tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-322677332024-03-07T15:45:04.158-08:00Anita Witness, gumshoe for the defenseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-69993068911449921112014-07-12T06:40:00.000-07:002014-07-19T10:19:15.735-07:00Awkward!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_WZZwzbm4kF2_pyuievl_BECwY9W161DNBYK-Sr3M3SisL_r5PKiWb3mLvRaXBNTudiZG0u8ADiuA7BP0nW90e1Sio-J4Pe7RrGwnWmheonB-m4vXFjdxKdvi1dJfJ_Oxr2h/s1600/old+man+in+speedos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_WZZwzbm4kF2_pyuievl_BECwY9W161DNBYK-Sr3M3SisL_r5PKiWb3mLvRaXBNTudiZG0u8ADiuA7BP0nW90e1Sio-J4Pe7RrGwnWmheonB-m4vXFjdxKdvi1dJfJ_Oxr2h/s400/old+man+in+speedos.jpg" /></a></div>Because we come unannounced, private investigators sometimes catch people at an awkward moment. Oddly enough, I don't think I have ever interviewed someone who came to the door wearing curlers in their hair, except as some kind of fashion statement in the 'hood. I did have a witness come to the door wearing a full face of nozema, which did startle me at first glance. Oddly enough, she didn't take the mask off the entire interview either. In fact, I don't even know if she realized she had a mask on.
<p>The topper has to be a certain 82 year old juror, hereinafter referred to as juror #5. I interviewed juror #5 one sweltering hot day in the valley. As I strode up to his front door, my eyes were greeted by juror #5's rear end, which was held high up in the air as he leaned over to turn off his sprinklers. Juror #5 was wearing nothing but very small, very tight speedos. I thought for sure he would put on more clothes once we went inside his house. But he had no air conditioning and it must have been 110 degrees that day. When his wife walked into the room, I thought she'd insist he cover up. But no such luck. I got to see every wrinkle on juror #5's body the entire interview. As it turned out, Juror #5 couldn't remember much about the trial I came to interview him about, likely due to juror #5 having sat on nearly 20 juries since retirement. I sure hope he wore actual clothing all those days he spent sitting in the jury box.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-90760758923136882802007-07-02T01:21:00.001-07:002014-07-13T20:08:20.506-07:00Curbside Mentor<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/newmediabrew/255063728/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/29/255063728_380e5da89b_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/newmediabrew/255063728/">Reggie</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/newmediabrew/">John Gevers</a> </span></div>For the most part, I don't know if I would recognize the vast majority of my former witnesses if I passed them on the street tomorrow. And vice versa, I'm sure. After so many years of doing the work, most of my witnesses' faces and stories escape me. <br /><br />Sometimes, however, I make a strong connection with someone in the course of their time as my witness. These are the folks who pop into my head from time to time as I'm driving in my car or trying to go to sleep. The ones whose story got under my skin. <br /><br />There's one young man in particular, we'll call him Solomon. I met him in the course of a murder investigation. I remember being immediately struck by his well rounded personality, sense of humor and just the presence of this young man. Raised only by his grandmother, on one of South Central's most notorious blocks, Solomon had formerly been involved with gangs, which is what brought me to his door step as a witness. <br /><br />Solomon was one of the lucky ones. He's smart, and he's still alive. And, he has a mentor. His mentor is an African American man who runs the business where Solomon works. His boss is determined to save Solomon from the neighborhood and death that surrounds them. Last I spoke to Solomon, he was going to a junior college with some money he had won from a wrongful arrest lawsuit. I still periodically check to see if he is in custody. Happily, he appears to remain arrest free. There's someone listed on the internet by Solomon's name who is a computer programmer now. I'm going to assume that's my Solomon, and that he has been successful in escaping gangs, death and unemployment. <br /><br />The bad thing about being an investigator, is that you are at the end of the line of the criminal justice system. By the time I meet a defendant or a witness, they are already involved in some serious stuff. If I was a teacher instead I'd be meeting the young Solomons of the world in a capacity where I might be able to help change the course of their life before they get involved in all that. However, I have to think it is never too late in someone's life to offer them a helping hand or a kind word. I'm glad I expressed to Solomon what a great kid he was.
<p>Recently, another criminal defense investigator I know was considering whether it was time to mentor another investigator. That got me thinking about whether I should do the same. I meet people from time to time who I think would make great criminal defense investigators. I count my friend Solomon among them.<br clear="all" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-76454530005059017472007-04-20T13:01:00.000-07:002008-12-10T05:11:34.982-08:00A Good Investigator Never Gets Wet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_yfiwQB355giMjMj4gYO7l7pUS5dVbiN4HzEFSKdPL91cYqMyOjvaYTtmg5R89qm6HPPErMfz5gQxwMnQkUnsmV70_ktNEgvc25SK9tQd9t1xSgr9O_nTzUYKp3kT72vKvsSu/s1600-h/TheBald...getwet.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_yfiwQB355giMjMj4gYO7l7pUS5dVbiN4HzEFSKdPL91cYqMyOjvaYTtmg5R89qm6HPPErMfz5gQxwMnQkUnsmV70_ktNEgvc25SK9tQd9t1xSgr9O_nTzUYKp3kT72vKvsSu/s320/TheBald...getwet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055604428642703746" /></a><br /><br />Today it is actually raining here in Southern California. This is about the third day of actual rain this whole year. Really.<br /><br />An old boss of mine used to always say, "A good investigator never gets wet." I was never completely sure what he meant by that. Is it because a good investigator is always on top of their cases, so they can stay inside drinking hot chocolate on rainy days? Or is it because a good investigator always gets invited into their witness' homes, as opposed to being left standing on the porch in the rain? <br /><br />I've always found rainy days to be excellent days to cold call a witness. I've also found them to provide an excellent enviornment for staying inside my window-filled office typing reports.<br /><br />Gosh darn it, I wish we had more of them here in sunny California. It would at least help me get my work done.<br /><br />Thanks to the "The Bald..." on Flckr for the photo.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-45426321348368586292007-04-05T10:28:00.000-07:002014-01-07T20:28:11.896-08:00Fighting for the Condemned<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rPLUoim3gmKTvqTU9qQOt9vDjluGsf5Gr2A4kuxgf_dGQohQgggXogDWCxyQ8VMq7UFMvcroMBJwtEfY2CVuVhFPFOJJUxB33ft8otwafGKVSkcf3BFGGFZS2we992ha6kv9/s1600-h/DSC00084.