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Pre-sentencing

Interview with Jenna, Diane, Norman and Andrea

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

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