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Krystal

Veteran Member
I generally don't post anywhere but in the crime news forums but I saw this story and wanted to put it on here for everyone to discuss.

A woman in Florida has been the victim of domestic violence, I don't know for how long, but after an incident earlier this summer the police were called, which started the ball rolling for why she is featured here.

The woman was attacked by the father of her child this summer. He reportedly choked her and threatened her with a kitchen knife. As a result of his assault on her, the police were called and he was arrested. A trial date was set for July 30th for which the victim received a subpeona.

The woman did not show up in court.

As a result she was brought into the courtroom at a later date but not as a witness or victim, this time she was the defendant, facing a contempt of court charge for ignoring the subpeona.

The woman tells the judge that she is currently suffering from depression and severe anxiety as a result of what occurred with the father of her child. Such conditions that are exacerbated by having to come face-to-face with her abuser as she would have had to do at the July 30th hearing.

The judge is having none of it.

The judge, also a woman, tells the DV victim that she was required to appear and that she disobeyed a court order. Further telling the victim that she knew that by her not showing up it "was not going to turn out well for the state".

The judge even goes as far as to belittle the victim's claims of anxiety and depression by telling her: "You think you're going to have anxiety now? You haven't even seen anxiety".

The victim again apologizes to the court.

She goes on to tell the court that she is right now homeless and "not in a good place". A statement that I think more telling of her emotional state than her lack of address.

By her statements, it does appear that she has not taken her abuser back. In fact, in a final plea to the judge she says that she has a 1 year old son who she is trying to take care of alone.

The victim is begging the judge not to put her in jail, not to punish her. To understand the Hell that the assault caused in her life, not just at the moment when it happened but rather the totality of the catastrophic effects it has had on her life.

The judge repsonds by telling the distraught woman to "turn around" because she has already issued her order.

That order: 3 days in county jail for the contempt of court.

The judge and her office did not return calls for comments after the ruling has been made public.

A former prosecutor turned Domestic Violence Advocate, Jeanne Gold, has spoken out though.

She has called the judge's actions "pretty brutal", and points out the sad fact that because of what has occurred this time that she reached out for help the likelihood of this victim ever calling the police again are greatly diminished. In fact, Jeanne Gold believes that this victim will never call the police or seek help again.

As for the damage that the victim's failure to appear had on the state's case: Her abuser was sentenced to 16 days in jail for simple battery and was ordered to pay court costs.

Which is probably about the same sentence that he would have received had the victim testified.

On a side note, the judge was just re-elected last year for another 6 year term and part of her campaign was her saying that she should be re-elected because she makes a "positive impact on the citizens and the litigants that come before the court"

Link:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...abuse-victim-sentences-jail-article-1.2389943
 
The judge is clearly out of her damn mind, but the woman also had absolutely no valid excuse for missing her court date. There was no life threatening emergency, she was not giving birth, her family member had not suffered horribly to make her have to rush to the hospital to spend time, really there's a slew of issues she could have had but she didn't. Anxiety is not an excuse to disobey the law. If the judge had let that go, then it would be no different than someone using anxiety as an excuse to ignoring a stop light. You do as you're told by the courts even if it's retarded because even when you're right you're wrong.
 
Why call for help if you clearly don't want it badly enough to follow through and testify, if not for yourself then for your child?

I'm ok with the judge's decision, although I'd have worded it quite a bit differently to explain rationally to the woman how important it is to participate in the legal proceedings that you initiate. Also to impress upon her and others in similar situations that you don't get to disregard a subpoena because you're sad or anxious.

It may seem harsh that this woman was made an example of, but I agree with it needing to be done. The judge could've been a lot less of a bitch about it, though.
 
I agree with the Judge's decision to hold the victim in contempt. However, I think it is far too harsh a sentence.
 
I agree coming off as a heartless bitch and a threatening smartass playing power and control games from the bench was not professional by any judicial standard, but no matter the case or the details, they can't show any degree of partiality when it comes to ignoring a court order. This wasn't an FTA (Failure to Appear) for a simple arraignment, she was issued a subpoena and judges do *not* take kindly to the court's demand for the complainant/victim to appear with the prosecutor in court to prosecute a case.

