Attorney @ MindSay 
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Attorney: Playground case should be dropped
Two young girls are accused of brutally attacking a classmate in Pa.
ERIE, Pa. - Two young girls accused of brutally attacking another girl on a playground are too emotionally immature to understand the criminal charges against them and the charges should be dismissed, their attorneys said.
The girls, ages 10 and 11, face aggravated assault and other charges for the attack on another 10-year-old girl at an elementary school playground the evening of April 3. The girls are accused of stomping on the victim and breaking her hip, police said.
Erie County Public Defender Tony Logue says he will ask a Juvenile Court judge to dismiss criminal charges against the 10-year-old girl.
"How can my attorney effectively communicate with his clients given the client's chronological age versus emotional age?" Logue said.
Attorney Bruce Sandmeyer said he has similar concerns for his client, the 11-year-old, and expects to file a similar motion in the coming days.
"My client is just 11 years old and just an elementary school student," Sandmeyer said.
The lawyers said the case should be treated as a dependency case, not a delinquency case. In legal terms, a judge who rules a child is dependent can place the child under the supervision of the Erie County Office of Children and Youth.
A delinquency case, which is what the girls currently face, is the juvenile court equivalent of a criminal case. If the girls are found delinquent, the equivalent of a guilty verdict, they could be confined in a juvenile detention facility or otherwise be under the supervision of the court until they turn 21.
Ian Murray, another lawyer for the 10-year-old girl, said she and her family feel deep remorse for the attack. "This is tragic for everyone, especially the victim," Murray said.
Family members of the 11-year-old suspect say she is an "A" and "B" student who has never been in trouble before.
The injured girl said the other girls pulled her off the monkey bars and attacked after she told the girls to stop splashing water on her 8-year-old sister in the school playground. Police said the victim was repeatedly stomped on the head and legs.
The victim remains hospitalized and is expected to undergo at least one week of rehabilitation at a hospital. She has three pins in her hip to keep the bones in place and may eventually need a hip replacement, her mother said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24052416/
As a mother of a 9 year old girl. I HOLLAR! BULLSHIT! I don't care what state, I don't care if the girls are purple or mauve colored skinned, I don't care if the girls are Pagan, Christian, Muslim, Buddist, or what have you............they KNEW what they were doing! I don't care if they were "good girls" and got straight A's or if they were "bad girls" and got straight F's. They KNEW what they were doing. So they don't understand the court system and all the big words. Got news for folks, unless your in a profession of the justice system, NOBODY knows the court system and the big words because it is all sooooooooooo complicated.
Their parents get lawyers for them, the lawyers and the parents EXPLAIN things to them in words they can understand! They need to be held accountable NOW or they are going to continue this behavor of snapping for stupid shit!
I didn't read the whole story to my kids, but I think it is awfully interesting that I explained the jist of the story to my 9 year old daughter and 8 year old son. I asked them what would happen to them if they were stupid enough to do something like this. If my 9 and 8 year old can look at me in a shocked manner and go:
"We would go to jail for hurting another kid that badly. And if we didn't go to jail we would be someplace for just kids in jail, having to correct our naughty behavor."
I also asked them if anything else would happen to them besides going into jail. And this is what they said.
"Well, since we aren't old enough to pay for everything like lawyers, our parents would probably get told to pay for our laywers and pay for the other kid's operation if she had one. And their parents might have to pay the other girl's family some money to say sorry."
So notice they don't completely understand the process of the court system, but they do understand a good portion of it. And before anyone says I told them, WRONG! I cleared some things up after they proved that they could understand the situation and that is it. Make those lil girls accountable NOW for their behavor.
This is such a bullshitted ruling! I am not saying the guy doesn't need to pay but dayum! What happened to no debter prision in the US? And I am sorry the family is right! This pure racism at work.......again! All us folks struggling to pay our bills could be next in line for 15-20 years in prision because we dont' check our accounts very often!