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rPLUoim3gmKTvqTU9qQOt9vDjluGsf5Gr2A4kuxgf_dGQohQgggXogDWCxyQ8VMq7UFMvcroMBJwtEfY2CVuVhFPFOJJUxB33ft8otwafGKVSkcf3BFGGFZS2we992ha6kv9/s320/DSC00084.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049998142063566370" /></a>Sometimes the skills we have honed as criminal defense investigators can serve us well in the everyday world. I recently found out that the beautiful tree pictured above was slated to be removed from in front of an unoccupied house in our historic neighborhood. What was odd is that the tree did not look unhealthy. So, I researched further to find out what the owners and the City were saying was wrong with the tree. After that, I made a few calls to California tree experts who were only too happy to share with me their knowledge and told me what should be done before sending this architectural gem to the gas chamber.<br /><br />Well last night, I showed up for the public hearing about removing the tree. I ended up being the only person, besides the owner, to speak on the matter. Silly me not to realize it was already a done deal before the meeting. When all was said in done, the result was still the same: the tree will be removed. When it happens, I believe it will be a grave injustice. But what's new. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-25990065764567229102007-03-24T22:06:00.000-07:002014-01-07T21:10:39.315-08:00The Moment Before the Moment<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045012966143299394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3KC7ZzpiDS24XRkbpObjwV85a0Lrv3RNlQFWPdZBxQU-iSAdT29vI0xDe7h0eHdGKFQRGLrwfjGnk92LgT2GRd1QhwciWbQSsX_Cv7ojsQon7rjsqXRYdXjH2buXsQD4gcTh/s320/clocksleoreynolds.jpg" border="0" />People have this misconception that the life of a criminal defense investigator is exciting and glamorous. That's because they don't realize that the work often involves approaching people about very sensitive and uncomfortable subjects. For me, the most stressful part of a sensitive interview is not the moment that I approach the person, but it's the moment before the moment. If you are an investigator, you know what I mean.<br /><br />Once I have parked in front of the witness' home and gotten out of the car, I can busy my mind with looking at their ramshackle house and lopsided window screens. After I have knocked or rang their bell, there's no escaping that moment of waiting there on the doorstep, not knowing whether to dread or be satisfied with what is about to transpire. Who will answer the door? How will they react to me? Will I be able to explain the importance and necessity of my visit? Will they give me a chance? Will they have been waiting for my visit all along, and be relieved to be able to tell someone that they don't think your client did it? I really dislike that moment.<br /><br />If the witness is not home, I go through that moment for a longer time and walk back to my car, realizing I will have to come back to their house and endure that moment all over again at a later date. If the witness is home, I click into auto pilot once they answer the door: "My name is Anita Witness. I'm a private investigator, a criminal defense investigator [yes, I do say both] and I work for the attorney of the man charged with blah blah blah. Whether the witness proceeds to willingly talk with me, or give me grief and make me earn my way inside, at least the moment before the moment is over. For now. Until the next interview attempt that is.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-39055638547227187522007-03-23T09:15:00.000-07:002008-12-10T05:11:37.075-08:00A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Court<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcH6pVPS1Zee6ZuQBaWNM8uGfeNqTl0gWho-GByl9vtnJ37dfpJmb-lsvgkb4G7e8TijhDjmIM8l1VP6i42F0JjRWH4qBjKjpccmoAQjhLzC-ncD2v7YMfBdb7GHr_uo8YJyRD/s1600-h/bailjailsuckssbucha004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045005299626676018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcH6pVPS1Zee6ZuQBaWNM8uGfeNqTl0gWho-GByl9vtnJ37dfpJmb-lsvgkb4G7e8TijhDjmIM8l1VP6i42F0JjRWH4qBjKjpccmoAQjhLzC-ncD2v7YMfBdb7GHr_uo8YJyRD/s320/bailjailsuckssbucha004.jpg" border="0" /></a> Some things that made me smile on my trip to court yesterday:<br /><div></div><br /><div>1. A large banner advertising "Jail Weddings" in the window of the bailbonds shop.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>2. A very pregnant public defender.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>3. A broken parking meter, which enabled me to give my quarters to a street person.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>4. A record clerk who made 34 copies for me on the spot, even though the limit is 25.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>5. A security guard who searched my purse and told me the strangest thing she ever found in the purse of someone entering the courthouse was a dead rat.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>*Thanks to sbucha004 of Creative Commons for today's photo.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-58554283574223078212007-03-19T12:19:00.000-07:002008-12-10T05:11:38.480-08:00Interview Savings Time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ssXY37feKnjRsiaSKzMl_KW7NO3CNqJulZfJlCkdAnMuxnx-jyyBLWyM1950rlHaklmBcCsmi0xJIHdc_TG_g77mcsfekk5nbwbKNnrgPgJ7ipI980NCAC6k14ijvxCAcTb8/s1600-h/sunbratan.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043841887475470082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ssXY37feKnjRsiaSKzMl_KW7NO3CNqJulZfJlCkdAnMuxnx-jyyBLWyM1950rlHaklmBcCsmi0xJIHdc_TG_g77mcsfekk5nbwbKNnrgPgJ7ipI980NCAC6k14ijvxCAcTb8/s320/sunbratan.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div>Spring is here and once again time is on my side as an investigator. The spring forward part of daylight savings time is when an investigator can really get some work done. I now not only have the weekends for finding 9 to 5 witnesses at home, but also week nights as well. Only in the most desperate of time deadlines have I ever knocked on a witness' home address after dark. I geuss this works both ways: lots of places I go as an investigator, I wouldn't want to be caught dead in after dark, much less after about 3 p.m. in the afternoon.</div><div></div><div>So, to my fellow investigators out there, join me in taking advantage of the extra light we have to shed on our cases. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1170173592932189872007-01-30T08:01:00.000-08:002007-03-22T12:07:35.276-07:00Criminal Creativity<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4474/3523/1600/346207/artstreetpoem.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4474/3523/320/40627/artstreetpoem.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p>Criminal defense work is always interesting, but just when you think you have seen it all, a client comes along who is accused of being particularly creative. </p><p>Take for instance <a href="http://cnn.com/2007/US/01/30/naked.guy.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories">this young accused</a>. I have been reading that grapeseed oil was the next big thing, but making oneself too slippery to be caught by the authorities is ingenius! The stun gun issue is another post.