June 12, 2007
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Me$$iah
- Attlee
- Posts: 479
- Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 8:34 pm
- Instruments: I just bought a 12 string and a stratocaster with a whammy bar
- Recording Method: Sonic-Core
- Submitting as: infrequently as ever
- Location: Son of God - Im like EVERYWHERE
Dude thats like a fantasy of mine.Caravan Ray wrote: I did once spend a whole day in a womens prison
I have for the longest of times had a serious crush on Bea Smith.
QOTD.... erm yeh. But only the once.... damn rozzers
Oh yeh ..... good luck Heather, but remember no matter how cool you are, everyine still hates their supervisor. Damn authority figures.
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Spud
- Roosevelt
- Posts: 4782
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:25 am
- Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, eHorn
- Submitting as: Octothorpe
- Pronouns: he/him
- Location: Seattle
- Contact:
Sorry, I was too tired last night to type it out.
OK, I was having a gallery opening back in around '89. It was a pretty big affair, with six milliners and lots of hats, and we were serving wine in little plastic glasses, like a lot of galleries do. A few regulars probably brought a six-pack of beer as well.
We has set up a 'bar' (table with wine) somewhat discreetly at the back of the gallery, which was to discourage the street traffic from just coming in for a free glass of wine. They would have to at least get past the art, and in that case, see it, which was the point anyway.
About half-way through the opening (which turned out to be all the way through it), two rather large gentlemen in polyester suits and sideburns entered the gallery, went straight BEHIND the bar and poured themselves each a glass of wine. My employee Doug, who was on duty as a bouncer (as usual) alerted me to the presence of the cops, and I went over to talk to them.
They asked me if I was the owner (I was), and if I had a banquet permit (I didn't). They told me that they were arresting me for serving alcohol without a license (a gross misdemeanor), and after that, coming back in a half an hour to inspect for alcohol and arrest me for something else (I forget what) if they found any.
Well, as you can guess, this put a damper on the party.
Several weeks later at my arraignment, after asking my name, etc., the judge read the charges: "Public Place No License". She pushed her glasses down her nose and asked the clerk if we had passed a law against being in a public place without a license. Everybody looked around at each other wondering if she was serious or not.
She then asked me: "Mr. Freeman, do you know what you were arrested for?", and then, as I began to speak, "No, don't answer that. If we can't figure out what you were arrested for, I am going to have to let you go.". She then looked up the cops' badge number, found out that he was assigned to the Liquor Control Board, and established that I had been serving alcohol - in a 'Public Place' (my office) without a 'License' (banquet permit), and I was assigned a trial date.
The day of my trial was a long one. I brought Doug (the bouncer) and Izzie (co-organizer of the show) with me for company and potential witnesses. I spent most of the day being harassed by the city's prosecutor and the cops who had arrested me into trying to plead guilty to a lesser charge. I refused, because I wanted to see this through, and I didn't want even the misdemeanor on my record. They were totally flummoxed by the fact that I was going to go on trial without an attorney. They tried their hardest to get a name or phone number of my attorney from me, so that they could try to get him to talk me into pleading. I came to realize that although I wanted my day in court, their job was to do anything to make sure that that didn't happen. Well, it did.
As an aside, I had talked to an attorney, who had suggested a defense strategy, which involved making myself intimately familiar with the particular law in question, which I did.
When the trial started, the prosecutor and the cops started by telling their side of the story. When the cops presented a paper bag with a half bottle of champagne (not from my party) in it as "exhibit A", the judge turned to me and asked "Mr. Freeman, are you planning to base your defense on the fact that you weren't serving alcohol or that you didn't need a license?". "The latter", I responded, and the judge did not accept the exhibit, and asked the bailiff to "remove that alcohol from my courtroom".
Later, the prosecutor attempted to enter a copy of a local arts guide, which featured a quarter page ad for the opening, as evidence that the opening was open to the public. The judge looked at the cover of the publication, did not open it to the ad, and said "I am going to view this as an invitation to the arts community at large, not as an advertisement to the general public". At this point, I realized that I was going to win, and this judge was going to help me. I knew the law well enough to know that if the party was invitation-only, my defense strategy was bolstered (a lot).