I would like to see what the judge's sentencing guidelines were for an FTA on a subpoena, but I'm guessing the three days was pretty standard rather than excessive. Believe me, I GET the BWS, the fear, anxiety disorder, depression, the fact she's at wits end and likely living in The Black Hole (maybe even from PTSD), but as the other's have said, you get a subpoena, you better be dead or trapped in an avalanche somewhere if you don't show up. Here, they do video arraignments from people's homes if they don't have child care, from our homeless shelters if they don't have transpo or $$ for a cab/ride and even from your hospital bed in the ICU and I am NOT kidding.

Had this been a "simple" case of Simple Battery here (a misdemeanor), and the defendant didn't show up for his arraignment, he'd be issued a warrant for his arrest, have to pay a $100 bond and request a continuance for another arraignment date (after three FTAs, the charge is upgraded to a Felony FTA). Prior to the felony level, he could send the $100 in by mail or go pay it in person without being arrested, or, if he were pulled over/picked up by LE for anything, he'd have to handle it through the jail. But, if anyone here - complainant, defendant or witness - is ever issued a subpoena and doesn't show up, what this judge did was also the legal standard here for Contempt and an admonishment/ass chewing by the judge on respecting the law no matter what would be SOP.

PS: Yes, I hate the idea this woman is feeling (being?) further victimized. What she did is a classic symptom/behavior consistent with her diagnoses, but personally, as someone mentioned, I can't see judges starting a trend of making subjective exceptions to subpoenas either. Unfortunately, my guess is that without therapy, maybe some kind of appropriate medication support - some kind of real help - Gold is exactly right. :(
 
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I agree, if you're scared enough of the guy to call the police, you should follow thru and help him get the harshest sentence he can get. I think this is one of the reasons that DV is not taken seriously or ignored because the woman or the victim likely won't follow thru on it and continuing to arrest someone is a waste of time if nothing going to be done about it. Maybe if more victims were held accountable and made to do their part in getting the assholes put away then maybe it woud be better for all victms.

But, yeah,this judge could have been nicer about it.

****I use the word victim because it's not always women.
 
Why call for help if you clearly don't want it badly enough to follow through and testify, if not for yourself then for your child?

if you're scared enough of the guy to call the police, you should follow thru and help him get the harshest sentence he can get

We don't know who called the police.

The assault could have occurred in an apartment and a neighbor called, she may not have been the caller. And regardless of who called, this could very well be an area with mandatory arrests in a DV situation so she could possibly not had a hand in that either.

The comments by Jeanne Gold do make it appear that the victim herself called but the article didn't specify.

Just clearing that up.

Comntinue on:)
 
We don't know who called the police.

The assault could have occurred in an apartment and a neighbor called, she may not have been the caller. And regardless of who called, this could very well be an area with mandatory arrests in a DV situation so she could possibly not had a hand in that either.

The comments by Jeanne Gold do make it appear that the victim herself called but the article didn't specify.

Just clearing that up.

Comntinue on:)
I thought the same, until I read this statement from the DV victim advocate:

She has called the judge's actions "pretty brutal", and points out the sad fact that because of what has occurred this time that she reached out for help the likelihood of this victim ever calling the police again are greatly diminished. In fact, Jeanne Gold believes that this victim will never call the police or seek help again.

This implied that the victim made the call.

ETA: You mentioned that, actually, but I thought I'd emphasise that given the info at hand and a statement from someone familiar with the case, it's the most logical conclusion.
 
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You mentioned that, actually, but I thought I'd emphasise that given the info at hand and a statement from someone familiar with the case, it's the most logical conclusion.
I agree that it does certainly imply that the victim herself called the police but it can be interpretted in another way as well, at least the part about reaching out for help.

Reaching out for help when one is a DV victim can be more than calling the police, it can be as simple as being honest about the events when someone else calls the police for you. Many victims lie i.e. ran into the wall or a door, fell down the steps, someone else hit me before I got home.
 
I agree that it does certainly imply that the victim herself called the police but it can be interpretted in another way as well, at least the part about reaching out for help.

Reaching out for help when one is a DV victim can be more than calling the police, it can be as simple as being honest about the events when someone else calls the police for you. Many victims lie i.e. ran into the wall or a door, fell down the steps, someone else hit me before I got home.
Fair enough.
 
Fair enough.
For the record:

Contempt of Court can result in jail time, therefore don't get a contempt charge.

