How the Covid Crisis Is Affecting and The Legal System in a BIG Way
From this article from the Atlantic – HERE
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The Constitution Is On Pause in America’s Courtrooms
Seven months into the pandemic, courts around the country are beginning to restart their criminal dockets. But the practical obstacles are staggering.
In normal times, when a serious crime occurs and a person is charged, that person is soon presented before a judge. He or she is then advised of the charges, appointed a lawyer if he or she does not already have one, and bail is determined. From there, the machinery of justice proceeds apace: Grand juries hear testimony; prosecutors obtain an indictment; a trial date is set. During the time between indictment and trial, defense counsel meet with their client to prepare, review discovery and motions, and discuss strategy and any plea offers—all crucial parts of the right to the assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Constitution.
At this point, the suspect can plead guilty, and most do. But if a defendant exercises their right to jury trial, jury selection begins, with scores of eligible jurors sent to a courtroom for voir dire, where they are asked questions by the judge and lawyers, and the pool is ultimately whittled down to the 12 people (in most jurisdictions) who will serve as the jury, plus a few alternates. Then the trial begins: Witnesses testify, lawyers examine and cross-examine them, and the jury deliberates and attempts to reach and deliver a verdict.
How impossible that all seems today. At every stage of this process, humans must be together, inside, talking for long hours at a time. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, these processes have mostly been on hold—and with them, the constitutional rights of these defendants, and the possibility of justice for the crimes at issue.
[Joshua Matz: The coronavirus is testing America’s commitment to people’s constitutional rights]
But that is beginning to change. Seven months into the pandemic, courts around the country are beginning to restart their criminal dockets. As they dip their toes into these waters, the practical obstacles are staggering. For example, is the courthouse spacious enough for jurors to socially distance? Are the courts’ technological systems capable of supporting remote testimony or deliberations? For now, many courts are consumed, understandably, by these concrete challenges. But looming in the not-too-distant future are significant legal questions, including whether the mechanisms adopted by courts to address public-health concerns are consistent with constitutional rights and principles core to the American criminal-justice system. This is completely uncharted territory. If courts get this wrong, convictions obtained pursuant to the new procedures may be unfair and vulnerable to reversal on appeal.
More to read…..
READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE ATLANTIC SITE
NOTE: This may help you in a current case to use as an appeal-able issue. We will discuss these kind of issues on upcoming calls.
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I have a question. Here about four years ago I was on my way home from work and I am state highway patrol man came up on me at a high rate of speed with his brights on . I thought he was gonna hit me in the Process of looking in my mirror I swerved a little bit and my driver side tires touch the center yellow line at this point he lights me up pulls me over in a very unsafe spot on the 2 Lane Rd. with a 45 mile an hour speed limit. He comes to my window asking for your license registration and proof insurance and he asked me why I swerved over the yellow line and I asked him why he came up on me like a jack off. He said they got a phone call saying that I was driving in a erratic manner. It was an anonymous phone call by the way. Before I could even give him my license registration and proof of insurance to Moore cruisers pull up with two officers and officers in each cruiser and at this point I’ve got six armed individuals around like surround my car with their hands on their guns like I’m some sort of freaking murderer. At this point I’m going to comply with whatever they say I don’t wanna get shot.Other than being a little tired I thought I was good I have nothing to worry about I told them they could not search my car do not consent to a search so what they did was a charge me with a Ovi and search my car anyway. They gave me a field sobriety test witch I thought I did pretty good Despite the fact that I have a bad knee I’m flat-footed bowlegged and I was tired. I guess I wobbled a little bit when I had to do the part where I stood on 1 foot with the other foot 6 inches off the ground. That and the Anonymous phone call was the only reason why they felt I was under the influence of something.They read me my rights place me in handcuffs take me down to the post where they administer a urine analysis against my will.. Watch the officer took for me with no lid no seal nothing to keep him from tampering with it out of my sight and this last I saw i. Then he’s said they searched my car and found methadone in a purse in the backseat and charged with a felony possession at this point but they released me later on that night I’d be at work at 2 AM so much my stepdad came and got me Then a few days later I get a phone call saying that the drug test came back positive for meth. .At this point the charges for the felony possession go from possession of methadone to possession of crystal meth and that’s what the inside of me for possession of crystal meth which there’s never anything written on the ticket about Crystal meth been found in my car only documentation I have of anything being found my car was methadone and there’s not a set of any kind of methadone when I went to court. Oh The store gets a lot better if you want to hear about it message me if your lawyer and you’re a good person maybe you can fill me in on a few questions I have I guess because my lawyer I think he’s sold me down the river and I thought he was a friend of mine I’m not a lawyer but don’t they have to convict you of what you were charged with the night of the arrest I know if you were a lawyer in your hearing the store you probably think that it’s embellish door just not true at all but I’ve got documentation to prove every word I said I realize at this point there’s little I can do like I said I said they they said my drug test came back + for crystalmeth I passed every drug test they give me since then I’ve been on probation for I fought the case for almost 3 years did not see the inside of a jail cell did not go to jail one time just to the post The night of the arrest.. i tought that any Attorney would be able to this case thrown completely out. Now with this COVID BS .and I’m on probation. Every thing at probation department is all screwed up. I’m not going in to see the po in person he tells me to call in once a month. He’ll let me know when I can start coming back in to see him and testing.. we’ll I’m a busy man I work crazy hrs and time goes by so fast I’ll 2 and 3 months with out calling humans when I realize it’s been that long and call he acts like it’s no big deal.. this is the same corrupt probation department that are off the wall with some dumb stuff they do their procedures and they’re totally illegal way of doing things kind of makes me nervous when they’re like yeah we just don’t care call me whenever you can like wait a minute I see that’s gone bad for me here after all this shits over with. I am ADHD I’ll keep talking and over explaining and putting things in as they pop into my head.. but if anyone is interested in my story well my broken up story that is prolly sounding like Babel at this point.. and if you think I have options as far as getting whole thing erased or at least get me out of this probation contract . Well hope everyone is as happy as that can be every day of the rest of their last fe and gets every thing they deserve out of life.
this is fairly late for us to give you any recommendation as to what to do period if this was still pretrial we might have been able to give you some tips it’s not clear here where you actually convicted or did you enter a plea? And this long story you forgot to get around to those important facts unless I miss something. I kind of got lost in the long text. But if you enter the plea you’re fairly stuck unless you’ve done advanced study at the syntax parse a grammar communications word power methods. I advise people never to carry illegal drugs in their car or have anything in their system when they’re driving period prevention is still the best medicine. Once you have that license you granted permission for many of those things that were performed. When you accept the benefit you accept the terms and conditions.
always question jurisdiction – I INVOKE THE LAWS OF THE REPUBLIC, Be quiet, say nothing.
Demand County Sheriff be present.
Will someone answer this, maybe TJ ??
Answer what?