</p><p>My personal favorite was a former client who was accused of attempting to superglue her lover's ears, nose and mouth closed while he slept. They had been arguing and she apparently wanted to take the most direct route to ending all communication. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1168153492468265852007-01-09T14:39:00.000-08:002007-03-22T12:08:49.587-07:00Skip Tracing with Ma Bell<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4474/3523/1600/346988/whitepages.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4474/3523/320/46780/whitepages.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We all forget our roots sometimes. I would imagine that I'm not the only gung ho investigator who has ocasionally forgotten that the first place to look for a witness is the most obvious source: the local white pages. We investigators have lots of high tech tools that we rely on for skiptracing. While lots of people aren't listed in the phone book, a bookload of people are.<br /><br />About twice a year, I get a request, sometimes frantic, from an attorney, asking me to locate a "lost" witness, only to find the witness right there listed in the white pages. Sometimes the job of a criminal defense investigator is easy. Most of the time, it's not.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1165438739706253482006-12-06T12:55:00.000-08:002007-03-22T11:05:21.512-07:00Three Cheers for Our Witnesses<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4474/3523/1600/459111/witnessrelocation.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4474/3523/320/866761/witnessrelocation.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The Los Angeles Times ran an article today about a woman who recently died, after testifying in a gang murder case.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-witness6dec06,0,5870658.story?page=1&coll=la-home-local">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-witness6dec06,0,5870658.story?page=1&coll=la-home-local</a><br /><br />Whether witnesses testify for the prosecution, or for the defense, or somewhere in between (the legal knife does have a tendency to cut both ways), they deserve props for showing up to court and doing their civic duty.<br /><br />Here's to our witnesses. Whatever our witnesses have to say, they are a criminal defense investigator's bread and butter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1164687355724194102006-11-28T17:09:00.000-08:002014-07-13T22:34:29.912-07:00Singing the Clerk's Office Blues<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/awickedwitch.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/awickedwitch.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Witnesses are not the only people that criminal defense investigators aim to befriend and cajole. We also set our sights on the court clerks of the world.<br /><br />County clerks are typically women, so this is perhaps the one area of the profession where I have seen male investigators have an edge over us gals. I can not tell you how many times the following has happened: I am in the clerk's office being psychologically abused and brainstorming how to overcome a certain female clerk's attitude, when a male investigator strolls in the clerk's office and sweeps said clerk off her feet. <br /><br />Some clerks are wonderful people, easy to get along with and naturally helpful --no need to kiss their butt. But others can test your patience with arbitrary rules ("I'm sorry, but you can only view three files per day" or "you can only make 10 copies otherwise we will mail them out to you in two weeks"). And your pleas such as, "but our trial starts next week" or "I drove two hours just to look at this file" are met with cold, unsympathetic eyes. Unlike the general public, who after waiting around for an hour to be helped, can shout obscenities and leave, we criminal defense investigator have to hang in there with a smile on our face. We are totally at the clerk's mercy. We need them and they know it.<br /><br />My favorite criminal court clerk was named Matt. He fulfilled his duties with heart and humor. He had personalized all the signs around the office (like "warrants here") with pictures of Bart Simpson done in his own (Asian) likeness. He was a great resource for me for a long time, until he was- predictably -scooped up by a lucky judge and transferred to a court room. Proving once again that all good things eventually come to an end. The good news is that usually with time you can break through even the gruffest of clerks. But until then, it's frustrating. Especially when dreaded microfilm is in any way involved.<br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1163570776953101582006-11-14T21:45:00.000-08:002007-03-22T12:10:04.683-07:00A Jane of All Trades<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/jackofalltrades.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/jackofalltrades.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p>Sometimes being a criminal defense investigator entails different tasks than those that strictly qualify as "investigation." Perhaps too much of the time, I find myself performing duties that could lead to a job title of :</p><p>hand holder, </p><p>babysitter,</p><p>tailor, </p><p>chauffeur,</p><p>counselor (as in therapist, not attorney)</p><p>and, okay, magician (being expected to pull a rabbit out of my ass when all else fails).</p><p>But then who the heck else is going to do it? </p><p>When you are on the public dole, well, whatever. As a private investigator, I sometimes feel a bit weird about billing my full hourly for such things (with the exception of the rabbit act). In the end, tho, I've concluded that these semi-non-investigatory tasks are vital to the overall health of the case...and the legal team.</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1163059751137583942006-11-09T00:08:00.000-08:002007-03-22T12:12:11.946-07:00"This Investigator" Makes a Post<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/UnderwoodKeyboard.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/UnderwoodKeyboard.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sorry I've been away. I try to post once a week, but last week that didn't happen. Now it's not that I don't have things to write about with regard to being a criminal defense investigator. The trickiest part of this blog is sorting through all the posts I'd LIKE to make, until finally thinking of a post that I CAN make. I would never want any of my cases, clients or attorneys to be compromised (or have their privacy violated) because of anything I blabbed about on here. So I guess that means that I can only post about the less juicy aspects of the job.......like report writing lingo.<br /><br />I have always struggled with how to identify the witness in a written report. Say that I initially refer to him as Johnny Johnson. After that do I call him Mr. Johnson, or just Johnson? I kind of like just calling him Johnny, as it is most conversational and easy to read. Or is it too familiar, too cozy if he is a defense witness? Obviously, whatever terms I use, I need to use it in the same way for every witness. I've seen some investigators write "Witness Johnson" every time they refer to the interviewee, but that's a mouthful. Some investigators just write "the witness" and some wittle it down to "wit." This seems so anonymous. Plus, what if the reader forgets who the heck the witness is as they are halfway into your six page report. Some attorneys do have a short attention span.