The judge was a huge holier-than-thou cunt but the fact is I faced very similar circumstances with my first ex-husband, I was subpeonaed and petrfied. I testified because well... Jail time, duh.

It's not an easy decision and I may very well have been much stronger than her so my decision came easier but letter of the law is that the judge was right, a huge cuntface but right none the less.
 
This judge is a power hungry cunt.

The judge could have sent her to a woman's shelter and ordered her to 3 days house arrest.
Yeah, because that's a deterrent to other women (or men) in the same situation who are considering not testifying despite a subpoena. Hell of a punishment for contempt of court, there.

I will agree that the judge could and should have accomplished her goal in a much less cunty way.
 
Yeah, because that's a deterrent to other women (or men) in the same situation who are considering not testifying despite a subpoena. Hell of a punishment for contempt of court, there.

I will agree that the judge could and should have accomplished her goal in a much less cunty way.
I know what its like to be beat down by a man. Plus add in being homeless with a small child. Anyone of those reasons would keep your average person from making it to court.
She had all 3 reasons.
Too broke to get to the court house.
Too scared to face her attacker.
Thinking if she testifies against him he will hunt her down.

Given the fact that it sounds like she didn't take her abuser back, I think speaks volumes for her determination. Locking her up in jail only creates more problems.
If she had money, she probably would have never been charged with anything.
 
I know what its like to be beat down by a man. Plus add in being homeless with a small child. Anyone of those reasons would keep your average person from making it to court.
She had all 3 reasons.
Too broke to get to the court house.
Too scared to face her attacker.
Thinking if she testifies against him he will hunt her down.
Those are excuses. When you're subpoenaed, how you feel about it doesn't mean jack shit. You show up to court or you're held in contempt thereof, no matter who you are. Plenty of the rich and famous have been charged with contempt, like Lindsey Lohan.

There are resources for witnesses with extenuating circumstances; transportation and childcare vouchers are often offered by the prosecution to witnesses to help offset the issues they otherwise might have getting to court. In some cases, the defendant is hidden behind a screen during the witness' testimony so that they don't have to see him or her. He's likely to want to hunt her down whether she testifies or not, so she might as well help the state lock him up for as long as possible.

Yes, it's a shitty situation, and I'm sorry that you had to live through abuse, but objectively a responsible judge can't just let her off the hook. It would set a dangerous precedent.
 
Way to go. I assure you next time he beats her she won't go to the police because of this experience. It gives him power and makes her a victim twice.
 
The judge chose to make an example of this women. Did she not have any better candidates that day? The women should have gone to court but she got herself and her baby away...Thats some strength to me. Who knows who called the cops and who knows who pressed charges, maybe this women was just done and couldn't deal with anything...I mean becoming a mother, getting beat, becoming a single mother, becoming homeless is a hell of a year.

I get that it isn't the judges job to worry about everyone's personal situation but clearly she doesn't put everyone in jail who fucks up because it would be filled to the brim..She made an example of this women because some women get sickened by other women who they perceive as weak.

Good on mom for getting her baby away.
 
I don't have a problem with the sentence either. I'm sure judges everywhere are tired of getting all the blame put on them when they don't do enough in these domestic violence cases when one of the parties ends up dead. I'm not saying judges do or don't do enough in most cases but I sure do hear a lot of bitching about what the judge should have done when a party ends up dead. I'm really not saying that's what would have happened in this case either. The victim could very well have had a legitimate medical reason for not going, but in the judge's mind you have to start somewhere if you're going to remedy the "judge didn't do enough" complaint. She was a total bitch about it tho!
 
I guess this looks like the judge is punishing a victim and we shouldn't be so hard on victims of domestic violence, but I feel the need to clarify that she is more than a victim. She was a material witness in a criminal trial. Material witnesses are victims and often very vulnerable people, but they have to be present at trial for our system of criminal justice to operate. To keep witnesses in participation, they have to be subpoenaed because otherwise witness turnout would be pathetically low - I'm sure she's not the first or last witness to fear testifying - and criminals end up free.

Subpoena participation is not an option. It's mandatory. In the written subpoena are the directives and warnings that it's criminal to disregard the order. This woman was a material witness and knew in advance she would be held in contempt of court should she fail to show, and she did anyhow.

