My Day In Court - June 16

Around noon yesterday I caught a bus downtown to go to a sentencing appeal for Joseph, the man who had been convicted of 3rd degree murder. The whole experience was remarkable. The first thing I noticed when I got off of the bus at Grant and Forbes was the Allegheny County Courthouse. I can't think of a succinct way to describe it but to say that Foucault would've had a field day with it. The courthouse was built in the late 19th century, and it looks like a cathedral and fortress rolled into one (http://www.alleghenycounty.us/acic/cjold.jpg). The wall that surrounds what I assume was the jail part of the courthouse is about 30 or 40 feet high, and is quite imposing. The structure itself is made out of huge, roughly cut stone blocks. The whole building has a very primitive and brutal air about it, and at the same time it implies some sense of a civic religion (with its towers and the church-like construction of the jail section).

At 12:30 Bret and Cecilia (Joseph's mother) talked to a few members of the media (they called it a press conference, but I don't know what justifies that label). After a quick bite to eat we went inside in time to see Joseph being brought into the courtroom. It was striking. I can't recall if I've ever seen someone in handcuffs before, but I've certainly never seen anyone with leg irons or with a leather lead strapped around them. The only word that I can think to use is shameful. I felt ashamed to look at Joseph, and I can't imagine the shame that he felt, walking through the halls of the courthouse with chains on. It's difficult to fully describe the scene, but what I can say is that while the handcuffs, leg irons and leather lead all certainly serve to control the prisoner and make escape more difficult, they also serve to destroy any dignity that the incarcerated might still have. Having every step cut too short by the metal links around your ankles and being led around on a leather leash are not conducive to self-respect.

The hearing itself was very interesting, and I only wish I could've understood more. The issue at hand was not the verdict of the case itself, but the judge's sentence. The defense's two main points (raised by an attorney who had a few unfortunate speaking tics, to wit: mumbling, some sort of lisp, repetition and the annoying tendency to undermine his arguments with phrases like 'this is only my opinion') were that Joseph had no prior convictions and that under Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines (not mandatory) he should've been given less time, and that the judge, in his sentencing statement, cited his belief that the murder was a premeditated execution, whereas the jury had clearly disagreed with this theory by convicting Joseph of 3rd degree murder and not 1st degree murder. Just to put all of this in context, Joseph had been sentenced to 17-35 years in prison, and the maximum for 3rd degree murder in Pennsylvania is 23.5-35 years. The district attorney rebutted the defense's first argument by pointing out that the sentencing guidelines were not mandatory and reminding the judge that Joseph's record was not completely clean. Apparently, during the presentencing phase of the initial trial, 3 complaints of assault against Joseph had come up. This is where my legal knowledge gets a little fuzzy, but the DA said that these cases of assault had been "adjudicated." I don't know what the technical legal definition of this term is, but I think that it's something quite separate from being convicted by a jury in a court of law. When the DA mentioned one of the cases of assault (stabbing a school official with a pencil) a man next to me who was a member of the family whispered 'that was in first grade!' The DA then recast the defense's argument about the jury as simply that the jury had been trying to show mercy by convicting Joseph of 3rd instead of 1st degree (this was part of it, but not the most important part in my mind) and argued that the judge HAD showed mercy. Oy vey.

Afterwards I caught a bus back uptown, finished watching the first season of The Wire on my computer and picked up some Rye Bread Kvass from the East End Brewery. It was interesting stuff, the initial taste was a little too sweet for me, but the hint of bread at the end finishes the drink off nicely, and it was very light which is perfect for summer.