It’s 1:40pm and the countdown to night court has begun. Making the most of the next 2 hours before I need to start getting ready, change my sweatpants, hoodie, & comfy shoes into a suit, & head into the belly of the beast. Will be working from 5pm-1am tonight. See you there. ✊🏻 
The transformation is near complete. Work boots are on. Out the door and on the way to court.
Pass by federal court where El Chapo is currently being tried. Every day & night on way to work. Worked there for year as a law clerk the year prior to be becoming public defender. After 1.5 years representing low-income children in special education cases.
The foreboding scaffolding tunnel walk on the block leading up to Brooklyn criminal court.
Last seconds of freedom. Till 1am. Luckier than most here. I get to walk in from position of liberty. And know that, no matter what, I’ll be walking out that front door again. That NBC van, by the way, means that there’s a “press case.” We’ll see what it is.
It begins. With Court Officer banging his hand on the wooden railing in front of the judge. Shouting: “Remain seated! Courtroom AR3 is now in session! No talking! Put your cell phones away! When you hear your name on the bench step up!”
First case up: As usual, a bogus NYPD “felony drug sale.” A 40 something Black man approached by undercover who asks client to point him to his dealer. Gets to keep 1 bag as a tip. Arrested. Faces up to 12 years. Prosecution asks for $2000 bail. Judge swiftly releases. Gets it.
Whenever there is a charge of drug sale, *I know* there’s a 99% chance it’ll be one of these “undercover buy & busts.” NYPD targets & tricks people in need instead of helping them. Cases like this client I met earlier this month:
These cases near-always swiftly get dropped to misdemeanors or below. End in no jail time. Like that client I met below. But prosecution still charge them as felonies. Still ask for bail. Judges all-too-often set it. It’s an enormous waste. What to do?
Unfortunately don’t think press alone will do it. NYT already covered in 2016 (see below). Mayor & DAs around the city need to hear from the public. Mayor can order NYPD to stand down. DAs can & should stop prosecuting altogether. Send a strong message. nytimes.com/2016/04/05/nyr…
Second case up: Prostitution misdemeanor arrest. First arrest. Another undercover bust. Released, but has to come back to court. Police confiscated everything. Asks for metro-card to get home, which our office provides. She looks terrified & tired walking out of court.
Third case: 40 y/o Black woman charged w/ misdemeanor drug possession. Stop & frisk. Prosecution offers a plea to a non-crime violation & time she already served since arrest. Case is over. BUT: Police insulated from review. $120 court surcharge. No way to waive. What happens?
2 options: 1. Ask for time to pay. If you fail to pay, warrant issues for your arrest. Face 15 days jail. 2. “Civil judgment.” Dont pay at all. But unpaid surcharge acts as a lien against your credit for 7 years. She chose option 2. All this for having a substance abuse disorder.
Next up: Another “undercover buy and bust” (see a few tweets back on first case). Prosecution again asks for $2000 bail on someone who plainly cant afford any money & shouldn’t have been charged in first place in my opinion. Judge again releases.
And now things are really picking up. Taking a break for a bit on here. Busy night. I’ll be back.
Have a moment here. Last 2 clients bail set. 1 fortunately had 5 family members in audience & looks like they’ll be able to afford it. He’ll sleep at home tonight. Other - a 19 year old - had his phone confiscated & can’t remember his mom’s number. Rikers bound. So arbitrary.
26 y/o charged with felony drug possession after what appears to be an unconstitutional car stop & search. No record. Only other case that’s open he’s returned on multiple times. Multiple family members to support him. Bail unnecessary to ensure return to court. Set anyway.
19 y/o charged w/ robbery after fight started by taxi driver who demanded he pay before destination, then lied to cover up own aggression. My clients routinely face this kind of discrimination by drivers. Until I can find his mom, he’ll be locked up on bail he can’t pay.
Part 2 of night court starting now. 1015-1am. Have 2 clients I’ll be interviewing now w/ 2 cases each. Both serious felonies. I know, the way things are going tonight, that bail will be set. Still will do everything possible for release. Now to work. Be back as soon as possible.
I’m just getting home. The last three hours of the shift was a wild blur. Of bail: $65k total set. Of high emotions. Anxiety, tears, fear from clients & family members. 6 cases. 4 clients. I won’t be able to get to sleep any time soon. So shortly, will download some more detail.
It’s always such a shock coming home to comfort & safety & freedom after spending 9+ concentrated hours on the brink of crisis & despair. Always such a guilty & uncomfortable feeling of relief knowing I’m here while my clients are on the bus to the horrors of Rikers.
Right now, I’m thinking about my client’s girlfriend, who recently started work as an aide for disabled children, crying so hard you could barely see her eyes, while their friends looked on in petrified disbelief as I told them their friend was going to Rikers on $45,000 bail.
I’m thinking about my 21 year old client, so terrified by the prospect of going back to Rikers, he couldn’t stop screaming, pacing, & cursing. I had to beg him to stay in the interview room with me while I did breathing exercises with him so he could finally see the judge.
I can feel the relief of the 38 y/o mom & nurse tech, who had never been arrested, when we 1st met. Another jailed woman was attacking her so she was held in a separate cell. No interview room, the officers had to let me in to the cell. We both sat next to each other behind bars.
She was falsely accused of 1st degree robbery for trying to help her friend while being attacked by her abuser in the hallway of her building. He wasnt even allowed to be there. He had an order of protection from another open case. *My client called the police.* Yet was arrested.
Prosecution asked for $10k bail. Judge swiftly released her & her friend. 2 of her 5 children were there along w/ another neighbor witness to offer support. They stood up to give her a hug when she was uncuffed & told to sit in front row to await paperwork. Yelled at to sit down.
I’m thinking about the 38 y/o Latino homeless man charged w/ burglary for throwing a rock thru a building door to take a package. He had been in & out of system since the 80s. “Drugs. They’ve ruined everything. I need help.” He was crying. He knew he wasn’t getting out.
Im thinking about how hard it is to argue forcefully for someone’s release when *you know* the judge has already made up his mind to jail them. In all arguments tonight I knew within seconds it was a lost cause. Have to keep on. Client deserves it & must make record for appeal.
I’m fading. Sharing these last stories over the last hour has been cathartic. Usually takes about 2 hours to let go and go to sleep. There’s so much more, but I’m hitting the wall now. Goodnight and many thanks as always for the words of encouragement and for following along.
And 5 hours later, I’m up, I’m at the “Twinkle Play Space,” watching mini-me race around, following him down the slides, pretend buying groceries, trying on cowboy costumes, flying in the spaceship. Emotional whiplash. Good morning!
