libertyjam
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- Dec 23, 2009
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Again in Fla., even more blatant than the truancy case. Vid @ link
http://www.christophercantwell.com/2014/06/03/judge-waive-speedy-trial-ill-beat-ass/
[h=1]Judge: Waive Speedy Trial, or I’ll “Beat Your Ass”[/h] [h=2]by Chris • June 3, 2014 [/h] If you’ve ever had a public defender in a criminal case, you probably plead guilty for fear of getting beaten in a trial. Yesterday in Brevard County, Florida however, a public defender got beaten at arraignment, literally. Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock in the face repeatedly, after the two exchanged words in the court room. Murphy reportedly wanted Weinstock’s client to waive his right to a speedy trial, and when he refused, the judge said “If I had a rock I’d throw it at you” and then invited him outside of the courtroom to “beat [his] ass”.
The dialogue in the court room was captured on video (below). In the video you can see Weinstock exit the court room, reportedly thinking it was just to talk. Once they got off camera, without saying a word, the judge reportedly grabbed him by the collar and began punching him in the head. You can hear the sounds of scuffle on the court room video. Two deputies broke up the melee, after which Judge Murphy returned to the bench and began hearing other cases. “I will catch my breath eventually,” Murphy said. “Man, I’m an old man.”
No arrests were made, no charges were filed, but the public defenders office said they will be reporting the incident to the Bar association. See the video below, then I’d like to riff on this a bit more…
I’m glad this happened, and it’s not because public defenders are scum who sell out their clients and deserve to get hit. They are, and they do, but that’s not the point. The point is, human beings cannot be trusted with the power that the court system is trusted with.
The constitutional right to a speedy trial outlined in the US Constitution’s sixth amendment serves an important purpose, or at least, it’s supposed to. The limitless resources of the State can be, and are, used to drag out criminal cases in such a fashion as to deplete the resources of a defendant. In many if not most criminal cases, the defendant is coerced to waive this right from the start, but it is not usually this pronounced. Your attorney will often tell you to waive it because if you don’t, it will piss off the judge and the prosecutor because it makes their lives more difficult, and that could influence a judge’s ruling on some matter, or any effort made at a plea deal.
What happened yesterday in Brevard County is a less nuanced version of exactly the same thing. Sure, you have a right to a speedy trial, but if you exercise it, the State will do violence to you. In fact, being punched in the face a couple of times, is far less violence than the threat of being locked in a cage for months or even years, or having your property taken. I’ve had numerous criminal cases over the course of my lifetime, some more deserved than others, and in every single one of them, even the cases I beat, I would rather have been punched in the face a few times, than to even go through the court proceedings.
There were no charges filed against the judge, reportedly because the public defender didn’t wish to pursue any. Try to imagine if anybody else had punched any other officer of the court. At the very least, they would be held in contempt. There is absolutely no doubt that there would have been an arrest and charges if any private person engaged in even the verbal abuse pictured in that video, much more so if it came to physical violence. It would make little difference if the victim of the assault sought not to pursue the matter, the court would charge the assailant with at a minimum, contempt and disorderly conduct. But, since it’s a judge, it’s no big deal, apparently.
-more-
http://www.christophercantwell.com/2014/06/03/judge-waive-speedy-trial-ill-beat-ass/
[h=1]Judge: Waive Speedy Trial, or I’ll “Beat Your Ass”[/h] [h=2]by Chris • June 3, 2014 [/h] If you’ve ever had a public defender in a criminal case, you probably plead guilty for fear of getting beaten in a trial. Yesterday in Brevard County, Florida however, a public defender got beaten at arraignment, literally. Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock in the face repeatedly, after the two exchanged words in the court room. Murphy reportedly wanted Weinstock’s client to waive his right to a speedy trial, and when he refused, the judge said “If I had a rock I’d throw it at you” and then invited him outside of the courtroom to “beat [his] ass”.
The dialogue in the court room was captured on video (below). In the video you can see Weinstock exit the court room, reportedly thinking it was just to talk. Once they got off camera, without saying a word, the judge reportedly grabbed him by the collar and began punching him in the head. You can hear the sounds of scuffle on the court room video. Two deputies broke up the melee, after which Judge Murphy returned to the bench and began hearing other cases. “I will catch my breath eventually,” Murphy said. “Man, I’m an old man.”
No arrests were made, no charges were filed, but the public defenders office said they will be reporting the incident to the Bar association. See the video below, then I’d like to riff on this a bit more…
I’m glad this happened, and it’s not because public defenders are scum who sell out their clients and deserve to get hit. They are, and they do, but that’s not the point. The point is, human beings cannot be trusted with the power that the court system is trusted with.
The constitutional right to a speedy trial outlined in the US Constitution’s sixth amendment serves an important purpose, or at least, it’s supposed to. The limitless resources of the State can be, and are, used to drag out criminal cases in such a fashion as to deplete the resources of a defendant. In many if not most criminal cases, the defendant is coerced to waive this right from the start, but it is not usually this pronounced. Your attorney will often tell you to waive it because if you don’t, it will piss off the judge and the prosecutor because it makes their lives more difficult, and that could influence a judge’s ruling on some matter, or any effort made at a plea deal.
What happened yesterday in Brevard County is a less nuanced version of exactly the same thing. Sure, you have a right to a speedy trial, but if you exercise it, the State will do violence to you. In fact, being punched in the face a couple of times, is far less violence than the threat of being locked in a cage for months or even years, or having your property taken. I’ve had numerous criminal cases over the course of my lifetime, some more deserved than others, and in every single one of them, even the cases I beat, I would rather have been punched in the face a few times, than to even go through the court proceedings.
There were no charges filed against the judge, reportedly because the public defender didn’t wish to pursue any. Try to imagine if anybody else had punched any other officer of the court. At the very least, they would be held in contempt. There is absolutely no doubt that there would have been an arrest and charges if any private person engaged in even the verbal abuse pictured in that video, much more so if it came to physical violence. It would make little difference if the victim of the assault sought not to pursue the matter, the court would charge the assailant with at a minimum, contempt and disorderly conduct. But, since it’s a judge, it’s no big deal, apparently.
-more-
