Crossing The Line Redux

Have any of you ever posted something you wish you hadn't? Crossing The Line is beginning to make me wish I had never posted it up. Oy vey.

I Am SUCH A Sucker...

For these things.

Skelly over at Arbitrary and Capricious just passed on a meme to me and yes...it's contagious!

The rules are as follows:

1.Go into your archives.

2. Find your 23rd post.

3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it).

4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.

This is what I found:

I wanted to post the names of a few organizations for investigator's that I've been involved with in the past that provide continuing legal/investigative education. They are CDIA (California Defense Investigators Association), NDIA (National Defender Investigator Association), and CALI (California Association of Licensed Investigators).

Pretty tame I guess....I was hoping it would be something better but I chose to stick with the directions. NOW for the fun part (even though Skelly stole two of my recipients)!

I choose to pass this virus along to Blonde Justice, Woman Of The Law, Gideon’s Guardians, The Wretched Of The Earth, and Indigent Journal. No pressure but if you guys don't pass this along, my dogs tail will fall off in two days.

Defense Investigators Association

The DIA Fall Conference has started today! This is a great organization based out of California that is holding it's Fall Conference (Defending Gang Cases) starting today in Anaheim, California. You can look at the itinary here. It's a too late to sign up for it now but the 2006 Spring conference is just around the corner, check out their website for more details. I'll have a full report on it next week.

It's Cold

Crap.

I can't sleep.

It's 12:30am and I can't close my eyes.

I'm trying, but I just can't seem to get comfortable. It's cold, maybe that's it. I swear we were just having great weather (high 80's) then all of a sudden this morning, it's like a fucking icebox...I think it mighta gotten down to 60-65 degrees...maybe colder.

I'm typing in the dark with just the light from the screen of the laptop illuminating my fingers that are slowly turning into frozen fishsticks. I think I can see my breath...okay, I can't but it must be close because I'm beginning to lose feeling in my nose.

I've gotta get up in 4 hours for my 1 hour commute. Damn it. Just a couple hours of sleep would probably be enough. Usually I can fall asleep like nobodies business...sleep like a log, but lately I've been getting less and less sleep.

I think it's old age. Well I'm not in my early 30's and I'm not in quite yet in my mid-30's. My birthday is around the corner and I don't even want to think about it. Well, actually I do. I'm going to Reno, Nevada for some fun in the sun but the whole birthday aspect of it might bring my excitement down a bit.

Yup. Still can't sleep. Oh well, fuck it.

Before I go and drink a swig of tequila or warm milk (maybe both) to try and jumpstart this sleeping thing, I just want to say that if you haven't been following, Woman Of The Law, now is the time to go check her out. Start with the nearness of you and then miles away from where I'm supposed to be.

It's great to get in her head, to feel her thoughts out as her friday night drinkfest after work turns into something else...something with the possibility of being...great? It's also a cold and simple reminder that guys can be insensitive assholes (I've been guilty of it as recently as yesterday).

Let's keep our fingers crossed for two things:

1) WOTL gets a simple explanation and things are still REALLY good with this chump...er co-worker.

2) I can get to sleep in the next hour.

Son Of A Bitch! Now it's 1:08am...I'm screwed.

You Can't Cover The Sun With A Finger

I was assigned a new case last week from one of our veteran attorneys, it's a felony charge with a due date some time in the middle of next month.

A drug case.

What's new right?

Police Facts: Client is high at home (yes, it's meth), client gets naked, client runs out of his house naked, neighbors report naked client to cops, client gets arrested after reaaaaaally long naked chase, cops find drugs in his room.

Anyhoot, I went out this afternoon to work on this case (among others) and just got back into the office. I need to write a report.There are a few search issues I found after interviewing a few witnesses at the clients home, but I'm not going to get into that.

I interviewed our clients roommate (his aunt or Tia in Espanol). She says that she suspected the client was using and tried explaining this to his mother (her sister) and family but nobody ever tried helping him. We talk for about 40 minutes and after I'm done with the interview, our clients mother (Josefina) walks into the house. I introduce myself and she sits down with us at the dinner table. We make a little small talk, then Tia starts talking about Josefina's son, Oscar.

Tia says, "Josefina, you need to talk to Oscar. His brothers say he is using drugs." Josefina is in total denial, puts her hands over her ears (yeah, it's always worked for me!) and says, "No, not my Oscar!" Josefina thought that Oscar had received a speeding ticket and that's what I was doing there.

