MySpace narc gets bit in butt

From a public defender:

Three degrees of YOU’RE A PREDATOR!

If you don’t have a MySpace or Facebook account, you’re nobody. Especially teens. Everyone has them and then some. So when middle school resource officer John Nohejl in Florida decided to set up a MySpace account so he could communicate with students in ways they do (with the blessing of the school), it seemed like a brilliant idea...

From I Speak of Dreams:

Is Officer Nohejl this year's Julie Amaro?

He set up a MySpace account - most of his MS "friends" are students in the Pasco County School District. One of his 170+ friends had a link to a porn site. Now Officer Nohejl is now under investigation by the Florida attorney general’s cyber crimes unit... (this one is rich with links)

Good luck with that, officer. Meanwhile, we have to keeping warning the youths: It's not just the pr0n that'll get you online, it's the cops!

From probation to prison thanks to MySpace?

As you read here at A&C last month, from today's
National Law Journal (link via UW's Trial Ad Notes):

Lawyers in civil and criminal cases are increasingly finding that social networking sites can contain treasure chests of information for their cases. Armed with printouts from sites such as Facebook and MySpace, attorneys have used pictures, comments and connections from these sites as powerful evidence in the courtroom.

"It's going to be more and more helpful in the future," said Mark Diebolt, a deputy county attorney in Pima County, Ariz... Diebolt said an eyewitness recently identified a first-degree murder suspect in a group photograph posted on MySpace... D. Jesse Smith, a solo practitioner in Tucson, Ariz., said... (i)n a recent misdemeanor assault case..., he was able to prove someone other than his client was the aggressor who started the fight because his MySpace page contained a video of him beating someone up...

One defense lawyer said that... the judge relied heavily on MySpace to decide on his client's sentence. Steve Balash of Santa Barbara... said that Jessica Binkerd was sentenced in January to five years and four months in prison after she drove under the influence of alcohol and got into a crash in which her passenger was killed. Balash said he expected Binkerd to get probation, but she received a prison sentence in large part because her MySpace page showed her wearing an outfit with shot glasses and an alcohol advertisement after the accident...

Why, just today outside the courtroom here, one teenager's parent was talking about wanting to sue the cops for invasion of privacy, because they printed out the teenager's (incriminating) MySpace pages.

MySpace indiscretion: "it's almost ridiculous"

In the comments on the post, "Do You Facebook?," Kirsten reminds the Urban Mamas (and the rest of us):

I work for the public defender and I can't tell you how many people get in trouble for what they post on their mySpace pages...

MySpace, MyLawyerSpace, MyProsecutorSpace

From the Arizona Daily Star:

Online clues now helping to get convictions - Prosecutors use social sites like MySpace to aid cases

What you do online can haunt you later — especially if later involves standing before a judge in a criminal case. Prosecutors are starting to use photos and statements posted to defendants' personal Internet pages as evidence against them. And judges are using the information to justify tough sentences...

Logging onto Myspace.com, Facebook.com and Google.com is now considered de rigueur for police agencies and investigators who work for defense attorneys and prosecutors, said John Wesley Hall, president-elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. MySpace and Facebook are social networking Web sites that let people post personal information about themselves along with photos, videos and music. "You find out all kinds of things about people that you never would have known about without the Internet," Hall said.

More and more attorneys are using the Web sites to investigate the credibility of witnesses, victims and defendants. "I don't think attorneys on either side can afford to overlook the Internet," said John O'Brien, an assistant Pima County public defender. "It's a whole new realm that attorneys didn't have to worry about 20 years ago..."

"Why does this generation hate criminal representation?"

Paper Chaser suggests that there might not be enough defense-minded law students coming up to replace all of us decrepit middle-aged p.d.'s:

What spooks me is that not only have I been unable to find anyone else in my section that shares my inclination for criminal defense, or that the number of my fellow students who align themselves with the prosecutorial camp is quite large, but that the response to my musings has been so overwhelmingly negative, as if I am positioning myself to be some sort of criminal myself...

Bonus link goes to the lyrics for "Welcome to My World."

"So, could this be my way out?"

Well, what do you think, should former prosecutor Chuck try to become a public defender, or as he puts it:

should i join the dark side?

WA: FBI spyware nabbed the bomb threat kid

That Lacey youth with the bomb - threat - making hobby? Someone was monitoring his MySpace and Gmail, and it wasn't Sanchovilla.

