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Today someone asked how Court was. I responded: “It was fine. Nothing outrageous.” Then I caught myself. Everything about criminal court is outrageous. Nothing is normal about mass punishment. Part of my responsibility as a public defender is never to become blasé to injustice.
I cant remember seeing a single person in any courtroom today who wasn’t Black or Latinx (not including lawyers, court officers, program representatives, & judges). Only certain people & communities are policed. The system is racist.
People waiting for their case to be called are not allowed to sleep, eat, talk, read, use cellphones. They are forced to stare straight ahead as names are called w/ docket numbers & watch as person after person that looks like them walks up to stand before mostly white judges.
People who are jailed on Rikers are woken up abruptly at 3-4am, shackled, led onto corrections busses, then held in cells in basement of court for hours. Often they never see a judge. When they do see a judge, they hear legal jargon for 3 minutes & are shipped back.
Court officers & clerks refer to people who are jailed pretrial as “bodies” or “the body” or “productions” or “cards.” “Card” refers to the green or yellow card that follows those detained everywhere they go w corrections noting with handwritten jots their time, place, & location
Most court appearances are for nothing more than adjourning the case for prosecution to disclose more evidence. People shouldn’t have to appear on so many court dates that don’t require their presence. Jobs. Child care. Appointments. But miss & an arrest warrant likely issued.
Spend even 20 minutes in any courtroom & you’re likely to hear a guilty plea. People plea to end the punishment of the process. Get out of jail. Avoid risk of mandatory minimums. Make it all stop. 95% of all convictions come from guilty pleas. Little to do w/ guilt or innocence.
Guilty pleas don’t just mean the loss of trial. But also the insulation of police misconduct. In NYC less than 5% of felony arrests have hearings. Misdemeanors: less than .5%. Guilty pleas suppress the truth. And protect bad cops. More on this phenomenon: nytimes.com/2019/09/25/opi…
Yes. 2.3 million incarcerated. 500k jailed pretrial. 47k laws keeping people w criminal justice involvement in perpetual punishment. 4.5 million people on parole or probation. 95% of convictions come from guilty pleas. "Mass incarceration" is too narrow.
By "everyone," I assume you mean disproportionately Black & Latinx people who live only in certain neighborhoods that are over-policed, stopped & frisked & charged w/ low-level offenses, while the privileged few, incl police officers, are let off the hook.
Agreed, Nate. Sometimes we just need to stop explaining & call it what it is.