They go back and forth for a while with mom denying and getting angry at the Tia. Tia finally says to Josefina, "You can't cover the the sun with a finger. The only thing you're protecting is your eyes, the rest of the world knows the sun is still shining." Tia then gets up from the table, thanks me and leaves the house to go to work (she works nights at a local factory).

I don't know if the covering the sun thing is an old saying but it's the smartest thing I've heard anyone say in years.

I Found A Valuable...Something?

I've held onto this little item I found while working a case a few months ago. I was taking measurements at a crime scene and doing a finishing a sketch when I glanced down and saw this little gem in the gutter:

It's AWESOME, isn't it?!?! Can you imagine that somebody was careless enough to just drop it in a gutter? I mean C'MON PEOPLE...it's not like we're talking about a plain jane Shania Twain or David Hasselhof Artist Pass...we're talking about the real king of contemprary, adult pop...MR. MICHAEL FUCKIN BOLTON!

I've been considering posting it on eBay to see what I could get for it but...you know what? I think I will! I know I could probably rake in, oh I don't know 50 or 75...cents?

I think it's worth a shot.

If You Are A Blogger...This Is A Must Read!

Ahh, the Electronic Frontier Federation. Love em or hate em, they are on the cutting edge of your legal rights on the internet and pretty much any technology imaginable. The section they have on Bloggers is fantastic..Check it out here.

Personally, I'm a big fan even though on the investigation front, some of their causes has made doing work as a Private Investigator or even a Public Defender Investigator a little bit tougher.

Super Bowl NFL Football Player Turned PD Investigator

A cool story about Jim Kiick of the 1972 Miami Dolphins and their unbeaten season. Apparently Kiick is now a public defender investigator for Broward County in Florida (which the story just briefly mentions)...this is soooo coool!

Ahhh, it's been very good weekend but I'm so friggin exhausted, I'll tell you all about it later. Need sleepy.

Facing A Difficult Loss

I was hit with some really hard news this week. It came really unexpectedly and I'm taking it harder than I expected I would. Actually, the news was given to me in the comments section of a recent post (Thank you Melissa) which made the hurt...just a little easier to take.

Apparently, a couple of nights ago, Ms. Diane Hernandez (Hot Model and Public Defender Investigator) had her ass booted off America's Next Top Model on UPN.

I know. It hurts doesn't it? It's okay though...we can all make it through this terrible news together. I liked Diane because she wasn't some super skinny model freak (not that there is anything wrong with that). She just seemed like a smart, cool chick that happened to be beautiful.

It's going to take me some time to get over this, no doubt about it. Well, time and maybe a little poem that goes something like this:

A Tribute To Diane Hernandez

(Ex-Hot Model and Now Just A PD Investigator)

Diane, Diane, I so wanted to be your man
I rooted and I hooted but alas,
It was not meant to be cuz
you still got ya ass booted.

-Sancho October 14, 2005

No Money = No Investigation

Public Defender Investigators in Georgia are really feeling the cost of the gas prices....along with their clients! How is this even possible? It's just another example of the PD's office getting the shitty end of the stick.

How many District Attorney Investigators are driving their own vehicles and paying for their own fuel? Not very many, you can count on it.

28 cents a mile...it's friggin ridiculous.

A Hot Model AND Public Defender Investigator

It isn't the most professional interview in the world (where the hell is her note pad!?) but here is America's Next Top Model (UPN) on video talking about her work as a Public Defender Investigator in Florida!

Even after watching the video...I still like her...a lot.

I Hate Doing This...

But this is some good stuff. I just received this email from a friend of mine that has probably forwarded it to everyone that reads this but here it is anyway (Yes, I know we've all heard some form of these but they still crack me up!):

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court stenographers who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

Question: Are you sexually active?
Response: No, I just lie there.
____________________________________

Question: What is your date of birth?
Response: July 15th.
Question: What year?
Response: Every year.
______________________________________

Question: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
Response: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________

Question: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
Response: Yes.
Question: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
Response: I forget.
Question: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten? ______________________________________

Question: How old is your son, the one living with you?
Response: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Question: How long has he lived with you?
Response: Forty-five years.
______________________________________

Question: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning? Response: He said, "Where am I Doris?"
Question: And why did that upset you?
Response: My name is Susan.
______________________________________

Question: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult? Response: We both do.
Question: Voodoo?
Response: We do.
Question: You do?
Response: Yes, voodoo.
______________________________________

Question: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
Response: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

______________________________________

Question: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
Response: He's twenty.
______________________________________

Question: Were you present when your picture was taken? ______________________________________

