Recently on an observation visit to Superior Court, I sat in on another probation violation hearing.  Probably a weird hobby by some people’s standards.  But to me it’s a part of the job, and a lot more interesting than, say, mowing the lawn.  Anyway, the man the Judge was talking to looked scared to death.  An act or the real deal?  I wondered.  He was underweight by about 30 pounds and tattooed from head to toe, definitely a colorful character.  He had a public defender by his side – up until the Judge asked him to sit in the witness stand.

The prosecutor fired away at questions, “Why did you miss your domestic violence counseling sessions”  “I was really sick” “Do you have a doctor’s note to verify you were sick? “ “Uh… no.”  “Why not?” “Uh, I didn’t ask for one.” “Then why didn’t you go to class when you felt better?” “Didn’t have a ride” ”Couldn’t you get transportation?   Etc. etc.  He came up with reason after reason why he just couldn’t make those darn inconvenient classes.  I was pretty impressed at the no baloney stance the prosecutor took.

The judge fell for it.  Was it ‘hook line and sinker” or did the guy really deserve another chance?  I can’t imagine being a judge is an easy job.  And whether it was his second, third, fourth, or tenth chance I don’t know.  But he sure looked relieved.  You could almost see the sweat dry right off him.

I wondered what the prosecutor thought, because it looked, from her face like it goes both ways with some regularity.

I wish I knew where he was ultimately sent for DV classes.  I’d love to know if he followed through or not and is completely them.  Sometimes the discussion in the classes is whether the guys are just spending time; pretending to be into it, or if they really are engaged in the lesson of the day.  It’s not that hard to tell who is and who isn’t after a couple weeks observing them and talking to them.

How many chances would you give someone?  How hard is it to determine if the excuses are sincere or if the person’s blowing smoke? Do you consider yourself to be a good judge of character?

The rules have just changed on how many classes you get to miss. They don’t care about your excuse.  In fact they don’t even want to hear it.

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