Laura McNish And Marshall County Courthouse No Shows

Hey Laura, when you have a defendant who has been summoned to court and is a no-show, you will generally not find him hanging about in the hallway of the courthouse. And the young man you wanted to detain was not the defendant, either. You owe him an apology for your dumbass mistake, and you owe his mother an apology for your filthy language. Once upon a time, obscene words and an unkempt appearance on the part of an officer of the court were both considered contempt of court. It appears that in Marshall County, Kansas, the prosecutor is permitted the liberty of using foul language in the courtroom.  A bit similar to your son and his ongoing liberty to vandalize and destroy the property of others with no consequences, while those who are not so well connected do not enjoy the same rights to commit crimes, isn't it? You and your family have set a terrible example for the young people in Marshall County, Kansas, Laura. Your decorum and lack of manners is unbecoming to an officer of the court. If you insist upon dressing like a slob and using filthy language in court, the least you could do is impose the same laws on your children that govern the rest of the state.

Courtly Conduct Before Juries

We've been hearing a lot abut jury trials in the news, lately. We also, on a semi-regular basis, hear a lot about the press, social media, and the first amendment. But does anyone truly understand the sanctity of a jury decision, and the purpose of the protections of the same, both before and after the decision is rendered? Apparently, there is some misunderstanding, as a rather high profile case, that of the murder trial of Aaron Hernandez, ran a risk of dismissal shortly before the trial concluded because a reporter chased a vehicle transporting members of a seated jury in order to obtain pictures, names, and interviews!

What part of "do not sway, taint, or influence a jury" do these reporters not understand? Can they not see that when a defendant invokes his right to a jury trial, all involved parties count on an impartial jury? Before the jury has rendered a decision, this kind of crap can easily bias the jury and rob the defendant of his right to a fair trial. This is why judges are often obliged to invoke orders against discussion about cases by any involved party during trials. How can the court be sure that the jury was not responding to threats or bribes when deliberating the case if others have taken the liberties of influencing jury panels via outside conversation? This can lead to mistrials, miscarriages of justice, and convictions of innocent people.

One more thing this reporter attempted to do that was completely unwise was an attempt to photograph the jury while they were commuting to and from the courthouse. This was the reporter's excuse, as a matter of fact. He thought that merely snapping a picture of jury members was appropriate. He had not considered what might have happened if someone, somewhere had been dissatisfied with the verdict, and decided to use the information and pictures provided by the media in an attempt to gain some sort of vengeance on any member of the jury who could be identified. It seems that, thanks to social media and peer pressure in general, there is already enough temptation to "go with the flow" and do what everyone else is doing, and never do one's own thinking. In court, a jury is depended upon to depart from peer pressure and make it's decision as individuals, looking critically at the facts, not public opinion. Why should the media interfere with this process?

Hailey Owens Killer Says He's Not Guilty

Craig Michael Woods says he is not guilty of any of the charges against him by the state of Missouri in the kidnapping and murder of ten year old Hailey Owens. Someone who, according to eyewitnesses, looks exactly like Woods, snatched Hailey from the sidewalk and forced her into Woods's truck. Later, she was found deceased in his basement. While no one saw the murder, the kidnapping was actually seen by more than one person, so Woods's attorney definitely has his work cut out for him. When a person is abducted by someone whose intentions are murder, it usually happens with the first three hours of the kidnapping.

To Disagree With The President

Unfortunately, I cannot disagree more with Obama's assertion that America's judicial system follows it's own rules. In this video, Obama states that our government has checks and balances to prevent the abuses of overdone surveillance that has been brought to light by Edward Snowden. Obama also suggests that if Snowden takes advantage of his rights as defendant, as afforded him by our judicial system, everything will be okey-dokey for Snowden. At this point, after the recent and publicized abuses by almost every type of judicial entity from small town police departments to federal courts, I am quite inclined to look at this whole matter from Snowden's standpoint. Even if Snowden did, indeed, commit a crime; or three, as Obama claims, why is this crime a felony? Government agencies purport and publish information and misinformation against individuals all the time, with no penalties and very little oversight. Why is the same action criminalized in the case of a private citizen?