Finally, when my turn came, the judge told me that I didn't have to bother asking myself questions, just to tell the story from my side, pointing out why I felt that I wasn't guilty.
I argued, of course, that my office wasn't a public place, by virtue of the fact that I controlled access to it, as evidenced by the fact that I identified the officers and approached them, rather than the other way around. He asked why I didn't kick them out, since they weren't invited. I said that I wasn't sure about my rights in that area, and that I didn't think that it would help my situation. He agreed that it could be tricky, but wondered how I knew they were cops. By this time, I was getting a little cocky and replied "Look at them". He laughed.
The final question, asked to me by the judge was "Mr. Freeman, what are you hoping to accomplish by not being convicted?" He was fishing to see if I was trying to set a precedent for all gallery owners, which would overturn their need to get banquet permits, and whether he might be seen as making law by letting me off, which I am pretty sure he wanted to avoid. I said that my goal was to not go to jail for a year or pay the $10,000 fine, so he said that he thought that was a good reason and found me not guilty, but not before pointing out that he though I was doing a public service, and commending me on my composure under stress, recognizing as well that I must have had an interesting day. I thanked him profusely, told him that he had my vote forever, and went on my way.
One more thing. About ten year later, when we were headed off to China to adopt Laura, I got a call from the adoption agency, telling me that they had one more thing for me to take to China. When I picked it up, it was a sealed, unmarked 9x12 manila envelope. The director came our of her office and and told me that it was confidential, not to open it, and to only give it to them if they ask for it. Not knowing what was in it, who it was for, or anything else about it, I wondered under what circumstances someone was going to ask me if I had an unmarked envelope, but I took it. When I got home, I held it up to a strong light and found that it contained a one-page printout from the court indicating that I had been arrested and found not guilty in 1989. I packed it with the rest of the several pounds of paperwork and we headed off the China.
At the end of several days, upon entering the U.S. with our new daughter, no one had ever asked anything that had caused me to even think about the envelope. The last guy to see us before we cleared back into the U.S. was an immigrations officer who was going through the adoption paperwork. His final question was "do you have anything else to submit?". I quickly thought of the envelope and rationalized "not specific enough", said no, and he welcomed us back to the country and congratulated us on the new addition to our family.
Don't get arrested. It never goes away.
p.s., yes, I AM an Arlo Guthrie fan. I saw him live recently.
-edit: you know, I really should write a song.
OK, I was having a gallery opening back in around '89. It was a pretty big affair, with six milliners and lots of hats, and we were serving wine in little plastic glasses, like a lot of galleries do. A few regulars probably brought a six-pack of beer as well.
We has set up a 'bar' (table with wine) somewhat discreetly at the back of the gallery, which was to discourage the street traffic from just coming in for a free glass of wine. They would have to at least get past the art, and in that case, see it, which was the point anyway.
About half-way through the opening (which turned out to be all the way through it), two rather large gentlemen in polyester suits and sideburns entered the gallery, went straight BEHIND the bar and poured themselves each a glass of wine. My employee Doug, who was on duty as a bouncer (as usual) alerted me to the presence of the cops, and I went over to talk to them.
They asked me if I was the owner (I was), and if I had a banquet permit (I didn't). They told me that they were arresting me for serving alcohol without a license (a gross misdemeanor), and after that, coming back in a half an hour to inspect for alcohol and arrest me for something else (I forget what) if they found any.
Well, as you can guess, this put a damper on the party.
Several weeks later at my arraignment, after asking my name, etc., the judge read the charges: "Public Place No License". She pushed her glasses down her nose and asked the clerk if we had passed a law against being in a public place without a license. Everybody looked around at each other wondering if she was serious or not.
She then asked me: "Mr. Freeman, do you know what you were arrested for?", and then, as I began to speak, "No, don't answer that. If we can't figure out what you were arrested for, I am going to have to let you go.". She then looked up the cops' badge number, found out that he was assigned to the Liquor Control Board, and established that I had been serving alcohol - in a 'Public Place' (my office) without a 'License' (banquet permit), and I was assigned a trial date.