Civil rights unit probes black man’s sentence
Man convicted for first offense of writing bad checks gets 30 years in prison
BALTIMORE - The state attorney general’s civil rights unit is investigating a 30-year sentence given to a black man convicted of writing bad checks who had no prior convictions.
Carl O. Snowden, the attorney general’s director for civil rights, said Wednesday he is investigating the sentencing of Andrew M. Fisher in response to a complaint filed by the Baltimore County branch of the NAACP.
Fisher, 24, was convicted in August of two counts of writing $23,500 in bad checks for an electronic security system for the apartment he shared with his mother.
Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh sentenced Fisher to two consecutive 15-year prison terms and ordered him to repay A-1 Security Systems, in a case first reported in The (Baltimore) Examiner.
Pat Ferguson, president of the local NAACP chapter, called the sentence “blatant discrimination.” She also compared the situation to that of the "Jena 6" case in Louisiana in which six black teens were arrested after an attack on a white student. Critics accused officials of prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites.
An assistant said it is the judge’s policy not to comment on his cases.
Cavanaugh, who is white, offered to release Fisher if he paid $23,000 in restitution, according to a motion filed by Fisher’s attorney Alvin Alston. Alston asked the judge to correct the “illegal sentence” against Fisher, saying that Maryland’s highest court has held that “imprisonment for a lack of financial resources is illegal.”
Nancy Fish, the owner of A-1 Security Systems, said she did not object to the sentence.
“Murderers don’t get that,” Fish said. “But the judge saw the type of personality that this guy was. It’s not like he was sick or on drugs. He knew exactly what he was doing.”
Fisher does have an arrest record, including several assault charges, but no convictions.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Date Line April 20, 2007
New York Times Editorial summarizing Alberto Gonzales appearance before Congress: "Mr. Gonzales came across as a dull-witted apparatchik incapable of running one of the most important departments in the executive branch."
OK how many birds with a single stone?
Gonzales is Hispanic and incompetent. All Hispanics are peons and unfit for responsibility; hence the need to prevent them sneaking into the States.
Gonzales is a mini-Bush who caters to a party-line, protects the fraud and dishonesty of the Right-wing, is out to destroy the Constitution, and (add any more you choose).
Gonzales is typical of "the Bush management style"; which is to say, he cannot manage to put his own shoes on in the morning, much less discharge the managerial responsibilities of his high office.
Gonzales is playing the Bush "dummy" card. For Bush it is being the Texas cowboy who cannot speak his own language (never mind the Harvard and Yale degrees). For Gonzales, it is the stupid peon image the "Is not my job," Freddy Prinz "Chico" would proclaim.
It is the beauty of Right-wing logic. It is never their responsibility, never their "job". If nothing else, they brush it off as some divine will which is being opposed by everyone else and only understood by them.
OK. Here is divine will. These jerks are destroying America and bigger jerks are out their yelling it is unpatriotic not to let them.
Hey! Thats cool.
As the Times Editorial concluded: "if we believe the testimony that neither he nor any other senior Justice Department official was calling the shots on the purge, then the public needs to know who was."
OK so Congress and the Times are too dim witted to know the public is responsible. The voters are responsible. They elected Bush twice and have failed to have him impeached.
The people have allowed themselves to be robbed, and raped, by the Right-wing; and pray to some warped deity that it should continue.
It is a warped deity, because the one of every known scripture proclaims a deity who opposes war, opposes interference with others, opposes the denial of rights to strangers in its lands ...
Oh right, even our own Constitution proclaims anyone under our "jurisdiction" is covered ... hum that would mean anyone whose life, or freedom, we control...
Guess that included those Bush and Gonzales have ordered tortured. But that is yet another issue or responsibility.
About the only good thing to come of this? Christians who proclaim their support for the Right-wing are going straight to H-E-double hockey sticks. Its in the passages they say they adhere to.
Oh how nice it will be to have a world devoid of those hypocrites.