From Wired: FBI's Secret Spyware Tracks Down Teen Who Made Bomb Threats

FBI agents trying to track the source of e-mailed bomb threats against a Washington high school last month sent the suspect a secret surveillance program designed to surreptitiously monitor him and report back to a government server...

The software was sent to the owner of an anonymous MySpace profile linked to bomb threats against Timberline High School near Seattle. The code led the FBI to 15-year-old Josh Glazebrook, a student at the school, who on Monday pleaded guilty to making bomb threats, identity theft and felony harassment...

From C-Net: FBI remotely installs spyware to trace bomb threat

...(T)he county sheriff's office learned about the MySpace profile - timberlinebombinfo - when the creator tried to persuade other students to link to it and at least one of their parents called the police... In addition, the bomb hoaxster was sending a series of taunting messages from Google Gmail accounts... A representative excerpt: "There are 4 bombs planted throughout Timberline High School. One in the math hall, library hall, and one portable. The bombs will go off in 5 minute intervals at 9:15 am."

The FBI replied by obtaining account logs from Google and MySpace. Both pointed to... a compromised computer in Italy. That's when the FBI decided to roll out the heavy artillery...

(via the Olympian)

NM: the whole 'free-floating anger at the clients' thing boils over

Down Las Cruces way, Michael (who seems to relate to Ron Livingston in "Band of Brothers" and probably in "Office Space" too) explains his recent behavior:

How most criminal defense attorneys feel...

I (used to, up until last week) work as a public defender in a medium sized college town in southern NM. Last week, I had a motion hearing on a very specific point of law; my client was a 22 or 23 year old punk...

At this point he mumbled something again about me being a "rookie" and I yelled "F*ck You!" He screamed it back and at that point, I grabbed his orange pajamas and pulled him toward me. At the same time I pulled back my fist to pop him in the nose...

I resigned the next day. You see, most public defenders don't like they're clients. They hate them as much as the general public... We are just doing our duty (somebody has to do it), to uphold the constitution. I'm just glad I'm not doing it anymore...

Assuming this is non-fiction, I guess I would tell the writer, "I'm glad you're not doing it anymore too. Get some r 'n' r, but speak for yourself about the 'most p.d.'s feel this way' thing."

Bonus link: not in response to this but obliquely on point, a law student reflects on clinic and disrespect:

The students and some of the professors in this clinic should get oscars for how dramatic and exasperated they get from even the most minor things our clients do or say... Frankly, they should not be defending people if they have such a hard time dealing with it...

FL: talking for a living

Tristia has a new job that suits her:

Well, it finally happened. I finally got the job that everyone has said I'm suited for since I was an argumentative, self-righteous 6th grader. I've become a public defender...

Congratulations and welcome.

P.S.: Brother Feger (not Feige) got a p.d. job today, too.

"He said he got the freakin' message"

A thoughtful post from a good-hearted p. d. colleague, Juval:

Well, as much as I try to resist the temptation to internalize the actions of some of the many idiotic clients that I represent, I find that the human part of me always comes out. Some would say that I believe that I am a superhero in some respects, when it comes to work anyway. So, I've learned my kryptonite, at work, is the young, misguided, but potentially rehabilitated, black male...

When they get released because I've won or gotten their case dismissed, I am very careful to explain the consequences of future crime and generally try to be a good resource for them as they make their way back into society. After all, everyone needs to know someone cares. My imagination is quite vivid. Thus, I actually believe that these young brothas are actually listening to me (please stop laughing). So, you can only empathize with me when I get "the call"...

Why people go into public defense

In the course of answering the question, "Is there any justice in the criminal justice system?," Washington neighbor The Judge says:

First some observations. I worked for 11 years as a public defender... These days people typically go into public defense for one of two reasons. Either they have a profound belief in the fundamentals of the constitution, or they have a strong anti-authoritarian streak. Sometimes both. But with some exceptions (as in any profession) PD's are skilled, talented professionals...

Shillin'

Pre-Paid Legal... Most of the things in life are not cheap! Have you ever had situations that accured where your needed a lawyer right away but couldn`t afford it. Maybe even got sued or lost a case because you had to represent yourself or got stuck with a Public Defender...