<br /><br />Then there's the other players that appear in a written report. When Johnny Johnson refers to April Showers, do I simply write April after that? Or does she become Showers or Miss Showers, but what if she's more of a I-am-woman-hear-me-roar-MS. Showers. And what if I can't rule out that she's a Mrs. Showers? If her name is April Johnson, well then it's easy. Since I don't want to confuse her with Johnny Johnson, I'll certainly refer to her as just April after her initial introduction.<br /><br />If this sounds nit pickingly boring to you, welcome to the detail oriented world of your average criminal defense investigator. This job is often obsessed with the details. That, and learning to work in the field with a full bladder. But that's another post.<br /><br />Then there's the question of how I refer to myself, as the invesigator, in a written report. Am I "this investigator" the whole, awkward report. I surely can not repeat "Investigator Smith" every paragraph either. Or am I the "u/s?" I think that's the abbreviation some folks use. Most of the ex-cops in the public defender's office used this term in their reports. I think it means the undersigned. That's how lots of cops refer to themselves in police reports. Frankly, I've never been too sure what it means, but ugly sinner is always the first thing that comes to my mind for some unknown reason. To me, this kind of self-reference confuses the reader, who is already trying to figure out exactly WHO said WHAT to WHOM......and WHEN. It seems equivalent to writing in the report 1300 hours instead of 1:00 p.m. Why make the reader of the report work harder than they need to?<br /><br />When I was in the public defender's office, I was instructed to always put in titles like Mr. and Mrs. every time I referred to the witness. I was told to refer to myself as "this investigator." The beauty of being private is that I can do what feels most natural: refer to the witness by their first name and refer to myself as me, myself and I. Life is so much more simple that way. Okay, I'll stop procrastinating now and go back to my report writing...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1161322300541519792006-10-20T00:09:00.000-07:002007-03-22T12:12:50.406-07:00Me and My Thomas Brothers<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/brosthomas.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/brosthomas.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Those well-traveled Thomas Brothers. Where would I be as an investigator without them? Lost. Witness-less. At a dead end.<br /><br />The first tool of the trade I received while training to be a criminal defense investigator was a hand-me-down Thomas Bros. mapbook. These are detailed mapbooks organized by county. They show schools, hospitals, parks, county lines, zip codes and most importantly, they provide us investigators with a clear route to a witness' address.<br /><br />Over the years, I have gone through numerous Thomas Bros. mapbooks, from at least 10 different counties. With use and over time, pages detach from the spirals and must be taped back together, or simply get lost. It is adviseable to update your mapbook every 5 years or so since all cities add new streets and street names change. I'm sure, however, that there are investigators using 25 year old Thomas Bros. mapbooks that do just fine.<br /><br />I ocassionally come across a loose page from one of my long-ago-discarded Thomas Bros. mapbooks. I'll happen upon the orphan page while cleaning a drawer, or find it underneath a seat in my car. It always gets me nostalgic about the work I did at addresses on that particular page. Sometimes I have circled the addresses where I've gone, which further guides my walk down memory lane.<br /><br />Even in the age of <a href="http://mapquest.com">Mapquest</a> and <a href="http://maps.yahoo.com/">Yahoo's Map It</a>, a Thomas Bros. mapbook is an investigator's must-have. We might think we know where we're headed that morning when we leave the office with mapquest directions in hand, but we never know exactly where we'll end up by the close of business.<br /><br />I found a couple short <a href="http://www.articleinsider.com/article/123867">articles</a> about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bros._Maps">Thomas Bros.</a>: George, Gilbert and Leonard. Apparently, they invented the concept of laying a map down on a grid, thus creating sectors. It's those sectors which make it so easy for us investigators to find particular streets, even while we're driving (Sorry, mom).<br /><br /><a href="http://designorati.com/cartography/publishers-13/2005/a-brief-history-of-rand-mcnally/">Rand McNally </a>bought out the Thomas family in 1999, so perhaps the Thomas Bros. name will be taken off the mapbooks in the future. That won't affect my relationship with the Thomas Brothers, tho. I'm loyal. I'll always refer to my mapbooks as my Thomas Bros. I'll keep referring to Candlestick as <a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/29/MNGE590O6P1.DTL%20">Candlestick</a>, for that matter.<br /><br />If you're in need of direction, check out the various Thomas Bros. products <a href="http://randmcnally.com">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1161059835077716972006-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:002014-01-07T21:14:44.825-08:00It's a Rush.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/butternutter.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/butternutter.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />It's quite a rush when your job as a criminal defense investigator results in an innocent person getting out of jail. The most common rush I experience on the job, however, is one that involves sugar. I would love for other investigators to pipe in on this subject. For as long as I can remember, I have made a point of consuming sugar immediately before doing an important interview. A sugar rush is especially helpful when I know that someone is inclined not to talk to me, or when I have to talk to them about something particularly bizarre. Most of the time, a criminal defense investigator needs to be up emotionally for an interview.<br /><br />Historically, my sugar of choice has been a 7-11 size package of nutter butters. The sugar rush lasts about the same amount of time as the duration of the interview (one hour to be exact). The burst of energy serves to keep my thinking clear and my feet quick. Until the inevitable blood sugar low sets in as I am driving away from the interview.<br /><br />Here's a <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=47835">study </a>that shows that reaction times actually lower after the rush is over, and that drinking caffeinated, non-sugar beverages is best for keeping energy up throughout the day. I don't do caffeine, tho, since it makes me feel on edge. So sugar is my only weapon. The study basically confirms that the sugar rush will increase energy level for about one hour - which is as long as I need it to last.