A $4,000 Breath of Fresh Air | Eight Track Mind

A $4,000 Breath of Fresh Air (cont.)

After some networking, I found an attorney to take my case. I met with him and gave him the entire background. Since this was my first run-in with the law, I had never even met with an attorney before. I wasn't prepared for the sheer callousness they can portray. I remember finding it strange that at no point did he even ask me if I was guilty. He asked how many witnesses could attest to me being in the house all night, and what I was wearing. When he noticed that I had a thick beard at the time, and that the police report didn't mention anything about the witness claiming the thief had a beard, he told me to go home and shave my beard before the arraignment hearing, which determined if there was enough evidence against me to go to trial. His cost? A retainer fee of $1500 and if it went to trial, no less than another $4000 plus court costs. Thus far, between bail and retaining a lawyer, I was out $2500. Or should I say, my parents were out $2500.

At the arraignment, I showed up with 15 of my friends who were with me at the party. We met my attorney in the hallway of the courthouse. I noticed him walking away from a familiar gentleman at the other end of the hallway.

"I was just talking to the prosecutor, and the witness" he said.

My heart skipped a beat and my blood began to boil. The eyewitness was standing no less than 50 feet away from me; and I sort of recognized him from the neighborhood. From what I had known and heard, he was a freak, a long time loser with a serious heroin problem. I began to wonder what the hell he was doing working in a video store at 3 a.m.

"He didn't remember if you had a beard or not." My attorney told me. "That's good news for us. I also spoke to the prosecutor, and though there is circumstantial evidence against you (bottles were found on my property and an eyewitness picked me), he doesn't think the case is strong enough but he must proceed."

This was all lawyer talk to me. All I cared about was whether or not I could get off from the charges against me. I stared at the witness while he paced back and forth, looking nervous at the fact that 15 of my friends and I wanted to strangle him.

The hearing went as expected. The arresting office gave a description of the arrest scene, and my behavior during questioning and the actual arrest.

"He was very cooperative. It was obvious he had some to drink, but he answered all my questions politely."

When the judge asked if I had refused arrest or gotten angry at all, the office replied, "Not until I actually put the cuffs on him. Then he noticeably, and I suppose rightfully, got upset."

The prosecutor rambled off some law jargon and the judge warranted that there was indeed enough evidence to bring me to trial. Trial for a crime I had nothing to do with. I met with my attorney afterwards and he broke it down into simple terms for me.

"You have two options here. One: you can go to trial, which you will probably win. We have enough witnesses to back up your story, you were cooperative, and you have no prior arrests. The catch? It would be another $4000 to me for trial plus court costs. And there is always the chance that you might be found guilty. At the very least, you're going to have to go on probation for the marijuana. Second: you can settle this out of court with the owner of the restaurant. Of course, that depends upon whether he is willing to not press charges. If that is the case, you would be responsible for paying any and all damages to his place."

It was obvious to me that there was only one decision to make. As much as I wanted to go to trial and prove that I was in fact innocent, the monetary costs far exceeded anything that my family or I could afford. So I told my attorney that it would be best if we simply settled out of court and worked out the probation for the pot possession.

A few weeks past and I was sent an itemized list of damages from the restaurant owner. $1600!!!! Somehow he took one broken window and five bottles of liquor (not top shelf either) and made it into $1600. Without hesitation, my parents cut him a check, he dropped the charges and I was essentially a free man. I was ordered to see a probation officer for one year on the possession charge. After that year was up, my record would be expunged of the breaking and entering as well as the possession charge. This was justice at it's best.

Our judicial system is set up to make us think that we are "innocent until proven guilty." Well that is a crock of bullshit. Anyone, from my incident up to a murderer, will tell you that from the second the cuffs are put on and you're read your Miranda Rights, you're "Guilty until Proven Innocent-or can afford to be innocent".

I entered that jail cell a young, green college student who was simply trying to make something of himself as a musician. I left that jail cell a bitter, jaded, untrusting man. Imagine what the innocent guy on death row is feeling? Imagine Reuben "Hurricane" Carter's emotions when he was finally released after serving time for a crime he didn't commit? And he's not alone. I would be willing to bet that 30% of people serving time in jail are innocent of the crimes they are serving for. I'm not saying they are innocent people. But seeing how easy it is for the system to take advantage of circumstantial evidence and people with no money, you at least have to question it.

About six months after all this ended I was talking to a friend about my story. Turns out he was friends with the owner of the restaurant. They were playing golf a few weeks before and somehow the break-in story came to be told. My friend informed me of something that still rings in my head every time I think of my story. The restaurant owner told my friend, "You know, I met the kid who they arrested for it, and one of my kitchen guys knows him personally. I don't think he did it...but someone had to pay."

Steve Rubin is the lead singer and guitar player for Eight Track Mind.