Not only will the dismissal of approximately 300 citations quite probably piss off a very large number of folks who aren't homeless and have had to appear in court and suffer the consequences for getting a citation, it also appears that the precipitator of this action, Mr, Ed Ryan, has also delivered a kick directly to the cojones of every cop in the downtown area who has written a citation to the Homeless for damned near anything.
To be completely honest, part of me wants to jump for joy, since I know how much of a hassle these damned citations are for many of my clients. Said joy increases when I think about how many of those tickets are given out unfairly by overzealous officers, in the hopes of receiving a decent bottle of scotch, perhaps?
But another part of me (and I suspect a large majority of others) wants to know why it is that I have to pay my citations, whether I want to or not, and why it is that some folks are able to get away with scoffing at the law while the rest of us must suffer its heavy hand.
Still another part of me wants to know how it is that police are supposed to keep order when judges summarily dismiss large numbers of citations simply because the alleged perpetrator doesn't bother to show up in court to answer the charge. I am thrilled that the judge exercises discretion here, to be sure, but am more than a little concerned that the "exercise" failed to examine the circumstances of each case before "roundfiling" it.
Don't get me wrong here; I am very happy for the vast majority of the folks who got these tickets dismissed, since I know that often because they are Homeless they are unfairly targeted by some police officers as "easy pickins" for tickets and harassment. Unfortunately however, the small group of very troublesome miscreants who increase the overall negative perception of the Homeless as a direct result of their obnoxious, often truly illegal and usually tasteless behavior are allowed a free pass to continue the very behavior that brought this crackdown into existence in the first place.
That my friends, is a damned shame, because we cannot expect the Homeless who are law abiding, decent citizens to enforce societal rules against "one of their own," for reasons I've cited many times here. They, like the rest of us, can only wait for law enforcement to act in quelling antisocial behavior within their own ranks. To do anything else would be to "rat off" one's own brother or sister, and this is simply unacceptable to most; at least that's what they'd tell you in public, anyway....
Police, Courts Struggle Over Homeless Nuisance Citations
Sep 14, 2007 10:02 PM
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - There's a struggle between the courts and police over the city's homeless.
Police have stepped up enforcement of nuisance citations but they said the courts are undermining their efforts.
Police are upset because they said the courts are sending the wrong message by retiring several hundred misdemeanor citations they want enforced.
Police routinely respond to complaints about homeless people in downtown Nashville and issue citations.
The citations range from aggressive panhandling to public drunkenness to open container - offenses that are fineable in General Sessions Court.
Police have increased enforcement due to an increase in complaints.
But last Wednesday police said a judge retired more than 300 citations against homeless people who never showed up to court.
"If word spreads that if you get a Metro citation and nothing is going to happen to you if you don't come to court, that kind of defeats the purpose of writing the citation to begin with," said Metro Police Spokesman Don Aaron.
"The argument that it is sending some kind of a message not to come to court is not really a valid argument because they're not going to come to court anyway," said General Sessions Court Judge Gloria Dumas. "They're homeless."
Dumas said she hasn't even heard about this. She said there isn't anything in system yet and she doesn't know why a judge would retire the citations.
There could be a number of reasons but "economic status is not one of them," Dumas said.
While the judge investigates and police attempt to find a compromise, individuals who live and work downtown have their own theories and concerns.
"Why is our tax money paying for court time when we know these people won't show up," said a downtown worker. "We're basically just giving them tickets to bully them."
Dumas said she has not heard any type of complaint from the police department. She said she learned about the issue from the media.
Metro police officials said they'll meet with the courts and city attorneys to try and figure out what happened and a solution.
NewsChannel 5 was unable to reach Ed Ryan for comment. The Nashville attorney serves as court referee. Police said he retired the citations.
