Narrative Blog

Newark Courtroom Analysis

2004-12-10T01:44:00.001-08:00

Friday, November 11 2004, was a mild fall morning. The case being heard at 9:30 that morning was a suppression motion case being brought forth by the defense. In May 2004, the defendant, Zachariah Agee, was in attendance at a festival on the Frontier Ranch in Patasakla, Ohio, known as the Hookahville Festival. At this festival the headlining band was called Ekoostik Hooka, a jamband who’s origins are firmly rooted in Ohio. Because of this they draw a large crowd to the area to enjoy the atmosphere and music. At these festivals there is a lot of illegal activity that goes on in the campground. People are buying and selling all sorts of drugs in public as if there were no laws against it. For this reason, Hookahville every year is a hotspot for narcotics agents to catch some of these criminals in the act of selling and consuming drugs. In this case, the defendant was being charged with possession of marijuana and trafficking marijuana. When he was detained, the undercover officer arrested him and took him back to what the prosecution referred to as a “command center” which was a small trailer used for interrogating detainees. There the officers read Mr. Agee his Miranda rights and began to ask him questions about his action over the course of the last hour. For this day in court the defense was trying to suppress all of the evidence that took place inside the “command center” stating that it was a violation of his natural rights. For the prosecution it was a fairly open and shut hearing, the evidence was simple and the crime was obvious. The court proceeds were as follows.
The two lawyers were already at their desks when Judge Spahr entered the court room. He walked out of his office and up to his seat where he started the trial with a brief synopsis of the charges Mr. Agee was facing and the issues with which the defense wanted a motion to suppress.
The prosecution was given the floor first and immediately called their first witness to the stand. The witness was Detective Mark Brill who was the arresting officer at Hookahville that day. The reason for calling this witness to the stand was a strategic tactic used by the prosecution to establish two of the five canons, invention and arrangement. Invention is a canon that is used to establish the arguments at hand. Arrangement is a canon used to establish the proper ordering of the proofs of the discourse. Through these two strategies the prosecution uses the witness to create a clear story of the events of that afternoon so that the judge would have full knowledge of the situation. Also through the prosecution line of questioning the ethos of the witness would be established. The questions were as follows. First they asked the witness what his job was, to which he replied Detective with the Narcotics Task Force. He then was asked a series of questions pertaining to what he saw that day on the campground. The detective replied by giving a short explanation of why he arrested Mr. Agee. He stated that he witnessed Mr. Agee selling Marijuana to people their numerous times at a distance of no more than 10 feet, which he demonstrated by saying “no farther than I am away from you”, talking to the prosecuting attorney from the witness seat. The prosecution then asked him how he went about selling his marijuana and detective Brill replied by saying “he was just holding it up as if to say this is what I have, this is my product”. He went on to say that he got a good look at the bud of marijuana Mr. Agee was holding up at that point. The prosecution then asked if he was trained on what marijuana looked like. He responded by saying that he had been on the task force for 3 years and had had many dealings with marijuana and through those experiences knew exactly what marijuana looks like. This line of questioning established the ethos or credibility of the detective and the degree to which he could properly do his job.
Now that the judge knew who the detective was and the credibility of his character, the prosecution could get to the evidence with which the defense was trying to suppress, those were the actions that occurred in the “command center”. They started this line of questioning by asking questions like, who arrested Mr. Agee, who escorted him to the trailer, and was he handcuffed. The detective responded by saying he told members of his team to bring him back to the trailer where he would be waiting for him. He said that he didn’t know if Mr. Agee was handcuffed but thought that most likely he was because it was standard protocol to put handcuffs on detainees for protection purposes. He was asked if Mr. Agee was read his Miranda rights, to which he confirmed he had been. The prosecution then handed detective Brill a copy of Mr. Agee signed Miranda Rights waiver and asked him if this was the document that he had given Mr. Agee to sign and he confirmed that as well. Detective Brill than talked further about the questions he asked Mr. Agee once he had been seated and read his rights. He asked him questions pertaining to what he had seen while he was observing Mr. Agee sells his marijuana. Some of these questions were, where did he get his pot? How much had he sold that weekend? Why was he selling it to begin with? Detective Brill said that Mr. Agee cooperatively responded by saying he had sold somewhere around 50 transactions that weekend so that he could make a little cash on the side “to help pay for the little things”. Following that statement the prosecution ended their line of questioning and the witness was turned over to the defense for cross-examination.
For the defense it was imperative to establish a couple things to clear up the grey area that was surrounding some of the facts in this case. To do this they would use the second canon, organization, to show that the detectives wrongfully and unlawfully detained Mr. Agee. First the defense questioned Detective Brill on his ability to identify what Mr. Agee was in fact selling was marijuana. They did this by again asking the same question the prosecution asked, in a different way. Detective Brill again affirmed his ability to be able to identify marijuana and other drugs by saying “you name it, I’ve seen it.” The defense then turned their focus to the issue of whether Mr. Agee was in fact under arrest and in handcuffs. Detective Brill, responded by saying that he again wasn’t sure because he himself didn’t put him in handcuffs and never saw handcuffs on the alleged. He also stated that although Mr. Agee was being detained for possession and trafficking of marijuana, he never was formally under arrest at any point. He said that he brought Mr. Agee back to the “command center” to talk to him about what he had witnessed. The defense then asked to describe the inside of the “command center”. Detective Brill responded by giving a description of a regular trailer about 8 by 12. Next they asked Detective Brill what kinds of questions he asked the defendant while in that trailer to which Detective Brill stated the kinds of questions he asked him. Using this testimony the defense tried to argue that Mr. Agee was in a situation where he felt intimidated by the officers in the confines of that small trailer. This in turn forced him to falsely incriminate himself by telling the officers he was the seller and the amount to which he had sold. Because the defense asked these questions in this particular order, they were able to affectively twist the fact to make the defendant seem more innocent.
With both parties finished with there lines of questioning, Detective Brill was told he could step down from the stand and was thanked by the Judge for his truth. The Judge then recapped what he had heard from both attorneys and the responses given by Detective Brill and came to the conclusion that the detectives were at no point in the wrong for there actions. From the statements heard the Judge believed that there was clearly enough reason for interrogation after Mr. Agee was read his Miranda Rights. “There was clearly illegal activity taking place”, said Judge Spahr. He went on to say that all evidence occurring that day will be used and the motion to suppress was to be denied.
This particular case was an open shut case as far as the prosecution was concerned because although there was some grey area in the collection of the facts, there was enough evidence to suggest that there was an abundance of illegal activity taking place. Detective Brill had witnessed Mr. Agee trafficking marijuana and had followed all proper procedure for interrogating the defendant. For the prosecution it was easy to establish the credibility of Detective Brill because of the questions that were asked to him and the response he gave to each one. For both sides of the case, it was necessary to use two of the five canons to help persuade the Judge Spahr of their points. With this in mind it is abundantly clear that the way the prosecution used these devices was a lot more effective than the way the defense used them.

