Liberty and Equality Notwithstanding…

 

My guy hobbled down the hallway using his shiny new aluminum cane.  It’s kind of disconcerting to see a well-muscled, heavily tattooed, twenty-four year old man leaning on one of those little old lady canes they sell on the dark, depressing aisle of CVS.  He’s a millwright and had an accident at work last month.  He fell twenty-five feet into a pit, breaking his shoulder, his tailbone and a few other less important bits and pieces. 

He hopes to be released to return to work this Friday.  I’m thinking there is still a ways to go between wobbling and welding, but what do I know?  He’s anxious to get back to work because his workman’s comp hasn’t kicked in yet.  No income for the past month. 

My guy has skipped his AA meetings this week and claims he used the time to run around town getting assistance on rent and utility bills.  While I don’t question his need for financial assistance, I doubt he was keeping appointments with social service agencies between the hours of seven and nine in the evenings when he should’ve been at AA. 

What really makes this situation tight is that his girlfriend is pregnant.  She’s getting closer to her due date. I asked if his girlfriend was working.

“Is she helping with the bills?” was what I said.  ‘Pregnancy is not a disability, so is she up off her butt and making a contribution?’ was what I meant. 

“No, she’s real close to her due date,” he said.  “So she’s on Fraternity Leave.”

Fraternity Leave.  

Had there been a little less fraternity, there wouldn’t be a need for any leave!

And some things grow back.

Last Tuesday Juan Carlos had a revocation hearing. Juan skipped out on probation and I hadn't seen him in almost a year. Now we were in court to determine what was going to happen to him. When the Judge called the case, he began to go through a series of questions - formal formulaic questions to determine identity, plea and whether or not that plea was being made freely and voluntarily.

The questions are always the same and no one pays a lot of attention to them.

The Judge asked "Are you one and the same person who was placed on community supervision in this case on the 25th day of June, 2007?"

"No sir."

The assistant district attorney and I stared at each other and mouthed "Whaaa?" The court reporter's head jerked up in surprise, although her fingers never missed a beat. Juan Carlos' attorney swung around to face his client and grabbed the man's arm, as if afraid he would take off running.

The Judge, whose lips were already forming the words of his next question, sat open mouthed for half a beat. Then he asked the question again.

And again, "No sir."

The attorney appeared stricken and was obviously rethinking his assertion that the defendant was competent to stand trial.

The Judge went with the time-honored slower and louder approach. "Are you... one and the same... Juan Carlos Constancio... who was placed on community supervision in this cause... on the 25th day of June, 2007?"

"No sir. I've changed a lot since then. I've grown up and I'm not the same person I was then."



I thought the judge was going to have to call a recess. The ADA almost hurt herself trying not to laugh out loud and the defense attorney just about fainted from relief. The Judge has great control and never cracked a smile, but the court reporter and I had to avoid eye contact for the rest of the hearing in hopes of maintaining composure.

The Judge wasn't happy about it, but in the end he gave Juan Carlos another chance. Here's hoping he really has grown up.

I Like T-Shirts.

Hugh is one of the biggest guys I've ever had on my caseload. He's freakishly tall and weighs at least 350 pounds. Probably more. He is a very dark-skinned African American man who could be a character right out of the Dick Tracy comic strip. He has a soft, almost child-like voice and his face is a tiny plane on an otherwise mammoth head. Hugh is one of my best guys. He does what he's supposed to without any heavy-handed interference from me.

Last month when he came in to see me, the first thing I noticed was his crisp new t-shirt. Being a huge shirt, it had a huge O'bama '08 logo on it. It was so cool.

I was thrilled for him when I saw his shirt. This was probably one of the first time's he'd ever participated in the political process. I wanted to reach out to him and hopefully get him to open up about his experience with this election and how it differs, for him, from previous political cycles.

I was ready to listen.

Pretty excited about it, too.

Until I remembered he's serving time on a felony drug charge and can't vote even if he wanted to.

Some Days I Feel a Lot Like Jerry Springer

One of my mid-morning appointments was a girl who's been on probation for only a couple of months. She's doing very well so far - taking care of her community service and making her payments like she's supposed to. Last month she told me was having problems with the assistant manager at her job. She works at a convenience store. She'd been offered a job by a rival store for almost a dollar an hour more, but wasn't sure if she should take it.

"Take it!" I said.

This month when she reported, I noted that her employment had not changed. I asked her why.

"My boyfriend and I were separated," she said.

They were separated for most of the month of December. Turns out he works for the rival store and she knew there was no way she could work with him under those circumstances. Her current store didn't fork over any cash, but promised if she stayed, she would eventually get the assistant manager job. So she stayed.

"You said 'were separated'," I pointed out. "Are you back together now?"

They are. I asked what was causing their problems.

"He didn't want to get married," she said.

He didn't want to get married. Regardless of the fact that she had won a $300,000 gift certificate for wedding products and services that must be used within one year. Three hundred THOUSAND dollars worth of wedding. With an expiration date. And he didn't want to get married. He thinks they're taking things too fast. Wants to step back and re-evaluate. Did I mention the fact that they've already had two kids together?

Hell yeah, they were separated.

He came slinking back at the end of the month. They are communicating more now and she says things are getting better. But she gave the gift certificate to her brother who is getting married in May.

This picture has nothing to do with the story. I just wanted to post it because Live Writer makes it SO easy. It's a photo of part of the lava fields at the Valley of Fires in New Mexico. Let me know if this size works on your screen. Too big?