The day of my trial was a long one. I brought Doug (the bouncer) and Izzie (co-organizer of the show) with me for company and potential witnesses. I spent most of the day being harassed by the city's prosecutor and the cops who had arrested me into trying to plead guilty to a lesser charge. I refused, because I wanted to see this through, and I didn't want even the misdemeanor on my record. They were totally flummoxed by the fact that I was going to go on trial without an attorney. They tried their hardest to get a name or phone number of my attorney from me, so that they could try to get him to talk me into pleading. I came to realize that although I wanted my day in court, their job was to do anything to make sure that that didn't happen. Well, it did.
As an aside, I had talked to an attorney, who had suggested a defense strategy, which involved making myself intimately familiar with the particular law in question, which I did.
When the trial started, the prosecutor and the cops started by telling their side of the story. When the cops presented a paper bag with a half bottle of champagne (not from my party) in it as "exhibit A", the judge turned to me and asked "Mr. Freeman, are you planning to base your defense on the fact that you weren't serving alcohol or that you didn't need a license?". "The latter", I responded, and the judge did not accept the exhibit, and asked the bailiff to "remove that alcohol from my courtroom".
Later, the prosecutor attempted to enter a copy of a local arts guide, which featured a quarter page ad for the opening, as evidence that the opening was open to the public. The judge looked at the cover of the publication, did not open it to the ad, and said "I am going to view this as an invitation to the arts community at large, not as an advertisement to the general public". At this point, I realized that I was going to win, and this judge was going to help me. I knew the law well enough to know that if the party was invitation-only, my defense strategy was bolstered (a lot).
Finally, when my turn came, the judge told me that I didn't have to bother asking myself questions, just to tell the story from my side, pointing out why I felt that I wasn't guilty.
I argued, of course, that my office wasn't a public place, by virtue of the fact that I controlled access to it, as evidenced by the fact that I identified the officers and approached them, rather than the other way around. He asked why I didn't kick them out, since they weren't invited. I said that I wasn't sure about my rights in that area, and that I didn't think that it would help my situation. He agreed that it could be tricky, but wondered how I knew they were cops. By this time, I was getting a little cocky and replied "Look at them". He laughed.
The final question, asked to me by the judge was "Mr. Freeman, what are you hoping to accomplish by not being convicted?" He was fishing to see if I was trying to set a precedent for all gallery owners, which would overturn their need to get banquet permits, and whether he might be seen as making law by letting me off, which I am pretty sure he wanted to avoid. I said that my goal was to not go to jail for a year or pay the $10,000 fine, so he said that he thought that was a good reason and found me not guilty, but not before pointing out that he though I was doing a public service, and commending me on my composure under stress, recognizing as well that I must have had an interesting day. I thanked him profusely, told him that he had my vote forever, and went on my way.
One more thing. About ten year later, when we were headed off to China to adopt Laura, I got a call from the adoption agency, telling me that they had one more thing for me to take to China. When I picked it up, it was a sealed, unmarked 9x12 manila envelope. The director came our of her office and and told me that it was confidential, not to open it, and to only give it to them if they ask for it. Not knowing what was in it, who it was for, or anything else about it, I wondered under what circumstances someone was going to ask me if I had an unmarked envelope, but I took it. When I got home, I held it up to a strong light and found that it contained a one-page printout from the court indicating that I had been arrested and found not guilty in 1989. I packed it with the rest of the several pounds of paperwork and we headed off the China.
At the end of several days, upon entering the U.S. with our new daughter, no one had ever asked anything that had caused me to even think about the envelope. The last guy to see us before we cleared back into the U.S. was an immigrations officer who was going through the adoption paperwork. His final question was "do you have anything else to submit?". I quickly thought of the envelope and rationalized "not specific enough", said no, and he welcomed us back to the country and congratulated us on the new addition to our family.
Don't get arrested. It never goes away.
p.s., yes, I AM an Arlo Guthrie fan. I saw him live recently.
-edit: you know, I really should write a song.
Last edited by Spud on Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Rabid Garfunkel
- Churchill
- Posts: 2468
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:43 pm
- Instruments: Absurdity
- Recording Method: iPhone, Reason & rando apps/toys
- Submitting as: Rabid Garfunkel, Primitive Screwheads
- Pronouns: that guy
- Location: Hollywood, Calif.