However curt, bitchy and heartless the judge acted toward the woman, the sentencing was correct if it is equivalent to what others receive for contempt of court.
 
Its very important to send a message..the law is the law and this women needed to understand that...Just like the ass hat who beat her now understands after his harsh sentence of two weeks. They had enough evidence without her testimony to convict him and gave him a timeout for cutting off her air supply (which in some instances can actually cause someone to be dead).
 
Its very important to send a message..the law is the law and this women needed to understand that...Just like the ass hat who beat her now understands after his harsh sentence of two weeks. They had enough evidence without her testimony to convict him and gave him a timeout for cutting off her air supply (which in some instances can actually cause someone to be dead).
We don't know if his sentence would have been harsher had she testified. The article speculates that it wouldn't, but the article is also clearly biased in favour of the woman as a maltreated victim.
 
We don't know if his sentence would have been harsher had she testified. The article speculates that it wouldn't, but the article is also clearly biased in favour of the woman as a maltreated victim.
We know that his conviction happened without her, so it was clear what he had done, the sentence was up to the judge and she decided to slap his wrist. The women was a maltreated victim, that was proven in court.

I didn't come to my conclusion based on the fact that the writer of an article isn't sure that her testimony would make a difference in sentencing. I came to my conclusion that this was a very light sentence based on the crime he was convicted of because....it was a very light sentence.
 
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I'd need to know the medical extent of her depression and anxiety to make a judgement call.

Cuz homeless people have such great access to mental health professionals. Perhaps that is something the judge should have thought about though, instead of ignoring whatever deeper issues are at the core of the proceedings in her courtroom that day.

There are resources for witnesses with extenuating circumstances

And how many were offered to the victim/witness in this case i wonder?

And speaking of resources, the justice system should do a better job identifying risky individuals like this one in situations like this. This woman should have been set up with some sort of social worker, should have been at the very least assisted in how to go about seeking therapy, should have been linked to groups that could help her during this very difficult time, and it would have been best back when the attack occurred. Perhaps some of this was done, who knows, i wish we knew. Something tells me such action isn't the norm when it comes to this citys/police dept/prosecutors office handling of such crimes. Prob not enough money in the budget for all that, although i'm sure the city has some stellar roads and A/C units in its schools and can afford to lock desperate, nutter domestic violence victims up for 3 day stays in its jails.

You want victims like these to play ball, you should prob make some attempt at identifying why they may not be inclined to do so and figure out how to better encourage/assist them. I'm about as anti-coddling members of our society as you can get, but when not doing so works against ones ultimate goal, bite the fuckin bullet, get off your lazy beauocratic ass and get shit done. Or you know, you could just whine and bitch and go on tirades from a judges throne whilst no problems or issues inherent in the system get remedied and situations for said victim/witnesses are just made worse and they become even higher risk for victimization. And how much of the above mentioned sort of assistance is going to be offered to this woman in jail or after, certainly nothing was set up during that court appearance. Vicious circles are fun and profitable for all right!? Bet that kid she's the homeless single mom(now with a jail stay on her record) of is gonna turn out great and will def stay out of legal trouble as it grows up.


I'm sure judges everywhere are tired of getting all the blame put on them when they don't do enough in these domestic violence cases when one of the parties ends up dead.

but in the judge's mind you have to start somewhere if you're going to remedy the "judge didn't do enough" complaint.

She sentenced him to 16 days in jail. He choked her and threatened her with a deadly weapon, and he got 16 days. Kinda shows how much she cares about folks worrying judges aren't doing enough.

Attacking someone and threatening them with a weapon isn't even 2 full weeks worse than not appropriately bowing down to the all powerful gov't institution that is the courtroom. Scary.

I'm shocked this case went through so quickly though. Someone i know was involved in a violent domestic incident over the summer and that shit doesn't even have a court date yet.


I also have a major beef with all this nonsense about an example "needing to be made". You think the knowledge that some other victim/witnesses got thrown in the clink for a couple days will suddenly cause some other damaged or dumb hesitant woman to crack thru that wall of fear and/or ignorance and show the fuck up to play ball like they're supposed to? Good fuckin luck. The knowledge that their attacker could avoid conviction and hurt them or their children again often isn't even enough. Bunch of nonsense hogwash bullshit right there.
 
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