Does anyone else think that court system is broken?
By dorannmwin
@dorannmwin (36392)
United States
August 14, 2012 11:23pm CST
My best girlfriend was supposed to have her formal sentencing for her probation violation today. We both thought that they were going to reprobate her today because of the fact that the jails here are so overcrowded.
Well, first of all, her attorney (she has a public defender) did not even seem to want to talk to her and yet we are supposed to have the right to counsel. Then when it came to her paperwork, there were several mistakes that her defender wouldn't correct, the other public defender in the court room did it for her. Then when they finally called her case, her probation officer, who was supposed to be there was not in the courtroom, so instead of doing her final sentencing, they decided to reset the date of her final sentencing until the 11th of September. By the time that date hits, she is only going to have 76 more days to serve on her original sentence. The reason that she violated her probation is that she failed to let the court know that she had moved after she was evicted from her apartment.
Is there anyone else that has had a terrible experience with the court system in the United States? I also have to ask if I am the only one that thinks that it is not fair that they will let people out of jail that have been convicted of violent crimes or drug charges, but when there is a person that is trying to live their life right and that had gainful employment has to sit in jail for months while they sort everything out?
2 people like this
6 responses
@jillhill (37353)
• United States
15 Aug 12
I do agree about it being broken....I don't know in the case of your friend but I see all these lawsuits that are a waste of time and money tying up the courts...and all the delays also cost the government money...it the lawyers who really rule in court....it's not by the people anymore or for the people...it how much money can an attorney suck out of someone.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
17 Aug 12
I just wish that they would realize that and when they do expunge the records of all of the victims of these crimes.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
16 Aug 12
In her case, I believe that they are victimizing the victim of a crime. You see, she received one of those scam checks in the mail and didn't know that it was a scam at the time. She ended up having the check cashed at a gas station that cashes checks and when it came back as a forged instrument, they tried to charge her with felony forgery. She agreed to a plea bargain because her attorney made her believe that there was no way that she could have won the case in a jury trial.
Why prosecute the victim of a crime instead of actually looking for the people that are forging the checks and mailing them to people so that these victims will cash the checks, Western Union money back to them and then leave those victims broke or worse in jail.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
16 Aug 12
I definitely agree that the system is very broken, but I also think that most people don't see it until they are actually a victim of the broken court system.
1 person likes this
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
15 Aug 12
My daughter go into the court system right after she turned 18 and it seemed like it took forever for her to get out. She did not have money to pay fines, but they let her make payments, and set up reviews, but each time she went back, they added more fees, which was more than what she had paid it down. She ended up going to jail for a week, so they would consider them paid. The lawyer they provided her, did nothing to help her either. I hope they get things sorted out for your friend. Did they give her work release?
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
16 Aug 12
Here is another thing that isn't fair at all. The jail that she is in will do work release for males, but not for females because when they did work release females, there were too many of them that would come back pregnant. It was a few bad eggs that ruined work release for all of the women in the jail.
I have to wonder how many males that are work released end up getting a woman pregnant during the time that they are supposed to be working.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Aug 12
hi dorannmwin three years ago my son decided to fight our
eviction account of my health and they appointed a free
legalaide attorney for him which was fine in the preliminary
but on the day it counted with his hearing the woman decided
she did not feel good so called in ill and as my son
did not remember all the loopholes she had m arked he
lost the suit.I blame her as he had no experience in law
and she did and she should have represented him.the judge
told him had she co me he wou ld have won bu t he had t o'go with the manager of our old apt.the Judge told him he almost won but needed the lawyer for the rest of the loophole
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
27 Aug 12
Wow, the experience that you and your son had is even worse than the fact that Ang's public defender is really not willing to work with her.
I would think that because of the fact that your attorney was sick on the day of the hearing that they would have pushed it back to the next court date. The two of you were done really, really dirty.
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
15 Aug 12
you are so right. in so many things the law needs changed and up graded. its why so many people end up sueing the sheriffs offices. 
so did you find out how her kids are doing?@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
16 Aug 12
All that I was able to find out was a very little bit of information from their uncle. He has seen them a couple times and as of right now they are doing well and will be starting school with their dad. The oldest girl just had a birthday ten days ago and when Ang tried to call Rayne on her birthday, they didn't let her get on the phone.
1 person likes this
@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
15 Aug 12
I have never been to court or had to deal with the court. But what I've seen and hear of other people depending on the judge you either have someone that understands or you don't. I think a lot of judges are baise and will choice based off of there own feelings instead of what is in front of them the evidences and if they see a real person that is trying to live a good life even though yes they might have messed up in the past but they are changing doing the right thing. I'm not a big fan of the count system period. I don't like how its run half of the time.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
16 Aug 12
I really don't like how it is run either. For example, if she wasn't in jail right now and had decided not to show up for her court date, she would have had a warrant issued for her arrest. However, even though the probation officer was supposed to be there, they simply reset her final sentencing until a month from now. That doesn't seem fair to me at all.
1 person likes this