<br /><br />In recent years, I'm more of a health nut, so <a href="http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/ProductInformation.aspx?BrandKey=nutterbutter&Site=1&Product=4400004631">nutter butters </a>have been replaced with Trader Joe's juices, or <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_259693579908">Luna bars</a>. Speaking of Trader Joe's, did you know that one of the reculsive German brothers that owns the stores was himself a <a href="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1791525,00.html">kidnap victim</a>? Did you have any idea that the money you spend at Trader Joe's was going to Germany's richest brothers? The original Joe hasn't owned the company in years. He was last found <a href="http://www.winejoe.com/">here</a>. And for all you single folks, in addition to ready-made gourmet salads, some Trader Joe's are becoming known as a good place to shop for <a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/218541_singles02.html">love</a>.<br /><br />Over the weekend, I drove with another investigator to do an interview. He suggested meeting at a donut place since, well, he's an ex-cop. I got a maple bar and ate it right away. As a result, by the time we drove to the town where the interview was to take place, I was already starting to experience a blood sugar crash. Just goes to show that timing is truly everything where sugar, interviews and subpoenas are concerned.<br /><br />But all this got me thinking... perhaps my professional use of sugar is the same reason that police officers have become forever linked to donut shops. Both jobs are intense at times, and often our psyches need a little help to rise to the occasion. Perhaps cops and criminal defense investigators have more in common than I'd normally like to admit. Which means that <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-1580175481-4">this book </a>would make as great of a gift for Anita Witness, as it would for your local robbery/homicide detective.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1160110919646540882006-10-05T21:34:00.000-07:002007-03-22T12:14:22.452-07:00The Kindness of Strangers<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/kindness.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/kindness.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p>A criminal defense investigator's best resource is:</p><p>Another criminal defense investigator.</p><p>At the start of the week, I was fretting over a wall I hit with regard to an investigation I'm working on. I ran the situation by a friend, whose also a criminal defense investigator. My friend, in turn, put me in touch with someone in her office, who had all the information I needed to get past the snag. And then some. How awesome! </p><p>Over the years, every time I have ever asked a fellow criminal defense investigator for help or a favor, they have risen to the occasion. Often times these are investigators in another city who I have found off a defense organization rooster, who don't know me from Adam until the moment I call them on the telephone to ask them to save me. </p><p>When I have been asked for help by other investigators, I'm always ready to help. I know that my good investigatory deed will be reciprocated...tenfold. Maybe not by the investigator I've done a favor for, but by another criminal defense investigator out there in the world somewhere.</p><p>Sorry if this post is a bit touchy feely. I'm just feeling grateful for the comraderie we defense investigators share.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1158712504541745072006-09-19T21:50:00.000-07:002014-07-13T20:04:10.586-07:00The Common Cold Call<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/curlers.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/curlers.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A competent criminal defense investigator does not make appointments. Meaning: We don't call witnesses up on the telephone prior to just showing up on their doorstep. I have found that the higher up the socioeconomic ladder, the more people have a problem with "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_calling">cold calls</a>" as a violation of their privacy. I have been accused of being rude numerous times in Beverly Hills and Palo Alto, but rarely do I have that accusation thrown at me in South Central or East Palo Alto. Generally, people in lower socioeconomic areas have more of an understanding and respect for our jobs as criminal defense investigators. Hey, the police don't call before they come either.<br /><br />Here's some reasons why cold calls are crucial to criminal defense work:<br /><br />1) People are flakes. The number of times I have made an appointment with a witness ahead of time, is roughly equal to the number of times I have been stood up when I arrive at their home. Yes, there are exceptional folks who keep their word to the hardworking criminal defense investigator, BUT, they're the minority and time is a precious commodity when you have a full case load.
<p>2) People don't want to be bothered. Never mind that your client describes a particular witness as friendly. Even if they're friendly, people generally don't like dealing with legal stuff. Once your client is behind bars, it's depressing how scarce his or her "friends" become -- even when your client has a righteous case.
<p>3) Dysfunctional people don't do lunch. Criminal defense investigators often interview people who live on the margins of society. We have a hard enough time finding them because they don't own property, nor do they put in a change of address with the post office when they move. Often they are unable to keep a steady job, so why would we expect them to keep an appointment with us? When someone's address is the second cardboard box past the freeway onramp, well you're hardly going to be able to get them on the horn to schedule a playdate.<br /><br />4) People have a harder time saying "no" in person than on the phone. The <a href="http://fuller.com/about.asp">Fuller Brush Company </a>has known this for years. Defense investigators fight an uphill battle in getting people to talk to us at all. Most folks are prosecution oriented, even if they don't realize it. They pick up their views of the system from TV and books, most of which portray the defense attorneys we work for as slimey and downright evil. People generally think there is something wrong about talking to the defense. Your average Joe doesn't realize that our criminal justice system only works if there are a series of checks and safeguards in place. I am not going out to their home to dupe them into saying something to help the defense's case. I am going there to get an accurate statement about their observations while they are in the comfort, security and neutrality of their own home. Sometimes what they have to say is exactly what's on the police report. Sometimes it is quite different. Most of the time, it's somewhere in between.