 

 

An Untainted Jury

When a defendant or a respondent invokes the right to a jury trial, that does not entitle the prosecuting attorney to cherry pick, among the population or jury pool, friends and other intimate cohorts of the plaintiff! Marshall County Kansas prosecutor, I am looking at you! When a citizen has been summoned for jury duty on the date of the trial of a case that involves someone with whom he or she is personally acquainted, and calls the office of the county attorney to state this, telling that citizen to appear anyway, and threatening charges of contempt of court and imprisonment are NOT lawful and appropriate responses. Calling as many friends and associates of a person you have chosen to bully and threatening them with one legal action or another, should they refuse to terminate their friendships with your target, is unprofessional enough, but deliberately choosing a biased jury is an ethics violation. How many ethics violations does the Marshall County prosecutor's office commit in a day's time?

 

A Prosecutor With Contempt For The Constitution

 

 

Kansas Judge Talks To Witness, Ex Parte

A judge in Marysville, Kansas, has a case on her docket. The two parties involved in the case, the defendant and the witness for the prosecution, have been ordered to leave each other alone and keep their amounts of personal contact to a minimum. But the witness for the prosecution still perceives reasons to hound the defendant, asking him for personal information for purposes involving her own affairs. Instead of waiting for defendant to contact his attorney and go through the proper channels for all contact and information necessary to the existing situations in the lives of all involved, the witness for the prosecution decided to call the courthouse and complain that the defendant was keeping his distance from her, as ordered. So what happened? A secretary transferred the prosecution witness's phone call straight to the chambers of the judge scheduled to try this case. The judge proceeded to converse with the witness, behind the backs of the defendant and his attorney.

This kind of behavior of the part of a judge is highly inappropriate. In fact, according to the Judicial Code Of Conduct for judges in the state of Kansas, an ex parte communication is extremely unethical. How can a judge remain unbiased when her secretary transfers phone calls directly to her from witnesses for the prosecution? There really is no way, and this never should have happened. The Supreme Court in Kansas will certainly hear about this, and the next time Judge Hecke runs for the bench, the incident will be common knowledge in Marshall County, Kansas.

 

Karma, Conflict, And Judge Wade McCree

Can you say "conflict of interest"? Or "karma"? Or just "McCreep"? Judge Wade McCree, in Detroit, heard a child support case, after which he threw the defendant in jail, only to boff the plaintiff and eventually have an ongoing affair with her. But then.......she got pregnant! At which time, the affair became a lot less fun. So now, she is suing him for child support. And her other ex is suing him over the conflict of interest. And Detroit is thinking that there may be judges with better judgement out there who can take the honorable Wade McCree's place on the bench. And any divorce proceedings, as his honor is married, will also require equitable division of property. What will happen to Judge McCree if he can't pay his child support?
 

Upcoming Court Dates For Terri Horman

 

 

Terri Horman may be shopping for "courtly" attire in the near future. There are two court dates on the docket for her 2012 holiday season; one is reportedly on November 23, the day after Thanksgiving, for Kaine Horman's long overdue divorce from her, and the other is on December 14, in the civil case filed against Terri by Kyron Horman's real mother, to determine the authenticity of Dede Spicher's right to plead the fifth amendment, despite her status as a mere witness, rather than a defendant, in answer to questions about Kyron Horman's disappearance from his school on June 4, 2010. What an amazing holiday season! Getting taken to court, not only by one's estranged spouse, but also by one's estranged spouse's former spouse! Terri Horman really hit the jackpot this year!

 

Hugh Cranford Goes To Jail

This from one of my gentle commenters: "Hugh is in custody in Topeka. From Shawnee County Court website. 10/03/2012 - Warrant returned, personal service - as to HUGH CRANFORD 10/02/12 . 10/03/2012 - FIRST APPEARANCE: Defendant present and in custody. Arrested on warrant. Bond set at $250,000 PS/CA. Next court date: CAD on 10/11/12 at 2:00 pm in Div 11. SRE First Appearance Form filed. SRE 10/03/2012 - Bond set at $250,000.00/PS

The article in the Topeka Capital Journal does not say how or where he was arrested. Here's a picture of him, without the creepy-looking beard: