JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process: Jenna: on the day we were to go to court - someone from
the county would offer us deals concerning what
punishments were to be given out - with up to 30
people waiting there was not much discussion, you
either accepted or were informed that the judge
is in a bad mood & you are just adding more time
& fines for yourself if you do not accept the
deal that is offered right then & there - no
consulting lawyers, family or even other inmates
that are standing right next to you Diane: I was put into population where I awaited my
sentencing. Norman: i started on house arrest and i ended up getting
violated so i spent time in broward county jail for
about a month to a month and a half til my court
dates were over and in the end of it all i was
sentenced to 18 months and 9 days Andrea: was mailed a citation to go to court for my DUI charge,
went to court, was in the process of being in actual rehab,
so was rescheduled court appearance, then was taken straight to
jail, which was followed by probation & several fines and lose of
license and having to attend several schools
JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning? If not please give us details on how you came to be arrested. Jenna: no i never had a police officer stop by my home,
i did hear of police arriving at a home i lived
in 2 or 3 residencies ago, how the heck that
happened i have no idea since i was on probation
so they were aware of my current address - not
to forget to mention that my current florida
i.d. had my correct address Diane: No I did not Norman: no i was on house arrest at that point i ended up
getting violated. i wasnt told i was violated
until i went in to my probation office for my
weekly check in and once i got into his office
there was a police officer there to arrest me i
had no idea nor did i really get an explanation on
exactly i did to violate didnt find out til i got
to the main jail and booked Andrea: drinking and driving - crashed into cars trying to pull out of a
parking lot, had to be transported to the hospital, was then
transferred to a different type of hospital. so they mailed me a
court appearance citation, i went to court where they did the court
thing and rescheduled another date
JM: What was court like? Please give as many details as you recall. Jenna: we were shackled & had to sit quietly - balif
was an idiot & told me to not speak,
unfortunately the judge had ask me a question,
which was why i was speaking - i honestly
believe balif was too old for the job & could
not keep up with the proceedings - several times
the judge had to stop & inform her of what he
was doing - for example - someone in the court
had the paperwork the judge needed & the balif
tried to escort the man out of the court room
when he stood up & tried to hand the paperwork
to her - again the judge had to inform her that
he just asked for the paperwork - of course
people began to get restless at the total
incompetence of this balif, hahaha if i only
had a camera - i could have been a top
contestant to americas funniest videos - the
more mistakes she made the angrier she became
towards the prisoners - when we were finally
removed from court - she made a special
appearance to inform us that had she the time we
all would have been facing additional charges
for not behaving properly in the court room ????
oh well c'est live Diane: Well it was very strange, I had an attorney so I
didn't have to say anything. I stayed in my
shackles and let my attorney do all the talking. Norman: court was horrible. my public defender was a joke
and did not seem like he cared one bit. he was
very unorganized and didnt seem to listen to
anything i had to say or take into consideration
any proof i had to try to show i didnt violate and
that i was doing what i was told to do. he wasnt
at some of my court dates i had one of his co-
workers from the public defenders office in his
place who had no knowledge of me or my case court
was horrible. i felt like i was just deemed guilty
from the start Andrea: no shorts were allowed, you had to check in with some people to be
allowed to sit in the court room (others had to wait outside) court
appointed lawyers had lines in front of them with boxes of files, you
gave your name and he or she would tell you what your options are.
JM: What were your original charges? What did you end up being convicted of? Norman: TRAFFIC IN STOLEN PROPERTY
GRAND THEFT,300 L/5,000
GRAND THEFT,300 L/5,000
burglary of an unoccupied structure Andrea: i had DUI charges
and then DUI conviction