I spent my career defending people accused of committing crimes in and around New York City. Coming out of law school, I believed in the U.S. Constitution. I had studied about concepts like the presumption of innocence, the right to remain silent, the right to a trial by a jury of your peers, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and other myths of the regime. I was an earnest, idealistic idiot, but my eyes were quickly opened.
My first job as a lawyer was working at a small firm located right on the edges of a crime filled African American community on Long Island, very close to the New York City borough of Queens. Locals say “on Long Island” to designate the eastern suburbs, but the city boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are also on the island.
Learning The Ropes
For one of my first cases, I was sent to court to represent a 19 year old African American kid who was charged with promoting gambling as a felony. Keep in mind, this was back in the 1980s, when all gambling other than horse racing and the government numbers racket known as the lottery was illegal. In New York, you are not entitled to Youthful Offender treatment after your nineteenth birthday. So, my client could be saddled with a felony conviction that would follow him around for life. The facts of the case are as follows:
The kid had organized a craps game in the back alley behind a local bodega. The local cops got wind of the game, shut it down, and arrested my client. He was scared and told the cops everything.
Cattle Call
I went to the giant courtroom where all of the overnight felony arrests were being processed. There were almost 150 cases on the calendar. The room was packed with lawyers and family members. I hoped that the courtroom prosecutor would offer to dismiss the case or reduce it to a non criminal offense, since it was my client’s first arrest, it was not a crime of violence, and he was so young. She said I had to conference the case with her supervisor.
My Meeting With The Capo
I walked into the supervisor’s office to make my argument. There, behind his desk, hanging on his wall was a giant whiteboard. On it was the familiar grid and boxes of a Super Bowl pool. The big game was the next weekend. I was so happy. Here was my defense. How was the kid’s crap game any different from the District Attorney’s football pool? I asked him about it before we started talking about the case. He asked me if I wanted to buy a box. I declined. He told me it was really just for the cops and prosecutors, but a lot of defense lawyers buy boxes too.
Then he opened the file containing my case. I anticipated a big, dramatic reaction. “Your client is accused of running a craps game.” That’s all I got. I pointed to the football pool and asked him how his conduct was any different from my client’s conduct. He was puzzled. “What?” I explained that football pools were illegal under New York law. He was promoting gambling. He laughed in my face and gave me a classic New York “gedthafuckouttaheah”. It was like a scene from Goodfellas. He liked that I brought it up! He wasn’t sheepish. He wasn’t nervous. He called his assistant in to tell him what I had just said. They both laughed. Then the prosecutor turned to me and said something like “Hey, you’re a good kid. I’m gonna like having you around.” As if something I said meant that I was now a member of this big club for whom the law doesn’t matter. I felt like a child getting approval from his parents.
He then offered to let my client plead guilty to a non criminal disorderly conduct. It was a good deal. He would have no record, but he would have to pay a fine. I briefly fantasized about refusing the offer and making a big thing about the hypocrisy, but I knew I would be going up against forces far bigger than myself. And, I had to make a living.
My client and his family were very happy with the job their lawyer had done. They immediately accepted the offer.
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252 sats \ 2 replies \ @carlosfandango 8 Nov
A good outcome vs justice I guess. Life shouldn’t be made about these decisions by people who seem beyond the law…. just feels desperately unfair and it’s hard not to see a societal grievance when this happens again-and-again in some form.
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33 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
You study for three years and realize you're basically a horse trader.
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52 sats \ 0 replies \ @carlosfandango 8 Nov
I have heard similar comments from others in your profession.
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83 sats \ 0 replies \ @Wumbo 8 Nov
"Rules For Thee but Not for Me"
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165 sats \ 3 replies \ @SpaceHodler 8 Nov
Thanks for sharing.
It triggered another smash buy for me, knowing what kind of slimeballs I'm defunding.
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73 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
I'm glad you made the connection. I picked the bitcoin sub, but it wasn't obvious.
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239 sats \ 0 replies \ @Gar 9 Nov
In my experience, bitcoin conversations can lead to absolutely any topic of human interest. Good post btw. Interesting.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nemo 8 Nov
deleted by author
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62 sats \ 1 reply \ @antic 8 Nov
“It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” —Noël Coward
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
Apt
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73 sats \ 5 replies \ @elvismercury 8 Nov
Love this!
Also, I think your judgement was sound re the plea :)
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241 sats \ 4 replies \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
I know, but this incident still pisses me off thirty seven years later.
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63 sats \ 3 replies \ @elvismercury 8 Nov
I have become very mellow about stuff like this, since I see it everywhere, even in myself.
One that continues to amuse me is that my mom reacts with horror at the idea that people are smoking weed; despite the fact that our family killing itself with alcohol is the most normal thing in the world. In her mind the things are in entirely different buckets.
If I wasn't amused by these developments I'd probably just go mad.
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32 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
Speaking of hypocrisy, the weed/alcohol buckets were really apparent regarding law enforcement years ago. I suspect not so much now.