<p>But I will never know until I talk to the witness, since not every witness can or needs to be brought into court, and not every question gets asked on the stand.<br /><br />The proof is in the pudding: when people are approached in person, the overwhelming majority talk. Some are genuinely appreciative that you cared enough to come out in person to see them, especially if other court personnel are not returning their calls. <br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1156376905490814832006-09-12T22:30:00.000-07:002007-03-22T11:27:28.946-07:00Criminal Defense for Preschoolers<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/underdog2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/underdog2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Before I was a mother, I speculated at what age I would tell my child about what I do for a living. I figured the topic would come up around 10 or 11 years old. Turns out, I was way off.<br /><br />At a mere two years old, my son already knew what a jail was -- thanks to <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/titles/rickyricotta/books.htm">Ricky Ricotta and his Mighty Robot</a>. Ricky and his Robot are a mouse and robot team that fight planetary bad boys like: the Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter, the Mecha Monkeys from Mercury and the Uranium Unicorns from Uranus. By the end of each book, they "save the day" by putting the evil leader into the Squeakyville City Jail.<br /><br />Ricky and his Mighty Robot don't let the evil leader consult an attorney, nor do they give him a trial before throwing him in jail. But from a defense point of view, what I like about these books is this: Ricky and his Mighty Robot don't just automatically throw the evil leader's subordinates in jail. Each book points out that these followers were simply under the (remote) control of the evil leader and therefore are not "evil" themselves (perhaps this goes to intent) and thus don't deserve jailtime. Instead, Ricky and his Mighty Robot keep them as house pets (kind of like alternative sentencing), or send them back to their planet to live happily ever after (introducing the concept of deportation I suppose). In short, Ricky and his Mighty Robot teach toddlers a sense of justice, and mercy. These books might just make more little people open to the idea that people accused of crimes sometimes have a valid defense.<br /><br />My son is a book-obsessed preschooler. Which means that each week we go to the library and get a dozen new books. I have looked for books designed to teach pre-K's about the concept of criminal defense. But it's just not as popular a subject as dinosaurs or princesses. I did find one book on a young public defender, geared towards 5th to 9th graders. Since there's lots of pictures, my son might like it. It's called <a href="http://amazon.com/Public-Defender-People/dp/0525673407">Public Defender: Lawyer for the People</a>. It's a black and white picture book from 1991. Amazon describes the book as an "upbeat and appealing" portrayal of a public defender. At $1.50 a copy, it's a total bargain. And speaking of bargains, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Indefensible-Journey-Inferno-American-Justice/dp/031615623X/sr=8-1/qid=1158122148/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7070987-9324754?ie=UTF8&s=books">Indefensible</a> is only 15 bucks on amazon right now. Sadly, our local library has neither book.<br /><br />For those of you who don't know:<br /><br />Janice Fukai (the subject of the children's book) is currently <a href="http://apd.co.la.ca.us/about%20us.htm">THE</a> Alternate Public Defender of Los Angeles County.<br /><br />Indefensible is authored by another laywer for the people (from the opposite coast), <a href="http://www.davidfeige.com">David Feige</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1157733122346690142006-09-08T09:31:00.000-07:002007-03-22T12:18:04.316-07:00The Often Arrested<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/arrested.3.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/arrested.3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In addition to talking to people about the details of a crime, criminal defense invesigators must ask potential witnesses whether they have any criminal convictions. You can never assume that some one's record is clean because they seem like a law abiding citizen, nor can you assume it's dirty because they live in a high crime area. And it's not always as easy as going down to the courthouse and looking for yourself, as people can have records in another county or state, or under another name. Sometimes this line of questioning can be awkward, especially to people who have no record and are offended by the implication. Most of the time, people with records are happy to talk to you about it, perhaps too much so.<br /><br />As a young investigator, I once made the mistake of not asking a witness that I subpoened to court about his record. I found him the morning he was needed to testify, he proved our case by his observations and I was just so elated. When I telephoned the attorney to tell her about the witness, she asked me whether he had a criminal record. It was then that I realized I hadn't asked, but he was already on his way to the courthouse. The attorney and I both agreed that as long as he wasn't a murderer, she'd still put him on the stand. Turns out he WAS a convicted murderer. The attorney put him on anyway, and our juvenile client ended up getting a break.<br /><br />I once interviewed a 400 pound biker in Sacramento who told me he had been arrested 431 times and he had no idea what all he had been convicted of. This guy was pretty scarey. He did not like what I was there to talk to him about (an old murder my habeas client had been convicted of) and I knew he was not going to like it when I subpoened his butt to court. At my suggestion, I interviewed him on his porch. No way I was going inside THAT house. True to my name, I needed a witness that day, and the busy street he lived on provided it. I didn't even care that cats had pissed all over the couch on his porch causing me to have to change my clothes immediately afterwards. This is why an investigator keeps a change of clothes in the car.<br />All this got me wondering -- what person holds the record of most times arrested? Lincoln, Nebraska actually keeps <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14366506/">tabs on this</a> sort of thing. Edward Rooks holds the record there with 652 arrests. Given new sentencing laws, the often-arrested are a dying breed. Literally.<br /><br />Seems the Guinness Book of World Records has given the title of "Most Arrested" to <a href="http://www.markosia.org.uk/press/farewell.php">this guy</a>: Henry Hollis, everyone's favorite <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/comrade_s/59020576/">busker</a>.<br /><br />btw, Did you know that the co-writer of the Guinness Book of World Records was a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/27/newsid_2528000/2528787.st">murder victim</a>? You learn something new every day on the internet.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1157431817262660002006-09-04T21:47:00.000-07:002007-03-22T12:19:09.916-07:00Justice Has No Windows<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/norwalk.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/norwalk.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The L.A. Times is running a series this week on ground-level justice. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-norwalk4sep04,1,5175122.story?coll+la-headlines-california">Today's article </a>(and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-norwalk5sep05,0,4691021.story?coll=la-home-local">tomorrow's article</a>) features a Norwalk, California public defender.