No more worrying about whether or not if a lawyer will even except your case or having to pay hundreds of dollars each time you visit... Our customers can access legal council and advice from qualified lawyers simply by calling a toll free number. .. (E)ven at the most basic level our plans allow you to have peace of mind, knowing that the promise of equal justice under law is a reality.

Well, I'm sold. No more worrying over whether a lawyer will except my case.

AK: you're fired, and best wishes

Remember: when dumping a court-appointed lawyer, and sending your letter care of the Alaska Court System of Kangaroo Justice Inc., you may soften the blow if you'll just follow the phrase "public pretender" with a cute little "devil smiley face" emoticon.

Dependency p.d. vs. 'real lawyer'

From a mom involved in a child protection case, courtesy of MySpace:

Without weed I become manic ... If I'm manic and NOT able to think ...I can't even save myself let alone my kids. Hence the need for weed. Understand?

So peeps need to stop telling me they don't understand how I can ask for money for weed but not for money to get a lawyer to get my kids back... I'm asking for $50 bucks here for smoke. Not the couple grand it takes to get a real lawyer... So I have no choice but to go to a public defender.

I understand: $50 here, $50 there, months gone by and kids still gone, and who'll be to blame? The public pretender, of course. Sad.

People who need people (are not necessarily the luckiest people in the world)

Another colleague fields the "how can you represent Those People?" question:

I'm a public defender because people need people. Because people are better than the worst thing they've ever done. Because I still believe there's some inherent goodness in almost everyone. Because without me people are just a docket number in the court system...

FL: "it's time for me to get out of my current job"

With all the hype over lack of privacy of MySpace accounts and private posts going public, you can still find the occasional public defender on MySpace venting like nobody's business:

A few simple rules to keep from pissing off your assistant public defender...

Getting angry at your APD when your last plea offer is withdrawn and the offer has gone higher accomplishes nothing. You were the one who refused the offer. You were the one who was told previously (in some cases, two to three times previously) that, when the offer expired, it would be going up. Who's to blame? Look in the mirror...

Begging your APD to ask for lower offers from the State Attorney after previous counteroffers have been rejected is like teaching a pig to sing. It's a total waste of time, and it annoys the pig. If the State's not going lower, then they're not going lower. Man up and take the offer, or go to trial...

Goodbye Joe, me gotta go

Somebody on MySpace is pretty excited about her new p.d. job:

phase one of my plan to take over the world is in effect.
the government has allowed me to join its ranks as an "insider".

yes, ladies and gentlemen, i have officially been hired at the Marion County Public Defender's Office...

Now, about that thinking - that - becoming - a - p.d. - makes - you - an - "insider" stuff... Congratulations, new colleague!

(warning - clicking on link above launches a real peppy "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams - turn speakers down (or up) accordingly)

CA: smile now, cry later

From MySpace - Erin's a San Diegan, and a new intern in the dependency section of the public defenders office. She's smiling in her photo with her new colleagues and her new p.d. id, but she's also realistic:

I finished my first week...and it's been good so far (besides a few setbacks), but I know that working there is going to break my heart...

I can say that after reading a bunch of cases and talking with attorneys and other staff in the office...I haven't heard of a single happy ending for a child yet. I know I'll hear the happy stories eventually...but it seems like they'll be few and far between...

Best wishes, new colleague. Hang in there.

Bad lieutenant

What's the worst thing about cops posting pictures of p0rn stars and narcotics on their MySpace pages?

Even a public defender could get a criminal off with these photos.

Even? (insert your own punchline here)

ID: disillusioned

So this guy in my hometown (and alumnus of my high school) decides to flex his First Amendment rights by flipping off the cops, then is "pissed and disgusted" to find himself subjected to testi-lying and other ministrations of the criminal justice system:

These over zealous Boise P.D. cops, after they were so disrespected by the length of my middle digit, acted like juveniles and hopped out of there patrol car huffing and puffing...

But what has me so disgrunted that I am ranting about it on Myspace is the fact that these so called pillars of our communtiy, these protectors of the peace, these f***ing guys lied... under oath... plain as f***ing day, but only to me because I was the only honest m*****f***er in that whole place...

I used to tell the alternative high school kids that your end goal in any contact with the police is to leave: don't give them an excuse to arrest you, but a "yes, sir" and a "no, ma'am," a polite "no, you may not search my car - am I free to go?" and no belligerent or aggressive attitude. Or instead, I guess you could flip them off.