Newark Courtroom Narrative

2004-12-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

It was a typical fall morning in Ohio, slightly overcast and dry. Zachariah Agee had been dreading this day for the better part of a year now. Through the spring and the whole summer, he spent his time brooding over his mistake and the repercussions that would follow. Now the day he’d been thinking about for so long had finally arrived.
Zachariah pulled into the parking lot of the courthouse at 9 o’clock. He had 30 minutes before his hearing to meet with his lawyer and discuss what it was that they were going to be doing in there. He got out of the car, took out a stick of gun from his pocket and popped it in his mouth, locked his car and began to walk towards the front entrance. Two days before this he shaved the dreadlocks off his head completely and trimmed his wild beard down to a presentable length, with a fresh suit and a clean attitude he was determined to do whatever he could to make this day go by easier. As he climbed the last five steps of the front entrance he looked up to see a sign that brought back painful memories of the very reason he was there to begin with, “All persons are subject to search upon entering”.
His nerves were starting to grow as he scanned the directory to find out where the courtroom was, second floor on the right. With a deep breath he began to make his way up the stairs towards the courtroom. At the top of the stairs a man asked him if he was there for jury duty. He shook his head no, although he wished so badly he was. It was 9:10 and he took a seat next to the heater and patiently waiting for his attorney to show up. He was in no rush to enter the room.
It wasn’t long before Julia Eckstein came sprinting up the stairs gasping for every breath as if she had been climbing for hours.
“I’m so sorry I am late”, she cried “my car wouldn’t start for the longest time. It’s the battery, I’ve been meaning to get it replaced but haven’t been able to find the time to do it.”
“It’s not a problem”, Zach replied.
As they made their way through the metal detectors, Zachariah for the first time saw the courtroom. The layout was similar to a typical courtroom. The prosecuting and defense desks were directly next to each other in front of the Judges thrown and the jury box consisted of twelve office chairs neatly arranged to the left of the prosecution. The ceiling was intricately carved by carpenters and painted with a skilled hand that had obviously been influenced by Victorian architecture. The paintings on the walls depicted in great detail stories of small town life and the statues of dead presidents littering the corners of the room reassured him that this was not the place he wanted to be.
When they got to their chairs Julia introduced herself to the prosecuting attorney. She made a comical remark to which the prosecuting attorney laughed and then sat down at the table and began to read over some notes on the case. Zachariah’s fears were mounting by the minute and questions about his future fluidly began running around in his mind. He looked around to see if there were any familiar faces in the crowd, but all he saw were the empty faces of other inmates and a group of students no doubt there to study his misfortunes.
“All rise, the honorable Judge Jon Spahr presiding”, cried the bailiff from the corner of the room.
Zachariah turned around to see a short bald headed man, coming out of the back room and heading straight for the judge’s chair. The man was in his late 50’s or at least looked that way. From the thickness of his spectacles, it was easy to see that this man could not see. He had a stern look on his face and carried himself much in the same respect. Zachariah knew this was no person he ever wanted to me.
“State Vs Zachariah Agee”, the judge began to deliberate, drearily going over the details of his crimes and the reason for that days court proceedings. “The prosecution may call its first witness”, declared the judge. With that the bailiff retreated to the back room and in no time came back with the one person whom Zachariah wish he’d never encountered.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god”, recited the bailiff. “I do”, was the response.
Detective Mark Brill was an officer who was part of the Narcotics Task Force that were deployed at the Hookahville festival that May. He stood at 6’ 2”, was wearing weathered jeans and a rugby shirt with blue and cream stripes. He had a crew cop haircut and was clean-shaven. This man was straight as an arrow.
Zachariah sat there listening to the testimony of the officer that arrested him for the next ten minutes with a somber look across his face. The whole time he wanted to speak with regards Detective Brill’s statements, but this was court, there were rules and procedures by which every citizen abides by, and at that time there was no hope for him. Little by little, Detective Brill gave a full account of the story as Zachariah looked on helplessly. He talked about everything, from his methods of selling the marijuana, to the people whom he sold it to, to the actually bud that he was holding up. From beginning to end, there was not a single piece of the story that was missing, and it was detrimental. How could he possibly convince the judge of his innocence with a full-blown eyewitness account of everything he did that day and from a cop no less! Detective Brill was a vise and he had a firm grip on Zachariah.
The evidence was insurmountable and he knew it, with the prosecution finished with the detective, it was now time for Zachariah’s attorney to begin her cross-examination. There was not much evidence she had to work with, it was a clear cut open and shut case and they were on the losing side. Nonetheless, Julie began to question the detective on how he handled and detained Zachariah once he was in their custody. She began to question the “command center” they brought him back to, asking him to describe it for her. Detective Brill replied by giving a full description of the 8’ x14’ trailer they used as an interrogation room for detainees arrested in the campground. Her only chance of freeing Zachariah a little bit was to establish that he was coerced and intimidated into incriminating himself. She tried to show that the cops tricked him, but her attempts fell short.
At that moment Zachariah, who had spent the last half hour listening to all the evidence the prosecution had on him, knew his endeavor’s to put up a fight were hopeless. He sat back in his chair and sucked in a long deep breath, held it in for a moment and then exhaled. He couldn’t figure out how this had come to happen, he never harmed a person in his life, and there he was, on the brink of jail time for what he considered to be a hobby.
Nothing more went through his mind that day. After the judge gave his decision he sat in the chair with a blank expression. He knew this day was coming and now that he had lived it he wanted to crawl under a rock, away from his friends, his family and his life. Some place where he could think without the influence of anybody else, a place only he knew about.
When he got home that day, he walked straight up to his bed, took off his nice clean suit a folded it neatly, placing in on a chair. He lifted the covers, closed his eyes, and drifted asleep, wanting to never awake from his long dreamless sleep.

