An afternoon in LaGrange Municipal Court (March 10, 2009)

Below is a summary of what I witnessed at LaGrange’s municipal court the afternoon of Tuesday, March 10, 2009. # of Latino immigrants with pending charges: 6 # of Latino immigrants whose only charge was driving without a license: 5 What were the charges of the sixth immigrant?: Driving without a license and driving without [...]

Gustavo and the “collateral damage” of bail bonds

Sunday, March 9, I was paid a personal visit by a local bail bondsman.  He had something he had to give to me.  It was a check for $1,000.  In today’s time of economic crisis, who wouldn’t want to receive a check for $1,000?  The catch was, the money wasn’t mine.  The money belonged to Gustavo*, [...]

Who’s bailing out bail bondspersons?

One Friday per month it is my privilege to provide pro-bono assistance to Latino defendants and their State Court public defenders during Spanish language arraignments and trials.  I do not serve as the court interpreter as I choose not to be neutral but, rather, accompany the immigrants through what can be an intimidating process. Over the last [...]