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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Miscarriage of Justice in Maricopa County, Part I

In my post last week on the current brutality in Maricopa County, Arizona, I did not give any names in the case which I now am following, given that the principals all are juveniles. However, this post will name some names and explain what is happening and why I will not back down from reporting the case.

I also will explain the problems that criminal defendants have in dealing with attorneys, especially attorneys that are unethical or simply see their jobs as offering their clients up to prosecutors as so many sacrifices. Let me begin.

This past year, Phoenix police arrested a 14-year-old boy, on charges of child molestation. In typical Maricopa County fashion, the boy is being held in juvenile detention without bond, and the prosecutors are threatening to have him tried as an adult.

His mother, Carola Jacobson, contacted me and we have talked several times and emailed, so I am about as up on this case as I can be. However, I have not simply taken her word for it that her son is innocent; instead, Kerwyn and I have read the police reports and Kerwyn, being someone who knows both the details of these reports and the various police tactics, has told me that the interviewing techniques used by the police on these children are inappropriate at best and brutal at worst.

Furthermore, when placed in context with one another, the various statements simply don't make sense, according to Kerwyn. What is bad, however, is that if the police reports, which invariably are "sanitized" to place police in the best light, describe testimony which Kerwyn calls "babbling bullsh-t," then one only can imagine what the transcripts and videotapes are going to show.

According to the police, prosecutors, and child "protective" services people, Ms. Jacobson's son "coerced" some other children into playing "Truth or Dare" with one another in the attic of his house. Interestingly, the "investigators" claim that the children were there against their will and that the accused kept them from leaving. Conversely, the boy denies having ANY involvement with these "activities."

However, since this is alleged to have happened on at least three occasions, one is left to wonder why these "terrified" children came back to the Jacobson house for more. (I'm sure that the prosecution and investigators can come up with some lies on that one, just as the LMJC prosecutors were able to explain away the odd fact that Tonya Craft's "victims" came back to her house even though they supposedly were terrified of the "abuse.") In my post on the actual police reports, I will deal specifically with the logical difficulties.

(The reason that the authorities continue to hold the boy is that the families of the so-called victims claim that their children are "terrified" of the boy's release, and that he poses a "danger to the community." Right. Kids who willingly went to a boy's house numerous times suddenly are frightened of the same boy. Give me a break.)

This case, however, has some very interesting and compelling twists. First, Ms. Jacobson is from Germany (I have told her she is like Tonya Craft with a German accent), and her son is a German citizen. The brutality being shown toward this boy is not going to resonate with the German authorities, who are going to want to know how the child's rights are being protected by the American "justice" system.

In other words, we have the possible makings of an international incident and a number of us are wondering how this will figure into the larger mix. Given the very bad PR that Maricopa County already has managed to create with its brutal system of "justice," I doubt that the German government will be pleased to see one of its citizens -- and a child at that -- being brutalized by the local authorities.

Second, there have been lawyer difficulties. After her son's arrest, Ms. Jacobson contacted attorney Michael Urbano, who assured her that he would fight for his rights and all that. She told him up front that she and her son wanted NO plea deals, but almost immediately, Urbano was trying to talk the boy into taking a plea.

The last straw was the hearing this week regarding the boy's possible release to home confinement. Not only was Urbano unprepared, but he finally admitted to Ms. Jacobson that he had not even read the police reports, nor had he filed a request for discovery materials, including the interview transcripts. In other words, he was doing nothing but setting up his "client" in the name of defending him.

That was enough, and Ms. Jacobson now has a new attorney, and things look a bit more promising. In my second post in this brief series, I will look closely at what came from the police reports.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Catoosa County fiasco should be a template for what not to do, including selecting a lawyer. I hope the new lawyer is not from the county where the charges are pending. BIG MISTAKE!

Doc Ellis 124 said...

shared as 'legal system assaults minor legal alien'

Thank you for writing this.

Anonymous said...

Oh man, sounds so familiar. Lawyer trying to sell you out after assuring you all along that you've got a great case, can beat the charges and be proven innocent. I have known some great lawyers, but some of these "glory getters" give those a bad name.

Anonymous said...