<br /><br /><p></p><p></p><p>The picture to the left is of the Norwalk courthouse, circa 1968, in all her windowless glory. The lack of natural light in lots of courthouses can do as much of a number on our psyches as our caseloads. Research shows that daylight is both good for <a href="http://www.wdma.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3668">our mood and our productivity</a>. The sustainable concept of <a href="http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/design/integratedbuilding/passivedaylighting.html">"daylighting"</a> is the very green backlash to buildings like the Norwalk Courthouse. Luckily the future looks bright for courthouses: <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/38655.pdf">Check out the Arraj Federal Courthouse in Denver.</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1156783541568930282006-08-28T17:07:00.000-07:002014-01-07T21:59:29.359-08:00The Spy Who Loved Me<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/whoseyourspydaddy.4.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/whoseyourspydaddy.4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />It's not unheard of for a criminal defense investigator to fall in love with a client/defendant, but most of us have never done so and will never do so. When it happens, it's one more thing used against the defense by the general public. I won't judge where and with whom my fellow investigators find love, tho. I just wanted to point out that this is not a common scenario. One of the most solid women I know is a criminal defense investigator who fell in love with the roommate of one of her rape victims, they went on to marry and have children. I know her well enough to know that she didn't go out looking for love that day; she was just knocking on yet another door. Things just happen. I found this short story, entitled "<a href="http://arrivistepress.com/jmilleraggravatedlove0603.shtml">An Aggravated Love Story</a>," or "why to never fall in love with a defendant," to be pretty funny.<br /><br />A much more common state of affairs is an investigator who falls in love with her client's CAUSE -- be it innocence or redemption or religion. Here's a couple public examples of this:<br /><br />Virginia Synder. Celebrating her 85th birthday this year. Virginia is a recently retired Florida criminal defense investigator and <a href="http://muckraker.org">muckraker.</a> Some say Angela Lansbury based the Jessica Fletcher character in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder,_She_Wrote">Murder She Wrote </a>on Virginia. For Virginia, the client whose innocence stole her heart was <a href="http://www.prisonpotpourri.com/EXONERATED%20and%20PARDONED/Diaz/Local10_com%20-%20News%20-%20Man%20Imprisoned%2026%20Years%20For%20Rape%20Cleared%20By%20DNA.html">Luis Diaz</a>. The good news here is that, thanks in part to Barry Scheck, there's a happy ending to their union.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1156640151348393742006-08-26T16:54:00.000-07:002007-03-23T01:02:20.505-07:00Fashion Victims<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/fashionvictim222.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/fashionvictim222.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Some folks think of public defenders as disheaveled and sleepy eyed, with shoulderless frames from which hang cheap suits. On the other hand, the public image of a private defense attorney is of a shark-like dude with slicked back hair and an expensive Italian suit with a bit too much sheen to it. Then there's the fairytale image of a criminal defense investigator as either a sexy woman in a trench coat and stillettos, or a not so sexy, cigar smoking, overweight ex-cop. Most of the people who do this kind of work don't fit into these neat little cubbie holes. In fact, some defense attorneys' unique grooming choices have become their calling card. Examples of this, by category, are:<br /><br />HATS - No one wore a hat better or bigger than the late <a href="http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/root/1.html">Gladys Towles Root</a>. She died inside a courtroom in Pomona in 1982, wearing all gold. My mother served as a juror on a rape trial where Ms. Root represented the defendant. The defendant was acquitted, no easy feat where my mother was concerned, but Ms. Root made her case. Ms. Root would be proud that her tradition of wearing hats lives on in Cincinatti criminal defense attorney <a href="http://cincinnatiherald.com/oldcouple.html">Les Gaines</a>. Love that derby!<br /><br />BOWTIES - Best examples of this are: Gerry<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/17/ctv.blake/index.html"> Schwartzbach </a>, of Robert Blake and Keenan counsel fame, and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/kqed/presumedguilty/1.3.0.html">Stephen Rosen</a>, "sage" of the San Francisco Public Defender's office. Stephen is also the proud husband of a female criminal defense investigator.<br /><br />FRINGED LEATHER JACKETS - <a href="http://www.spencelawyers.com/spencebio.html">Gerry Spence</a>. Author of the best of the O.J. books imo. There's something I have always wondered tho: does he own several different coats of the same style, or is he always wearing the same exact coat? I suppose I could always email him.<br /><br />HAWAIIAN SHIRTS - Magnum PI wore these on the mean streets of Hawaii, but defense attorney <a href="http://marinij.com/marinprofiles/ci_3763653">Jon Rankin </a>wears them with ties in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed courtrooms of Marin.<br /><br />HANDLEBAR MOUSTACHES - I've seen a few of these on California defense attorneys, tho in searching the web, at least one of them in San Diego is now down to just a bushy moustache. This was the trademark of <a href="http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=4377">Johnny B. Mostiler</a>, the lone Public Defender of Spalding County, Georgia, who died of a heart attack on April Fool's Day of 2000. He was also known for driving around in a mustard green 1972 El Dorado. What I wouldn't do for a photo of him to post. Here's one living example of a handlebar moustache tho: <a href="http://azduiatty.com/">Ed A. Loss</a>. I wonder if he's the same person as this handlebar moustached <a href="http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20050723/ai_n14858298">Ed Loss</a>.<br /><br />MEN WITH LONG HAIR AND PONY TAILS - This is almost like the defense "uniform." It's mandatory that every public defender's office has a few guys with hair below the collar. Here is just a small, small sampling of what's out there: Michael Yamamoto (no photo, search as I might), the temporarily unlicensed <a href="http://pier5law.com/Tony-Serra.htm">Tony Serra</a>, Solano County Chief Deputy Public Defender <a href="http://www.co.solano.ca.us/FileDownloads/Downloads.asp?NavID=1213">Michael Ogul</a>, Harvard boxer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mesereau">Thomas Mesereau</a>, and Yolo County's <a href="http://www.counterculture.net/thefish/#bio">Barry "the Fish" Melton</a> (at least in spirit).<br /><br />SPATS - yep, I saved the most flamboyant for last. Recently, a young male public defender in Los Angeles took to wearing <a href="http://www.dancecatalog.com/acceb&wspats.html">spats</a> to court. Rumors abound as to what exactly happened, but last I heard, he had gone back to classic oxfords. There was some public outcry as to freedom of expression. My take on this is, hey, whatever works for your clients.<br /><br />As a field investigator, my own fashion of choice is a pair of <a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_3/602-1872712-5632631?%5Fedcoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000G1JOK0">khaki chinos</a>, a <a href="http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=5760&pid=413306">simple cotton shirt</a>, a <a href="http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_12/602-1872712-5632631?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000ES1SSG">funky necklace </a>and a <a href="http://earth.us/">sensible pair of shoes</a>. Nothing flashy, but hopefully not dowdy either.