Question: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
Response: Yes. Question: And what were you doing at that time? ______________________________________

Question: She had three children, right?
Response: Yes.
Question: How many were boys?
Response: None.
Question: Were there any girls?
______________________________________

Question: How was your first marriage terminated?
Response: By death.
Question: And by whose death was it terminated? ______________________________________

Question: Can you describe the individual?
Response: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Question: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________

Question: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
Response: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________

Question: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
Response: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. ______________________________________

Question: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
Response: Oral.
______________________________________

Question: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
Response: The autopsy started around8:30 p.m.
Question: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
Response: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy. ______________________________________

Question: Are you qualified to give a urine sample? ______________________________________

Question: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Response: No.
Question: Did you check for blood pressure?
Response: No.
Question: Did you check for breathing?
Response: No. Question: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Response: No.
Question: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
Response: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Question: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
Response: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

I'm Going To Die...On September 26, 2060

Jeezus.

It's so weird to see it on the screen. My life slowing ticking the seconds away to my eventual passing in 2060.

Damn. I was really hoping to stay alive a little longer than that but apparently it's not in the cards.

Barring any freak of nature, vehicle accident, accidental shooting, murder attempt, I'm going to die in September 2060. I could also die sooner if I take up smoking in the next few years (which I've been considering in order to bum smokes off the hot court clerk downstairs).

Will we have flying cars by then? Will I be married? Will I have kids? Will I outlive anyone else in my family? Will I have the same friends?

Hmmm....Now that I have a date, I guess I can start planning for my eventual demise. I think I want to be cremated. Cheaper for everyone and I can't think of a better way of going than being tossed over a seaside cliff out of an old coffee can (ala one of my favorite movies).

If you want a real "pick me up," go check out your big day at Deathclock.com!

Good times.

Crossing The Line

We’ve all heard stories of attorneys that have fallen in love with their clients during the course of a criminal case and some that have even married them, but this is the first I’ve heard of a Public Defender Investigator doing something just as…how do I put this nicely…dim-witted?

Oscar Ray Bolin was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of 25 year-old Natalie "Blanche" Holley. Bolin is looking at 22 years in prison for the 1986 Florida crime. Tampa Bay Online reports that, “Since Holley's death, however, Bolin has been convicted of six other felonies: another murder, kidnapping, rape, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, escape and conspiracy to kidnap…Regardless of Bolin's sentence for Holley's death, he has a death sentence for the murder of Teri Lynn Matthews and is serving a 75-year prison sentence on the kidnapping and rape charges.”

Sounds like Bolin is a good, law abiding, and available bachelor right? Of course he’s not! That is where our trusty Public Defender Investigator comes in!

"Holley (Referring to the victims mother) also focused her wrath on Rosalie Bolin, a former investigator for the public defender's office. Rosalie Bolin was working on Bolin's case when she left her husband and four daughters to marry Bolin in prison. Rosalie Bolin, Holley said, wears sparkling designer dresses to court and dresses her husband in Armani suits while the family and friends of his victims watch."

People can find love in anywhere of that, I am convinced, but with a convicted murderer? In Prison? On death row? C’mon people this is completely insane!

In the penalty phase of capital case investigations, we (investigators) are put in a position where we have to know our clients inside and out, documenting every turn in their life, both good and bad. We must then be able to convey this information to an attorney in as straightforward, and comprehensible manner as possible. The attorney will in turn demonstrate to the court and a jury, why our clients are the people they are and why they deserve to live. It's a very basic explanation but it's the essence of penalty phase work.

I can tell you that working on a Capital Case can be a very emotional experience, dealing with a client facing death, the grief of a victim's family, and also with a client's family, facing the loss of a loved one. I have just never imagined falling in love with a client. It’s something I just can’t comprehend I guess.

I’m not saying that Mrs. Bolin is a bad person or that she was wrong to leave her husband and four daughters or some dude in prison. I do however question her ethical, and professional judgment.

Mrs. Bolin (now ex-public defender investigator) has several stories documenting her relationship involving Oscar Bolin, you can read just a few of them here and here.

It's Good To Be A PD Investigator In California!

The Alameda County Public Defenders office up in Oakland, California is currently hiring for a Public Defender Investigator. You can click here to check out the job announcement on Governmentjobs.com.

Are you curious to know how much Public Defender Investigators make Alameda County? If you were too lazy to click on the link yourself...I'll just show you:

Job Title: INVESTIGATOR, PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE
Salary: $2,947.20 - $3,540.00 biweekly or $6,385.60 - $7,670.00 monthly

For the math impaired that means a measly $76,627.20 to start with the possibility of topping out at $92,040.00 a year...

