Runaway Bride in court today along with my RANT!

[TreeDoc]

Rant Mode:<on>
That knucklehead "Runaway Bride" Wilbanks was in court today and I guess pleaded "No Contest" to a felony count of BS'ing The Man. She won the grand prize of Felony Probation, some restitution, and the joy of a longer relationship with a Psychologist. The felony conviction will be dropped after she completes her probation. That's all fine and and good I suppose but leave it to me to make an odd observation....

She attended her hearing today while dressed in a black jogging suit.

Excuse me but doesn't the Court deserve some respect here? A frikkin' jogging suit?

Hey folks, I'm not high society here but I do have a few Evan Picone suits in my closet. I've been called in to Court as an expert witness on numerous occasions and have only visited the Court as a bad guy one time in my entire life and that was just a few weeks ago because I recently was presented a Misdemeanor Citation from our State Department of Fish & Game for having my crew working without a permit adjacent to a streambed that ultimately lead a few miles downstream to a Steelhead/Salmon Enhancement area. Being unaware of the need to file for said permitting the DFG Warden and Biologist were forced to put the screws to me. Long story short, the DA who I have worked with on those numerous prosecutions insisted that the charges be dismissed and I donate $500 to a charity of my choice. Our local non-profit Salmon Enhancement Agency got my money and I got a Hat, T-Shirt, a free Salmon dinner at the Board of Directors Ball, and my name on a placque recognizing me as a Corporate Sponser, as well as a tax write-off for a charitable contribution to a 501-C3 Corporation. It must have been the suit I guess. In addition, I made a new friend in that the DFG Biologist is as sick for Duck Hunting as I am so we'll be spending some time in my blind this coming season.

My run in with the law left me pretty scared before the favorable outcome and I made my observation about dress while I was amongst so many social misfits....guys/gals in court for multiple DUI violations, drug busts, shoplifting, and even some relatively minor offenses committed by upstanding citizens. I was flabbergasted at the attitude of those in the court as well as their dress, it was unbelievable. I had a beautiful 20 year old girl sit next to me at my hearing who was dressed very nicely and conservatively. She looked like a million bucks. You could tell she was from good stock and her Dad apparently was a County Sherriff doing his one year required rotation in the County Jail. I heard the Bailiff talking to her about that but of all people she was there because she got popped for shoplifting at Wal-Mart!!! She had to do a 24 hours in jail and pay almost $500 bucks in fines. I'm off track but I could see a difference in how she was perceived by the Judge, DA, and Bailiff and I'm confident it was NOT because of her daddies position. You could tell she was there to fend for herself due to her apparent screw up.

Anyway, this Wilbanks thing I saw tonight just got me going and I was curious what others thought on the subject.

Rant Mode: <off>

[LoneWolf]

It's not just in court TD.
In your line of work, clothing is kind of a work uniform. But you can't believe how the kids these days come dressed for interviews
Let alone what they think is acceptable work attire for a job in dealing with the public.
Just another notch in the belt of the dumbing down of our society. It is no wonder people can't respect others and property if they don't even show some respect for themselves.

Reminds me of an ol joke/quip...
"If I's going to be impotent, I's got to dress impotent" (pun intended)

[TreeDoc]

I would definitely agree with that LW. I especially enjoy interfacing with the sandwich builder at my local Subway. There's somethin' about watching a 19 year old girl with tattoos, unwashed/uncombed hair, and a tongue stud the size of a frikkin' golf ball make my sandwich. Man, that gets me to where I want to leave my wife and ask her out!

[LoneWolf]

Kind of off topic, but...
What is up with these kids putting in the rings in their ear lobes? I'm not talking ear rings, I mean RINGS!!!! They keep getting a larger hoop installed in the the lobe until pretty soon you could park a compact car in there.
Guess I am going over the hill, and now the crap is following me down

[Niteowl]

Hey TD...we got one of them too at our local subway also,I requested the manager and asked her to make my sub,she said she didn't make sandwiches,so I replied fine then I won't eat here any longer.The two customers behind me left also.Don't these kids have any sence of self worth anymore?

[BILLY D.]