So you’re using a nurse to dissect police interviews. What qualifications does a nurse have to decide what is inappropriate in an interview. Kerwyn needs to be careful if her colleagues discovered she investigated these cases and posted on an anti-government/anti-law enforcement site she might be looking for work. I would assume that's the reason for the use of the fake name.

Trish said...

Anon. 2:56 She is not just a nurse, as you say, she has credentials for interviewing cases in which sexual assault is alledged, so take your comments elsewhere!!!!!!!!!

Bill, I think these morons have opened a bigger can of worms than Tonya's case!!!

Anonymous said...

Sound's like another Lawyer I know
they will tell you anything to get the case, And don't worry they have it under control, They have just finished with one just like it, Do not believe them run like hell, they will throw you under the bus in a heart beat. But first give them the money. I do not believe a word they say, get you a lawyer out of town. Trust me. Another great blog, thank you Mr Anderson, And your helpers.

Lame said...

Anon 2:56 is just a troll.

This is not an anti-government, anti-law enforcement website. Rather, it is exactly the OPPOSITE of that. This is pro-Constitution, pro-equal and non-selective enforcement of the law. If we were anti-law enforceent, why would we be so much in favor of the AG's office enforcing statutes that would land Buzz Franklin Tim Deal and the rest of the Shennnanigans Gang in jail? The troll is the same kind of person who hears, "The President overstepped his authority on the wiretaps," and spouts back, "You're an un-patriotic anti-American!" Yeah, pal, the blood shed by every one of my male ancestors in defense of this country is something I just don't care at all about. Sure. And, the fact that I too was and am still at any moment willing to put my life on the line, even lay my life down, to protect this country and the freedoms and liberties it protects makes me anti-government and anti-American.

It's people like the troll who would have been Loyalists during the Revolution, because, for God's sake, let's never question the motives of those in positions of authority.

Lame said...

By the By, has anyone else noticed that the custody hearing for Tonya Craft has been pushed back yet again, this time to November? So, six months after being found not guilty, and maybe, baring yet another delay, she might finally, hopefully, get a chance to spend some real time with her kids. Hopefully, the case will be resolved before her daughter starts college.

Trish said...

Yes, it has been pushed back, don't know why the judge in Hamilton Co. is allowing this. She is innocent and she deserves to have her kids back, but considering what we have gone through, it doesn't surprise me. I do hope that come Nov. there won't be any more delays!!!

Oh and yes, I knew anon. 2:56 was a troll, just couldn't help but respond!!!

William L. Anderson said...

The 2:56 has a most interesting perspective. You see, if one CRITICIZES anyone in government, then one is ANTI-GOVERNMENT and obviously a very bad person.

So, we are supposed to believe, I guess, that the kind of government we should have is one run by criminals who lie, fabricate evidence, and the like. How much does anyone want to bet that the 2:56 works in "law enforcement" in the LMJC?

Hey, 2:56, since you have attacked Kerwyn for not using her name, do you think you can use YOUR name here? I mean, what are you afraid of, pal?

Oh, and a number of the government and law enforcement friends of Kerwyn also believe that the police and prosecutors of the LMJC are lawless.

Anonymous said...

Tell the Troll to keep backing those crook's, and their job may be on the line, And they may be looking for work.They are lawless.
lets see what they do with the deputy, in Dade Co.Nothing I bet..

Anonymous said...

"Kerwyn needs to be careful if her colleagues discovered she investigated these cases and posted on an anti-government/anti-law enforcement site she might be looking for work"

Somebody else needs to be careful making threats like this...no matter how 'anonymous' one thinks their posts are, each and every IP address is logged on servers housing these fora...not counting the website owner who probably has a php script logging for this particular site.

Even Mr. Anderson seemed to infer he knew where in proximity the post came from.

Anonymous said...

How completely wrong you are. I know Mr. Urbano personally and professionally. I am also familiar with this case, as I work in his office. Mr. Urbano NEVER tried to just plea out this case. Despite what Samuel's mother claims, he was completely prepared for every hearing and diligently and competently fought for his client as much as the justice system would allow.. His mother is a nightmare, and will ultimately cause her son to be tried as an adult and convicted. Moreover, she is an outright liar. For this blog site to infer this attorney was unprepared is absurd and is slander in the purest form. Also, his crazy bitch mother wanted and expected free work from his office.