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The defendant was representing herself. She was charged with shoplifting at a supermarket. The total cost of the items she stole was just low enough that this was a Class "C" misdemeanor, the lowest of the crime levels in this state. She had been observed stuffing the items into her pockets and was detained as she tried to walk out the door.
Should have been an open and shut case, right?
Nope. She demanded a trial. A jury trial. She objected to everyone from the store who testified as to what they witnessed - especially loss prevention who had watched her via closed circuit security camera the entire time she was in the store. All objections were overruled because they all hinged on her one defense.
What was her defense? That oldy but goody, the race card. Ya see, she is of a certain ethnicity while the staff at that moment happened to be all of another ethnic heritage. That meant she was being racially profiled and watched while all the other customers who were stealing too (yes, she said it that way) were being ignored because they shared the same heritage as the staff. She actually testified that if she had not been so heavily watched, she would not have been caught. I thought the prosecutor was going to need help getting his lower jaw off the rug when she said that.
The jury's guilty verdict almost took ten minutes to come back - mostly due to the fact that the foreman had to find the line in the six pages of instructions where the verdict was to be noted.
Should have been an open and shut case, right?
Nope. She demanded a trial. A jury trial. She objected to everyone from the store who testified as to what they witnessed - especially loss prevention who had watched her via closed circuit security camera the entire time she was in the store. All objections were overruled because they all hinged on her one defense.
What was her defense? That oldy but goody, the race card. Ya see, she is of a certain ethnicity while the staff at that moment happened to be all of another ethnic heritage. That meant she was being racially profiled and watched while all the other customers who were stealing too (yes, she said it that way) were being ignored because they shared the same heritage as the staff. She actually testified that if she had not been so heavily watched, she would not have been caught. I thought the prosecutor was going to need help getting his lower jaw off the rug when she said that.
The jury's guilty verdict almost took ten minutes to come back - mostly due to the fact that the foreman had to find the line in the six pages of instructions where the verdict was to be noted.
I AM the evil bastard!
He is my Black Dragon (and yes, a good one) strong, protective, the guardian. I am his Silver Dragon, always by his side, shining for him, cherishing him.
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