It happened that I was scheduled to appear in both district and circuit courts about the same time on the morning of June 15, 2010. After the circuit court appearance, I explained my dilemma to the court clerk and was informed that it would be best if my attorney, Chris Tracy accompanied me to the fifth floor to corroborate my story to the judge, Megan Thorton. When I located Mr. Tracy sometime later, he agreed to assist and the two of us proceeded upstairs.
As Mr. Tracy concluded his account of our morning in circuit court to Judge Thorton, she crinkled up the paper pertaining to my district court case, which incidentally consisted of nothing more than traffic violations, and chucked it back underneath the protective glass. She scowled and muttered that she didn’t care if I’d had another court appearance that morning; that my new bond was set at $350 and that I should turn myself in.
And that was the end of it. She just stormed away.
Mr. Tracy and I crept slowly towards the elevator more than a little taken aback by the encounter. As we waited, he turned and apologized for his inability to help me and admitted that he was extremely surprised by what he had just witnessed. I inquired about whether the law afforded me recourse in resolving the matter more amiably and he grudgingly retorted that to his knowledge, the word of the judge was final say. I nodded my comprehension and we parted ways.
While it is understood that a judge is well within her authority to defend the issuance of a warrant for a failure to appear in court, it seems only reasonable that such strict adherence to policy be relegated to appearances which are, at the very least, physically possible. In this case, Megan Thorton put me in jail because I could not be in two places simultaneously. And she became more resolute and even crass in her posture after the unique circumstances of my absence were plainly explained to her by a credible party. It is hard to imagine a sound defense for such an unabashedly authoritarian perspective. And I am inclined to wonder whether she was motivated by something other than a wholehearted pursuit of truth and justice.
It would be accurate to say that I have had more than my share of encounters with the law; a fact of which I am certain Judge Thorton is aware. But I should point out that the overwhelming majority of those have been resolved with my innocence affirmed. Regardless of the outcome of any prior litigation, it is well within reason to expect to be treated fairly and impartially in all pending legal matters if the presumption of innocence means anything. As such, it seems highly unlikely that other defendants are generally treated with the same disdain I was afforded as Thorton addressed me with all the due diligence of a haughty aristocrat; casually proscribing my freedom as if she were swatting at flies.
In the absence of bias rooted in my admittedly extensive experience with the court system, there remains an even more harrowing alternative— That Judge Thorton refused to regard me in fairness and with the moderation and caution expected of her designation expressly because she could. The implication of such an abhorrent sentiment should need no further exposition here.
Since a hypothetical foray into the possible reasons for such seemingly curious behavior would be futile and well outside the parameters of this complaint, it must be sufficient to emphasize on behalf of the citizenry that judicial officials are rightfully expected to exemplify dignity, humility, temperance; the virtue befitting someone endowed with the title, Your Honor. In this instance, at least, Judge Thorton has rather grossly missed that mark.
And thus, it happened that as I sat waiting to be processed and released from the local jail on account of the warrant issued by Judge Thorton, I was unavailable to appear for the very circuit court case which incited this debacle in the first place. As per this writing, I have yet to discover whether I shall be penalized for that absence as well, but in any event, there can no longer be any doubt as to how Judge Thorton might elect to handle the matter.
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