CAN I THROW IN MY NICKLES WORTH? LOOK AT THE ENTERTAINERS THAT APPEAR BEFORE US.

MOST LOOK LIKE SKID ROW WINOS. I WOULDN'T WORK IN MY YARD LOOKING LIKE SOME OF THEM DO.

LIKE MY GRANDMA USED TO SAY "JUST CAUSE YOUR POOR YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACT IT OR LOOK IT." PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD. ALWAYS TRY TO LOOK PRESENTABLE.

TO ME THE ENTERTAINERS ARE JUST SAYING YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE ARE A BUNCH OF SCUMBAGS.

AND I'M SUPPOSED TO PAY MONEY TO GET INSULTED? NOT THIS OL' BOY.

[LoneWolf]

Here is an example of what I'm talking about, albeit not a great picture.



Folks, that is NOT an earing, that is a hoop/plug in his ear lob

[BILLY D.]

HEY NITEOWL

NO THEY DON'T HAVE SELF WORTH. THEY ARE TAUGHT IN THEIR SELF-ESTEEM CLASSES IN GRADE SCHOOL THAT
THEY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ON EARTH. THEY ARE AUTOMATICALLY BESTOWED WITH RESPECT.

PROBLEM IS NONE OF THEM HAS EVER HAD TO EARN ANYTHING.

THE WORLD IS SUPPOSED TO KISS THEIR FEET. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS SHOW UP EVERYDAY FOR LIFE.

THESE KIDS ARE GOING TO GET A SERIOUS WAKE UP CALL WHEN THEY HAVE TO COMPETE IN THE JOB MARKET WITH ALL THE FOREIGN KIDS. YOU ARE GOING TO HEAR A LOT OF BOO HOOING.

[fabsroman]

TD,

Welcome to my life. Most of the time, Judges tend to call cases with attorneys in them first so that I do not have to sit through all that crap, but on some occassions I do. When people start to tell me about how bad they were treated by a Judge or a police officer, I tell them to go to court a couple of days and just sit there and see what these Judges and police officers have to deal with. The thing I have heard in Court make me either want to burst out laughing at the stupidity of the entire thing:

Here are some examples:
1. One man spoke for over 5 minutes, which consisted of 10 pages of notes, about why he shouldn't be guilty of speeding in this one instance because he had been doing it all the time and was never pulled over before. He was pulled over for 40 in a 25 school zone and he was arguing that he had always done it before and no police officer pulled him over those other times. He continued to argue how he has been speeding in PA for several years. At the end of it all, the Judge asked what his record looked like, I guess the Judge was tired of listening to him and wanted to just give him probation before judgment. That is when the guy said, "Well, that is another matter." The judge looked up the guy's driving record and he had 7 out of a possible 12 points. 8 points gets a person's license suspended in Maryland, 12 revoked. The Judge gave him everything and I felt like knocking him upside his head.

2. Just the other day I had two foreigners, both doctors, in a Courtroom where they were hearing cases for Protective Orders related to physical abuse. These guys got up there and started arguing about $150,000 that one owed to the other. The Judge kept trying to tell them that they were in the wrong courtroom because neither of them had been physically harmed and neither of them were worried about physical harm from the other. They kept insisting that their attorneys were about to file this case in Federal Court but that they needed the protective order in the meantime. What the one guy probably needed was an injunction or temporary restraining order to prevent the other guy from spending the money, but that is usually done when the civil case is filed. The Judge dismissed the case and these guys still kept on going. The Judge finally had to say, "Be quiet and be seated" before these guys would shut up. There went another 10 minutes of Court time. My biggest question is, if you are arguing over $150,000, why not hire an attorney and if you have an attorney and he tells you to file something on your own, fire the attorney.

