156 lines
8.3 KiB
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156 lines
8.3 KiB
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO oOOOO OOOO. OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" .OOOOOO OOOOOo OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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OOOO oOOOOOOO OOOOOOO. OOOO oOOOO
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OOOO .OOOO OOOO OOOOOOOOo OOOO OOOO"
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OOOO oOOOO OOOO OOOO "OOOO. OOOO OOOOo .OOOO'
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OOOO .OOOO" OOOO OOOO OOOOoOOOO "OOOO. oOOOO
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OOOO oOOOOOOO..OOOO OOOO "OOOOOOO OOOOoOOOO"
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OOOO .OOOO"""OOOOOOOO OOOO OOOOOO "OOOOOOO'
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OOOO oOOOO ""OOOO OOOO "OOOO OOOOOO
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|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| There Ain't No Justice |
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| #37 |
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- Adjourned Again, Naturally... -
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by Tal Meta
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When last we left our story, my case had been adjourned because the Ocean
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County Prosecutor's office realized they had no evidence. What happened
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next is the stuff of sitcoms...
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Two weeks go by. I receive another letter telling me to appear in court on
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such-and-such a date for my probable cause hearing. So I take yet another
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half day off work and go downtown to the courthouse. I sit outside the
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courtroom for about an hour, waiting for my PD to appear. Finally, during a
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break, one of the Prosecutors informs me that he is in another trial, and
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has moved for the case to be adjourned. So I depart the courthouse, and
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journey on over to the PD's office to confirm this fact. They, of course,
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know nothing about it, and tell me that my lawyer SHOULD have met me at the
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appointed time and place. So I wander over to Criminal Case Scheduling to
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see if THEY know anything about it. They direct me to a courtroom in
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another part of the complex where my lawyer is supposedly in trial, where I
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can ask him what the deal is.
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So, I find that courtroom and begin the process of cooling my heels again.
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Two hours later, the case he's in breaks for a few minutes, and I get a
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chance to talk to him about my case. He tells me that U.S. Sprint has
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entered some new evidence into the proceedings, and that he wants me to go
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over it with him. We make arrangements to meet, and I depart.
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Two weeks later, I get another notice to appear. Wishing to meet with my
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attourney, I attempt to contact him about going over the evidence. It never
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gets arranged. So I show up for court, blind as usual, and am greeted with
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the news that my case has at long last been remanded back to the Municipal
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Court. Uncertain of exactly what this means, I drag myself over to the PD's
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Office and quiz the secretary as to whether this is good or bad. She says
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it is very good, as it means that the Prosecutor's Office feels that there
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is no cause to indite me on any of the charges. What this really means, I
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was soon to learn, is that I lose my Public Defender and a right to a trial
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by jury.
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Time passes. Confidant that everything is again "right" with the world, I
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begin once again to quiz my police contacts on the actual location of my
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computer equipment, with an eye towards receiving it all back someday.
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They inform me that it is all safe and sound in their evidence locker at
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the station, and that all they await is word from the court to release it
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to me. Oh, Joy. Eventually, I get a notice to appear in Municipal Court
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for a hearing on the matter.
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Of course, now it is no longer the State of New Jersey vs. Tal Meta, its
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John Anninos of U.S. Sprint vs. Tal Meta. Mr. Anninos fails to appear,
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resulting in yet another adjournment. I try to push for a dismissal of the
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charges on the grounds that Johnny Boy has failed to show again, but the
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court clerk produces a letter from my archnemesis indicating that he is off
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in a Superior Court trial somewhere. I am also informed that since I have
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a job (even though more than half my salary goes towards paying rent, and
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the rest is barely enough to keep the lights, car, and food supply running)
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that I do not meet the requirements for a Public Defender. So, after doing
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a little research into how much a real lawyer would shill me for, I make
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the giant leap of faith and decide to at least ATTEMPT to defend myself.
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So, taking all of my previous experience in hand, I remember that my
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previous shyster had mentioned once about the right of "discovery". What
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this means basically is that the Prosecution has to provide the Defense
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with the sum total of its evidence against the felon. I reason (quite
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correctly) that if I decide to represent myself, then I qualify for those
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same rights. So I phone the Courthouse, and am informed that I do indeed
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have that right, and that all I need do is contact the police department
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and that they will give me everything I need.
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So, once again I find myself in the tiny hallway that abutts the Police
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Dispatcher's cubicle. The latest version of this lower lifeform is female,
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and after a bit of calm, reasoned explaination on my part, passes the buck
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to someone more intelligent. Another officer appears, and informs me that
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for the cost of a mere $5, I can have all the copies of all the evidence I
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want. So I send her off in search of my file.
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Now, I should mention that during the course of my adventures, the Seaside
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Hts. Police Detectives branch has been done away with. The detective who
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arrested me is now a lowly patrolman again, as is his partner. So I guess
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it took the officer helping me awhile to unlock the vault containing all
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the cases they'd handled inside the now-defunct detective's office. She
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finally apears with a few pages of photocopies, which she lets me just have
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as she didn't have change of a $20.
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Wishing to examine this evidence in comfort, I retreat back out to my car
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to read it. After about 3 minutes of scanning the material, I realize that
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it contains nothing except police reports, interoffice memos concerning my
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case, and property lists. No "evidence" of any kind. Uh-uh. Nope. Sorry. So
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I go back in, and ask to speak to the officer who was helping me before,
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who, I am informed, is, (of course), no longer on the premises. So another
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officer tells me to come back the next day and speak to the former
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detective about the rest of the paperwork.
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Well, as I am leaving, I am hailed by a friend of the family, who also
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happens to be the Police Commissioner. Who should he happen to be speaking
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to but the very officer I had been dealing with not 10 minutes before. Now,
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once she sees that the Commish and I are friends, she renews her interest
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in helping me find what I need. In the end though, I am told once more to
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return the next day.
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That brings us up to tonight. I had originally hoped to bring this "series"
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to an end with this file, but it seems that I have battles yet to fight.
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The title of this file is apt, I think, for in the end, everything is
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adjourned again, naturally...
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----
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Music by Gilbert O'Sullivan
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Words and (if you'll call them that)
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Scansion by Tal Meta
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(To the tune of Alone Again, Naturally)
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----
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In a little while from now,
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when the prosecution rests its case,
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I imagine I'll find that I've come a long way,
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simply to lose it all.
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After coming and going insane,
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to try and try to regain,
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Just a measure ofthe security and the peace that I once did know...
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Left standing in the court,
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with the sweat pouring under my shirt,
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And the judge he say, to come back another day,
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because the prosecution hasn't a case, yet!
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Adjourned Again, Naturally!
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[>> -also- <<]
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[>> Terrapin Biscuit Circuit:908/506-6651 <<]
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[>> First Universal Church Kalisti: 602/753-3784 <<]
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