Global warming will flood away all traces of their stupidity. Check a map of the Edgar Cayce projections youll see. If I can, I might even post one here. Non-fundamentalist Mormons are screwed. But again, that is another issue; and explains why the Judaic holy city was placed high and dry.
Ah issues for a mystic-voice. Maybe later.
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We hadn't talked in over a week ..... with her not being able to progress .... waiting for the discovery papers to come back from the county where this happened. And then I'm still waiting for the result of the fingerprints and paperwork to forward on to my attorney .... in hopes of giving us a direction to go. Anyway ..... she phoned yesterday afternoon with the news that something had been found on my case (we now have a case number to reference) and that the information was being mailed to her. Once she recieves it she can file the paperwork need to get the entire record expunged. She was happy we were going to be able to move forward .... so am I.
Would still like to know the results of the fingerprints sooner than later .... patience Julie, patience ..... Haven't heard anything about Petey .... but I guess he was the main topic of thought in my head while I slept last night. For someone who doesn't talk in their sleep .... I guess I was having quite a conversation last night. Mostly about his "wet nose" apparently. I did wake up this morning startled for a second that he wasn't with me then I remembered where he was. I'll probably call in a few minutes ..... to see if I can find out anything. Serious anxiety over my boy Petey.
Before we left yesterday ..... toe still in tact ..... he may or may not have one when he comes home.
Well .... that's it for now .....
Thanks to eyesthebye for such a touching video yesterday. You brightened my night and my day today. It's much appreciated. ((((hugs)))) I can't remember anything nicer ever being done or said for/about me.
Peace. J.
UPDATE: Just got off phone with vet ..... Petey will lose his toe. But not today .... probably next week. My poor boy ......
I told you all about the mis-matched tennis shoes. So here's a couple more things to prove that I'm fairly sure I've lost my mind ..... :
Put a load of dirty clothes into the dryer ...... and proceeded to dry while leaving the wet clothes in the washer.
Cooking up turkey franks for Dave & I the other night ..... realized the dogs needed water in their pan ..... so I filled their pan up and proceeded to cook the franks in the dirty pan dog water.
Dishwasher soap in the refridgerator.
This is a small sample of what I find myself doing ..... a lot ......
Tomorrow is a big day for a couple friends of ours in here ..... wishing you both the bestest ever ..... I'll be thinking of you both a lot .......
((((hugs)))) Little news on the attorney front. She has located my original attorney who is in the hospital recovering from surgery. It kind of figures ..... doesn't it? The sheriff's department has "purged" all records that old and have nothing to help. She is contacting another record's department somewhere to see if they can help. If not ... we wait I guess ..... till the original attorney gets back in his office ..... swear, he's got to be in his 80's .... or maybe he wasn't as old as I thought he was back then? She still doesn't think it will be a problem .... but it sounds like this could take longer than I have. ****heavy sigh****
Rain on and off today .... spurts of sunshine. Chilly. Helping M. on Wednesday with a house to clean and will probably head over to do yardwork if the weather cooperates. Then probably another day Thurs. or Fri. of yardwork. If not both. We'll have to see how the body holds up.
Want to go geocaching badly but just not sure when it will fit in to schedule now that Dave has gone back to work on the house he remodeled the kitchen in. Now he's laying floor and getting ready to remodel upstairs bathroom and bedroom. He can barely walk but he keeps trucking on. We've both been having nasty allergy attacks and think he may have a sinus infection. But he won't go to the doctor .... so he'll just have to deal with it.
cllecr took out her grandkids geocaching and by the smiles on their faces it look like they had a ball. What a cool thing to share with the grandkids and get them outdoors in the fresh air and exercising! I need to find me a geocaching buddy who lives close by that can do the longer hiking caches with me. Hummmm ..... someday.
Hoping you all have a great day .... and week. Especially Josh & Amanda. Travel safe Amanda. Thoughts are with you.
Peace. J.
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