3. Next was my case on the same day. This lady had called the police on my client because she was mad at him because he was breaking up with her. She did this once before too and then dropped the charges. To make a long story short, the domestic violence division got her to sign a report in English, but she needed an interpreter in Court. She showed up without the domestic violence unit attorney and I knew that she didn't want to go through with it. However, her attorney did not stick around to tell the Judge that. Instead, the Judge thought this lady was representing herself pro se. Well, the Judge tried to lead her down the right path, but he couldn't get there. Then he told me that I was free to ask her any questions I'd like. Only needed one. Do you want the Judge to issue a Protective Order so that you and my client cannot see each other over the next six months. Her answer NO. The Judge was pissed at this point and wanted to know why she applied for the Protective Order. Her answer, everybody was telling me to do it and I kind of felt forced to do it. Don't get me wrong, I understand the battered wife syndrome, but I don't think this lady is anywhere close to that.

Okay, I am done with my rant for now.

LW,

The ear ring/loop is because they are simple minded. They can hook their car/house keys to that loop so that they do not forget them.

As far as the Subway sandwich maker is concerned, I think I would lose my appetite if I saw somebody like that making my sandwich.

[TreeDoc]

I've seen it, LW. There is actually a tribe somewhere way south of BFE where the women do that. I think it's the same tribe that put those friggin' dinner plates in their lips and rings on their necks! Hey, to each his own, that's "their" culture down there but when these nuts start looking for recognition by way of their sub-culture styles.....man, that's just out there in my book. Along the lines of the Star Wars topic, like I said in that thread about Michael Savage, he's right on regarding Borders, Language, and Culture! We're losing it here in this country.

[fabsroman]

Oh yeah, almost nobody wears suits to Court anymore except for attorneys. I ask most of my clients to wear a suit and it seems like they have never heard of one. The Courts are getting somewhat lax about it in the cities because they believe that the Courts should be open to everybody regardless of wealth or status. That is why we have a lot of pro se people filing cases and wasting the court's time.

I picked up another case the other day where a kid is being sued by his friend because he wrecked his friends motorcycle. My client borrowed the bike and commenced to wreck it in 5 minutes. He was trying to tell me that his friend is at fault too because his friend did not have collision insurance on the bike. I had to give this guy a wake up call about how the law works. I am going to meet him tomorrow, so this should be fun.

[Rocky Raab]

A guy used to come into the pawn shop where I worked. He had piercings all over: eyebrows, lips, cheeks, nose, both ears. Plus those tube things in his earlobes. I'd bet he had 50 piercings.

I asked him, "Not coming down on you, but why?"

He said he was just trying to show how manly he is.

I said, "You come in here with a Master padlock fastened through your dingus, and THAT will be manly."

He didn't.

[TreeDoc]

Too funny, Rocky!

Reminds me of my high school days. One of our "less-liked" members of the Varsity Wrestling team was cornered in a back room of our home gymnasium by a couple of real big dudes from the opposing school's team. They held him down, pantsed him, and placed a Master combination lock not around the dingus but the jewels. No one knew the combo or at least wanted to get close enough to dial it!

25 years later he is still known as Lockballs!

[Classicvette63]

That psycho broad didn't have the slightest look of remorse either. And that dipschtick guy is still going to marry her.

My step-sons graduation was tonite. A week ago I wrote about two kids from school being killed in a car wreck. Well the parents from the one who was going to graduate were there tonite to accept his diploma. The father had cut off jean shorts and a t-shirt. WTF? He wasn't the only one there dressed like that either. Hey, I like to wear jeans and a t-shirt as much as the next guy(well, I guess not) but there is a time and place for it. Graduation isn't the place for it. How much trouble is it to put on a pair of slacks and a collared shirt? Apparently some people still need their Mom to dress them.

TD, Evan Piccone makes a nice suit. Always fit me well.

As far as earrings, when I wanted one in high school my Dad told me he could it for me to save me a few bucks. I even had my choice, an icepick or a .22. I waited until college and then only did it to dress up like Alice Cooper for a talent contest.

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

...when the story broke, I felt so deeply sorry for Miss Wilbanks, the family and her fiance. I am not mad at her now, but I think she should have to make restitution. There ought to be some way of impressing on her that what she did was wrong.

...hats off to you guys with the gumption to leave the restaurants. I personally think that should be the new "trend". I do not appreciate boys pants worn below the buttocks, tatoos or piercings, in the courtroom or where I eat.

I knew there had to be somebody else that disapproved of our youth's practicing self mutilation.