Kick-ass Jim ('Weird' Al is one of my favorite performers to see live)! Good luck Heather!
QOTD:
Didn't specify good or bad run ins, so I'll just throw a couple out there. When my apartment got broken into (pictures and full story in an older Monkey Business thread somewhere), the cop in the house went to the site of the break-in, a freaking hole hacked in the wall, then went to the front door to call to the uniform still in the car and called out "Man, you gotta come in here and see this."
Back when I had a couple of junkers collecting dust and tickets in front of my apartment, I'd just gotten to know one of the neighborhood cops (at the neighborhood bar) and over drinks one night he asked me where I lived. Then apologized for ticketing the cars.
Run-ins, both surreal, but not necessarily bad.
QOTD:
Didn't specify good or bad run ins, so I'll just throw a couple out there. When my apartment got broken into (pictures and full story in an older Monkey Business thread somewhere), the cop in the house went to the site of the break-in, a freaking hole hacked in the wall, then went to the front door to call to the uniform still in the car and called out "Man, you gotta come in here and see this."
Back when I had a couple of junkers collecting dust and tickets in front of my apartment, I'd just gotten to know one of the neighborhood cops (at the neighborhood bar) and over drinks one night he asked me where I lived. Then apologized for ticketing the cars.
Run-ins, both surreal, but not necessarily bad.
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Billy's Little Trip
- Odie
- Posts: 12090
- Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:56 pm
- Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Drums, Skin Flute
- Recording Method: analog to digital via Presonus FireBox, Cubase and a porn machine
- Submitting as: Billy's Little Trip, Billy and the Psychotics
- Location: Cali fucking ornia
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HeuristicsInc
- Ibárruri
- Posts: 5350
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 6:14 pm
- Instruments: Synths
- Recording Method: Windows computer, Acid, Synths etc.
- Submitting as: Heuristics Inc. (duh) + collabs
- Pronouns: he/him
- Location: Maryland USA
- Contact:
Wow, Spud, you are full of good stories. Truly, you lead an interesting life!
-bill
-bill
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Caravan Ray
- bono
- Posts: 8738
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 1:51 pm
- Instruments: Penis
- Recording Method: Garageband
- Submitting as: Caravan Ray,G.O.R.T.E.C,Lyricburglar,The Thugs from the Scallop Industry
- Location: Toowoomba, Queensland
- Contact:
The public votes for judges!?! WTF!?! I will never undrstand the US legal system.Spud wrote:...told him that he had my vote forever...
I organised a lot of functions similar to what you mention when I was at University. I guess our laws may not be as strict as yours - but that sounds like a clear case of "private party on private property - no licence required". That is, assuming you were giving the piss away - not selling it.
I heard the story of a strip club a few years ago in Brisbane that lost its liquor licence. It continued to trade by giving the bouncers at the door a whole heap of beer. When a punter came along, he could pay a (relatively large) entry fee to go to a 'private party' in the strip club. Then, as a gift, he would be given a free six pack! So the club was full of people at a 'private party' drinkng 'their own beer'. No licence needed - problem solved!
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fluffy
- Eisenhower
- Posts: 11202
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:56 am
- Instruments: sometimes
- Recording Method: Logic Pro X
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- Pronouns: she/they
- Location: Seattle-ish
- Contact:
The US is a representative democracy. Judges are representatives who are in charge of making legal decisions. It's up to the people to keep people in power who represent their views on said decisions.
No law is completely clear-cut all the time and it's nice to have someone who actually works on behalf of the people they serve (like the judge in Spud's story) rather than one who will automatically side with the cops (like traffic court judges), who are not elected representatives but are instead hired like any other working stiff, only instead of causing office politics they decide whether or not to arrest someone for driving while black or whatever.
No law is completely clear-cut all the time and it's nice to have someone who actually works on behalf of the people they serve (like the judge in Spud's story) rather than one who will automatically side with the cops (like traffic court judges), who are not elected representatives but are instead hired like any other working stiff, only instead of causing office politics they decide whether or not to arrest someone for driving while black or whatever.