Thread by @TiffanyBond

Can I tell you about my day?

Today I was lawyer of the day for folks in custody. I had the pleasure of addressing 2 of my least favorite charges:

DIP (public drinking)

Theft, Habitual Offender, for an amount <$20

Everything I share was said in open court and public record.

I should start by saying I genuinely hate incarceration for both of these charges. It's *horrible* policy. Not only is it disproportionate and inhumane, it's an incredibly wasteful use of money.

There are functionally no services to help, they are overcapacity or nonexistent.

Side note: I happened to have a reasonable DA in a good mood today. Thank you for being (mostly) kind DA.

The DIP had no real criminal record. He is homeless. He was drinking a Natty daddy in public because he has no home to drink it in. This is extremely common and would be an incredibly easy to resolve with a pavilion or two near the waterfront. We do not have this, so jail.

He had been in jail since Monday. The proposed sentence was 48 hours, which he was going to be over by the time he was transported back to jail.

The DA agreed to dismiss the charge. This small kindness of not creating a recent conviction keeps open doors and services.

It's not always that way.

DIPs can pile up very fast and people can end up with weeks or months in jail, losing employment prospects, access to services, disrupting treatment, etc.

There were several low $ thefts today, but I'm going to hone in on one case.

It's a mom of a kid <10. Tomorrow is valentine's day. She has a long record of chronic, trivial issues...but thankfully no failures to appear.

The theft is for approximately $15.

Our bail is low in general in Maine compared to many places, but it's still beyond reach of many. This case started with $250 bail request, and the DA was willing to try PR bail (no $0) with a pre-trial contract. She will have gotten out today and have tomorrow with her son.

However, she's a habitual offender. This $15 theft might cost her up to 5 years of her life, and her child's life, because it will now be charged as a felony.

Long sentences don't fix theft, it costs taxpayers an unbelievable amount of money and it's insane policy.

We should not put anyone in jail for these low dollar thefts.

It should be a ticket, access to resources if needed, and/or community service.

Side note 2, I don't shop at WalMart in good part because of how they treat petty theft issues.

We need better laws for crimes related to poverty, addiction, and/or mental health.

Jail doesn't work.

It's expensive.

It's not proportionate to the crime.

It doesn't change these behaviors.

Let's make better policy and create actual solutions for these problems.

Fin.#

Addendum...

Almost everyone in the system seems to have a problem with these sorts of charges. For example, the CCJ doesn't seem so keen on being a treatment center for mental health care, addiction, and poverty. I get the feeling they'd much rather be focused on "bad guys".

It's really not what they went into it to do...like when I got rostered for misdemeanors before it clicked that meant nearly all HOs and immigration issues, which I still do because even though it makes me angry, that's better than it being someone who isn't angry about it.

(Being angry = recognizing it's a horrible waste of resources and not the best remedy to achieve goals)

Drilling down a bit on both of these charges.

DIP are almost all alcoholics. They aren't likely to hurt anyone but themselves. Putting them in jail doesn't make them not an alcoholic and for the many who are homeless it doesn't make them less homeless.

Jail is very expensive shared housing. Create inexpensive shared housing with services attached for there to be treatment, showers, an address to get work, etc - it's a better use of resources. We have Preble Street, but it's not enough.

Create a space where drinking in public is ok. The bars where people with money go have patios and decks, then drunks wander out. The homeless can't afford an $8 artisnal beer.

Low $ theft? Tends to fall into one or more of 3 categories - too poor for toiletries/food/socks/whatever, addiction, mental health issues. How does jail fix any of those? It is a nightmare getting anyone without insurance into treatment...actually, even with insurance.

There are often offers from the DA for bed to bed transfers...which requires there to be a bed, in a treatment program, that is a functional program, that the person has access too, so...

We should all be offended here - as citizens, as taxpayers, as humans. This isn't fixing the problems, it's making them fester. #

I had precisely one black man I helped yesterday.

Props to the Justice who listened and gave PR bail to a man with less than $40, who lives 40+ minutes away, who had a FTA for not having transportation.

Many times I have been in court that would not have been the outcome.