<br /><br />I can't think of anything too outlandish that I've seen worn by fellow c.d. investigators, which is why I picked on the attorneys for this post. There's an investigator from San Francisco whom I've never seen without his thin leather vest on, but that's about as predictable as we investigators get.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1156287232203542162006-08-23T07:47:00.000-07:002014-01-07T21:45:02.264-08:00Girl Power<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/girlpower.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/girlpower.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Of course there are tons of us girls in the criminal defense trenches, but we still don't outnumber our pony-tailed male counterparts. I was lucky enough to be trained by a female criminal defense investigator. I say lucky, because she taught me how to use the girl in me to be a good investigator. Her weapon of choice was a genuine interest in every one she met, no matter what they had witnessed or had to say about our client. An article once described her as disarming people by playing the dippy chick. Truth of the matter was, she wasn't playing dumb or manipulating people, she was just approaching people in an unassuming, girlish manner and walking away with all the information she needed, and then some.<br /><br />While I'm on my girl kick, I wanted to mention the gals over at <a href="http://www.echoinggreen.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=211">A Fighting Chance</a>. They are female criminal defense investigators who have been doing great work for folks who didn't get their cases investigated the first time around. Additionally, they do public outreach and training in criminal defense investigation. Hopefully, because of organizations like A Fighting Chance, we'll see more women, and people of all backgrounds and colors, doing this kind of work in the future. Congrats to A Fighting Chance for being a finalist for the 2006 social capitalist awards.<br /><br />The logo for the Bay Area based <a href="http://www.womendefenders.com/">Women Defenders</a> is a pretty cool tribute to girl power.<br /><br />It's kind of funny, that even in this day and age, it's still thought of as against stereotype to be a female CDinvestigator or CDattorney. Below is a link to a recent L.A. Times article about Allison Margolin, "L.A.'s dopest attorney." She's <a href="http://www.1800420laws.lawoffice.com/">Bruce's</a> little girl, not <a href="http://www.cacj.org/margolin.htm">Ephraim's</a>, not <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GY8Y7G#biography">Phillip's</a>. Allison's just another example of girl power, with a decidedly L.A. twist.<br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dopest22aug22,0,7007710.story?coll=la-home-headlines">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dopest22aug22,0,7007710.story?coll=la-home-headlines</a> And yes, like everyone else under 30, she's got a <a href="http://www.allisonmargolin.blogspot.com">blog</a>.<br /><br />But, if it was me, I'd get this <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/LegalCenter/story?id=2281370&page=1">girl</a>, instead of Allison.<br /><br />Last, but not least, I would be remiss not to mention another online sister in law, <a href="http://www.blondejustice.blogspot.com">Blonde Justice</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1155915001232187772006-08-18T09:09:00.000-07:002007-03-22T11:41:57.329-07:00Let there be sunflowers<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/sunflower.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/sunflower.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I went into the projects. I went there to see the grandmother of a client on death row. She had basically raised him and she's the starting point to the rest of the family. The project where she lived was all too typical: beigish concrete walls and brown trim in need of a paint job. Any grass was non-existent, giving the whole area a colorless, lifeless, just depressing feel. As I drove further into the projects, all around me was just more dirt and concrete. As I got closer to the address I was looking for, there was a bed of dazzling sun flowers in front of one unit. It was so diametrically opposed to everything around it. The sunflower garden seemed to be one tenant's very public statement of hope. As I drove closer, I realized that the sunflowers were in the yard of my client's grandmother. Visions of a cold glass of lemonade danced in my mind. It was just such a treat that for once I was not going to the unit with the broken windows and bullet holes in the walls. As I parked the car and walked up the sidewalk, I determined that the address where I was going was actually two doors down from the glorious sunflower garden. Oh well.<br /><br />Despite outward appearances, I've found the projects contain lots of life, hope and plans for a better future. The positive aspects often fight a losing war against the crime and poverty. It was nice to see the sunflowers fighting such a valiant battle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267733.post-1155568718221292282006-08-16T08:12:00.000-07:002014-09-22T11:51:02.759-07:00Cleaning House<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/1600/guitarsetaside.1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4474/3523/320/guitarsetaside.1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I once heard a guy interviewed on the radio about his lucrative business of <a href="http://www.xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/life/000419.html">cleaning up crime scenes</a>. He said that the most disturbing thing about his job was the realization of how filthy and alone so many people live, and die. He said that the bulk of his work was cleaning up apartments after a tenant had literally disintegrated on the couch, only to be discovered after the smell became overwhelming for the neighbors.
<p>We criminal defense investigators get to meet the folks he speaks of before they actually disintegrate. But it's no less disturbing. We come into their private spaces unannounced to interview them about a crime they have witnessed or been a part of somehow. We are often greeted with filth and clutter, or conversely with an eerily spare space, despite their having lived there on the margins of society for many years. Once you talk to these folks, you realize they're a person just like you and me. But for one reason or many, they have found themselves on the edge of society. It breaks your heart, and you never forget them, because you know that everyone else has.<br /><br />A couple of years ago, I was looking for a witness, but got to his room at a residential hotel just as they were cleaning it out. The manager of the place was a young hipster type who was trying to restore the hotel to it's former glory. The manager insisted on bringing me up to the room to show me how much stuff my witness had accumulated by the time of his death. The manager kept boasting to me, "And we've already taken away four dumpsters of the stuff." The manager seemed so proud and excited about it. Frankly, the room didn't look as if they'd even started to clean it out, as there were newspapers, knick knacks and lord knows what else, scattered everywhere. The manager told me my witness had once had a successful acting career, having played the "Fix It Man" on <a href="http://www.timvp.com/sanford.html">Sanford and Son</a> TV show.
<p>There was a nice guitar slated for the trash bin, so I asked if I could have it. It's made a great beginning instrument for my son. I looked on the internet when I got home, but could not find any information on a "Fix It Man" character on Sanford and Son. I did find a character of that name on the Andy Griffith show, but that actor died in 1973. Seems my witness' greatest public accomplishment has disintegrated as well.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2