Much like the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer, in the District Court on 2024-11-08 a series of diverse stories unfold — of justice and mercy, process and compromise, sin and redemption. Judge Amy Bills presides and:
- scoffs at and dismisses an "open container" charge with a $25 fine
- issues bench warrants for people who repeatedly didn't show up to their hearings
- lectures some who slipped back into addiction and crime, about their mental health, bad decisions, and the paths they can take to recovery — beginning with keeping their promises to follow probation rules and do their community service
- explains the entertaingly-named crime of "Rogue and Vagabond" in Maryland — entering a motor vehicle with intent to commit theft, and associated offenses
- reads — over and over, word for word, to each individual defendant — the official meaning of a "Guilty Plea", making sure they all understand precisely what they are agreeing to
- listens to evidence, hears statements by victims and offenders, accepts guilty pleas, and schedules future hearings
- issues sentences — often lenient, time-already-served, in many cases with "PBJ" aka "Probation Before Judgment" — a special new Maryland legal option that allows individuals to avoid a formal conviction by successfully complying with all terms of their probation
Bottom line: it's all about the third phase of the Social Process: after Rules (aka laws) are defined, and somebody is accused of Breaking the rules, then there is an open, fair, documented, auditable process to Interpret and Apply the rules. Fascinating!
(i'm there in case i'm needed to testify about events witnessed on 23 Sep 2024, when a mentally disturbed person took off their clothes and stood naked in front of several houses in the neighborhood, praying and chanting for souls that they felt were in need of help – as it turned out, the person entered a guilty plea and is getting treatment; cf Opaque Justice (2002-01-29), For Great Justice (2002-12-01), Winter's Tale on Justice (2014-11-03), ...) - ^z - 2024-11-09