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491 sats \ 1 reply \ @Nuttall 9 Nov
I like to think of Natural Law and Written Law. Confucius wrote the Art of Governing (Or this dialogue was recorded by writing). In the Art of Governing there is written law and unwritten law. The Tao is Natural Law (Dharma Dhamma) and written law is convoluted truth.
The King who governs by example is governing by virtue. He does not need written law as the people follow his example.
Govern + Ment (mentis) is mind control and it is arbitrary and designed for conflict which has authority in the Hegelian Dialectic of Problem, Reaction and Solution. All manufactured.
As a final note in language. The word Dharma in Sanskrit ( Dhamma in Pali) has the root Dhar(o) which phonetically sounds like Taro (Torah). We get the word Terrain from this root and we get the Bodhisattva/ Goddess, Green Tara from this.
The Buddha was challenged by the Demon Mara (Equivalent to Satan - Hebrew for "opposition"). Mara said that the Buddha had no right to claim Sovereignty and enlightenment. The Buddha pointed to the Earth and said this is my witness. The Earth is Dharma (The Law).
Saint George (Geo - From the Earth) kills the Dragon ( R factor of the mind. Reptilian brain).
Satoshi gets his name from Sanskrit Sat which means truth.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 9 Nov
You packed a lot in here. I haven't spent much time on etymology, but I guess there is a dispute about the English origin of government that seems to be a blue/red thing! The left search engines downplay the idea of mind control.
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239 sats \ 0 replies \ @BitcoinIsTheFuture 9 Nov
Wow very interesting thanks for sharing! Onward and upward!
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239 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 8 Nov
I only made it as far as jury selection once, but it was very disturbing hearing and seeing how our so called peers think about the law.
The level of deference to authority was absolutely sickening. The vast majority of potential jurors said they would believe anything a cop said. They clearly believed that defendants are most likely guilty. Many openly (and seemingly proudly) professed an inability to be unbiased. The jurors who were ultimately selected were those who were most openly sycophantic towards law enforcement.
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485 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
Unfortunately that's the norm. As a trial lawyer you just know going in that the presumption of innocence is nonsense. A criminal defense lawyer has to prove his or her client's innocence.
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52 sats \ 2 replies \ @crrdlx 8 Nov
I must be slow, but I'm guessing the lesson you learned is:
A. That there is a double-standard in applying the law?
B. That your client made a good decision in accepting the deal?
C. That 19 year old adults make stupid decisions as do 17 year old juveniles?
D. All of the above.
D, maybe?
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126 sats \ 0 replies \ @nemo 8 Nov
deleted by author
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 8 Nov
All of the above certainly apply, but @Wumbo summed it up in his reply.
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229 sats \ 0 replies \ @evanbaer 8 Nov
Great story
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229 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 8 Nov
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
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227 sats \ 2 replies \ @Nuttall 9 Nov
Tennis happens in a court. Basketball happens in a court. Other sport also occurs in a court.
Thomas Sowell has written an interesting work called Discrimination And Disparities.
Personally I have had my court times and I've usually lost. With or without a lawyer I've ended up accepting what the machine was ready to unleash. I've also gotten away with things that I would have been severely spanked for. Ultimately I've learned that if I don't manage my life someone else will. I've also learned that some things have nothing to do with natural law and they are arbitrary.
The Masonic Tracing Board shows a checkered board floor. This is the court. Black and white are light and dark. The goal is to get off of the floor. It's also to recognize that the floor is all about opposition control. Many police hats also have the checkered pattern on them. You may also notice the graduates cap has a black square and the senior professor with a black octagon. These are the darkness over the mind.
Look for the symbols. The hierarchy at the very top are well read, trained and fully believe that the Earth is a black box prison planet. They believe in the Sun Set (The god who killed Horis is Set, Horis is the Horizon).
As a lawyer you have the keys to language, etymology and the truth is there. There is also the symbolic language, too.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
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10 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 9 Nov
I read your later reply first. I'm a little foggy this morning. This is an excellent reply that contains a hell of a lot more than my basic story. I intend to spend time going over it in more detail. You should make a separate post about all this stuff. I think there are a lot of people here who would join in. Although I was a lawyer by trade, I stopped thinking about it in the intellectual sense years ago. It became just a job.
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227 sats \ 0 replies \ @Nuttall 9 Nov
I'm currently a marine carpenter. I build piers. I fully understand. I enjoy the physical work and when I have down time I do writing, reading and Bitcoin stuff.
I've had office jobs estimating which I enjoyed but I got fat and my mind got too wrapped up in the logical mess.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @trevor 9 Nov
Maybe you oughta watch this to get an understanding of how the law is completely misinterpreted most of the time by lawyers and judges alike, and people like you, me, and others can help alleviate that.
IT IS UP TO US TO DO IT.
Eddie has many more educational videos where he breaks it down. He has real world experience with this stuff, as do many others who are making change just like he is.
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