OH MY SWEET GEEZUS! THAT IS A SHITLOAD OF CASH!

I would say I was interested in working in Alameda County but I like where I'm at...that and Alameda county is too far away. Hopefully they are able to get some qualified applicants that will be able to earn their keep!

OUT OF LEFT FIELD POST: The Lego Me

Thanks to Blonde Justice, and the help of The Mini-Mizer, I am able to post as close to a picture of me that I will ever allow on this site:

I'm not as dark in real-life but it's pretty close...Lego Brown is as good as it gets. I also don't normally wear a cape, but I thought it looked pretty good on me. The helmet I wear on special occassions.

New Blog: Indigent Journal

I came across Indigent Journal this morning on a comment to a post in my blog. It's a new blog by presumably a Public Defender somewhere in the great US of A.

Thoughts on it? Very new...first post was this morning but hopefully he/she will keep it steady because the writing is short, sweet, and most importantly, really good reading. Go check it out for yourself!

Dear Public Defender Co-Worker...

Dear Public Defender Co-Worker:

Good morning! First off, I just want to say that working with you these past few months has been a joy and I think you are a fantastic investigator with a great future ahead of you. That being said...well, I'll just get to the point...

I know you know, that I know that Tales Of A Public Defender Investigator is my blog. There. I said it.

I know, you've hinted at it the last few weeks to see if I bite on anything, and I haven't. This was a secret I would have been happy to take to my grave but last night you decided to drop the bomb on me in my office, intimating that you knew my little secret about a certain blog. I blew it off, pretending not to know about it and you didn't say anything else.

I thought about this all last night and although I wasn't going to say anything, I changed my mind this morning.

I know that blogging can be looked down upon by employers, especially in a defense work where confidentiality and professionalism is expected from all employees. If I've blogged during the day, I've done it while on break or during lunch. Most of the time I do it late at night or early in the morning but I've never let it interfere with work.

I've also never talked about co-workers by name and I've always blogged with the intention of informing the outside world of the work we do with the intention of never jeopardizing a client's case or constitutional rights. I've done my best to remain anonymous and truthfully it's very difficult to do without becoming utterly boring.

The point of all this is to ask a few things of you, and I realize I may be completely off base but I need to ask anyway:

1. I would like it if you never mentioned this blog to me again.

2. I have never blogged about you or private conversations we've had in the past and I have NO plans to. I also cannot continue this blog if you are going to tell co-workers that I'm the person responsible for this blog.

You were right yesterday when you said we all have secrets. I have done a fantastic job of not telling anyone we work with, of your job interviews (past and future), and I've given glowing recommendations (to your benefit) to the people you are interviewing with (my friends). I given them in part, because, you are a great investigator and I think you are a person that values confidentiality and professionalism as much as I do.

If for some reason you can't do any of the above two things for me, well, then that's just the way it goes. Life goes on. I think I was a little hesitant in writing this letter to you because fellow bloggers and my three regular readers would think it was a little extreme but I just felt I didn't have any other choice.

I really hope you don't take any of this the wrong way and maybe I've crossed the line by asking you not to say anything but this blog has been a good outlet for me. One that I think I've needed for a long time and I just don't want to give it up without at least trying to keep it, can you understand that?

I hope so.

Hair Extensions Attack!!!

It was a crazy week last week with a not very relaxing weekend and now this week is not starting off any better. Truth is, I just wasn't up for blogging much...TILL NOW!

Did I sound excited enough? Good.

I was just moody this weekend...or something. I didn't even feel like getting out of the house. I did eat at a new restaurant over the weekend where I even got to meet the owner...He regaled my dinner party with stories of the past and I later found out he has ties to the mob. Sweeet! What kinda of life would that be? Forget Public Defender Investigators doing blogs....we need a Mob Blog. I love that stuff!

I was walking out of the courthouse to my car this morning and a lady who was walking behind me said, "You have an ear on your shoe!" I stopped, looked down and saw that I was dragging this disgusting thing:

I may have let out a scream...or maybe I didn't. After knocking the hair extensions off with several kicks of my foot...I began to wonder, Did I hear correctly? Did that woman tell me I had an ear on my foot? She meant hair...I think. How long has this thing been on my foot? Hmm...was the cute clerk that works in the Jury lounge checking me out this morning because I had a strands of someones hair stuck to my foot?

SON...OF...A...BITCH!

Why do these little stupid things always happen to me?

More later...I swear!