Foucault and Governmentality

2004-12-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

As stated in the text, at the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the formation of the disciplinary society could be categorized into two contradicting factors. These were “the reform or reorganization of the judicial and penal systems in the different countries of Europe and the world”. At the end of the eighteenth century there were 315 acts of a crime that could land a man the death penalty. Due to this being the most savage part of civilized history a reform was greatly needed. The place where the change needed to take place was in the writing of the actual natural, religious, and moral laws that currently were the “law”. Therefore these areas were targeted and a clear a simple definition of what a crime is was created. This definition made clear that a crime was something impacting the status or well-being of the society, making a criminal a social enemy. Next four possible punishments became clear. First is the exportation from the social body. Second is the possibility of jail, seclusion in a public house for criminals. Third was compensation for the crime in the form of forced labor, today this is known as community service. Fourth and lastly, was a penalty that would ensure no future crime, this was known as retaliation. In this form a killer would be killer and thief would have his possessions taken away, eye for an eye. Most of these principles are still in practice today because of their sensibility and logicalness. Any person taken up into this system becomes part of the system and the ways in which it operates. By committing a crime you forfeit your right to freedom and therefore become subject and are placed at the mercy of the system. Their story is one only the system can determine the outcome of.

Interactional Positioning and Narrative Self-Construction

2004-12-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

In the beginning of Jane’s life she portrays herself as passive, vulnerable and victimized. She is asked by the interviewer to discuss her life as if divided up in chapters like a novel. During the interview she discusses with the interviewer the traumatizing events of being beaten by her teachers which she experienced early in her life and is constantly looking for comfort in the interviewer like a client would look for comfort in a therapist. In her narrative she places herself at the center of the blame and because of this occasionally while discussing the abuse with the interviewer she breaks down a few times and cries. By Jane taking control of her narrative she is able to see the bigger picture and see that she was not to blame. She further discusses how she ran away from her the second institution to call her grandparents. She begins to make better decisions, more adult decisions and starts to take over the narration of her story. By stepping back and looking at her life’s decisions the process acts as a sort of therapeutic exercise and helps her to re-shape her life and point it in a healthier direction. She has been a victim but has triumphed over the adversity but no matter what, Jane will always have the trauma that she suffered with the institutionalization in the back of her mind, influencing her in the little ways. Jane’s personal transformation occurred only because she stepped back and realized that she need to become more active and assertive. By re-positioning herself in her story she was able to construct herself anew and lead a healthier life.

Newark Legal System

2004-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00