In Game: at Richmond

[raptorcat]

It never ceased to amaze me what people chose to wear to court. My personal thinking was that if I were out on bail and charged with a felony, I would want to make my appearance the best I possibly could when standing in front of the guy who could take away my liberty. The public defenders had the toughest task when it came to advising their clients on sartorial matters. Many of them told me that no matter how hard they urged them to dress properly, they came into the courtroom looking like something the cat dragged in.

One week, I was in High Point doing guilty pleas. To bring a semblance of order to what amounted to a cattle call, the defense attorneys signed up their non-custodial clients to a court schedule, delineated by fifteen-minute increments. The public defenders, overburdened by their punishing caseload, were always harried by their clients' failure to follow instructions. One veteran assistant public defender (whom I later appointed the chief public defender for the County) rushed in with his client, who had arrived late for his allotted time. As they made their way to the front of the courtroom, I couldn't help but notice the defendant's T-shirt. It read, "Things That Make My D**k Hard," followed by an explicit list. (I won't enumerate the list, but if you are intrigued, you can see the T-shirt here: https://www.carousell.ph/p/things-make- ... 201452663/ )

Some judges consider it a mark of disrespect if the defendants don't tuck in their shirts, and make them pause to stuff them in their pants. I had long ago given up trying to impose any sense of fashion decorum on defendants, but this affront to courtroom dignity couldn't be ignored. I assumed my sternest countenance and asked the public defender if he'd seen his client's shirt. The attorney said, "I'm sorry, your Honor, I'll make him tuck in his shirt." I responded, "No, that's the least of his problems. Look at the front." The attorney threw a sidewise glance, grew pale, and said, "One moment."
He led him out into the hallway and returned with the defendant wearing the shirt inside-out. He apologized profusely for not noticing the offense earlier and said his client had come straight from work and arrived late; in the attorney's haste to get him before me, he hadn't noticed this blatant faux pas.

I accepted the defendant's guilty plea to the original charge and gave him a probationary sentence, but I warned him that I easily could have held him in contempt of court and sentenced him to thirty days in the local jail. I said, "You should give a bit more thought to your choice of apparel when you get dressed in the morning."

GO CATS!

[stevelee]

So he considered that appropriate work attire?

When I’ve been sitting through court, I’ve noted how really well dressed defendants were. I don’t think they were a higher class of criminal than in your territory, but maybe listened better to their attorneys.

In one congregation I served, many Sundays a father and his teenage son would usher. The dad was always dressed up. The son often wore a t-shirt with some sort of writing on it. (Fortunately in better taste than your defendant. Also he dressed better when he brought a lovely young lady with him, but then he sat with her and didn’t usher.) That was back in the day when they passed offering plates, and I would hand the plates to the ushers after they came forward. My reading is reasonably fast, but a lot of Sundays I didn’t get the whole shirt read in the moment I had.

[catnhat]

Worst shirt I have seen (worn by my client’s boyfriend-not the actual defendant): “If sex is a pain in the ass, roll over”

Worst shirt I’ve heard about- defendant in a neighboring county: “If I want your opinion I’ll take my d**k out of your mouth”

No, I don’t know what they were thinking. They probably weren’t thinking at all.

[JerseyLawyer]

Everyone else is thinking, "now we know why you are a defendant. . . "

[Jay Catsby]

It’s a tall task but with a win against Richmond we would move into 9th place in the A-10 standings, and be in place to avoid the opening round pillow fight (aka Fordham invitational) in Brooklyn.

[MLC67]

Back in the day, when representing the NJ Department of Corrections that advocacy included being counsel to the State Parole Board. The Three member board was charged with the responsibility of both granting and revoking parole. Because parole revocation entailed the deprivation of a person’s liberty, he had the absolute right to a due process hearing shortly after being taken into custody. The legal standard for such a hearing was within two weeks of his reincarceration. We missed our deadline by about six weeks and counting when the Parole Board was short a member and a second recused himself from this prisoner’s case, leaving the remaining member powerless to act for the entire Board.

Unhappy with this stalemate, the prisoner hired an attorney who filled a habeas petition in the trial court located in Hammonton, NJ, a backwater venue located in south Jersey. Assigned to oppose this petition, I readied my boiler plate motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction in the trial court and finally found the court house some three hours south east of Trenton for oral argument. Counsel for the aggrieved litigant had just stared his advocacy when the bailiff approached the bench and whispered in the Judge’s ear. His honor stood up abruptly and said he had to go into his chambers for a phone call, but we should continue our advocacy after his departure. After I picked my jaw off the floor, I looked across counsel table to see opposing counsel’s reaction only to hear him pick up his presentation right where he had left off, while the court reporter diligently recorded his every word. The Judge returned a few minutes later and after I stood up he listened to me for about two minutes before ruling in my favor. My thoughts upon heading back to Trenton was that I sure hoped this litigant didn’t appeal as I would be hard pressed to come up with a rationale defending an adjudication in abstentia. But also a win was a win when it came time for my annual performance review.

[MLC67]

Weird, New York Post has us as a six point favorite over Richmond. Typo? Go Cats!

[MrMac]

One is tempted to say that such far-fetched reporting is par for the course at the Post. Hamilton would be rolling over in his grave....

[JCDC]

time to go. Let's take this one.

[bagelcat]

The Richmond fight song sounds very much like the UNC fight song.

Therefore, annoying.

[MrMac]

Go Reed. Go Cats!

[bagelcat]

Matt furious at foul on Grant.
Felt King threw his head back to fool officials.

Don't know why Sean passed there but it worked out.

[MrMac]

Bailey is on.

[MrMac]

There we go with the "Scrappy Davidson Team."

[stan]

Lost ball and fouled on hand off up high because he was standing straight up.

Bend knees. Drop butt. Use shoulder, elbow and forearm to protect ball.