenty of small towns and middle-of-no-where's in this state, and a lot of it it is hundreds of miles from that cesspool NY city.

[eleni121]

chill out----I was referring to the state policy making as mandated by Albany---which is controlled by union thuggery. And many small cities/towns around the state are hundreds of miles from NYC but are still run by rogues. It's not necessarily NYC---it's a mindset that has ruined and continue to undermine the health of this state.

BTW----
I will not respond to this thread because the posting police have deemed that it is for NYS tiny court discussion only.

[jude24]

I'll buy that argument in densely populated areas of the state, not the rural parts.

It's generally in the rural Justice Courts that the more egregious abuses of power occur.

[jude24]

the posting police have deemed that it is for NYS tiny court discussion only.

"Posting police? No, just ordinary people who think that threads should be at least rationally related to the topic of the article. "Unions" have nothing to do with corrupt small-town bureaucrats.

[Styria]

Bump for later.

[eleni121]

"Unions" have nothing to do with corrupt small-town bureaucrats. -------------------------------------------------------

You gotta be kidding...Yeah... -sarc-

[PAR35]

Some general info on small claims/jp/magistrate courts buried in here: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/legalotln/state.htm

[Godebert]

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Without those guys we'd be like Mississippi or Alabama."

You say that like it's a bad thing.